Amazing Spider-Man: Mary Jane's FIRST first appearance

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

From ASM #25, by Lee and Ditko.

Mary Jane was first mentioned ten issues earlier in ASM #15, as the nice young girl Aunt May wanted Peter to meet. Peter was already getting involved with Betty Brant and cringed whenever May mentioned Mary Jane's "nice personality." Yet the reveal that Mary Jane was a "jackpot" came pretty early.

We begin with Betty Brant and Liz Allen, who were Peter's Betty and Veronica before Gwen and MJ were Peter's Betty and Veronica.






And then Mary Jane makes her first full appearance in ASM #42.

Comments

[aaron_bourque.insanejournal.com]

Second-to-last panel: that guy (Flash Thompson?) broke his neck checking her out. And I can't say as I blame him, there. Let's just say that dress wears her well.

[tacobob.insanejournal.com]

"Say You!"

[aaron_bourque.insanejournal.com]

Looks like even the cop lost his train of thought.

[ashtoreth.insanejournal.com]

"..And I found CONDOMS in your room, Peter! CONDOMS!"

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

...Not that far off, actually. XD

[superfan1.insanejournal.com]

You know,now I'm curious if peter ever made web CONDOMS before?

[quietprofanity.insanejournal.com]

Somehow I don't see that ending very well. I mean, after an hour it'll be okay, but ...

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

o hai

[quietprofanity.insanejournal.com]

HAI! :D

(P.S. Why DON'T you have a million women? :( We could work on this problem together if you like ...)

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

I don't know. :'( I fail as a dude.

Will there be lasagna?

[quietprofanity.insanejournal.com]

Lasagna? No way. We'll meet the ladies Dan/Rorschach style in our sweet-ass flying rock. Then we'll take them back to the basement and play Cranium. Chicks dig Cranium. Or watch those cool movies you like, that sounds fun.

Then our bird-masters will take us for a walk.

[felinephoenix.insanejournal.com]

Plus, webbing's fairly thick, isn't it? So he wouldn't be able to feel very mu-- oookay, I'm thinking too much about this.

[quietprofanity.insanejournal.com]

I'm just imagining it not solidifying all the way and getting um ... stuck, if you catch my meaning.

[felinephoenix.insanejournal.com]

Pardon me for referencing terrible teen sex comedies, but:

"I accidentally webbed myself to... myself"? Yeahhh, now I see it too. That's nice and horrifying.

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

Brings scary new meaning to "how do i shot web"

[quietprofanity.insanejournal.com]

I actually thought the webbing would get stuck to another person, but that's pretty bad, too.

[felinephoenix.insanejournal.com]

Bad all around, really -- but oh god, the thought of that. OW.

ps hi!

[quietprofanity.insanejournal.com]

hi!

[superfan1.insanejournal.com]

Lol too many technical difficulties, to consider for the idea to work. But hey peter might had still experimented. :)

hi!

[qob.insanejournal.com]

"..And I found BALLGAGS in your room, Peter! BALLGAGS!"

[ashtoreth.insanejournal.com]

"...And I found DILDOS in your room, Peter! DILDOS!"

[hyaroo.insanejournal.com]

"...And I found A BED in your room, Peter! A BED!" *pause* "Oh, wait... never mind."

[halloweenjack.insanejournal.com]

"What is this black leather ring with studs on it for? Too small for your wrist, too big for your finger..."

[ladymirth.insanejournal.com]

So does that make MJ Cheryl Blossom?

[sailorlibra.insanejournal.com]

Yes. But she ends up moving on to be Peter's Veronica with Gwen as the new Betty. Sort of like Archie if the characters actually evolved.

[felinephoenix.insanejournal.com]

Harry is, of course, Jughead.

[schala_kid.insanejournal.com]

Is this the only time Ditko drew Mary Jane?

And boy does Aunt May look creepy.

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

Yes. Romita was the book's full time artist when Mary Jane was fully revealed and joined the supporting cast.

[felinephoenix.insanejournal.com]

I like how Aunt May apparently has no teeth.

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

All she needs is a pointy hat and a broomstick.

[felinephoenix.insanejournal.com]

And a black kitty. Maybe green makeup, too.

But definitely a black kitty.

[dr_hermes.insanejournal.com]

Was there ever a scene where Aunt May had lunch with Agatha Harkness?

[dr_hermes.insanejournal.com]

I always like those icy word balloons. It's something comics has that other media don't, it suggests word tone better than changing the dialogue. The other neat effect is a word in small letters inside a large balloon when someone is embarassed or whispering.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

This is one instance where Stan Lee actually kinda blew it. That 'She looks like a film star!' line blows the whole mistaken assumption of 'oh, crap, my Aunt likes her - she must be HIDEOUS!' completely out of the water, thereby defusing the later moment where MJ is finally revealed to us. (Don't get me wrong, it's still a classic moment - but it would've had more bang if we, along with Peter, were still convinced that she must be some sort of a bucktoothed horror.)