MJ (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

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MJ
Marvel Cinematic Universe character
Zendaya as MJ.jpeg
MJ, as portrayed by Zendaya in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).
First appearanceSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Created by
  • Jonathan Goldstein
  • John Francis Daley
  • Jon Watts
  • Christopher Ford
  • Chris McKenna
  • Erik Sommers
Based on
Mary Jane Watson
by
  • Stan Lee
  • John Romita Sr.
Portrayed byZendaya
In-universe information
Full nameMichelle Jones-Watson[1]
NicknameMJ
OccupationHigh school student
Barista
Significant otherPeter Parker
OriginQueens, New York, United States
NationalityAmerican

Michelle Jones-Watson, most commonly known as MJ, is a fictional character portrayed by Zendaya in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, an original character within the media franchise that pays homage to Mary Jane "MJ" Watson, a recurring love interest of Spider-Man in comic books and various media.[2][3][4]

She is depicted as a smart, snarky classmate of Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and becomes his love interest in the sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home, a unique aspect for original characters within the MCU franchise and upon Spider-Man feature films preceding it.[5] She returns in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), helping Peter, Ned and Doctor Strange to capture multiple villains that have entered their universe from the multiverse. Her romantic involvement in Peter's personal life would eventually be undone due to Strange's casting of the "Runes of Kauf-Kaul", a spell which permanently erased the world's memory of Parker's civilian persona, including the loss of his previous bonds he forged with his friends, loved ones, and allies.[6] Initially, Zendaya's role was the subject of controversy, due to the belief that an African American had been cast to portray Mary Jane Watson, though her portrayal received positive reviews after Homecoming's release as a strong female supporting cast member, additionally receiving the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Far From Home.

Creation and concept[]

She has a really cool wardrobe, really funny, lots of literary nods. I like the idea that she’s a real reader and bookish. She always has a big pile of books she’s carrying around, which I picked and obsessed over.

Jon Watts, director[7]

According to Spider-Man: Homecoming co-screenwriter John Francis Daley, MJ was intended as a reinvention of Mary Jane Watson.[8] While her nickname reveal was an homage to the supporting character within the comic books and other Spider-Man media, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed she is an original Marvel Cinematic Universe character.[9] Feige added: "Peter's had a lot of friends over the years in the comics, and a lot of schoolmates and characters he’s interacted with. It wasn't just Mary Jane Watson; it wasn't just Gwen Stacy; it wasn’t just Harry Osborn. So we were very interested in the other characters, and that’s where Liz came from and that’s where the version of the character Michelle came from."[10] Jon Watts, director of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home, likened the character to Ally Sheedy's Allison Reynolds from The Breakfast Club (1985) and Linda Cardellini's Lindsay Weir from Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000).[7]

The character's full name is Michelle Jones-Watson, which was first revealed in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Until that point, she had been referred to once as Michelle and primarily known by the nickname MJ; although the name "Michelle Jones" had been used in an article by Variety, quickly spreading among the press and fans, the name was not used in any official media until No Way Home.[1]

Portrayal and characterization[]

Zendaya portrays the character within the MCU.

MJ is portrayed by actress Zendaya within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a student at Midtown School of Science and Technology, as one of Peter Parker's classmates and friends. Years after Liz's departure (due to both MJ and Peter [and Ned] getting blipped), she and Peter start a romantic relationship. MJ is snarky and coy, but also kind and friendly. She often acts as the voice of reason, and she provides Peter with comfort and advice.[11][12][13]

Her character is depicted as an intelligent girl and a bookworm; Zendaya described her character as "very dry, awkward, intellectual", having an introverted personality because of her intelligence.[14] Unlike previous supporting female characters within Spider-Man films, such as Mary Jane Watson from the Sam Raimi trilogy and Gwen Stacy from the Amazing Spider-Man films, MJ does not start off as a romantic interest. Instead, the character Liz was created initially for the role of romantic interest to start off with until the sequel.[15][5] Initially in the first two films, MJ is not depicted as a damsel in distress, unlike Mary Jane Watson in the Raimi films, but like Gwen Stacy in the Amazing Spider-Man series, she is willing to aid Peter in his battles, putting herself in harm's way and is also a brilliant student like the Ultimate Marvel incarnation of Mary Jane Watson.[13] In the third film, her portrayal was utilized as being rescued by Andrew Garfield's incarnation of Spider-Man being used as a dedication of a scene in The Amazing Spider-Man film series showing the attempted rescue and eventual demise of Gwen Stacy.[16]

Fictional character biography[]

Captain of the academic decathlon[]

In 2016, Michelle, commonly known as MJ, is introduced as a student at Midtown School of Science and Technology and enjoys mocking her classmates, including Peter Parker. She is given the opportunity to take over from the departing Liz as captain of the Academic Decathlon Team, and begins to open up more with teammates, such as Ned Leeds and Parker.

In 2018, she falls victim to the Blip, but later in 2023, she is restored to life.

School vacation[]

In 2024, MJ attends the school sponsored trip to Europe, where her affections are sought out by Parker and Brad Davis. When she deduces Parker's identity as Spider-Man, MJ helps discover Mysterio's fraudulence, by exposing him to Nick Fury and Maria Hill (actually the Skrulls Talos and Soren in disguise) as the one who staged the Elemental invasion. Shortly after their trip to Europe, MJ and Parker begin a relationship, and have their first date by swinging in the city, when TheDailyBugle.net's J. Jonah Jameson releases a doctored video of Mysterio and Spider-Man sent to him by Mysterio's associates, claiming that Spider-Man is responsible for the Battle of London (during which Mysterio was killed) and exposing his identity as Parker.

Multiversal invasion[]

After Parker is framed for the murder of Mysterio, MJ and Peter head back to Parker's aunt and caretaker May's house to escape the press. She is eventually interrogated and taken to custody by the Department of Damage Control along with May, Parker, and Ned. Attorney Matt Murdock gets Parker's charges dropped, though MJ, Parker, and Ned become infamous, resulting in all their college applications being rejected. In response, Parker consults with Stephen Strange about a spell that would help people forget that he is Spider-Man, which Strange casts for him but goes awry and destabilizes due to many changing requirements, including keeping MJ's knowledge of her boyfriend's superhero identity. Parker is berated by Strange after revealing he did not attempt to contact MIT admissions before the spell was cast.

As Parker tracks down an MIT administrator to plead for her to accept Ned's and MJ's application, he discovers that the spell summoned several Spider-Man foes from other universes who know Parker is Spider-Man. MJ and Ned help Parker track down the "visitors" of these universes. After they find out that Strange intends to send them straight back to their realities to certain death, Parker objects and after a struggle, takes the box containing the spell in addition to Strange's sling ring and placing those under MJ and Ned's care, as he opts to restore the villains to their human forms. After learning of May's death by the hands of Norman Osborn, MJ and Ned uses the sling ring to try and locate Parker but instead find an alternate version of Parker (later code-named "Peter-Three") in one attempt and another one (later code-named "Peter-Two") in another attempt. Ned and MJ find Parker on a rooftop and goes to comfort him. They then introduce him to his alternate selves, who also provide advice.

In a standoff between the Spider-Men and their villains at the Statue of Liberty, Ned and MJ protect the spell box as the Spider-Men battle their enemies together. MJ falls from the statue after a pumpkin bomb from Osborn detonates on the spell box, destabilizing the spell once more and threatening the fabric of reality. Parker tries to save her but is whisked away by Osborn. She is then ultimately saved by Peter-Three, who had lost his own girlfriend in a similar situation.[a] Before long, Strange fixes the spell due to Peter requesting the former to erase the latter from everyone's memory, sending the other Spider-Men and their villains back to their universes and preserving space-time. Parker and MJ confess their love for each other and kiss passionately before the spell is completed, but not before she and Ned make Parker promise to find them. Parker later tries to reintroduce himself to both MJ and Ned, but upon remembering the danger they would be in associating with him, finds himself unable to do so.

Reception[]

Casting controversy[]

Zendaya at the Spider-Man: Far From Home premiere in 2019

According to news media, after the announcement of Zendaya being cast, there was much controversy and speculation sparked on the fact that Zendaya, an African American actress, would be portraying Mary Jane Watson.[14][17] Media outlets defended Zendaya over the issue, along with the Guardians of the Galaxy film series director James Gunn and Mary Jane co-creator Stan Lee on social media.[18][17][19] Zendaya responded to the rumors of her character as Mary Jane by The Hollywood Reporter in an interview saying:

Whenever we were on set, one of us gets some random character name [on the call sheet]. [Bloggers were] like, "Oh they must be so and so." And we just crack up about it, because it's like, 'Whatever you want to think. You'll find out.' It's funny to watch the guessing game. But of course there's going to be outrage over that because for some reason some people just aren't ready. I'm like, "I don't know what America you live in, but from what I see when I walk outside my streets of New York right now, I see lots of diversity and I see the real world and it's beautiful, and that's what should be reflected and that's what is reflected so you're just going to have to get over it."[14]

Zendaya also confirmed that despite the confusion, she is "100% Michelle" and not Mary Jane as many had speculated.[20] However Michelle is revealed to be nicknamed "MJ" in Homecoming, by which she is known for the entirety of Far From Home, while her full name is revealed to be Michelle Jones-Watson in No Way Home.

Portrayal reaction[]

The character of MJ had a positive reception in Homecoming by film critics, with Zendaya referred to as a "scene stealer" in her first major film role, despite her limited screen-time.[21][22][23] Caitlin Busch of Inverse felt thankful that the character was not Mary Jane Watson and opined that the original character works better for the film.[24]

The character has also received positive feedback from a feminist perspective, especially in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Karen Han of Polygon felt that the character was a positive representation of strong female characters while additionally Vanity Fair noted how MJ was not portrayed as a warrior like Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter, Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia or Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne but also not a damsel and declared her as the "MJ we both need and deserve".[25][26] Her personality was reminiscent to as Daria Morgendorffer in Daria to some reporters.[25][27] Rachel Leishman of The Mary Sue described the MCU version of MJ as extremely important in Peter Parker's life.[28]

MJ, alongside Parker and Jacob Batalon's Ned Leeds were described as a "priceless trio" by Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood with his review of Spider-Man: No Way Home.[29] The relationship between the three characters in the films were noted as more matured by Brian Lowry of CNN.[30] Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica also praised the trio's chemistry noting that in the second film both MJ and Ned had a rivalry with each other of Peter's relationship but in the third film they were ultimately more bonded together.[31] The chemistry in Spider-Man: No Way Home of MJ and Tom Holland's Parker was praised by RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallerico. Brian opined that the film is the first of the films to let their relationship to shine. He also noted, "she nails the emotional final beats of her character in a way that adds weight to a film that can feel a bit airy in terms of performance."[32] Don Kaye of Den of Geek also praised the chemistry of MJ with Parker and also noted that both she and Batalon "provide gentle comic relief".[33] Jennifer Bisset of CNET described her role as much more to do in the third film and also noted of Zendaya's role being gifted of character growth.[34] Eli Glasner of CBC News described "formerly mopey" MJ as having an stronger footing with Parker in the third film.[35]

Awards[]

Zendaya has won the 45th Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actress for portraying the character in 2018 through 2019.[36]

In other media[]

A skin based on Zendaya's portrayal of MJ was added to Fortnite Battle Royale in December 2021 to coincide with the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, along with a skin based on Tom Holland's portrayal of Spider-Man, which also made her the second Fortnite skin to be based off of Zendaya, the first being Chani from Dune.[37]

See also[]

  • Characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Notes[]

  1. ^ As depicted in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014).

References[]

  1. ^ a b Newby, Richard (December 17, 2021). "All the Comics, Video-Game, and MCU Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed in Spider-Man: No Way Home". Vulture. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  2. ^ Romano, Nick. "'Spider-Man' director confirms Zendaya character name". EW.com. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  3. ^ Cheeda, Saim (November 25, 2019). "Spider-Man: Mary Jane vs Michelle Jones: Who Is Better?". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Davison, Josh (July 10, 2020). "Spider-Man: 5 Ways MCU MJ Is Different From The Classic Version (& 5 How They're Exactly The Same)". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "From Iron Man to Spider-Man — Ranking the Romances of the Marvel Cinematic Universe". Den of Geek. February 11, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "MCU Spider-Man 3: Zendaya Confirmed To Return As MJ". ScreenRant. March 13, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Sciretta, Peter (April 3, 2017). "'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Set Visit: Everything We Learned – Page 2 of 3". /Film. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  8. ^ Alter, Ethan. "Your Complete Guide to the 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Easter Eggs". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  9. ^ Vejvoda, Jim. "Spider-Man: Homecoming Producers Say Twist to That Character Not What It Seems - IGN". Retrieved September 8, 2020. Well, we never even looked at it as a big reveal necessarily but more of just a fun homage to his past adventures and his past love. She's not Mary Jane Watson. She never was Mary Jane Watson.
  10. ^ Crow, David (July 8, 2017). "Spider-Man: Homecoming Ending – Kevin Feige Talks Some Surprises". Den of Geek. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  11. ^ Kelley, Seth (July 5, 2017). "Box Office: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Could Sling to $100 Million-Plus Opening". Variety. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  12. ^ Buchanan, Kyle (July 5, 2017). "Fair Warning: Zendaya Is Barely in Spider-Man: Homecoming". Vulture. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Noronha, Remus (July 9, 2019). "Spider-Man: Far from Home's MJ is vastly different from her predecessors and that's perfect". Meaww.com.
  14. ^ a b c Siegel, Tatiana. "Zendaya Responds to 'Spider-Man' Casting Controversy, Mary Jane Rumors: "People Are Going to React Over Anything" | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  15. ^ Armitage, Hugh (June 28, 2017). "Zendaya doesn't need to be saved in Spider-Man". Digital Spy. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  16. ^ Romano, Evan (December 16, 2021). "Everyone Has Been Wondering if a Certain Duo Appears in 'No Way Home'". Men's Health. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Howard, Adam. "'Spider-Man' Zendaya casting controversy revives racial tensions". NBC News. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  18. ^ Yamato, Jen (August 19, 2016). "Zendaya, 'Spider-Man Homecoming,' and the Beauty of A Black Mary Jane". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  19. ^ Tilley, Steve (August 23, 2016). "'Spider-Man: Homecoming': Stan Lee endorses Zendaya as Mary Jane Watson". The Toronto Sun. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  20. ^ Bell, Crystal. "Zendaya Says Her Spider-Man Character Is '100 Percent' Michelle, Not Mary Jane". MTV News. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  21. ^ DeFore, John. "'Spider-Man: Homecoming': Film Review | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  22. ^ Collin, Robbie (June 30, 2017). "Spider-Man: Homecoming review: the web-slinger's gizmo-heavy John Hughes homage is too cobwebby for comfort". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  23. ^ Duralde, Alonso (July 2, 2019). "'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Film Review: Tom Holland Goes to Holland -- and Italy and Britain -- in Globe-trotting Marvel Romp". TheWrap. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  24. ^ Busch, Caitlin. "Zendaya Isn't Mary Jane in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming', She's Better". Inverse. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Han, Karen (July 5, 2019). "Spider-Man: Far From Home's deadpan take on MJ is the heroine we need". Polygon. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  26. ^ Robinson, Joanna. "Spider-Man: Far From Home: Zendaya, the Black Dahlia Murders, and the MJ We Deserve". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  27. ^ Paige, Rachel. "Spider-Man, Zendaya, & The Mary Jane Of It All". Refinery29. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  28. ^ Leishman, Rachel. "The MCU Version of "MJ" Is Extremely Important". www.themarysue.com. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  29. ^ Hammond, Pete (December 14, 2021). "'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Review: The Most Exciting, Surprising And Emotional Spidey Of Them All". Deadline. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  30. ^ Brian Lowry. "'Spider-Man: No Way Home' finds the sweet spot in Marvel's multiverse". CNN. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  31. ^ Machkovech, Sam (December 15, 2021). "Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home is the best superhero film of the year". Ars Technica. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  32. ^ Tallerico, Brian. "Spider-Man: No Way Home movie review (2021)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  33. ^ Kaye, Don (December 14, 2021). "Spider-Man: No Way Home Review - Tom Holland Soars into the Multiverse". Den of Geek. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  34. ^ Bisset, Jennifer. "Spider-Man: No Way Home review -- an impossible triumph". CNET. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  35. ^ Glasner, Eli. "Spider-Man: No Way Home sticks the landing with an emotional epic". CBC News. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  36. ^ Boucher, Geoff (September 14, 2019). "Saturn Awards: 'Spider-Man' Star Tom Holland Wins For Third Year In A Row". Deadline. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  37. ^ Kim, Matt (November 1, 2021). "Spider-Man: No Way Home Skins are Coming to Fortnite". IGN. Retrieved December 17, 2021.

CC-BY-SA icon.svg The plot description and characterization were adapted from Michelle at Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.

External links[]

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