Panels of Awesome!

With One More Day out of the way, it seems only fair that we take some time to countdown the best moments from Mary Jane Watson. While her future in comics seems fairly uncertain, her past is really defined her as a cornerstone in the Spider-Man universe. Let’s check out some of the high points in her life. Onward!

5.) Dinner Time (Marvel Zombies mini-series)
While I’m sure she wouldn’t hold this very high on her list of accomplishment, her being devoured by her husband in the Marvel Zombies title was entertaining enough for me. Her inclusion in the title, which is basically just a scene with her and Aunt May becoming a snack for Spider-Man, as well as the zombified covers of the classic Spider-Man wedding annual as well as the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane cover spoof were, in my opinion, one of the highest points in MJ’s career.

4.) Jukebox Hero (Spider-Man: Blue mini-series)
While Blue was really just a retelling of the classic story of how Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy first met and fell in love, it also focused on the original meeting of Mary Jane and Peter Parker as well. The story showed not only the two as teens but, as the story moves along, they’re shown as a married couple sharing their experiences with Gwen. Weather it was reciting her classic line from Amazing Spider-Man #42 or telling Flash Thompson to take a hike, MJ made Spider-Man: Blue that much better.

3.) It’s A Small World (Amazing Spider-Man #491)
During the second volume of ASM, around issue 30, Peter and Mary Jane were separated due to the stress Peter’s life as Spider-Man was having on MJ. After almost 20 issues apart, Peter boards a plane to LA, where Mary Jane was working as an actress, in an attempt to win back his wife. At the same time, MJ boards a plane to New York. When both flights are delayed, the two meet in the airport and, while fighting off an attempt on the life of Dr. Doom, Peter and Mary Jane manage to work out their issues and reconcile their marriage with a little help from Captain America. On a side note, this is my personal favorite issue of ASM. If you haven’t read it, do so now.

2.) The Wedding (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21)
This one probably goes without saying. This one moment immortalized Mary Jane as a piece of Spider-Man history. Mary Jane and Peter Parker, despite several interruptions from various Spider-Man villains, tied the knot in the annual issue of Amazing Spider-Man. While Stan Lee has stated that Mary Jane was never intended to end up with Peter and was always meant to be the girl fighting with Gwen for his affection, the fans voiced their opinions and forced Stan Lee to seal the deal back in the Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 released in 1963.

1.) Hitting The Jackpot (Amazing Spider-Man #42)
What could possibly be more important that Mary Jane’s wedding day? Probably only one other event, her first appearance in comics. Peter had been dodging MJ left and right while his Aunt May and her friend Anna, Mary Jane’s aunt, tried desperately to set the two up. Eventually, after running out of plausible excuses, Peter finally met Mary Jane which led to one of the most classic lines in comics.

Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!

There’s really never been a bigger moment for the redhead than her actual first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man and it only seems fitting that it be the biggest moment on our countdown.

So, while One More Day may have ruined any future stories involving the marriage between Peter Parker and Mary Jane, at least we can still look back and remember the good times…such as the days before Joe Q began his run as the EIC of Marvel. Hopefully you enjoyed this look back at the life of Mary Jane. If you have any comments, I’d love to hear them!