Mary Jane's affair

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

This is from Spectacular Spider-Man #166-169, and #172. It's written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by Sal Buscema.

Our story starts in #166...






#167...








In #168...


Later...




#169...





And finally, #172.

Comments

[freyaeinde.insanejournal.com]

Why did she need a Jane Fonda workout outfit to ward off that guy?

[sherkahn.insanejournal.com]

In case she needed to open up a case of whoop ass. Something comfortable, yet fashionable.

[greenmask.insanejournal.com]

Not to mention the backup of the libido-crushing power of legwarmers.

[freyaeinde.insanejournal.com]

Well she certainly got physical on his ass with her pointy manicure of doom.

[foxhack.insanejournal.com]

She wanted to appear -naked- so he would be vulnerable; so he would think "I've got her now!" and he'd lower his defenses.

[freyaeinde.insanejournal.com]

OH HO Ho the old pretend to be naked in the dark trick.

[cricharddavies.insanejournal.com]

Y'know, the interesting thing is, I remember disliking this team on this book. Now? Gold, baby. Gold.

[freyaeinde.insanejournal.com]

The art is pretty lovely.

[cyberghostface.insanejournal.com]

This would have been more interesting IMO if the guy actually had feelings for her as opposed to just wanting to dominate her.

[starwolf_oakley.insanejournal.com]

An interesting idea, but Jason actually caring about MJ would be a little too complex for a superhero comic. Yes, sometimes Spider-Man feels like a soap opera that happens to have a superhero as the main character, and soap operas sometimes have "the other man" genuinely love the woman he is pursuing.

If Tom DeFalco was writing this story, he might have made Jason more complicated and not an egoist looking for a quick lay after a long chase.

[stig.insanejournal.com]

I miss Knight & Fogg. I recallt he hilariously stupid British accents Conway brought out of the woodwork to fill in the time Spidey was in London. "Nicely played, mate!" "Jolly good show!' "Oh raaaawthaaar!"

[bean_montag.insanejournal.com]

"Meanwhile in ENGLAND..."

I love it.

[statham1986.insanejournal.com]

One of the things that bugs me about this is the fact that Blondie keeps being a prick and trying to get it on in public with MJ when she clearly doesn't want it, and the people in the restuarant and whatever are all just sitting there.

Is this like Eastenders, where a really loud conversation can only be heard by people in a one-meter radius?

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

It's kind of amusing how the guy's written like a regular supervillain, complete with a Sinister Martini (TM).

[comicoz.insanejournal.com]

Sadly, without the pinky finger extended.

[kijikun.insanejournal.com]

Or the fluffy white cat.

[sherkahn.insanejournal.com]

That's why MJ didn't go all the way.

[kijikun.insanejournal.com]

She was holding out for pussy? *is stoned*

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

But he does have a diabolical ascot.

[kijikun.insanejournal.com]

So did Fred.

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

Guess he's looking for his Daphne!

[box_in_the_box.insanejournal.com]

HOLY SHIT THE HAIR COLORS EVEN MATCH

THIS GUY WAS SECRETLY AN IRL COSPLAYER

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Oh please, Fred was never looking for Daphne, he was looking for, if stoned enough, Shaggy, or following that one night where they all got complete blitzed on White Lightning following the case of the Moonshine Monster, Scooby, but they promised never to talk about THAT one.

[greenmask.insanejournal.com]

I honestly thought he was one, and had hit MJ with some sort of arousal drug. He was just that tyrannical!

Lessons I have learned from popular culture:

[box_in_the_box.insanejournal.com]

Men who wear ascots are always douchebags.

I have mixed feelings about this story.

I actually appreciate what I think it was trying to do, which seems to me to have been a) to give the newlyweds a bit of a trial by fire, and b) to turn the focus a bit more on Mary Jane.

Combining those two aims into a single story is actually better than trying to do them as separate stories, because no matter how handsomely Peter is drawn, the whole point of his relationship with Mary Jane is that he's the nerd who got lucky, so if HE'S the one who's tempted, it kind of makes him look like a jerk.

And realistically, since I believe this was when Mary Jane's SUPERmodel status was being played up, if either of them was more likely to be on the receiving end of attempted seductions, it was going to be Mary Jane, rather than Peter.

That being said?

This dude actually would have been more subtle if his name was Snidely Whiplash LeDouchebag, so it's not exactly doing Mary Jane any favors to show that she's still attracted to him even after he makes it pretty clear that he's a total fucking scumbag. Granted, any guy who tries to seduce another guy's wife is going to seem at least a little bit assholish, but they could have played up the "What sort of man neglects a wonderful woman like you?" angle, so that it at least SEEMED like he also had some genuine regard for Mary Jane as a person.

Also, Mary Jane not telling Peter? Not good. This was something that Peter and Mary Jane NEEDED to talk about - hell, it's something that they probably needed to FIGHT about, at least for a brief while, which would have had WAY more dramatic tension than Smarmy McAscot going MUAHAHAHAHA I HAF U NOW MY PRETTEH - before they finally reconciled, like the mature adults that they are. Not only would such a storyline have OMG BROUGHT THE DRAMA, but if done right, it would have left the Peter/MJ marriage in a STRONGER place than it was before.

So, full points for intent (assuming I'm reading the motives behind this story correctly), but the execution has some problems.

Re: Lessons I have learned from popular culture:

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

(assuming I'm reading the motives behind this story correctly)

Gerry Conway was the writer who killed Gwen and made Peter and MJ a serious couple, so I don't think there's any "But marriage to a supermodel would never work!!11" undermining trying to happen here. ;)

But I pretty much agree with everything you've said.

[box_in_the_box.insanejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought so, but without interviews from Conway at hand, I didn't want to risk mouthing off like a dumbass. :)

And this comment will probably make sound more negative than I want it to, but I guess what I still find problematic about this, in spite of its good intentions, is that it still sort of puts Mary Jane on an OBJECT level - I get the loneliness of a newlywed, but she goes from being attracted in spite of herself to a douche whose douchiness couldn't be more obvious if he was twirling a handlebar moustache, to being all I'M GONNA STAND BY MY MAN. I mean, it makes me uncomfortable, as a left-leaning guy with feminist intentions, because in my own fiction writing, I'VE DONE STUFF LIKE THAT, where the female character I want to show being all awesome and independent still becomes a bit of an appendage to the male hero. That being said, I think it's healthy for any writer to check their own subconscious tropes.

[(Anonymous)]

MJ had an abusive father, which explains her party girl attitude and her dating several jerks before marrying, including Flash Thompson. This would actually work as MJ falling back to her old self-harming attraction to assholes.

Re: Lessons I have learned from popular culture:

[greenmask.insanejournal.com]

What I got from it was more "I like being kissed and having attention payed to me" than "you are a great guy and I like you.

I also figure that they talked about it later. Just because.

Re: Lessons I have learned from popular culture:

[captain_clown.insanejournal.com]

'Smarmy McAscot I HAF U NOW MY PRETTEH' made me spit coffee all down my shirt.

[mullon.insanejournal.com]

Does Mary Jane actually have any friends?

[sandoz_iscariot.insanejournal.com]

Mary Jane always had the same circle of friends as Peter, even before they became a serious item: Harry, Flash, (eventually) Liz. Some writers have tried to retroactively make MJ and Gwen best friends ala Betty and Veronica, but they weren't particularly fond of each other when Gwen was alive.

[arilou_skiff.insanejournal.com]

Hmmm, good point. No recurring ones certainly? I seem to remember her hanging around with her co-workers a lot back when Peter was dating Felicia though.

[pyrotwilight.insanejournal.com]

"Sicks of Bats and turtles? Try the Spectacular Spider-man!"

Hehe.

[tragical_mirth.insanejournal.com]

Spectacular Spider-Man 167 was the one chance I gave Spider-Man back in the day (after having read Parallel Lives and loved it). I liked the art (on the cover) - reminded me a bit of John Romita Sr. Then I read it and, er... didn't hook me.

OMG, those clothes, though. That hair. *cringes* Those... legwarmers? I assure you, when this came out, legwarmers were long gone as a fashion staple. :)

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

The disturbing thing about this Jerome character is that, taken out of context, almost all of his lines could have come straight from the male lead in a romance comic. All that 'we were destined to be lovers' stuff... "You want me as much as I want you"... "There's a certain cure for loneliness"... I swear, all he had to say was something along the lines of 'you little fool, can't you tell that I love you?', and the illusion would be complete. I half-expected her to melt into his arms, with an accompanying caption of 'At last - true love had found me! I would be lonely no more!'