



From the top, we have Iron Spider MJ from ASM vol. 4 #15, Mary Jane from Renew Your Vows, and the Spider-Woman version of MJ from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.



Personally, I like the idea of MJ getting superpowers or running around as a superhero. As I've stated before, she is one of my favorite fictional characters, and her relationship with Spider-Man is my favorite romantic relationship in fiction. So giving her a chance to show how awesome her character can be is something I've got no problem with.



And the larger operation at Marvel doesn't seem to mind it either, since they have no problem featuring her character as such in their mobile games, outside marketing, TV shows and the like. And if the rumours are true, then it's likely that MJ will be showing up in the next Spider-Man film, and do so in a big way.





The main problem, however, is that the books themselves seem to be ignoring her character. True, there is the Renew Your Vows ongoing. But that came out an entire year after the Renew Your Vows mini series ended, along with a lot of other ongoings that spilled out of the Secret Wars event that got full ongoings far sooner. Not to mention that they did not sell as nearly as well as the original Renew Your Vows mini. And it also came after the incredibly lackluster and disappointing "follow up" to Renew Your Vows in "Power Play," which had Peter and MJ barely interact, have absolutely zero progress on their relationship- if not taking several steps backwards in terms of development- and ended with Peter and MJ further apart than ever before.





Sure, it seems ripe for the promise of a follow up. But, going by leaked solicitations for the stories to come in the first half of 2017, it doesn't seem that we will be getting anything that will involve Peter and MJ's relationship. Instead we will get another Norman Osborn vs Peter Parker story, with the "End of Parker Industries" being the main plotline. Sure, MJ could still show up in that storyline. But, again, I'm hedging my bets as the past few years have not exactly inspired me with a lot of confidence in terms of the folks behind the scenes providing a satisfactory resolution to this arc. And given that we are also likely to get a new #1 in time for the new Spider-Man: Homecoming film, again it doesn't seem likely that we will get anything regarding Peter and MJ's relationship until after that film is released, if even then. Which means we will go the better part of 2017 without having any progress on this storyline whatsoever. A storyline, that- keep in mind- has been stuck in neutral for the better part of a decade at this point.



I really wouldn't be surprised if the new film is causing a bit of a delay regarding resolution for Peter and MJ's predicament in the comics. However, I also feel that due to the people involved, we aren't getting as much headway as we could be getting. Dan Slott- in my opinion- does not seem to be someone who is a fan of Peter and MJ's relationship, or believes it to be important whatsoever. In fact, Slott doesn't seem to be interested in a lot of aspects in the Spider-Man mythos, having swapped out the entire supporting cast for his own pet creations, and changing the very status quo of the book in a far more extreme way than any other writers have in a past (It's ironic that Slott himself was one of those cheerleaders of the "Marriage made Peter too unrelatable" argument, only to have changed Spider-Man in far more fundamental ways than the marriage ever did). But the fact remains that Slott does not seem to be in a hurry to actually have Peter and MJ's relationship be the focus of ANY story that he writes, instead throwing it on the back burner and outright ignoring it unless he absolutely has to. And that's not the right attitude or approach to take to this storyline. Especially if Slott is to be leaving the book in 2017 (Which is very likely) and he doesn't touch upon MJ and Peter's relationship at all in the last part of his run. Which would mean that Slott's "final word" on this relationship and storyline that has been going on for almost a decade at this part- and that he had a major hand in crafting- is to have Peter and MJ go their separate ways, barely talk to or acknowledge each other, and for Peter to acknowledge that it was right for MJ to leave and for MJ to give up on her relationship with Peter altogether. And that's very disappointing.



But, at this point, I'm not really sure what else fans can do. There are fan polls stating their opinion. There is fan testimony, both online, in letters and in person. There are sales figures that show that the fans of Peter and MJ are numerous and sizeable enough to deliver solid numbers and high sales. That they are not the "vocal minority" that they were accused of for years, but a significant portion of the fanbase. And a lot of people in the organization seem to acknowledge that. Everyone except, unfortunately, the one guy who is the sole voice directing the title.



I don't think it's unreasonable to say that these fans deserve better than what they've got. But whether or not they get that is in Marvel's hands.

Wow, the folks at Marvel must really want to give the cosplayers a lot of options for dressing up as MJ this year, don't they?