Mary Jane: Face It, Tiger #1: Redheaded Stranger

Mary Jane Watson is one of the most important characters in the history of Marvel comics. A pillar of Spider-Man comics since her formal introduction way back in Amazing Spider-Man #42, MJ has had quite the journey through her 60 year history just like her one-time (though still very much should still be) husband, Peter Parker. To commemorate this milestone, Marvel has collected a host of notable names to tell some interesting stories.

First, in “Faces In The Crowd”, legendary Spidey scribe JM DeMatteis collabs with Andrea Broccardo tell a story from DeMatteis’ lengthy run on Spectacular SpiderMan, specifically issue #245 when MJ had to fend off the Chameleon. This is the least action heavy story of the compilation, focusing more on MJ’s mental state in the aftermath of the attack.

Next, the incomparable Ann Nocenti teams with Alina Yerofieieva’s “Vamp #9” tells a story of one of MJ’s many run-ins with Spider-Man’s lower-tier villains. In this case it’s Haze, a villain created just for this compilation, that she helps catch.

The third tale, “Soft Words at Sunset”, is done by another legendary (and in some circles infamous) spider-man writer in J. Michael Straczynski, who along with Luigi Zagaria ties a bow on JMS’ idea of Peter’s last stand from the future depicted in his celebrated run. This one is probably my favorite of the compilation as JMS really had the perfect depiction of the couple’s love for one another, even beyond death.

Finally, in “Redux” Ashely Allen and Phil Noto team-up to bring things full circle with Haze in the present and help set some things up for MJ’s solo book in the coming months.

Throughout these stories, the two things that connect them are both MJ’s relationship with Peter (three of the four stories show them together as a couple, with two of them specifically stating the two are married) and MJ’s own resourcefulness and thoughtfulness as a character, highlighting that she is more than capable of standing on her own when Spider-Man isn’t around without superpowers. Just like she has for the last 60 years. No matter what Marvel tries to tell the readers.