Rating:  -
Granted, the four-part stories about Mary Jane Watson written by Sean McKeever and drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa exist in their own universe. In "The Amazing Spider-man" one of the running gags while Peter Parker was in high school was that Aunt May was always trying to set him up with Mary Jane, the niece of Anna Watson who lived next door. Betty Brant and Liz Allen got to see that Mary Jane looked like a movie star, but readers and Peter were kept in the dark until the end of issue #42 when she offered that immortal first line, "Face it, tiger, you just hit the jackpot!" Eventually Peter and Mary Jane would be married and attempt to live happily ever after, even though the shadow of Gwen Stacy's death lay between them. But in both the "Spider-man" theatrical film and the "Ultimate Spider-man" comic book we had a major revision in that now Mary Jane Watson is there from the beginning, literally the girl next door, and no longer the big time party girl Peter met when he was in college.
"Mary Jane, Volume 1: Circle of Friends" introduced us a situation that borrow elements from both of the above. Mary Jane Watson is attending Midtown High just like Peter Parker, where she is dating Harry Osborn while her best friend Liz Allen is dating Flash Thompson. This quartet is pretty much the in group and Peter Parker is on the periphery. Indeed, Mary Jane sees more of Spider-man (and thinks more of him) than she does Peter. That is why these stories remind me more of the television series "Smallville" than of anything in the Marvel mythos, especially with the idea that Mary Jane, like Lois Lane, falls for the superhero before the mere mortal fated to be her spouse. What it does continue is the reformation of Mary Jane as the classic girl next door. "Circle of Friends" is not about a high school girl having a superhero as a date for homecoming but about one who does not understand why she is not happy with her boyfriend and who is stunned to discover Flash is "crushing" on her. All of that is only a set up for what happens in this volume.
"Mary Jane, Volume 2: Homecoming" begins with both couples planning to go to the Homecoming dance together and have the greatest night of their teenage lives. But Liz is also aware that Flash has a crush on Mary Jane, while Harry wants Mary Jane to help him cheat on a test. The next thing we know Liz is avoiding her boyfriend and her best friend while Harry breaks up with MJ. Things get worse when Liz accuses MJ of having an affair with Flash and while MJ is able to convince Liz otherwise, Harry lets slip to Flash that MJ had a crush on him back in the 8th grade. Flash wins the Homecoming football game and all that is left to make a perfect evening is for Flash and Liz to be named king and queen at the dance. However, that is not exactly what happens and then there are the repercussions of that twist to deal with in the final chapter.
These stories about Mary Jane are not really about Mary Jane, but which I mean that the young girl here is not the self-assured super model we know from "The Amazing Spider-Man" or even the dedicated friend who knows Peter Parker's secret in "The Ultimate Spider-Man." This is a Mary Jane who knows Peter Parker is alive and despite a nice little chat at the Coffee Bean about Spider-man that has a certain degree of poignancy at this point she simply thinks he is a strange one (but in a good way). If MJ is the girl next door, then Liz is the best friend who knows she is the best looking girl in school, Harry is the boyfriend pushing the relationship, and Flash is the other guy who spells only trouble for our heroine. In other words, these are archetypal characters for a story of high school sturm und drang. The advantage that McKeever and Miyazawa have is that our familiarity with the characters from the Spider-man comic books provides a background to each that gives them more depth.
But even if you were a young girl whose knowledge of Spider-man was limited to the two theatrical films, you should have no problem recognizing the archetypes. I can even argue that is the target audience for these mini-series. Besides, MJ looks pretty darn cute in this manga-style artwork with those big green eyes. So even though "Mary Jane" exists in its own little cul-de-sac in the Marvel universe, it relies on our familiarity with the characters. The result is nothing great, but an enjoyable variation on the story of the girl who one day becomes Mary Jane Parker. Hopefully the story will continue because I would like to see how MJ and Peter get together in this version, which is the point at which I think the "Mary Jane" mini-series should end.
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