5 of Mary Jane's Past Career Choices
With Marvel's Spider-Man coming to PlayStation 4 this week, we will see another version of Spider-Man created for Insomniac's game. A Spider-Man story is not complete without his signature cast of supporting characters. Peter Parker's family and friends are often the most important people living in the friendly neighborhood that Spider-Man works to protect.
Among the many supporting characters in Peter's world is, of course, Mary Jane Watson. MJ, as she is also known, is the love of Peter's life, but she is not just another superhero's damsel in distress. Mary Jane Watson has become a more significant character in her own right and has led her personal stories in the Marvel Universe. While Peter is out web-slinging as Spider-Man, Mary Jane has had her own set of careers and responsibilities. Marvel's Spider-Man will feature a Mary Jane who is an up and coming journalist for the Daily Bugle, but let's look back at some of the other career moves MJ has made in the comics.
1. Model
The big reveal in Amazing Spider-Man #42 sets the tone for Mary Jane. After Aunt May sets Peter up on a blind date, he opens the door to the beautiful Mary Jane where she utters her most famous words:
"Face it, Tiger, You just hit the Jackpot!"
Mary Jane has always been a gorgeous woman. Her beauty is present in every Spider-Man story, and what do most attractive people do to bank on their looks? Modeling, of course! MJ's modeling career began early in the Amazing Spider-Man comics, and she has continued in the modeling industry for over 100 issues. Despite stalkers and crazy fans, she continued to model because she truly loved it.
2. Actress
During their marriage, Mary Jane takes up acting. In Spectacular Spider-Man #166, MJ appears on a soap opera called, Secret Hospital. The career doesn't exactly help her crazy fan problem, but it allowed her to find other means of work. MJ did not enjoy the character she played in Secret Hospital, feeling that the character was airheaded or ditzy. She later flies to Los Angeles to appear in a film titled Lobster Man.
3. Club Owner
After her marriage with Peter had been erased in the Brand New Day story arc, MJ stretched her entrepreneurial legs. She purchases a club owned initially by the Vulture in Amazing Spider-Man #686 in New York's Chelsea district. She gave her club the simple title of MJ's. Because this is Marvel's New York City, MJ's gets demolished during a random battle. Mary Jane then decided to open a club in Chicago that she named, Jackpot.
4. Business Executive
After Iron Man destroys Jackpot in Invincible Iron Man #5, Mary Jane comes back to New York. Beaten and distressed, MJ decides to sit on a bench in Central Park to enjoy a coffee when Tony Stark offers her a job as his assistant. Reluctant at first she accepts the position and goes on to run Stark Industries as CEO while Tony is incapacitated.
5. Journalist
In 2018, Mary Jane will become a journalist in Marvel's Spider-Man, but this is not the first time. In 2012's Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, MJ aspired to be a journalist for Daily Bugle Communications. Since the show takes place during Mary Jane's high school years, she only gets as far as a Bugle Intern.
Mary Jane is one of the most recognizable characters in Marvel Comics and fans will be able to play as her for the first time in video game history thanks to Insomniac games. MJ's journalistic career will take us to dangerous places, and we will have to perform some stealthy moves to gather information on villains like the Kingpin, and the Sinister Six. Mary Jane is a hero in her own right, and it is great to see her moving beyond the superhero girlfriend title.
Are you excited to play as Mary Jane? What other characters do you want to play as in Marvel's Spider-Man? Let us know in the comments section.