Regardless of what you thought of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 and the events that have followed, most of us can probably agree that it has been a pretty interesting ride to say the least. There's no question about it; Peter Parker has sure been through a lot lately. Not only is he dead, (having died in Otto Octavius' body in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700), but he also has to deal with one of his greatest adversaries running around living the life he left behind. Not only is Otto web-slinging across New York and working Parker's old job, but he is also hitting on Peter's on-again, off-again girlfriend Mary Jane Watson.
In the most recent issue of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1, there is one scene that stood out to many people in particular: the dinner scene. About halfway through the first issue, "Peter" and Mary Jane share a romantic dinner together -- sort of. In this scene, "Peter" is clearly distracted, and he is obviously not acting like himself. Both the writer and the artist took the liberty of depicting a very different type of character than Peter actually is. From his expression, to his body language, but more specifically; his voice. The way the character in the scene speaks to her and bout his current projects is in a complete contrast from the voice of Peter Parker. When have you ever seen Parker refer to Mary Jane as "dearest"? Beyond that, however, Peter is also shown as something of a pig; visibly distracted by MJ's cleavage as opposed to enjoying her company.
This isn't really the most troubling thing about what's happening between them; that comes in the preview for the second issue.
If you have seen the preview for issue #2 of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN (due to hit comic shop shelves on January 30th) then you may have caught the scene where Mary Jane and Carlie are talking and MJ reveals she "might get back together with Peter." Not only is this bizarre because MJ had sworn off all things Peter Parker, but why doesn't she recognize that Peter is definitely not acting like Peter? If there's one thing Peter isn't is a complete chauvenistic jerk. Beyond that, however, If there is anyone in the Marvel Universe that is supposed to know Peter Parker like the back of her hand, it is Mary Jane Watson.
This is the first person ever to have discovered Peter Parker's identity. She is supposed to be Peter's "one true love" and the woman he is meant to be with. There is no Peter Parker without Mary Jane and vice versa, at least not eventually. This is the woman Peter married in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. This is the woman who agreed to trade in their marriage to Mephisto in order that Peter's Aunt May would survive. You would think that this Mary Jane Watson who remembers everything would know who Peter Parker is and would be able to decipher whether or not this is the Peter Parker that she has grown to love throughout these years. That's the weird thing about this series, though, it's as if she can only see what he looks like and can't see that his personality is completely different. It's actually kind of insulting to her character.
One of the things that I I have grown to appreciate about MJ more recently is that she is being written more intelligently. For a long time she wasn't really portrayed as this very smart character, but lately she seems to be written a bit better. She seems smarter. She owns her own business now and she's doing more than just modeling, which is a great change. I think it's more empowering to her her own a business than strut on a runway (or at least manage to do both). So why is she falling for this jerk? Is it that she is blinded by love, or is she being poorly written?
What do you think? Are you hoping to see Mary Jane end up with this guy posing as Peter Parker?