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Once again I find myself asking Marvel "How could you screw this up?"

Seriously, they had the perfect setup with this. Spectacular Spider-Man #1 was meant to be a "Back to Basics" approach to the series. A good jumping on point for the fans, and a series to entice people coming in from Homecoming. MJ had been out of the books for several years by this point, barring a guest appearance here or there, but nothing major. Marvel was laying heavily into the Pro Peter and MJ fanbase, with the first Renew Your Vows trade paperback being released, another Epic collection featuring Kraven's Last Hunt and ASM Annual #21, and tons of MJ merchandise coming later in the summer. And they even celebrated it with the MJ variant covers, which got everyone talking. MJ even made an appearance in the Free Comic Book Day special, with the author- Chip Zdarsky- talking about how eager he was to write Peter and MJ and their banter.

Then Spectacular Spider-Man #1 comes out, and at the end we meet a woman... who claims to be Teresa Parker, Peter's supposed sister.

And MJ is not mentioned at all. And there's no indication she will be in any Spider-Man book save for her counterpart in Renew Your Vows until October at the possible earliest.

To say that is a massive failure all around is an understatement.

But here's the thing- I kind of suspect why this happened. Contrary to what some believe, I don't think that "Marvel" "Hates" Mary Jane Watson. Her character makes them too much money for them to hate her. No, what I suspect was that MJ was supposed to return in Spectacular Spider-Man #1 at the very end, hence the lead up. However, then the whole "Legacy" thing with Marvel started to happen, and I suspect that the creators involved decided to hold off on MJ's return until the fall, as that is a sure fire way to boost interest in the title. So instead they decided to change things around so that instead of MJ, it's another character that Johnny meets at the end of the issue (If you look at the page in question, Teresa's head looks a little wonky, suggesting that the head was possibly photoshopped in later).

Now, I'm of two minds of this. For one, this is a massive failure on Marvel's part, and a big case of either false advertising, or an outright bait and switch. You got fans all excited for SSM#1 with the possible return of MJ, and then the rug gets pulled out from under them. And Marvel cannot afford to be losing fans at this point. Not to mention that this is another in a long series of delays fans of Peter and MJ have had to sit through to not get closure on this storyline, but just a basic continuation. On the other hand, if MJ does come back, and they are deliberately bringing her back for Legacy, which they are trying to advertise as bringing back classic characters and restoring important connections between others, then this might be a very good thing for fans of Pete and MJ.

I suspect if MJ just came back in Spectacular at the end of the first issue, we wouldn't get much headway in regards to resolving the differences between Peter and MJ, or work towards a reconciliation. I suspect it would be "MJ's back" and there would be the whole song and dance again, if even that. MJ and Peter would just be "Best friends" with a hint of romance, possibly, with no major headway or work done to reconcile the two and reunite them as a couple. It would be endless tease upon endless tease with the explanation of "We're waiting for the right story to tell" when asked if and when Peter and MJ get back together. Which in turn would basically be "Wait until the sequel to Homecoming to keep baiting fans along."

But if MJ does come back in the fall, then that may mean that the point of her return is to actually resolve her relationship issues with Peter Parker, and actually make significant headway on that story, if not resolve it outright. At least, that is if Marvel actually decides to do that.

That's the problem. I've got little faith in Marvel right now for them to do the right thing. The thing with the MJ covers and Spectacular Spider-Man #1? Yeah, that could because they were holding her off for later. Or they could have just bungled it that badly. And even if MJ does come back in the fall, that doesn't necessarily mean that the comics will actively work towards resolving the situation between Peter and MJ, and reuniting the couple again. Given what we've seen from Legacy so far, it just might end up being the same old, same old, with Slott just doing what he was already going to do with ASM. Peter starts work at a new job- Horizon University, or something like that- working in their tech department, coming up with endless gadgets to help him out in crimefighting, making goo-goo eyes at another woman, while Anna Marie Marconi serves as his sidekick and confidant, while Doc Ock and Norman Osborn wait in the wings, hatching their next plan. And while MJ may show up, it's not for anything major, and just pops up in ever other issue for a few panels.

Now this may be presumptuous, but I feel that in order for Spider-Man to succeed in the fall, Mary Jane Watson not only needs to come back, but reuniting her with Peter as a romantic couple needs to be the central focus of the first arc. As in "Marvel, outright tell people that, yes, MJ is coming back and the first story is about her getting back together with Peter." Don't have MJ just show up for one page at the end of the first issue, then only appear for two in the next, then one page in the third issue, then two in the fourth, then just for about three pages in the fifth issue, then disappear for multiple issues at a time. Don't have her show up on the arm of another guy, and make fans go through the same "Will they or won't they" nonsense that is driving people away. No. MJ's got to basically be the co-star in the book. She plays a major role in the first arc, to the point where she is basically the deuteragonist. Hey, if Anna Marie Marconi can basically be Peter's sidekick, so can MJ. The first arc is all about her relationship with Peter. It's not the "B" or "C" or "D" plot. It's the "A" plot, with everything else taking a backstage to that. That's what needs to happen. DC didn't wait around to get Clark and Lois back together for Rebirth. They jumped right in and sorted everything else out later. Marvel doesn't have time to waste with Legacy. It needs to tell fans right away why they should care, why they should be invested, and why they should buy their product. If they don't, then Marvel's in real big trouble. And a real good way to get people invested is to promise them that the storyline they've been waiting for resolution on for so long is going to finally get some closure.

That is, if Marvel is even capable anymore of listening to their fans, and doing what they want, rather than just doing whatever they want to do and telling fans they have to accept what they put out, no questions asked.

Description
Once again I find myself asking Marvel "How could you screw this up?"

Seriously, they had the perfect setup with this. Spectacular Spider-Man #1 was meant to be a "Back to Basics" approach to the series. A good jumping on point for the fans, and a series to entice people coming in from Homecoming. MJ had been out of the books for several years by this point, barring a guest appearance here or there, but nothing major. Marvel was laying heavily into the Pro Peter and MJ fanbase, with the first Renew Your Vows trade paperback being released, another Epic collection featuring Kraven's Last Hunt and ASM Annual #21, and tons of MJ merchandise coming later in the summer. And they even celebrated it with the MJ variant covers, which got everyone talking. MJ even made an appearance in the Free Comic Book Day special, with the author- Chip Zdarsky- talking about how eager he was to write Peter and MJ and their banter.

Then Spectacular Spider-Man #1 comes out, and at the end we meet a woman... who claims to be Teresa Parker, Peter's supposed sister.

And MJ is not mentioned at all. And there's no indication she will be in any Spider-Man book save for her counterpart in Renew Your Vows until October at the possible earliest.

To say that is a massive failure all around is an understatement.

But here's the thing- I kind of suspect why this happened. Contrary to what some believe, I don't think that "Marvel" "Hates" Mary Jane Watson. Her character makes them too much money for them to hate her. No, what I suspect was that MJ was supposed to return in Spectacular Spider-Man #1 at the very end, hence the lead up. However, then the whole "Legacy" thing with Marvel started to happen, and I suspect that the creators involved decided to hold off on MJ's return until the fall, as that is a sure fire way to boost interest in the title. So instead they decided to change things around so that instead of MJ, it's another character that Johnny meets at the end of the issue (If you look at the page in question, Teresa's head looks a little wonky, suggesting that the head was possibly photoshopped in later).

Now, I'm of two minds of this. For one, this is a massive failure on Marvel's part, and a big case of either false advertising, or an outright bait and switch. You got fans all excited for SSM#1 with the possible return of MJ, and then the rug gets pulled out from under them. And Marvel cannot afford to be losing fans at this point. Not to mention that this is another in a long series of delays fans of Peter and MJ have had to sit through to not get closure on this storyline, but just a basic continuation. On the other hand, if MJ does come back, and they are deliberately bringing her back for Legacy, which they are trying to advertise as bringing back classic characters and restoring important connections between others, then this might be a very good thing for fans of Pete and MJ.

I suspect if MJ just came back in Spectacular at the end of the first issue, we wouldn't get much headway in regards to resolving the differences between Peter and MJ, or work towards a reconciliation. I suspect it would be "MJ's back" and there would be the whole song and dance again, if even that. MJ and Peter would just be "Best friends" with a hint of romance, possibly, with no major headway or work done to reconcile the two and reunite them as a couple. It would be endless tease upon endless tease with the explanation of "We're waiting for the right story to tell" when asked if and when Peter and MJ get back together. Which in turn would basically be "Wait until the sequel to Homecoming to keep baiting fans along."

But if MJ does come back in the fall, then that may mean that the point of her return is to actually resolve her relationship issues with Peter Parker, and actually make significant headway on that story, if not resolve it outright. At least, that is if Marvel actually decides to do that.

That's the problem. I've got little faith in Marvel right now for them to do the right thing. The thing with the MJ covers and Spectacular Spider-Man #1? Yeah, that could because they were holding her off for later. Or they could have just bungled it that badly. And even if MJ does come back in the fall, that doesn't necessarily mean that the comics will actively work towards resolving the situation between Peter and MJ, and reuniting the couple again. Given what we've seen from Legacy so far, it just might end up being the same old, same old, with Slott just doing what he was already going to do with ASM. Peter starts work at a new job- Horizon University, or something like that- working in their tech department, coming up with endless gadgets to help him out in crimefighting, making goo-goo eyes at another woman, while Anna Marie Marconi serves as his sidekick and confidant, while Doc Ock and Norman Osborn wait in the wings, hatching their next plan. And while MJ may show up, it's not for anything major, and just pops up in ever other issue for a few panels.

Now this may be presumptuous, but I feel that in order for Spider-Man to succeed in the fall, Mary Jane Watson not only needs to come back, but reuniting her with Peter as a romantic couple needs to be the central focus of the first arc. As in "Marvel, outright tell people that, yes, MJ is coming back and the first story is about her getting back together with Peter." Don't have MJ just show up for one page at the end of the first issue, then only appear for two in the next, then one page in the third issue, then two in the fourth, then just for about three pages in the fifth issue, then disappear for multiple issues at a time. Don't have her show up on the arm of another guy, and make fans go through the same "Will they or won't they" nonsense that is driving people away. No. MJ's got to basically be the co-star in the book. She plays a major role in the first arc, to the point where she is basically the deuteragonist. Hey, if Anna Marie Marconi can basically be Peter's sidekick, so can MJ. The first arc is all about her relationship with Peter. It's not the "B" or "C" or "D" plot. It's the "A" plot, with everything else taking a backstage to that. That's what needs to happen. DC didn't wait around to get Clark and Lois back together for Rebirth. They jumped right in and sorted everything else out later. Marvel doesn't have time to waste with Legacy. It needs to tell fans right away why they should care, why they should be invested, and why they should buy their product. If they don't, then Marvel's in real big trouble. And a real good way to get people invested is to promise them that the storyline they've been waiting for resolution on for so long is going to finally get some closure.

That is, if Marvel is even capable anymore of listening to their fans, and doing what they want, rather than just doing whatever they want to do and telling fans they have to accept what they put out, no questions asked.