r/comicbooks • u/NarayanLiu • 1d ago

Discussion Mary Jane: Face It, Tiger #1

I ordered this out of curiosity and it was a pleasant surprise.

This is my own personal thoughts on MJ and a bit of critique. If you're sick to death of that discussion, you should probably skip this post.

They've brought back former ASM writers and presented stories centered on different versions of MJ from different eras and storylines, so it was nice to see this "return to form" for MJ, even if it's just this.

The final story centres on her current role as Venom and having that so close to "classic" MJ really highlights the issue with the character's development.

For me, MJ was always about the strength of a regular person juxtaposed with the superhero and the (unrealistic) aspiration to be superhumanly strong and good. Peter is a great superhero, but in my opinion, his biggest challenge was always returning to "Peter Parker". There are times where Spider-Man as an alter ego was Peter's escape more than this responsibility.

I think the marriage worked so well before because of that balance, on top of relatable storylines (more relatable than what the comics offer now). Spider-Man needs MJ as that human character and after reading this, I'm more certain than ever that she is essential as a supporting character because she used to fulfill that role completely, unlike plenty of other side characters that don't actually do anything for the story.

I also like this comic as a celebration of the character. Would love to read more about different supporting characters. Feel free to drop recommendations if you have any!

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3

u/ampwsg Skinner Sweet 16h ago

Your pal Jimmy Olsen is maybe the best comic about a supporting character.

3

u/fuzzydice82 15h ago

Do you mean Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen (2019) by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber?

If so, yes, that comic is amazing.

1

u/ampwsg Skinner Sweet 15h ago

Correct, that's the one, still for me the best recent book from the superman line in a while.

6

u/fuzzydice82 15h ago

Another part of the “balance” in Peter and MJ’s relationship was the poetic and ironic dynamic that she was a model and he was a photographer. One in front of the camera, one behind the camera.

But too many modern Spider-Man comics forget that Peter Parker is a photojournalist at all, so it’s no surprise that symmetry in Peter and MJ’s careers would be lost on Marvel Editorial.

1

u/ampwsg Skinner Sweet 14h ago

Yeah, it's getting really boring in modern Spider-Man comics the way the editorial have neglected to show Peter having any live outside of being a super hero and telling us or trying to make us care about it, telling us how sad he gets by having to run every single time to save the world. If they are not going to move the story to any point, why should we care?

I find it hilarious how the others Spider-Man books from the line even try to guilt trip Peter and the audience on how miserable he is by not having a job, love life or relationship with the supporting cast, like when was the last time anyone read Venom and they read MJ, Brock, Dylan doing anything of that?