The Mary Jane Watson Appreciation Thread

[Ballard Blues]

Whoa, this thread got busy in a hurry :)

So I had watched the following video a couple of years back and came across it again today. It is a Mary Elizabeth Winstead for MJ fan video...

You know, I've never understood the fascination most people had with Mary Elizabeth Winstead being Mary Jane Watson; she, like Emma Stone, always came off like the time-a-dozen flavor of the week teen-genre actress that would never go very far in terms of range/ability (i.e., she has the presence of a wet nap burred in sand) and with the exception of Stone, I don't appear to be proven wrong in that regard. While they've casted their MJ already, Winstead never struck me as a likely candidate at all.

[Confuzzled Mutie]

You know, I've never understood the fascination most people had with Mary Elizabeth Winstead being Mary Jane Watson; she, like Emma Stone, always came off like the time-a-dozen flavor of the week teen-genre actress that would never go very far in terms of range/ability (i.e., she has the presence of a wet nap burred in sand) and with the exception of Stone, I don't appear to be proven wrong in that regard. While they've casted their MJ already, Winstead never struck me as a likely candidate at all.

Lol, she was awesome as Ramona Flowers and kind of MJ-esque hot in Sky High, but otherwise I don't get the fascination for having her cast as MJ either. At least Elena Satine, the other online fan favorite, looks a lot like MJ, can sing, is a major fan of the character herself and even auditioned for Gwen in the first film, thinking it was MJ they were casting. Stan even called her Mary Jane upon seeing her for the first time.

But back to the video in question, so nobody knows where those Stan/Ziskin/Loeb/Quesada/Romita bits about MJ were from?

[Mister Mets]

Wow, ain't we sensitive? We were just commenting on our love for The Parkers-- as far as I'm concerned the OMD "debate" is over! If you guys want to read the Post-OMD stuff, we aren't stopping you. But this thread is about MJ and I personally think she was treated like crap because of OMD and we should have the freedom to mention it if we want to. Nobody has badmouthed any creator or "Joe Q. Mah-vell" and while I can't speak for anyone else, I have stated elsewhere that they can do whatever they want to with their character, but not all of us fans have to like it.

The point about appreciation threads is to talk about what you like. Inviting debate about a controversial storyline, which occurs when E. Wilson's question "what did we gain from the loss of the marriage? " is taken at face value, defeats the purpose of that. As would using an appreciation thread to complain about something controversial without allowing discussion from people who disagree.

[Mister Mets]

Lol, she was awesome as Ramona Flowers and kind of MJ-esque hot in Sky High, but otherwise I don't get the fascination for having her cast as MJ either. At least Elena Satine, the other online fan favorite, looks a lot like MJ, can sing, is a major fan of the character herself and even auditioned for Gwen in the first film, thinking it was MJ they were casting. Stan even called her Mary Jane upon seeing her for the first time.

But back to the video in question, so nobody knows where those Stan/Ziskin/Loeb/Quesada/Romita bits about MJ were from?

Elena Satine looks like MJ come to life, but her talents as an actress are unproven.

Shailene Woodley demonstrated her chops in The Descendants. Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Kirsten Dunst, Emma Stone and James Franco all had some major roles before they were cast in the Spider-Man films.

I do agree with you that Mary Elizabeth Winstead isn't a great fit as MJ.

[Kevinroc]

I never saw "The Secret Life Of The American Teengar," so I can't comment on that. But I did take a look at "The Descendants" after Woodley had been cast as MJ.

She has potential but I am unsure if she can hold her own against Emma Stone.

I think they cast her because it seems she might just hit the A-list with the Divergent film. This way they can have her under contract for cheap before Divergent becomes the hit they are obviously expecting.

[Confuzzled Mutie]

I think they cast her because it seems she might just hit the A-list with the Divergent film. This way they can have her under contract for cheap before Divergent becomes the hit they are obviously expecting.

I also heard that she was cast on the recommendations of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Don't know how true that is though.

[Rere]

From Spider-Man vs. Wolverine vol. I #1

This scene really reminds me of an Ed Brubaker story...

[One More Day]

From Spider-Man vs. Wolverine vol. I #1

This scene really reminds me of an Ed Brubaker story...

That seems out of character for Peter. He's a beta male

[Confuzzled Mutie]

That seems out of character for Peter. He's a beta male

Are you kidding? When it comes to MJ, Peter just cannot help himself around her. Haven't you come across the first time they ever kissed, written by Gerry Conway and illustrated gorgeously by the late and great Ross Andru-





Here MJ did ask him to kiss her but he was going for it anyway, whether she liked it or not. And boy did he leave her in a daze! One of Mr. Parker's coolest moments outside of the red and blue suit.

[42n8s1]

Are you kidding? When it comes to MJ, Peter just cannot help himself around her. Haven't you come across the first time they ever kissed, written by Gerry Conway and illustrated gorgeously by the late and great Ross Andru-





Here MJ did ask him to kiss her but he was going for it anyway, whether she liked it or not. And boy did he leave her in a daze! One of Mr. Parker's coolest moments outside of the red and blue suit.

Wow, it's been a long time since I've seen that.
Thanks for bringing it back!

[LEADER DESSLOK]

The point about appreciation threads is to talk about what you like. Inviting debate about a controversial storyline, which occurs when E. Wilson's question "what did we gain from the loss of the marriage? " is taken at face value, defeats the purpose of that. As would using an appreciation thread to complain about something controversial without allowing discussion from people who disagree.

Frankly, I'm befuddled by this reasoning. We express what a great character she is, then comment indirectly about the so called "drawbacks" of that character which were raised by a journey-man editor, without even mentioning the editor, but this somehow prohibits someone who might disagree from commenting on it? I just don't see it.

In the Gwen Stacy Appreciation thread I do remember a LOT of discussion about "Sins Past", another "controversial" storyline which had its own ramifications. Some say S.P. "ruined" the character, others like myself commented that it really didn't but actually fleshed her out and made her more human and less like a cardboard cutout; and laughs and brick-brats were held by all. It made for a lively discusssion as opposed to endless "Ain't She Sweet" posts, which should also be extended to Betty Brant, Black Cat, She-Hulk or Lois Lame (I--mean LANE) and of course, Mary Jane Watson (-PARKER!)

[LEADER DESSLOK]

Maybe it's just me but I've always thought that ELIZA DUSHKU looked A LOT like Mary Jane and I wonder why Raimi didn't consider her for the role? She demonstrated her athletic prowess as Faith (from BUFFY and ANGEL) so she could have handled many of the rigors Kirsten Dunst went through. Maybe he thought Eliza was too old by that point to pass for a high school senior?

[LEADER DESSLOK]

[CENTER]From Spider-Man vs. Wolverine vol. I #1

NOW, THIS IS STORYTELLING--art which "tells" me what's going on--and the script is beautiful and extremely well-written! Is the rest of the story this good and who was the writer? I think this is in the "Mary Jane Special" issue of the defunct MARVEL AGE "fanzine-facsimile" Marvel used to publish. Thanks for sharing this!

[Hypestyle]

I want to see another "Models" mini series.

[Rere]

A few more -