The Snarky Quill’s Book Pickings – October 2015

Looking for books to read this month or the next? Say no more, The Snarky Quill has you covered with some excellent recommended titles.

1. Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike #3) – Robert Galbraith (2015)

SYNOPSIS: When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality. With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

Now that the true identity of “Robert Galbraith” has been revealed as that of J.K. Rowling’s, comparisons between this and the Harry Potter series is inevitable. On its own merits, though, it is quite the thriller and a far more personal tale than The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm. Rowling’s penchant for crafting a tight mystery pays off beautifully, throwing curveball after curveball without letting up until the last page. It also sets up some wonderful conflicts that will surely erupt later in the series. The villain is a little half-baked and not the most memorable of killers (sort of a second-rate Ice Truck Killer from Dexter, if you will) but it shines most when it focuses on the lives of Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott.

2. Modern Romance – Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg (2015)

SYNOPSIS: In Modern Romance, Ansari combines his irreverent humor with cutting-edge social science to give us an unforgettable tour of our new romantic world

The only non-fiction entry in this list, Modern Romance provides a fascinating insight into the world of romance through the lens of the 21^st century and how much it has changed and involved in the last two-three decades. Comedian Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation) brings the humourous tone to counterbalance the data gathered by sociologist Eric Klinenberg, making it altogether a highly enjoyable and thought-provoking book that clocks in at a surprisingly brisk 288 pages without feeling too little or too much.

3. Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1) – Rick Riordan (2015)

SYNOPSIS: The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus Chase must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

(Note: I know Rick Riordan writes mainly for a young audience but I make no apologies- his novels are simply too good to pass up)

Rick Riordan has come a long way since Percy Jackson, the Kane Chronicles and The Heroes of Olympus. He settles into starting a new mythology quite comfortably, tapping into the interconnected universe popularized lately by Marvel Studios on the film side and by David Mitchell on the literary side. Riordan fans will get excited at Magnus Chase’s connection to heroine, Annabeth Chase, from Percy Jackson- she plays a cameo role of sorts and the possibility that her world and Magnus Chase’s might crossover is quite exciting. This time, the mythology is that of the Norse Gods. Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer bears classic Riordan trademarks: modernizing the gods for the twenty-first century (Thor uses his fabled hammer to watch Earth’s television shows in 1080p High Definition), plenty of humour and an assortment of ragtag characters who band together to overcome the impossible. Riordan isn’t one to shy away from diversity: the female protagonist, Samirah al-Abbas, is an Arab-American, and Hearth, is a mute elf. All in all, this is a fantastic book that will definitely appeal to even older readers.

4. Archie Comics – Written by Mark Waid and penciled by Fiona Staples (2015- )

Rebooting Archie Comics could have easily been the worst idea ever. But in the hands of veteran writer Mark Waid (Superman: Birthright) and phenomenal artist Fiona Staples (Saga), Archie Comics is primed to become one of the best reboots in the comic book medium. When the story opens, we learn that Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper used to date before breaking up over an undisclosed matter only referred to as the “Lipstick incident”. Veronica Lodge enters the Riverdale community by the third issue and from thereon out, it’s anybody’s guess what happens. The Archie reboot maintains the fun spirit that made the original comics a hit while blending in fabulous aesthetics courtesy of Staples and witty writing from Waid.

5. Amazing Spider-Man – Written by Dan Slott (2015- )

It’s a brand new world for Marvel post-Secret Wars. How that happened still remains to be seen but in the meantime, adventures continue and for Spider-Man, it’s a whole different game. Peter Parker is no longer a photographer struggling to make ends meet: he is the CEO of a vast empire and has taken Parker Industries global. Amazing Spider-Man #1 opens with Spider-Man and Mockingbird in the middle of a car chase in Shanghai (using the Spider-Mobile he designed decades ago with Johnny Storm’s help) before switching to the life of Peter Parker, millionaire and entrepreneur. He’s basically like Tony Stark now. But of course, trouble is brewing and Peter is going to face enormous challenges- the least being the teased return of Doctor Octopus, who temporarily lived as Peter Parker during the Superior Spider-Man run and in fact started Parker Industries. Whether Doc Ock will return to his former life as a villain, try to take back Peter’s life or end up as a possible antihero remains to be seen. Either way, Amazing Spider-Man is one series you want to stay tuned to because one thing is for certain: this is not the Spider-Man you’re used to.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SPIDER-MAN POST-SECRET WARS (2015)? – Part 1

[WARNING: Massive spoilers in this article if you haven’t been reading the Spider-Man comics since 2013]

If you’ve been keeping up with comic book news recently, you would have heard the surprise announcement that Marvel is ending the Marvel universe as we know it in the behemoth event, Secret Wars.

The above link will go into the nitty-gritty details. Go ahead and read it if this is news to you. I’ll wait till you finish. It might help the rest of what’s to follow make better sense.

Done? Do you have a vague idea of what’s about to go down in Marvel town? Awesome. Let’s proceed.

I’m not going to bother about the ramifications of Secret Wars on the entirety of the Marvel universe. A) I do not have the requisite knowledge to do so because B) I don’t follow all the comics. But I do read The Amazing Spider-Man and Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man series and I believe I’m a little more qualified to speculate what might happen in that corner of the Marvel playground.

First things first: will Peter Parker die… AGAIN?

That… is a good question. And it can only be answered once the event Spider-Verse [ATTACH LINK TO SPIDER-VERSE WIKI] is concluded.

Sure, Peter is currently back but owing to a time-travel circumstance in which the Superior Spider-Man (Doc Ock as Spider-Man) and Amazing Spider-Man (Peter) teamed up, the former realised that he stands to lose everything in the future. So don’t expect him to sit back and wait without trying to prevent that from happening.

                              Panel from The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 #13

Personally, I think bumping off Peter Parker twice in the space of three years isn’t the best way to go. Not to mention the headache of time paradoxes created if Doc Ock does try to change the outcome…

So! Let’s go on the (hopeful) premise that it is Peter Parker who triumphs both Spider-Verse and Secret Wars to herald in a new definitely changed era.

1) REINSTATING PETER PARKER’S AND MARY JANE WATSON’S MARRIAGE

Last October, the following cover started making rounds on the Internet.

In the beginning, this felt a lot like a throwaway story or an alternate version that would have no impact on the main on-going stories.

But with Secret Wars announced, one begins to wonder: what if— just WHAT IF— this might come to pass and be canon after all?

Granted, the marriage was never really wiped out— it’s just that everybody forgot it ever happened (except for Mary Jane, I think). Yet what if the aftermath of Secret Wars restored the marriage— perhaps without the world knowing Peter’s identity bit, granted? Is it too much to hope for? It would certainly be a massive new step in the direction of the Spider-Man mythos for Peter Parker to be entrepreneur/superhero/father.

Of course, the reason the marriage was erased from memory in the first place was due to the outcome of Civil War which would probably need to be rewritten.

Which brings us to speculation #2…

2) ALTERNATE CIVIL WAR OUTCOME

Initially, many— including myself— believed that Marvel was simply reissuing Civil War with a nice cover. I’m still inclined to believe that’s most likely the case but then where’s the fun in speculating?

Assuming that the aftermath of Secret Wars: Battleworld involves a rewrite of history, then perhaps that would also mean that one of the biggest events in the Marvel Universe gets a retelling, maybe one with different outcomes like Spider-Man’s identity remaining secret or one where Aunt May dies and Mephisto doesn’t get to make the “One More Day” deal because he spent too much time in the shower. So marriage remains intact, secret identity remains secret, Aunt May is dead. That’s a bummer but so was One More Day and the next seven years of Spider-Man lore. I’ll take the former.

But perhaps it’s not all gloom. Check in next week for the second part of speculating the post-Secret Wars future that could lie ahead for Spider-Man!

TO BE CONTINUED

Ways to save the Spider-Man film franchise – Part 2

Previously in Ways to save the Spider-Man film franchise – Part 1, I began a discussion involving ways to rejuvenate the Spider-Man film franchise. My first suggestion was to: Adapt some good storylines from Spider-Man lore.

Without further ado, here’s our next suggestion.

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SUGGESTION 2: Parallel universes

DC Comics and Marvel Comics love to use the plot devices of time travel and parallel universes. DC Comics used them to reboot their comics with Flashpoint while currently seeming to be going about a new Crisis on Infinite Earths (parallel universes); and Marvel is currently using parallel universes as the basis for the sprawling Spider-Verse event to bring every Spider-Man across dimensions for one mega story.

Yet in film, to date, X-Men: Days of Future Past is the only one to have tried one of these tropes— time travel. That would leave parallel universes as virgin territory for the superhero genre— which is why Sony ought to take it into serious consideration.

See, unlike rivals Marvel Studios and Warner Brothers- Sony does not boast a library of different superheroes enough to create a shared universe. It only owns the rights to Spider-Man and with their shoddy execution earlier this summer, nearly all ambitions to launch a shared universe fell flat on the ground. Their answer to create an event film like The Avengers and upcoming Justice League was to set up a Sinister Six team-up without considering a crucial factor:

Nobody is actually interested in a villain team-up.

(Personally, my only interest in the film thus far is that it is being written by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods). I’d rather Sony simply hand over the entire Spider-Man franchise to him instead)

To use a cliché proverb: you don’t bring a knife (Sony’s approach) to a gunfight (what Marvel and WB is doing).

So what’s a studio like Sony to do when faced with such a conundrum?

Easy: parallel universes.

With Spider-Man, it has always been clear that it is the man behind the mask that makes the Webslinger so popular. Peter Parker is a selfless good-hearted character that sets him apart from many of his peers. The other Peter Parkers or even other people to take up the Spider-Man mantle offer interesting stories of their own, each enough to launch franchises of their own.

And the top candidate for such a venture is Miles Morales.

In the Ultimate universe, Miles Morales is an African-Hispanic teenager gifted with spider powers who takes up the Spider-Man mantle after the Green Goblin killed Peter (although it seems that Peter actually survived but that’s a story for another day).

Andrew Garfield has openly spoken about passing the torch and a character like Miles Morales automatically makes it stand out from every superhero movie in the market featuring an all-white lead (also: please cast an ACTUAL TEENAGER and NOT a 30-year old trying to pass off as a teenager).

Another character that could work is Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O’Hara. Granted, he isn’t from a parallel universe (hint: he’s from the future) but it isn’t exactly a stretch creating a story that has O’Hara travelling back in time to assist Peter Parker deal with a multiverse threat.

Like an Ultimate Spider-Man movie, a Spider-Man film set in the future (nearly eighty years into the 21^st century) IMMEDIATELY sets itself apart. Spider-Man meets Minority Report? I know I’d want to watch that.

And if Sony is SERIOUSLY opting to be risky, the parallel universes option could be utilised to introduce… wait for it: Spider-Man: India.

Now, personally, I’m not wholly in favour of this idea but from a business point-of-view, Spider-Man: India could easily open up a whole new market in India. Today, everyone in Hollywood is fully aware that international markets are where the money is. Transformers: Age of Extinction may have crossed the billion-dollar box-office mark but a VERY large chunk of that profit is from foreign revenue. Domestic revenue, in contrast, was relatively poor. It’s why the film had a segment set in China (China is the biggest international film market today; India would probably be second). Similarly, X-Men: Days of Future Past cast Fan Bingbing, a popular singer in China, as the mutant, Blink, specifically to appeal to the Chinese market.

And India is a country that loves their movies, churning out more films than Hollywood does each year. A superhero film set in India based on a mega-popular American superhero? Listen closely and you can hear the money already falling into the bank.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Ways to save the Spider-Man film franchise – Part 1

Ever heard the motto “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”? Sony needs to hang this variant in their office: “Don’t count your sequels and spin-offs until the launching film succeeds”.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was to be to Sony what Iron Man was to Marvel Studios. What happened was it underperformed on both critical and financial levels, earning worse reviews than Spider-Man 3 and ending with the lowest box-office gross of any Spider-Man film to date.

Some people loved it, a large number didn’t. I’m with the latter- the film ran around more aimlessly than a headless chicken, with thinly written and numerous boring plotlines that failed to come together, a villain (Electro) that would have been at home in Joel Schumacher’s Batman films and a cast that was grotesquely underused.

As of now, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 has been delayed while The Amazing Spider-Man 4 has been pushed back into the shadows. Only a Sinister Six film is set for a 2016 release. There’s a rumour floating around last week that the Sinister Six would be a “soft reboot” of Spider-Man, featuring a new actor in the role- if that is true, it effectively makes it the fourth reboot in the space of a decade (for all intents and purposes, ASM2 was a quasi-reboot of ASM1). Ouch.

The truth is: the audience is plagued with a case of Spider-Man fatigue.

To a great extent, all five Spider-Man films more-or-less have shared the same story: Peter struggles to balance a normal life with hero duties, relationship problems, tragic villain origin story, financial problems, fight-fight-fight, damsel-in-distress (okay, in fairness, ASM1 avoided THAT!) and so on and on.

And guess what? IT’S OLD, TIRED AND BORING. Let’s have some variation, yes?

In all the films, Peter is still a financially struggling dork. In the comics, he has overcome many of the problems that plagued him in 2002. He is currently DOCTOR Peter Parker and the head of Parker Industries (all the work of Dr Octopus- long story, see The Superior Spider-Man), he’s got a new girlfriend who isn’t Mary Jane Watson (still have not forgiven One More Day for THAT!) and overall, when people aren’t trying to kill him, his life is generally better. He isn’t stuck in the past. It’s called PROGRESS.

So, being a massive Spider-Man fan, I thought it would be fun to list out a few suggestions that could benefit the Spider-Man films in the future.

[Sony, if you read this: you are more than welcome to use these ideas. All I ask in return is my name in the credits and free passes to the set and premieres.]

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SUGGESTION 1: Adapt storylines from the comics

What do The Dark Knight, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past have in common?

Apart from being financially and critically successful, they all took elements from some fantastic story arcs in the comics.

The Dark Knight took inspiration from Batman: The Long Halloween and The Killing Joke; the Captain America sequel drew heavily from Ed Brubaker’s story “The Winter Soldier”; and X-Men: Days of Future Past was heavily inspired by Chris Claremont’s and John Byrne’s excellent “Days of Future Past” arc.

Apart from a few references and Easter Eggs, none of the Spider-Man films have ever used its source material (the Death of Gwen Stacy for ASM2 is a minor exception). This is a crying shame because Spider-Man has some great storylines in the comics— both in The Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man series.

Using this would not only make for greater films with better variation, it’s almost guaranteed to get people into the theatres and gross some nice profits.

Enough to even properly set up spin-offs.

Suggested storylines:

– “The Death of Jean DeWolff” – Spider-Man hunts down the Sin Eater, a killer who murdered his friend Police Captain Jean DeWolff.

Even without directly adapting this story (a major portion featured Daredevil), the idea of putting Spider-Man on a path of vengeance for the death of a friend hasn’t been utilised save for when he looked for Uncle Ben’s killer. A mystery, a non-powered antagonist and maybe one or two super-powered villains on the side (just to lend some vibrancy) would make for a good departure. Think Se7en-meets-Spider-Man. Heck, this already sounds better than what ASM2 offered, am I right?

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– “Kraven’s Last Hunt” – Kraven the Hunter buries Spider-Man, dons the Spider-Man costume and sets out to prove that he is better than Spider-Man ever was.

That summary doesn’t even do justice to this fantastic storyline. This is a Spider-Man tale that has the Wall Crawler pushed to his furthest limits and defines what it truly means to be Spider-Man. Kraven as Spider-Man is more akin to Batman and The Punisher while Peter Parker, even in the worst circumstances, remains an overall good guy. It’s a nuanced tale that elevated Kraven to the upper echelons of Spider-Man’s rogue gallery and showed that Spider-Man stories aren’t always about super powered bad guys running around in coloured costumes.

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The Clone saga (both Amazing and Ultimate series) – here’s a storyline that could be used to launch spin-offs. In one swoop, you can set up Venom, Carnage, Spider-Woman (I suggest using Jessica Drew’s Ultimate Spider-Man origins) and even Agent Venom while binding it all together in a story about cloning and the ethical issues involved etc etc. Think Orphan Black meets Spider-Man.

The Venom spin off potential is two-fold. On one hand, the Eddie Brock story can be used and either separately or later on as a sequel, the Agent Venom story. The latter boasts more financial potential as a military-esque thriller with superhero elements. And with Spider-Woman- well, the potential speaks for itself.

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“The Superior Spider-Man” – this will probably have fans burning me at the stake but hear me out: the conceit behind The Superior Spider-Man run is extremely interesting.

What happens is that Dr Octopus cheats death by swapping minds with Spider-Man and taking over Peter Parker’s life AND Spider-Man duties— without any of Parker’s friends and relatives realising it.

It bears similarities with Kraven’s Last Hunt on the whole “who-is-a-better-Spider-Man?” theme but the difference is that Dr Ock genuinely tried to be an efficient hero. At any rate, this could be a great way to accelerate the franchise— in the comics, Otto was responsible for getting Peter his doctorate and establishing his own company before the real Peter returned to take back his life. Granted, the mind-swap idea won’t fly on screen but it can be worked. It would certainly make for an unusual film.

NEXT – Part Two – Parallel Universes

Five Reasons Why Mary Jane Watson Is Amazing

Women don’t get a lot of love in comicbooks unless they have powers and dress up in a tight-fitting revealing costume. If they possess neither, their duties most often include the need to be rescued constantly or in a worst-case scenario end up dead to cause mental agony and pain to the hero (check up what happened to Green Lantern Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend to see what I mean).

Yet when done right, they succeed in being pivotal and important characters on their own terms. Hence, the women in the world of Spider-Man are just as vital as the titular hero. Ol’ Web Head has quite the list of ladies: Black Cat/Felicia Hardy, Betty Brant and Carlie Cooper, to name a few. But none have been more popular than Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson.

Comparatively, Mary Jane Watson has been in the spotlight more than Gwen Stacy, thanks to the prominence given to her in adaptations.

Sam Raimi’s trilogy always focused on MJ (do you mind if I call Mary Jane Watson “MJ”? It saves time typing) while Gwen Stacy, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, was more-or-less shoehorned in a minor capacity in Spider-Man 3 (2007).

Lately, though, Gwen Stacy has been enjoying an upsurge in popularity thanks to Emma Stone’s performances in the rebooted films. Not only did Stone imbue Gwen with some serious lovable charm and smarts but her active involvement in helping costumed boyfriend with pesky villains helped make her one of the films’ best components instead of functioning as an obligatory ‘damsel-in-distress’. Revolutionary, right?

Except Mary Jane had been doing the same for years in the comics.

There is a lot of love for Sam Raimi’s work over the reboot. I love those films, too. The first two, at any rate. But for the mere sake of nostalgia, I will not deny that the trilogy wasn’t without its faults and the biggest complaint I had was with the depiction of Mary Jane Watson. I do not blame Kirsten Dunst— after all, actors and actresses have to simply make the best with the scripts given to them. But I hated the way the character was portrayed. Not that it’s much better across other media— the Spider-Man PlayStation game, for instance, committed the same cardinal ‘damsel-in-distress’ sin. Instead of the cool, fun girl from the comics, we got a soap-operatic, whiny excuse of a MJ. Such a travesty! What many people may not realise is in the source material, MJ was always a downright bad-ass, again and again and again and Peter has admitted many times that she was one of the strongest women he knew. From the time she was with Peter, she was a massively important centre in the comics. Which is why I want to tear my hair over after in The Superior Spider-Man #31 last month, she made it clear that she was done with Peter (then again, nothing is permanent in comics, so fingers crossed). Thanks a lot for One More Day, Marvel, that’s the outcome of such a stupid editorial decision. Dweebs.

So without further ado, let me present five instances throughout the history of Spider-Man, in no particular order, in which Mary Jane Watson demonstrated that she was completely amazing and at times, a real bad ass.

1)     The time she attacked a Spider-Slayer in Pittsburgh with a baseball bat to save Peter

Events in The Amazing Spider-Man issues #290-292 turned out to be game-changers for Spider-Man lore to come. At the end of #290, Peter proposed to MJ (the second time he’d done so) only to be turned down again. In the next two issues, MJ leaves for Pittsburgh to take care of family matters but later calls Peter and asks him to come and help her. Peter flies out to join her, unaware that Alistair Smythe is tracking him with his Spider-Slayer. Long story short: Spider-Man and Smythe engage in battle which Smythe nearly won if MJ hadn’t grabbed a baseball bat from a nearby kid and hit the Spider-Slayer!

Sounds like a dumb move, right? Except it was all a ploy to buy Peter the few crucial seconds he needed to recover… although his response to seeing Smythe almost kill MJ was to tear the Spider-Slayer to pieces and threaten Smythe with the same treatment if he tried to harm anyone again. Seriously— that bit of courage requires serious cojones to pull off without being paralysed with fear.

2)     The time Mary Jane turned her horrible father in to law enforcement to bail her sister out

While Spider-Slayer in Pittsburgh took central attention in #291-292, the reason MJ was in that town was a family conflict. Her father, Phillip, had convinced MJ’s sister, Gayle, to steal a rare manuscript for him to sell on the black market. Gayle got caught and Phillip wanted MJ to find the paper and bring to him. She ended up aiding her father, much to Peter’s uneasiness despite promising to support her decision no matter what. After the battle, MJ hands in the script, only for her father to get arrested for the crime. The move took even Peter by surprise. In the end, Gayle was released and reunited with her children and estranged sister. The real happy ending, though, is all this made MJ change her mind about Peter’s proposal and she agreed to marry him. And the rest, as they say, is history.

3)     Escaping the devious clutches of her obsessed landlord and admirer entirely through her own efforts and saving Spider-Man from death… again!

David Michelinie’s and Todd McFarlane’s run on the series as writer and artist respectively yielded two beautiful outcomes: the introduction of fan-favourite anti-hero/villain Venom and the dark disturbing storyline in which Mary Jane is kidnapped by her obsessive admirer and landlord, Jonathan Caesar. The event is notable for being downright unsettling in that the antagonist succeeded in hitting Peter where it hurt most and he wasn’t even a major villain! Pushed to the brink of despair, Spider-Man resorts to beating up every criminal he comes across in New York in his frantic need for information. Caesar hires two criminals, Styx and Stone, to kill him and by #309, it all boils down to a hair-raising climax in which Spider-Man is nearly killed in Central Park and saved at the last second by none other than MJ.

Wait, but wasn’t she imprisoned until then?

Certainly. Until the sight of Styx (the guy can kill anything just by touching it!) prompts her into action. MJ initially tries to dispatch Caesar by applying a lamp socket to a puddle of water he is standing in. When that doesn’t work, she simply smashes the lamp in his face… and succeeds in electrocuting the goons instead. MJ immediately tracks her husband down and shoots Styx as he’s about to destroy Peter.

Bottom line: in the direst circumstances, MJ triumphantly overcame them and not only prevailed but saved Peter as well— all without powers, too. Damsel in distress? Pah! More like Heroine of the Hour!

4)     Evading capture by the Green Goblin during the events of ‘Goblin Nation’

In the final story arc of The Superior Spider-Man, Norman Osborn had emerged from the shadows he’d been hiding in all the time and unleashed his army on New York. Part of his plan to destroy Spider-Man (and Otto Octavius, consequently) was to kidnap the people the webslinger cared about. One such target included Mary Jane.

Big mistake. When the Goblin’s minions (literally kids in Goblin outfits) crashed her apartment, MJ didn’t sit around screaming. Nope! She got out Peter’s old webshooters and webbed those mini-Goblins to the wall and with her boyfriend, collected Aunt May and Jameson Sr and took them to safety! The moment she deals with the little Goblins is simply spectacular! No chance the next screen incarnation of Mary Jane would do something like this, is there? Also, there’s a possibility that Green Goblin realised he may have bitten off more than he could chew when concerning Ms Watson.

5)     Everything about One More Day

Writing about this actually hurts because I was forced to read One More Day to better acquaint myself with the events. Reading it made me physically nauseous. The story essentially wiped out Peter’s and MJ’s marriage in a few pages with such ease and little effort that it is nothing more than the WORST possible way to indirectly reboot a series, retcon history and function as a deus ex machina! I abhor book burnings of any sort, but I wouldn’t hesitate throwing this to such a pile!

So why does this make MJ such a strong person? Simple. She agreed to go through with the whole thing.

Despite how overall crappy this is, the moments before which Memphisto (Marvel’s version of the Devil) realigns time end up being some of the most gut-punching scenes drawn and written. As a Spider-Man fan, reading those sections felt as if a part of me did die. It honestly hurt and it is little wonder that the Spider-Man community was pissed off. Ultimately, through MJ’s visibly difficult yet selfless decision, she enabled the world to forget Spider-Man’s identity and prevent Aunt May from ever getting shot. But the price paid was simply too much and even though it has been seven years gone, the injustice and the pain of it all still rankles.

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And there you have it! Do you know of any other moments that made Mary Jane Watson memorable? If so, leave them in the comments below!