The Weird Ways to Adapt Mary Jane | Video Essay 

Alright, all my university work is now totally finished, therefore hopefully I can slip back into the old two videos a week routine and the next essay will be on Superman Man of Tomorrow!

That first seconds made me realize that it's been almost 2 years since Stan Lee died

Ironic that Amazing Spider-Man Gwen was more like comics MJ.

MJ’s role in Andrew Garfield movies: nonexistent

People have to remember zendaya isn't playing Mary Jane Watson she's playing Michelle Jones. Thanks for all the likes I never had this many before I think the most i got is 300 likes.

my one complain with Zendaya's MJ is that she just doesnt seem to have a full life in compasrison to peter...we literally know nothing about her family and her life and that makes her seem a little unreal even though Zendaya brings out amazing personality out of that character......and Kirsten's MJ in Raimi trilogy felt like a real person because we saw her whole life, her family, her friends, her social life alongside Peter and she felt like she and peter were a pair

As a current teen girl, I’ll just say this: MJ is a really accurate depiction of current teenagers. That’s why we like her. She’s familiar to us because she’s like us. The amount of teen girls obsessed with true crime is kinda crazy, and I’m one of them too. I think we all went through a Black Dahlia phase. And her whole demeanor and aesthetic is appealing too. If she were in my class, I wouldn’t question it. I’ve seen the SJW complaints and the “she’s too edgy” complainants, but honestly, I don’t think either of those are entirely accurate. It’s a bit annoying that whenever someone just does something slightly deviating from a socially accepted norm, they’re either weird or edgy. When I think of edgy, I think of a person who writes self insert creepypasta fan fiction with themselves in a relationship with Jeff the killer while they complain in the author’s note about how school is just legal torture or something insane like that. MJ likes true crime, sits kinda alone at lunch, and wears more boyish clothing and boom, she’s too edgy apparently. I guess that maybe there’s a generational disconnection between those who love MJ and those who hate her. Then again, she was meant to appeal to and fit in with gen z so I’m not shocked that older people may not enjoy her.

When it comes to Raimi Mary Jane one thing I really liked about her was how she has a full life outside of Peter. Sure they keeping coming back into one another’s lives, but we get to watch as Mary Jane tries to live out her dreams of stardom starting out at the bottom in the original film as a waitress, getting used in billboard ads and plays in the sequel, and getting a short stint on broadway in the third film before ending up back where she started as a waitress/lounge singer. It’s not often you see a superhero film let the love interest live like that. As for Michelle, what she lacks in depth, she makes up for in personality. I love how unapologetically herself she is. She keeps some stuff under wraps sure, but for the most part it isn’t really a front. That’s just how she is.

It just hit me that the only reason I liked Gwen’s character so much in the Amazing Spider-Man was because she was practically Mary Jane

Raimi's MJ as a victim of time is such a good point. "I'm not obsessive just observant" is my favorite line of Zendaya's MJ lol ooh like that point about her being a mirror to him and the acceptance and joy they find in each other. Great essay!

i know that tom holland's mj is very different from the other mj's and that the actress does a great job at portraying her character, but the only thing running through my mind when i saw her on screen was "OMG IT'S ZENDAYA"

Emma Stone's Gwen was the ultimate girlfriend in spider man movies

Comic MJ: Sweet, loving, caring wife who is the iconic love interest of Peter Raimi MJ: Confused young woman who doesn't know what she wants and loving, but has relationship and commitment issues MCU MJ: Funny, sarcastic wise cracking love interest who is awkward, but seems a good match for Peter when she warms up

Sam Rami's MJ in concept was perfect in my opinion, even though she didn't have the screen time for her story to fully develop. She's the girl next door, coming from a broken home longing to be seen. Therefore, she puts on the party girl-persona to be popular and get seen. However, what she truly wants is to act on stage and get seen by everyone, something she keeps hidden inside until Peter asks her about her dreams. That's why she falls for him, because he's the first one who shows that he really sees her and cares. On the outside she might seem like Peter's opposite in many ways, but on the inside they are both outsiders. That's why she works, even though she at first might seem like a screaming damsel in distress to most

I'm so glad when I see people who understand MCU's approach to Spidey - they change stuff drastically but still they preserve the core; they translate the original spirit to the language of the current times. Therefore there're things that seem extremely different at first glance but they're actually familiar if you're willing to look deeply instead of fighting the changes

My favorite non-comics version of Mary Jane is probably in Spectacular Spider-Man. She seemed like a good counterpart to Peter that was more socially smart like him. Flirty and wise, but she also had some vulnerabilities. The best part is that she wasn't even a romantic interest at that point.

Ah yes. Sketching people in crisis. 👍🏴

You forgot the Shailene Woodley interpretation - the one where Mary Jane doesn't exist!

Me thinking MJ stood for Michael Jackson the whole video: 👁👄👁

I don't see Watts' MJ as an adaptation of Mary Jane Watson, in any possible way. I see the nickname MJ as just a nod. This is not criticism btw. I like Michelle very much. She's just isn't a Mary Jane adaptation

What I liked about the original character of MJ is that she put up an image but it wasn't really her. She hid alot of sadness. Alot of people including Peter thought she was a selfish person. She wore a mask that everyone believed. She ran away from the image she was and the feeling she had for Peter

The Spectacular Spider-Man show had the best Mary Jane.

Zendaya played a decent role, but remember she's not actually the character Mary Jane Watson. Only the Initials matched her name.

Imagine a Spiderverse movie with Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield ist made: Tom: Man that girl MJ - she's the greatest, she helped me so much becoming the person I am Tobey: Yeah I used to love her, too - but it didn't work for us Andrew Who is this MJ person? I loved Gwenn and then I killed her trying to save her The other two: What are you talking about?

One of my favorite observations about the Raimi films is that Mary-Jane and Gwen are switched. MJ is the sweet girl-next-door, while Gwen is the alluring fashion model. Plus of course, Dunst is naturally blonde while Howard is a redhead!

9:33 “she struggles to commit to her new self” is a very great way to put it. Her life doesn’t revolve around Peter Parker. She is growing as she’s getting closer to Peter. I love that

I feel the chemistry between Hollands Peter and MJ, while with Tobey and Dunst...it was more because this is the way it is in the comics.

After Far From Home, I was completely sold on Peter and MJ. Their interactions and eventual relationship feel incredibly real and age appropriate in a way that most stories set in high school don’t capture. The actors’ chemistry works wonders, too, and may be the key for it coming across so well. Because it’s so successful in the sequel, it’s disappointing that they didn’t use MJ more effectively in Homecoming. While I enjoyed her vibe, she felt so divorced from the rest of the story. Better integrating her into Peter and Ned’s little circle of weirdos (without actually dragging her into Spidey related things) would have been appreciated. I liked Mary Jane in the Raimi trilogy fine enough, maybe more so because of Kirsten Dunst than anything else. Compared to MJ in Homecoming, she‘s way better integrated, but she absolutely feels like she exists as an object for Peter, a reward or a sacrifice, depending on the storyline. Her trajectory comes off as tragic in a way, like every step she takes away from Peter to be her own person results in some failure that brings her back to him. All in all, I enjoy the MCU MJ far more, despite the fact that we rarely get glimpses of her out of the context of her relationship to Peter. Her storyline feels so much more joyful than Raimi MJ’s, which seems ironic given that her personality is less outwardly warm. It puts a genuine smile on my face when I watch her and Peter together.

Great analysis! I also think it's worth mentioning that Peter’s and Mary Jane’s relationship in comics is unique to itself as well. Unlike in the films, their both strangers who meet on a blind date in college whose relationship grows from friendly acquaintances to a married couple. The point of Spider-Man was to create a character the audience could group along with. Peter and MJ’s relationship in the books is a reflection of that idea. Most people don’t end up with their childhood crush (Raimi) or get married to their high school boyfriend/girlfriend (MCU)...but for a lot of people, the person they end up with will most likely be a stranger. Someone who might’ve seemed like they fell out of the sky and/ or someone they might not have even considered beforehand (In Peter’s case - because of how different MJ was to him). Regardless, that’s how a lot of long-term relationships come to be. I've always liked that about comic Peter and Mary Jane and I wished the movies reflected that...

Mary Jane may be more rebellious but at least she never slept with the green goblin like Gwen did.

I watch this video essay once a year idk why but its extremely interesting

Since everyone's giving their opinion here's mine: the animated MJ's from the tv shows are the best MJ's.

This video essay is quite brillant. "Sam Raimi's MJ is a victim of time". *cheff kiss* Kudos.

Maquires MJ was the girl next door Holland’s MJ was the girl in detention

I like Kirsten's MJ. She could have used a little more development, but I thought she was an interesting character.

something interesting i found about Kirsten Dunst’s Mj is that each story as (i feel) her light goes out more, her hair gets less red. and as peter kind of grows into himself more, she loses herself more. idk if that even makes sense but yah

Eh, I still prefer Gwen Stacey from the Garfield version over either MJ myself. She's just cuter to me and far more relatable. Not that I can't also relate to awkward MJ or anything, but it's suited more for teens. Gwen feels slightly more grounded and headstrong, but it all comes down to what we each like personally. Great video essay as always!

Raimi's MJ was written to be more layered and a bit more truthful as the series went on, whereas Peter's characterization was an arc of maturity, learning three different lessons throughout the course, ultimately tying off as the two began to mend whatever flaws they themselves have. It's not just shown to each other, but to the audience as a whole. MJ came from a disruptive, damaged, non-loving background whereas Peter was raised with the exact opposite background. They're foils to each other. I'm not saying that people should root for her, but try to understand where her circumstances came from. They're both well-rounded characters that are believable in this trilogy, and it's a shame that people haven't grown to learn that at all, despite the age of this series. She's a heavily underrated character, even though she has the tenacity to push through her own dilemmas without the need of Peter's assistance. MCU MJ so far is literally just lol quirky gang gang.

I still don't feel they got Mary Jane right in the movies. She should be more fearless and badass but they won't do that because she's only supposed to be the girlfriend and not actually do anything heroic herself that might supposedly lessen Peter's role.

Implicitly Pretentious: "But hey, that's just a theory....." Me: "Hey, I understood that reference!!"

I like MJ stepping out of her traditional feminine role with her edgy personality but I hate how she's portrayed as "Not like the other girls" . She's still one-dimensional. As the audience we don't see a lot of her wants and needs...personal conflict.

You nailed it perfectly I am absolutely in love with Zendayas and John Watts interpretation of MJ

I found your channel through your videos on loki and I wanted to say that it makes me so happy watching your videos, keep it up

Personally I still like the Raimi version of Mary Jane. Say what you want, but I don't think she's as bad as people think she is.

I love Michelle as a character, I think she's perfect. I LITERALLY HATE that they revealed her to be MJ. What's the point of shoehorning that history and expectation onto this character!? she lost a lot of mystery and potential the second it was revealed. her name isn't even Mary-Jane. it's just MJ because you know that name! ha gotcha! stupid. she's perfect as Michelle, an original character that's friends with peter in high school. she didn't NEED to be anyone from the comics.

I would love to see your take on Storm from the X-men films and how those movies kind of did defamation on the strong black female archetype that great actresses such as Angela Bassett and Pam Grier did in their iconic roles.

I love Zendaya’s delightfully droll, snarky tsundere MJ. Zendaya is a great actress and she’s able to portray a lot through so little. The little looks she gives Peter here and there are so great to watch and analyze as they clearly convey that despite her icy exterior, she does care a lot about him and has for a long time. And it’s cute how much she lights up at the end of FFH when she puts herself out there and finally is reciprocated. I also love that she and Peter are so supportive of each other. She fully embraces him being a superhero with one brain cell and fights to help him and protect the others, and he doesn’t like her despite her interest in dark stuff, he likes her for it and encourages her to be open about it. That’s more genuine than half of the other romances I see in other shows or movies.

ugh why is this video making me want to cry???? DAMN MY STUPID FEELINGS

Raimi's M.J. is my favorite.

"scotch, bourbon?" "I'm not old enough to drink" this hurts me on a personal level, I was offered a drink by some brits i hung out with at a mountain bike race in France (Im 16), they offered me a beer but I knew my parents where around the corner, in France this would have been totally acceptable and not questioned at all (we had even had a few 12-year-olds running around with half a glass) to not to my mom so i had to decline, instead I got a lemonade of shame, i was completely heartbroken

Kirsent dunst even though a damsel in distress at least had a character arc, a backstory, motivations, complexities. Zendaya MJ: look at me I'm quirky aaaa

It's weird that I can relate to Zendaya version of MJ even as a boy.

Mary Jane was cool but MJ feels like someone I'd see walking around in my school

I hate it when people say that Mary Jane as a character needs to change from her original status as an actress/model to be stronger *_Even Though_* She Did *_0:55_**_ tHiS_* Edit: I’m fine with her personality in the MCU lol

That’s my fav of all your essays. Watching it again

Currently watching the video and here are my current thoughts: I’m really liking how you set up that intro to talk about not only the origins of Mary Jane but also the context for her character. As I am still looking forward to watching the rest of the video, I wanted to say I love how different that intro’s writing and editing felt from your previous vids. It was just kinda fun and sets up everything to expect! Been loving all your analyses the past months ever since I found your channel. I’m definitely hungry for even more!

I prefer the new spider man, but he gwen from Andrew Garfield movie was way better than any MJ from the other movies

I forgot how great of vidoes you make! I forgot how much i hated MJ in the original Spiderman (I loved Durst and her acting, I didn't like the writing it felt like they were trying to create all the conflict from the relationship and not enough from his actual crime fighting ) But the new MJ is much more likable and like you said they work well together. Can you do a video on powerful/likeable superhero partners. I always disliked weak or lame superhero partners that dragged heros down instead of being their there for them.

"We couldn't make Gwen as exciting or personable as Mary Jane" He's right and he should say it

This has been one of the most informational and entertaining videos I’ve seen in a long long time. Very well done. Great job!

I personally didn’t like Zendaya’s MJ which is so sad cause I’m such a huge Zendaya fan. They made it look like she had a significant role but really was not a friend nor love interest in the first movie with like 5 minutes screen time total. There isn’t much material to go off of and their relationship felt so rushed in the second one because the simple question of why either of them like each other is never answered. They don’t have any banter or cuteness or anything that makes them feel like a couple. And it’s not because they’re teens because even the adorable awkwardness could’ve been a approach to them but instead it was uncomfortable whenever hey were on screen together. This is particularly odd because they have great chemistry outside of the movie it’s shame it went to waste

Kristen's MJ will always be my favorite, I love the nostalgia. I love their romance. it feels more timeless compared to the new one. I can watch the old one over and over but the new one not so much.

This was really well researched and perfectly put together. Great job!

as someone who also obsesses obver characters and their meaning in stories and such ...this is such a great way to put the diffrent MJ's into perspective and how they both fit and adapt the role! also your voice is soothing and nice to listen to!

It feels like an accidental exploration of millennials vs. gen z

"and as she begins to become a better person, he's unconsciously drawn there too." ....aw

Always come back to this video somehow. Just the way you analyze and discuss both versions of MJ perfectly encapsulates how I feel about the character. Keep up the good work!

This was sooo beautiful. You're doing so well man!!!

Comparing MJs? Lucky that she's not named Billie Jean.

“An old man trapped in a young man’s body” is a perfect description of Tobey Maguire.

Always love your in-depth analysis

This channel deserves SO much more attention than it gets... I’ve loved watching your growth though, and can’t wait to see you reach milestones.

But why does Peter randomly get a crush on Michelle when he had 0 interest before?

Best adaptations of MJ are the Spectacular Spiderman and PS4 for me

I love these types of videos and your beautiful wording and phrases and quotes make me feel fuzzy inside

Excellent video essay. I hadn’t thought about the two adaptations like this at all, .

When it comes to Gwen & Mary Jane I love them both. However, Gwen was a victim of the time she was created and the writers just not knowing what to do with her. Despite their flaws The Amazing Spider-Man films gave more dimension to Gwen and played a huge role in introducing the character to the masses. Also TASM Gwen isn’t just a blonde Mary Jane which many people think. She doesn’t exhibit any of the quirks of MJ. Gwen isn’t a party animal that wants to be the cake that everyone gets a slice of. She’s was a brilliant scientist that was Peter’s intellectual equal.

People didn't like MJ in the Sam Raimi movies? Huh. Weird. Well, I can't agree with that. Personally, I actually wasn't too enthusiastic about the MJ in the MCU (who I had heard at some point a year or so after the movie came out that she wasn't actually intended to be Mary Jane but I had completely forgotten what the character's name was actually supposed to be until this video mentioned it). I kind of think of her as an overglorified background character.

I really like you’re characters break downs!

Great essay, I was enjoying your executed points, and then I got to the end and cracked up at the game theory dunk. I'll be checking out the rest of your channel.

Rami's MJ atleast had a Life? She changed boyfriends had several love intertrest, her wasn't always revolving around Peter. Yes she was annoying and damsel in distress but she went through so much career changes? It was so good to her doing stuff and struggling.

I love Zendaya's _MJ_ - a far more interesting character than the traditional take. I also love that the writers had the respect for the character to let her figure out that Peter was Spider-Man by herself.

Well Done on the Video Essay!!

Sometimes I watch your videos just to hear your calm and soothing voice

I think calling Michelle "MJ" was more of a reference than an adaptation. I have a feeling that she's meant to be Peter's first love, similar to Gwen. Maybe the MCU will pull a switcheroo and have MJ die and Gwen live.

In defense of Raimi's MJ despite I do think she's incredibly annoying and they screwed up her character from the comics I do think she's a better character than MCU MJ. Despite the MCU version is arguably more likeable she really doesn't have much outside of being a love interest and jokes. Like shit on Raimi MJ all you want(hell despite defending her I know I have) but she had goals and an arc and reasoning behind that while again we know almost nothing about MCU MJ

Cool vídeo man, didn't know you but you got me with the end. Hope to see more of yours content in a near future

Such clever work done by the writers of the new Spider man and so clever of you to figure it out and explain it flawlessly. Great work, thanks so much 😄

Personally I just don't like Michelle at all because FFH lies when it says "she got growth/depth". No, there really wasn't much there. My brother and I adored her in Homecoming before we realized she was the MJ of the MCU. I think if she was just a standalone character that was not associated with MJ at all, a lot more people would be accepting (and yes that DOES have to do with the race). I just cannot fathom why they couldn't make a whole new love interest or pick one of his plentiful choices. As someone who cannot relate to her whatsoever, even as a teenage girl, I just feel like there is a huge lack of depth and reality to her. She just sits there, not doing much, and in FFH is suddenly pushed to the forefront to be the "love interest" out of the blue. Then again I have a lot of gripes with the MCU Peter and the writing, especially how he just randomly blurted his identity to her for barely any reason at all. All I see is Zendaya, a childhood star I've grown up with, be a shoehorned love interest with barely any qualities outside of "look at me I'm a loner that struggles to be close to ppl b/c of my own insecurities/who I am" which might fit with this version of Peter, but have they forgotten that Black Cat already does that so much better? So many other pre-existing characters do it better? I just wish they had done something different. Lizz was acceptable for what she was and she had an actual role. Michelle is pieces of mirrored glass that looks like it has depth on the outside but there really isn't jack in there outside of basic untouched traits that the writing barely attempt to make seem like more. All I ask is that they do something proper with her, but ever since Endgame the MCU writing has been atrocious, and with the direction the current Spider-man is going, I have no faith they will expand on her character and she will become the typical side-chick to the plot that only serves as a failed grounding piece compared to that of MJ or Gwen (comic and movie versions) because she has barely any good advice nor helpfulness displayed (outside of what accidentally stumbling upon an object??? smh).

Would have love to have seen what kind of Mary Jane Shailene Woodley was going to be for Andrew Garfield

One of your best yet!

Nice work! And that ending was awesome!!!

I initially kinda viewed Michelle as one of the best characters in the new movies, but not really a faithful adaptation of MJ. This video has proven that's not entirely true. It's my dream to make the best Spider-Man movie someday, and this is going to stick with me. Nice work dude!

Mary Jane was the extrovert, and Gwen was the introvert. It's that simple.

i don’t know what i’ve been watching for this to be on my recommended but i’m definitely glad i watched

absolutely brilliant analysis

This is my opinion, but unlike a lot of people I don't find Zendaya attractive at all. However, her acting and portrayal of MJ really softened my heart and made me really admire her character for who she is. This in turn made her attractive to me. This proves the point that they did a good job in character development.

I feel like the spider man franchise after 2000 completely ran out of steam. They had no clue what they were doing after that.

This was really good. A different approach to video essays on the superhero genre. Dig it.

Great approach and explanation!!