Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, and MJ have all played Spider-Man's lovers in live-action movies, and with three versions of Spider-Man linked to each other in Homecoming, how should Marvel handle Peter's love story?
When Spider-Man had not yet appeared on the big screen, he did not have a real or potential lover around him, but now that the three versions of the movie are intertwined by the chaotic multiverse, the love story of these different objects in the movie has become a problem that the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs to solve, and I believe Marvel should have already thought of this problem. Marvel's hit superhero, also known as Peter Parker, is played in the live-action film by Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland, while "they" (actually a character) have their own lovers, Mary Jane Watson by Kristen Dunster, Gwen Stacy by Emma Stone, and MJ by Zadaya. While these characters bring traditional, young superhero love to Peter's story, the love story ultimately fails to reach its potential in the film due to a lack of depth and clichéd depictions.
The history of the movie Spider-Man dates back to 2002, when Sam Remy's Spider-Man was released, with Maguire playing Spider-Man. This version of Spider-Man was made in three films, and after that, "The Amazing Spider-Man" starring Garfield was released in 2012, and the sequel "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was released in 2014, but the response was not ideal, so it was not put into the third film in the plan. In 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, Holland put on a spider suit and opened the door to the long-awaited Spider-Man entering the Marvel Universe alone. Following 2019's Spider-Man: The Hero's Expedition, the MCU's third Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: Homeless, will be released in North America next week on December 17. But it has recently been reported that Holland will continue to play Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe, and there may be a new trilogy in the future.
The seven Spider-Man movies currently released have all made the same mistake, portraying Peter Parker's love story as a tendency to unrequited love. Almost every film tells the story of Peter's youth who tries to confess to a girl, and uses this link as the main plot point. Although this is a very common bridge in movies and television, because each version of the Spider-Man series is a different female character (just by name), this is not as easy to deal with as Peter Parker in all three movies, so if the Spider-Man story is going to expand its film capacity after "Homeless", it must be solved.
Peter is portrayed as a stupid high school student in love, he tries to share his feelings with a girl, but the total is not enough, the plot hurts Peter, but also hurts his lover, it seems very cliché. In Remy's Spider-Man trilogy, Mary Jane is a smart, attractive girl who many boys want to impress, including the shy, ordinary Peter. MJ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe exhibits different characteristics, she appears more avant-garde and proactive, but feels a little overdone. In fact, the character qualities and romantic plot are more amenable to Disney teen movies than should be the main theme of a superhero blockbuster, but all three versions of the film have reduced the main characters to a stereotypical representation.
Mary Jane, played by Dunst, and MJ, played by Zandaya, have different personalities, but neither of them has developed beyond Peter's admiration. In Remy's original Spider-Man trilogy, Mary Jane had little to do with the main plot other than playing Peter's Girl in Distress. Gwen, played by Emma Stone, moves in a more penetrating direction in the "The Amazing Spider-Man" series of movies, her storyline revolves around her work at Osco, and she also plays a major role in defeating lizards and green goblins. However, when Gwen is killed at the end of the second part, becoming the source of Peter's pain, the slightly improved heroine setting is wasted, so it is normal to have no third part. Essentially, Peter's three main loves in the film only provide a plot episode for the development of Spider-Man, suggesting that the need for female characters in the series is a debatable question, and even Aunt May's presence is hardly reasonable.
Spider-Man 3: Homeless will be released, and there will be a large number of characters in this film, including the villains in previous versions, so this movie alone is unlikely to eliminate long-term love problems. The large number of returning villains, coupled with the involvement of Doctor Strange, gives MJ, played by Zandaya, little room for a higher level of importance. Future Spider-Man productions in the Marvel Cinematic Universe should take a different approach to better developIng Peter and his lover. This could mean elevating Spider-Man's lover to superhero status by introducing Spider Silk, Robin, or Black Cat, all of which peter has loved at different points in the comics, but in the now a bit of a mess, continuing to add Peter's love objects will obviously not be acceptable to most viewers. So an easier approach would be to have Peter Holland and MJ of Zandaya continue their love story, and let MJ get a new identity as Mary Jane Watson, which would be more in line with the original and the connection of the three versions.
According to the original setting, MJ only appeared in high school during Spider-Man's love journey, and as Peter graduated from high school, Mary Jane Watson began to appear in Peter's life, and she and Peter Parker, who is a double identity as a superhero and unlucky photographer, have always been an important part of the Spider-Man story. Sam Remy's "Spider-Man" trilogy is centered on the narrative of these two people, while the "Amazing Spider-Man" movie and MCU take different routes in different periods, the high school version of Peter and Gwen Stacey and Michelle Jones became Peter's love object, and now Michelle Jones has set the nickname as "MJ", which is actually paying tribute to the character of Mary Jane.
So how would the MCU transform Michelle Jones into Mary Jane Watson? In fact, the movie has done a lot of preparation.
At the end of Spider-Man: The Hero's Quest, after the mystery man frames Peter and reveals his identity to the world, Peter's life will undergo some major changes. For example, criminals like McGagan, aka Scorpion, would want to hunt down Peter's loved ones, forcing Spider-Man to spend most of his time fighting these bad guys instead of living a regular teenage life. While Peter Parker can restore his secret identity with the help of Matt Murdoch (Night Demon) or Doctor Strange, it is likely that the problem will not be resolved so soon.
Then during the exposure of his identity, Peter Parker will use a temporary pseudonym, and his good friends Ned Leeds and Michelle Jones will help him (as the film promotional materials confirm), and they will be forced to accompany Peter all the time, so they will also change their names. That's a great chance for Michelle to turn into Mary Jane Watson. Michelle Jones started out as a sarcastic and somewhat introverted young girl, but she had a heart of gold hidden deep inside her. Over the course of two films, she has begun to become Peter's love partner and has begun to become more open. Turning her into Mary Jane can also serve as a step further into her character transformation.
Peter and Ned must also obtain their own pseudonyms. Spider-Man: Heroes Gone With No Return can take this opportunity to refer to Peter as "Ben Reilly", Ned changed his name to "Gank Lee", Ben Reilly is the most famous Spider-Man clone in the comics, and Gank-Lee is Miles Morales (the second generation of Spider-Man) best friend. These two aliases can be temporary, but can serve as a tribute to the original. Michelle", on the other hand, becomes Mary Jane, like a blank piece of paper, becoming a famous character in a Spider-Man comic, thus opening a new chapter for this character and Spider-Man."