Mary Jane Watson

: "If you expect disappointment, then you can never really get disappointed."
: ―Mary Jane Watson to Peter Parker[src]
Mary Jane Watson, commonly referred to as MJ, is a former student at Midtown School of Science and Technology, and soon-to-be student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who greatly enjoyed mocking all of her classmates, which included Peter Parker. Despite keeping her distance socially, Jane was eventually given the opportunity to take over from the departing Liz Toomes as captain of the Academic Decathlon Team, and began to open up more with her fellow teammates, which included Ned Leeds and Parker.
Jones was a victim of the Snap in 2018, but along with all other victims, was resurrected in the Blip five years later. Her affections were sought out by Parker and Brad Davis during Midtown Tech's trip to Europe. When she deduced Parker's identity as Spider-Man, Jones helped discover Mysterio's fraudulence, by exposing him as the one who staged the Elemental crisis. Shortly after their trip to Europe, Jones and Parker began dating. After their first date, Jones was horrified when The Daily Bugle showed a modified video of Mysterio and Spider-Man, claiming that Parker was responsible for the casualties of the Battle of London.
With Parker's identity exposed, he and Jones tried to return to their normal lives, but this was thrown into jeopardy when Parker sought Doctor Strange's help to make the world forget his identity as Spider-Man. This resulted in a spell going wrong, and visitors from other universes being sent to Jones'; she and Leeds worked with Parker to track down and capture the rogue visitors, but then went against Doctor Strange in order to try and redeem them instead of sending them to their deaths. Ultimately, the majority of the visitors would betray Jones and her friends, who then encountered other versions of Parker from alternate universes. Jones and her allies successfully sent the visitors back to their home universes, but instabilities in spacetime caused by Doctor Strange's spell tragically meant that she had to forget her entire history with Parker. The two shared a kiss before Jones' memories were erased, and she resumed her life with a new acceptance into MIT.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
==== Growing Up in New York ====
Michelle Jones-Watson was born on June 10, 2001 in New York City. Jones had a difficult home life and she and her mother had not heard from her father in years by the time she had concluded her junior year in high school. Jones developed a sarcastic, guarded demeanor as she grew, preferring to read her books and often had difficulty when trying to establish friendships. However, her father eventually returned to her life. Jones also came to dislike being called by her last name, "Watson."
=== 2016-2017 Academic Year ===
==== Awkward Lunch ====
: "We should probably stop staring before it gets creepy, though.""Too late. You guys are losers.""Well, then why do you sit with us?""Because I don't have any friends."
: ―Peter Parker, Michelle Jones, and Ned Leeds[src]
Jones became a student at Midtown School of Science and Technology and a member of the Academic Decathlon team. At lunch, Jones was reading a sizable collection of novels while drinking tea. She called her classmates, Peter Parker and Ned Leeds, "losers" for staring at Liz Toomes for too long. When Leeds then wondered why she always sat at their table, Jones simply replied that she didn't have any friends, and returned to reading her book.
==== Decathlon Practice ====
: "He already quit marching band and robotics lab. I'm not obsessed with him, I'm just very observant."
: ―Michelle Jones to the Decathlon Team[src]
At Academic Decathlon practice, Jones continued reading while the team studied for Nationals, with Liz Toomes quizzing them. When Peter Parker revealed he was dropping out of the team to focus on his internship with Tony Stark, Jones pointed out that he had already quit robotics lab and marching band. When her teammates were surprised at her knowledge of Parker's activities, Jones quickly denied paying any special attention to him, insisting that she was just very observant. After practice, Jones watched as the Decathlon team failed to convince Parker to come with them to Nationals. Jones also read Of Human Bondage throughout the entirety of gym class, even while she was supposed to be doing curl-ups.
==== Liz Toomes' Party ====
: "I can't believe that you guys are at this lame party.""But you're here too.""...Am I?"
: ―Michelle and Ned Leeds[src]
Jones attended a house party held by Liz Toomes, the captain the Academic Decathlon team. When Peter Parker and Ned Leeds arrived, she called them losers for attending while preparing a meal for herself. When Leeds pointed out that she was attending the party as well, Jones just gave them a quirky look and asked, "Am I?" before walking off.
==== Field Trip to Washington, D.C. ====
: "Damage Control. They're still cleaning up from when Captain America took down those skycraft carriers for no reason.""I'm pretty sure Cap was just trying to save us from tyranny.""Yeah. That's what they want you to think."
: ―Michelle Jones and Ned Leeds[src]
Jones joined the Academic Decathlon team for the field trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in Nationals. She questioned Mr. Roger Harrington on the timetable for the trip because she wanted to get in some light protesting while in the nation's capitol.
On the way to Washington, Jones approached Peter Parker and Ned Leeds as they noticed increased activity around the damaged Triskelion structure. She explained that the United States Department of Damage Control was still cleaning up the mess after Captain America caused the Helicarriers to crash for seemingly no reason. While Leeds stated that Captain America did so to save them, Jones rebuffed him and declared that was just what the government wanted the public to think.
Much to the team's annoyance, Parker did not attend the Decathlon and Jones had to replace him. However, she managed to answer the last question correctly and the Midtown School of Science and Technology team won the Decathlon. The team was ecstatic and embraced Jones, much to her delight.
Following the competition, Harrington took them to the Washington Monument. Jones refused to go up to the top, not wanting to visit a building that had been built by slaves. While she waited at the bottom, an explosion at the top trapped her teammates in the Monument's elevator. When Spider-Man arrived, Jones frantically informed him that her friends were in the elevator.
==== Unnecessary Detention ====
: "Why are you here? You don't even have detention.""Oh, I know. I just like coming in here to sketch people in crisis."
: ―Andre Wilson and Michelle Jones[src]
Jones sat next to Peter Parker when he was issued a detention for attempting to skip class. After Parker left, Andre Wilson asked Jones why she was there, as she did not have detention. Jones answered that she enjoyed sketching people in crisis, teasingly showed Wilson a drawing she'd made of him.
==== Back to School ====
: "I don't know who he is. But I have my suspicions."
: ―Michelle Jones[src]
Following the revelation that Liz Toomes' father was Vulture, she was forced to move to Oregon with her mother. In the wake of her leaving, Jones was made captain of the Decathlon team. She told her teammates that her friends called her "MJ". When Peter Parker received a message and had to leave, Jones looked at him with suspicion and asked what he was up to. She then laughed, claiming that she was just kidding and did not care. When Parker left however, Jones stared after him.
Shortly after, Jones was interviewed by Betty Brant, an anchor of Midtown News, as to who she thought Spider-Man might truly be. Jones replied with one statement: although she was not sure, she had her suspicions. Secretly, Jones was suspecting Parker to be the wall crawler.
=== Death and Resurrection ===
In 2018, Jones was a victim of the Snap. Five years later, Jones was restored to life in the Blip.
=== 2023-2024 Academic Year ===
: "What up, dorks? Excited about the science trip?"
: ―Michelle Jones to Peter Parker and Ned Leeds[src]
Jones and her fellow restored classmates had to retake their junior year from 2023-2024. In that time, the world steadily returned to normal, and Jones improved her overall social skills and relationships with the also-restored Ned Leeds and Peter Parker. However, Jones also grew more suspicious that Parker was living a double life as Spider-Man, which she'd considered since the Washington Monument rescue. Still insecure about the feelings for him she developed sometime before, she told herself that she only paid attention to him to see if this theory was correct. Along with Parker, Leeds, and other classmates, Jones planned on attending a school sponsored trip during summer break to Europe to visit various museums and sites of interest.
=== Summer Class Trip ===
: "By the way, travel tip: You should probably download a VPN on your phone, just so that the government can't track you while we're abroad.""Smart. Will do."
: ―Michelle Jones and Peter Parker[src]
Before the plane ride, Jones defended Peter Parker from his rival Flash Thompson by telling the airline stewardess that since Thompson had been one of the Snap's casualties, he was sixteen, not twenty-one. Parker himself had planned to tell Jones how he felt about her during the trip, but grew envious when his attempt to sit next to her on the flight resulted in her instead seated next to Brad Davis, a Snap survivor who, according to Leeds, was the most charming student in the school. During the flight, Jones and Davis watched some in-flight movies together, while an upset Parker watched on from his seat next to one of the chaperones, Roger Harrington.
==== Italy ====
: "'Boh', the most perfect word in the world, the Italians created it, and I discovered it."
: ―Michelle Jones to Peter Parker[src]
After the plane landed in Venice, Jones and her classmates explored the city together, posing for some pictures with some Venetian pigeons in front of Saint Mark's Basilica for Brad Davis. She also took a liking to an Italian slang word, "Boh", that could be defined as "Nothing", "I don't know", or "Leave me alone". As she chatted with Peter Parker as they explored the city, she noticed a small package he had bought and asked him what it was. She smiled appreciatively when he answered "Boh."
Harrington realized too late that he had forgotten to book the museum for the students to tour, and the students were permitted to do some more exploring. At the docks of the Grand Canal, Jones noticed that the waterway's crabs seemed to be hurrying out of the water. Seconds later, Hydro-Man emerged from the canal. Jones rushed away and reunited with her classmates and chaperones, but noticed that Parker was no longer with the group.
Jones and her class went to spend the night at the Hotel DeMatteis, where they watched a news broadcast about Hydro-Man's attack and the strange new superhuman who defeated it. She doubted a story Ned Leeds found online, that claimed a man named Morris Bench had recently been infused with water-related powers and translated the broadcast's description to her classmates as "l'uomo di misterio", Italian for "the man of mystery". From this, Ned Leeds and Betty Brant took to calling the new hero "Mysterio". When Flash Thompson dismissed their rescuer as an inferior hero to Spider-Man, Jones questioned him why he idolizes Spider-Man so much. Thompson admitted that he saw Spider-Man as a personal role model, while also insulting Parker, who had caught up with the group. Parker and Jones shared a quiet moment together, in which he told her that he was looking forward to their arrival in Paris, specifically to see the Eiffel Tower. Jones noted that she was also looking forward to it, as the Eiffel Tower was a personal favorite landmark due to the conspiracy theory that it was built as a mind-control device.
==== Czech Republic ====
: "I am Spider-Man, and I really messed up.""Wait, are you being serious right now?"
: ―Peter Parker and Michelle Jones[src]
The following morning, Roger Harrington and Julius Dell abruptly announced that they had spoken with the travel company and upgraded the group tour; Paris had been canceled and the students would instead be traveling to Prague in the Czech Republic. Unknown to the chaperones and students, the "travel representative" Harrington and Dell had spoken to work for Nick Fury and had redirected the group to Prague because they wanted Spider-Man's help in defeating an Elemental, projected to appear there soon.
After a quick stop in Austria, Brad Davis tried to show Jones a photo he had taken but was interrupted by a series of odd interjections by an unusually worried Parker. While her classmates were distracted by some baby mountain goats that Parker claimed to have spotted, Jones watched through the seats, and Parker apparently leaped through the bus' overhead window. By the time the odd episode had calmed down, the photo had vanished from Davis' phone, and the class made their way to their new hotel, where Jones continued to observe Parker while Harrington told the class that they would soon be attending a regional festival. Jones became suspicious of Parker realising that he might be hiding a big secret.
However, that was also subject to an abrupt change, when Dell and Harrington announced that the travel agency had given the entire class free tickets to a four-hour opera, much to the class' collective frustration. In the near-empty opera house, Parker and Jones again made small talk. After playfully teasing Parker about a perceived gendered double standard in a compliment he paid her, Jones asked Parker if he would like to sit with her. He sent a mixed message that he would like to, but would not be able to for whatever reason.
Curious about Parker's abrupt leaving, she followed him out of the opera house. As she wandered the streets of Prague looking for him, she suddenly came face-to-face with the Elemental illusion itself, known as Molten Man. She fled as Mysterio and an apparently new hero fought the creature, but in the process, she discovered an especially odd piece of debris - a small black camera covered in Spider-Man's webs. Horrified that their kids had been at ground zero for two different Elemental attacks, the students' families called for the trip to be canceled. The itinerary changed once again for a flight back to the United States the following morning. As this would be their last night in Europe, Parker asked Jones out on a walk through the city.
On the "date", Parker tried to confess his feelings for her, but she interrupted him, presuming he was about to reveal his secret identity to her. Parker was flummoxed but admitted she was correct when she revealed the webbed-up camera. While she'd speculated about this for some time, the confirmation still came as a shock, and the social quagmire of the situation led her to indicate that her interest in him was purely to see if her theory was true, avoiding in admitting that having a crush on Parker was a partial reason in her watching him. This devastated Parker, but before they could continue to discuss this, they accidentally activated the projector, and the Elemental known as Cyclone emerged. Parker and Jones deduced that it was actually an elaborate hologram and that Parker's new mentor and friend Quentin Beck, otherwise known as Mysterio, had deceived him, and was the true mastermind behind the Elemental Attacks.
Parker and Jones raced back to the hotel, where Parker changed into his Stealth Suit as he and Jones explained the situation to Ned Leeds. Parker headed to Berlin, Germany to warn Nick Fury about Beck's true nature, while Jones and Leeds told the teachers, class, and Parker's aunt that he would be staying with "family" there. Though Jones was uncomfortable with the elaborate lie, she stood by her friend and handed him the tell-tale and only piece of evidence against Beck; Cyclone's hologram projector.
==== Battle of London ====
: "I don't really have much luck when it comes to getting close to people. Um... so I lied. I wasn't just watching you because I thought you were Spider-Man."
: ―Michelle Jones to Peter Parker[src]
Unknown to Jones, Spider-Man was defeated in Germany and Mysterio redirected the class trip for the third time. Jones and the rest of the students flew to London, England the next morning with the intent of taking an afternoon flight back to the United States; Beck planned to stage his fifth and final attack in the city and use the ensuing chaos as a cover to kill Jones and anyone else aware of the truth about him.
After their arrival, Brad Davis interjected. In a bid to make himself look like a better romantic option for Jones than Parker, he again brought up the photo he had taken in Austria, in which he claimed that he had seen Parker in the bathroom with an older European woman. However, Jones and the rest of the class found it strange that Davis would take a picture of Parker in the bathroom and doubted his story. This effectively ended Davis' pursuit of Jones for the rest of the trip.
The fifth and final elemental attack began soon after, in which all the previous monsters fused into the Elemental Fusion, and wreaked havoc on the city. Knowing that Mysterio discovered Jones and Ned Leeds knew the truth, they ran to lead the villain away from their classmates, where they were joined by Flash Thompson and Betty Brant. The four teenagers met Happy Hogan, who introduced himself as an ally of Spider-Man and was here to protect them while Spider-Man took on the false hero.
After Hogan's jet was destroyed, the five hid in the Tower of London's Museum. However, they were tracked by some of Mysterio's E.D.I.T.H. drones. The group did what they could to fight back, with Jones even grabbing a mace from one of the museum's display cases, and using it to smash one of the machines. However, they were overwhelmed and backed into a corner, with only the Museum's vault door between the drones and them. Fearing that she was about to die, Jones confessed that she regretted her brutal honesty and poor social skills, which isolated her from any potential friends.
Elsewhere in the city, Spider-Man thankfully defeated Mysterio and used the E.D.I.T.H. glasses to recall all of the drones. Once the drones returned to space, Hogan handed Jones the contents of the small package Parker had in Venice - a necklace with a small glass pendant in the shape of her favorite flower; the black dahlia. With the necklace in her pocket and the mace still in hand, Jones went back into the city, where she found an injured Parker on the Tower Bridge. They hugged each other and Jones showed Parker the necklace which had now become damaged, while he was dismayed that his gift for her was broken, she quickly kissed him, confessing to Parker timidly that she had misled him in Prague; she genuinely was interested in him for reasons that were actually not related to his double life, indicating to Parker she had a crush on him as well, much to his relief. Parker apologized again that the necklace was broken, but Jones told him she didn't mind and said she liked it better this way. Jones and Parker tried their kiss again, marking the start of their relationship. After their embrace, Jones picked up the mace again and told Parker she should head back to the class, as she walked away she looked back to Parker, as he left the bridge too.
=== Return to New York ===
==== Spider-Man Exposed ====
: "You can put me down now! You can put me down now!""You okay?""Whoo… Yeah! Yeah, I'm okay. Just... Never, never doing that again. I'm never doing that again."
: ―Michelle Jones and Spider-Man[src]
After awkwardly returning the mace to the museum and boarding the flight with her class, Jones and Peter Parker arrived back to the Newark airport, now as a couple, holding hands. On one of their first dates back in New York City, Parker decided to take Jones for a swing around Manhattan with his web-slinging. Once she decided to get up on Spider-Man, Jones was overwhelmed by the speed of Spider-Man's web-swinging, and what was intended to be a fun adrenaline rush, instead became a harrowing experience. Once she was back on the ground at the Madison Square Garden, Jones plainly told Parker that she never wanted to do anything like that again.
Their date took an unexpected turn when they noticed a NY1 newscast on the Madison Square Garden MegaVision, reporting on a video published by The Daily Bugle. Speechless, Jones watched in shock as J. Jonah Jameson played edited footage of the Battle of London; a dying message from Mysterio claimed that Spider-Man was responsible for the attacks and had murdered Mysterio. To make matters worse, Mysterio concluded the message by revealing Spider-Man's identity and real name.
==== Escape from the Public ====
: "We can't go to my place, my dad will kill you!""Wait, I thought you said your dad really liked me.""Yeah? Well, not anymore!"
: ―Michelle Jones and Spider-Man[src]
Immediately, people who were next to Jones asked her if she was Spider-Man's girlfriend. Parker leaped down from the light post and rushed to Jones. As he did, the crowd increased and people began to push him, causing him to stumble into Jones. Jones grabbed onto him and Parker pushed his way out of the mass crowd to swing away.
Jones held onto Parker as they swung through Times Square. Jones, who was scared and upset about swinging again, put her hands over Parker's face, accidentally causing him to not see. He told her and she apologized. She then asked where they were going and he suggested her house, but she said her father would be upset to see him, now that his identity had been exposed.
Instead, Parker and Jones landed on Queensboro Bridge. As Jones tried to remain calm and keep her balance, Parker answered a face-time call from Ned Leeds. However, as Jones became fearful of the heights, she called out to Parker, cutting his call short as he tended to her. Parker then told her to hang on and leaped down off the bridge into a subway station below.
As he swung through the station, they narrowly missed colliding into a train, much to Jones' horror. Parker took them into the sewer tunnel and helped Jones up through a sewer hole in the street in front of Delmar's Deli-Grocery. Parker then swung Jones to his apartment and opened his bedroom window to sneak inside.
In doing so, they made noise, which caused Happy Hogan to open the bedroom door to find Parker undressed and Jones looking embarrassed. May Parker then rushed inside, only to close the door, and reopen it to introduce herself to Jones, who greeted her. As Parker got dressed, Jones followed him out of his room. A neighbor popped his head inside through the open front door and asked if it was true that Parker was Spider-Man, but Jones told him now wasn't a good time and closed the door.
She then joined them in the living room and as Parker demanded an explanation for May and Hogan's relationship, Jones alerted Parker to the television which had NY1 on breaking the news of his identity. When May asked if the building on television was theirs, Parker opened a blind to reveal that the WLGJ helicopters had stationed outside. Following this, Jones left Parker's apartment and returned to her home.
==== Interrogated by Damage Control ====
: "Miss Jones, then why do you want a lawyer if–""Because I have nothing to hide.""Exactly. Unless–""I'm actually guilty of something? I'm aware of your tactics and my rights."
: ―P. Cleary and Michelle Jones[src]
Days later, Jones, along with May and Leeds, were taken by the Department of Damage Control to an NYPD precinct. As they were being escorted in, they passed Parker, and so Jones and May both told him to not answer any questions without a lawyer. Jones was brought into the interrogation room first and was interrogated by Agent P. Cleary. She told him that she was highly aware of his tactics and knew her rights, what she could say, opting to wait for a lawyer, as she knew very well how Cleary could easily manipulate her statements otherwise.
Cleary tried to get the statement of Jones, asking her why she would get involved romantically with a vigilante like Parker to risk her future, but failed as the strong willed Jones told him nothing.
==== Video Call with Parker ====
: "Did you send in your applications yet?""I literally just finished my MIT one. Can we imagine if we both got in? And Ned?""Yeah. But we'd have to get scholarships so that we could actually go."
: ―Michelle Jones and Peter Parker[src]
The night before their senior year started, Parker video-called Jones, where they both discussed about their applications to their preferred institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While Parker was hopeful that they could get into the institute, Jones wasn't sure about it saying that they would have to earn scholarships so that they could get in, but Parker tried to make her feel better by saying that she has all the scores, all the grades, and basically everything needed to get into M.I.T, making Jones wonder whether or not he thought she was pragmatic.
Much to her happiness, Parker said while she was indeed pragmatic, that was one of the best things about her, making her wonder what his other favorite things were, which led to the duo joking around about her "relentless optimism", how she loved people, and Jones' "love for sports." After hearing a unique noise for a while, Jones discovered that the noise came from Happy Hogan, who decided to sleep with his CPAP machine and the one who moved into the living room of his condominium.
After some reluctance, Jones asked Parker whether he was ever relieved about not having to lie to anyone anymore about his dual life, feeling as though it made thing less complicated. Parker replied to Jones that ever since he got bitten by that radioactive spider, that he only had one week where he felt normal was when she and everyone whom he wanted to know about knew he was Spider-Man which was his aunt, her, and Ned. Parker continued that everyone finding out his true identity ruined that for him, joking around how despite he was currently the most famous person in the entire world, he is still broke.
Then, Jones told him that she was excited to see him tomorrow, with Parker replying he felt the same. However, their special moments were ruined by Hogan who told them to wrap it up as he was trying to sleep, telling them he needed his eight hours of sleep, much to Jones and Parker's mutual shock as they learned he had been listening the whole time. As Parker was getting scolded by Hogan, Jones greeted Hogan, before the duo ended the call, to meet each other for their next day for senior year.
==== Back for Senior Year ====
: "MJ! MJ, we love you! MJ, are you going to have your Spider-Baby?"
: ―Random Weirdo[src]
The next day, Jones returned to Midtown School of Science and Technology. She met up with Peter Parker and Ned Leeds outside and walked together towards the building, and they were joined by Flash Thompson. As they approached the building, crowds of pro-Mysterio supporters and pro-Spider-Man supporters were gathered on each side of the sidewalk, with NYPD officers doing crowd control. One protestor was in support of Jones and called out to her. When they made it to the entrance, an officer separated her and Leeds from Parker and they were escorted in afterwards.
At the end of the school day, Jones met with Parker on the school's rooftop and read a local newspaper detailing propaganda about Parker and his friends. As they enjoyed the time alone, they were soon joined by Leeds, who discussed Massachusetts Institute of Technology with them and the proposal of them living together in Boston. Jones agreed with them that they deserved a new start.
==== College Admissions ====
: "This is so not fair. I mean, this is so not fair! I didn't do anything wrong. Well I mean, you guys didn't do anything wrong.""Expect disappointment and you will never be disappointed."
: ―Peter Parker and Michelle Jones[src]
Jones, needing some income, applied to and started working at Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop. When she, Ned Leeds, and Peter Parker had received their letters in the mail from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, they met at the shop and opened the letters together. However, their excitement left them as they saw they had been rejected due to the recent controversy surrounding Parker. They were met by Flash Thompson, who walked in excitedly informing them he had been accepted and then asked why they were rejected. Jones ripped up her letter and was called back into work, while Leeds and Parker left.
=== Multiversal Crisis ===
==== Locating Multiversal Men ====
: "I'm so sorry for dragging you in, but you just gotta help me find–""But at least we could... you don't have to apologize, okay? You got us a second shot at MIT."
: ―Peter Parker and Michelle Jones[src]
Later that day, Jones and Ned Leeds were found by Doctor Strange and brought to the New York Sanctum where they met with Peter Parker. Strange told them that Parker had tampered with a spell causing universe-displaced people, within the Multiverse, who were aware of his identity to arrive in their universe. Parker apologized but Jones told him not to and was then told by Strange, who was impatient with them, to get started on fixing the problem.
He sent them to work in the Sanctum's undercroft, in which only Leeds seemed excited about. Jones told Parker that next time he would decide to act on something huge to include them for insight.
She, Parker, and Leeds then began to work on Leeds' laptop, until they were interrupted by Doctor Octopus, a universe-displaced man with cyborg legs, who was inside the holding cell. They laughed at his name, which infuriated him, but he still went on to tell them that they were chasing ghosts as Norman Osborn had died in his universe. Shortly, Leeds tracked down a flying anomaly noted outside the city by a military institution and Jones worked with him while Parker left to investigate.
Jones and Leeds remained in touch with Parker via video call and tried to help him using Leeds' laptop, but once Parker came across Electro, they lost communication due to Electro's electricity powers. However, soon, Electro and Sandman appeared in holding cells in the undercroft, as well as a tree that had accidentally been brought with them. Jones then received a phone call from Parker, who told her that he was going to stay behind to fix the power lines. Jones and Leeds stayed the night at the undercroft.
The next day, Parker returned bringing Norman Osborn with him. Strange then appeared and prepared to conjure the spell, but Parker stopped him and stole the Macchina di Kadavus. Moments later, he returned through an Inter-Dimensional Portal and explained he had been inside a mirror place. He then tasked Jones with keeping the Macchina safe and told her to press the button if need be. Parker then gave Leeds Strange's Sling Ring, and Jones and Leeds left the Sanctum.
==== Meeting Multiversal Spider-Men ====
: "Prove it, that you're Peter Parker.""I don't carry an ID with me. You know, it kinda defeats the whole anonymous superhero thing..."
: ―Michelle Jones and Amazing Spider-Man[src]
Later, Jones went to Leeds' house and waited for the message of Parker. They turned the television on and saw news reports about the destruction at a condominium, both knowing that Parker had been there and worried for his safety. Jones told Leeds she was going to push the button on the Macchina to activate it, but just before she did it, Leeds waved his arms in the air, stating he wanted to see Parker and have his opinion on the matter.
Much to their shock, a spark of magic flickered in the air before them and Jones asked Leeds to repeat what he just did. Upon her instructions, Leeds conjured an Inter-Dimensional Portal using the Sling Ring. To their excitement, they saw what appeared to be Spider-Man walking around in an alleyway. They called out to him and when he jumped through, they saw that he was another Spider-Man who was Peter Parker.
Startled and confused by this, Leeds and Jones asked who he was. Leeds started to bring up the spell, and Jones stopped him from saying too much, before the Amazing Spider-Man deduced that his studies on multidimensional travel was real. Feeling suspicious, Jones threw bread at Amazing Spider-Man who replied that his Spider-Sense would not work when something harmless like bread would attack him, calling Jones a mistrusting person. Nevertheless, Amazing Spider-Man proved himself to be one as he climbed around the walls of Leeds' house to clean up the cobwebs.
Jones told Leeds to try again and this time, another Spider-Man walked through. When Leeds had asked if he was another Spider-Man and why he did not tell them that, in which he replied he kept his identity anonymous. After the two Spider-Men used their webbing on each other, they told Jones and Leeds where they went when they needed alone time, thinking that that was what Parker was doing after the attack he had faced. Through their words, Jones then figured out where Parker was most likely.
==== Supporting Spider-Man ====
: "Look at me. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. We're gonna get through this, and we're gonna get through it together."
: ―Michelle Jones and Peter Parker[src]
Jones and Leeds took the alternate Spider-Men to Midtown School of Science and Technology and went to the rooftop where they found Parker, crying and alone. They realized his aunt had died and comforted him, by hugging him. Jones then introduced him to his alternate counterparts, who jumped down to meet him. Jones listened as Parker interacted with them, eventually agreeing to help the universe-displaced as planned.
Jones and Leeds went with Parker and his counterparts into one of Midtown's laboratory rooms and watched as they concocted cures for the universe-displaced. When Jones noticed that Parker was anxious, she comforted him and told him that they were in this together. When the cures had been made, Jones joined the group at a table and listened as they made the plan. She then witnessed when the older Parker produced organic webbing, much to their shock.
==== Battle at Liberty Island ====
: "Are you okay?""Yeah... are you okay?"
: ―Amazing Spider-Man and Michelle Jones[src]
Jones and Leeds were tasked with staying at Midtown's chemistry classroom to wait for Parker to hand them the Macchina di Kadavus. Leeds used the Sling Ring to conjure an Inter-Dimensional Portal to the Statue of Liberty and Parker handed Jones the Macchina.
However, Leeds was unable to close the portal, much to Jones' concern. She tried to give him advice, telling him to keep trying and asked why he could not close it. Leeds made several attempts; much was not successful. Their voices carried throughout the Statue, making Lizard aware of them.
Lizard then leaped up onto the scaffolding and ran at them, wanting the Macchina. Jones and Leeds then ran away into the laboratory, with Lizard in pursuit, destroying the laboratory in the process. Parker caught up to Lizard in an effort to stop him, but Lizard got away from him and continued to chase Jones and Leeds through another portal. As they ran on the Statue's scaffolding, Leeds opened another portal, sending water rushing through into Lizard.
Jones found the cure and tossed it to Parker who was then able to give Lizard the cure and he reverted back to Curt Connors. Leeds then opened another portal and Doctor Strange walked through surprising them. Jones then gave the Macchina to Strange while Strange took back his Sling Ring. Jones and Leeds went to another level of scaffolding to wait while Electro and Sandman were cured.
Shortly, Jones and Leeds then witnessed Green Goblin's arrival. When the Goblin seized the Macchina, he planted a pumpkin bomb inside it. When Strange reclaimed it, the bomb detonated and released the unstable spell, causing a multiversal tremor. The Statue's scaffolding fell and Jones and Leeds both lost their balance and fell. Jones was almost saved by Parker, but he was stopped by Goblin, who took him away on his glider.
Jones watched in horror as she continued to fall but was rescued by Amazing Spider-Man. When he brought her safely to the ground, he asked if she was okay, and when she saw him become emotional, she asked him the same. Jones then met with Leeds and hugged him.
Parker called out to them to make sure they were okay in which they nodded at him. They then watched in horror as he confronted the Goblin on the fallen statue of Captain America's Shield, nearly killing him. They watched as Parker was stopped by his older counterpart and gave the Goblin the cure.
==== A Forgotten Love ====
: "I love you."
: ―Michelle Jones to Peter Parker[src]
Afterwards, Jones reunited with Parker and was devastated to learn that the only way to stop the infinite amount of people in the Multiverse from arriving was for Strange to finish the spell that would cause everyone in there universe forget that Parker ever existed. She tried to protest, but he said it was the only way and he came by to share one more moment with her and Leeds.
The three shared an emotional embrace one last time and Jones told Parker she loved him; right before Parker could say the same, she told him to save it for her once they reunited again. Parker shared one more look with Jones before he swung away; Jones tearfully watched him leave before the spell took effect, erasing Parker from her memories.
=== College Bound ===
==== Awkward Customer Service ====
: "I don't really get excited about things, I kind of expect disappointment.""Because then you'll never actually be disappointed?""Yeah, right. It's just... I don't know, it kinda feels different this time for some reason."
: ―Michelle Jones and Peter Parker[src]
Jones continued working at Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop and was accepted at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with Ned Leeds.
Weeks later, a young man came inside the shop. Jones smiled and waved at Leeds, who entered behind the young man. After she greeted Leeds, she asked the young man what he would like at the counter. He introduced himself suddenly as Peter Parker and after a pause, ordered a coffee, albeit awkwardly.
Before making the coffee, Jones gave Leeds a doughnut as a congratulations on getting accepted to MIT and expressed excitement over it, with Leeds teasing Jones about her school spirit, to which she said if he told anyone she would simply deny it.
Jones proceeded on making the coffee and called Parker's name, which she had to repeat two times to get his attention. After giving Parker the coffee, he asked Jones if she was excited for MIT, with her replying she was, which she admitted was weird for her because she is not usually excited for things because if she always expects disappointment, she will never be disappointed, with Parker finishing her sentence, leaving her a little stunned.
As Jones and Parker exchanged a smile at each other, Parker grabbed his coffee but noticed Jones' band-aid on her forehead and asked if she was okay, gesturing to his own forehead. Jones shrugged it off, remembering the recent event, and said that it didn't really hurt anymore. Jones then asked Parker if there was anything else she could help him with, as he replied "no" with a bittersweet smile and was on the edge of becoming emotional. Parker thanked Jones for the coffee and walked out, but as he did, Jones watched after him, as she contemplated if he seemed familiar to her.
==== High School Graduation ====
In the following June, Jones was among the students who graduated from Midtown School of Science and Technology as the class of 2025.
== Personality ==
: "You're a deeply mistrusting person, and I respect that."
: ―Peter Parker to Michelle Jones[src]
Michelle Jones considers herself to be a very observant person in general, noticing things others may not, and usually keeps a close eye on Peter Parker. She was aware of his academic situation, keeping tabs on which classes he'd neglected or which clubs he quit. During the Rescue at the Washington Monument, she observed Spider-Man as the hero climbed up the Washington Monument, after notifying him that her friends were up there. Although she publicly deems Parker to be a loser, she chooses to sit with him and Ned Leeds at lunch, chided them for coming to Liz Toomes' party, gave herself detention just to sketch Parker, and gave Parker the middle finger during the homecoming dance. However, despite the other students occupied by the dance, she immediately noticed Parker leaving the dance after apologizing to Toomes, and later questioned Parker where he was going and what he was hiding, before brushing her earlier statements off and declaring that she did not care. As Parker left the library, however, she gave him a glance, watching him leave. Jones was also able to deduce that Parker was Spider-Man by noticing a pattern in his behavior as well as evidence she found or observed, only confirming her suspicions when he confessed.
However, it comes clear that after the class' trip through Europe, Jones developed a crush on Parker throughout her observations of him, though she perhaps tried to deny it at first, mostly by being mean towards him. Her habit of documenting his schedules and drawing him in detention could just be her showing concern for his well-being and being fascinated by him. This is later confirmed in London, where she admits that she likes Parker and observed him; not just because she thought he was Spider-Man, but because of her mutual attraction to him.
Jones is generally a serious person, though she does possess a dry sense of humor, and is nearly always seen reading a book. She is a loner and claims not to have friends, though she soon comes to consider her Academic Decathlon team as friends. After the Blip, she has opened up considerably more to Leeds and especially Parker, who she frequently starts conversations with and is considerably more comfortable around then any of her other classmates. She has a tendency to speak out her feelings even if it offends someone, although she is aware of this habit.
Jones is also fascinated by morbid, yet otherwise controversial and macabre topics, with Parker saying that she like black dahlias, due to being fascinated by the Black Dahlia murder, and her mentioning a lot of conspiracy theories and propaganda, as well as memorizing gruesome historical events and practices from Europe.
Jones is a very strong-willed and loyal person who is more than willing to take the lead and defend her friends, even in dangerous situations. She defends Parker against both Flash Thompson and Brad Davis when they try to pick on or humiliate Parker. She doesn't hesitate to search for Parker when he leaves the opera in Prague both out of concern for his well-being and out of curiosity for his whereabouts. She manages to keep herself together and help Parker out when they realize Mysterio is a fraud. When she, Leeds, Happy Hogan, Betty Brant, and Thompson are getting chased by one of Beck's drones, she's the first to take action, grabbing a mace to hit the drone and helping formulate a plan with the others to distract it. She also brings a mace along with her after she leaves to find Parker, telling him that she brought it just in case he needed help fighting drones, showing that she was willing to help him fight against an army of killer drones, showing how much she deeply cares for him. Jones was more than willing to help Parker in his search for the multiversal villains, is unwilling to leave Parker's side as he cures the villains, only doing so at his continued insistence, and continues to support him after his Aunt's death, stating that she'll stay by his side no matter what.
Jones is very particular about her name. It is implied that she allows people to call her "MJ" when she feels that they are friends with her and "Michelle" only to those who she is merely acquainted with. Additionally, she does not seem too fond being referred to as "Miss Jones-Watson," instead preferring to be called "Miss Jones", implying that she disfavors one of her family names.
Over her lifetime, Jones has become accustomed to becoming disappointed in order to hide her true emotions upon issues, as shown when she was already expecting to be disappointed while filing out for MIT so she wouldn't be disappointed for herself. After having her memories of Parker wiped away and got admitted into M.I.T, she has finally reached a point where she isn't expecting disappointment or being unhappy, which caused Parker to hide his true identity in front of her. However, during her talk with Parker and witnessing him leave the Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop, Jones felt that she knows him.
== Abilities ==
: "You're a smart young woman with a bright future ahead of her."
: ―P. Cleary to Michelle Jones[src]
* Gifted Intellect: Jones is a smart, well-read, curious and observant individual, using her great intellect to help the Academic Decathlon Team in the Decathlon finals and win the competition. She was later even chosen to replace Liz Allan as team captain, when Allan moved to Oregon. Jones was also smart enough to notice Peter Parker repeatedly wandering off on more than one occasion, and eventually figured out that he was Spider-Man. Jones also possesses a vast amount of knowledge in history, crime and conspiracy theories, given her fascination with morbid and controversial topics. She quoted George Orwell's line, "The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world" to Brad Davis when defending Parker. She was aware of P. Cleary's interrogation tactics as well as her civic rights. Parker told MIT's assistant vice chancellor that she and Ned Leeds are the two smartest people he has ever met in his entire life. After her memories of Parker were erased, she was admitted to the prestigious school.
: "He didn't tell me. I figured it out. Like, a long time ago."
: ―Michelle Jones to Ned Leeds[src]
* Investigator: Jones singlehandedly discovered Parker's secret identity as Spider-Man simply by noticing his odd behaviour and frequent disappearances.
* Bilingualism: Jones is fluent in her native English, and also understands Italian, as she regularly had to correct her chaperone Roger Harrington during the class trip to Venice and translated the news reports on Mysterio for her classmates.
== Equipment ==
=== Weapons ===
* Mace: During the Battle of London, Jones grabbed a mace from one of the museum's display cases and used it to smash one of the Stark Industries Combat Drones. Following the battle, Jones jokingly (yet sincerely) mentioned to Spider-Man that she would hold on to the mace until she was certain that the fighting was over.
== Facilities ==
* Midtown School of Science and Technology: Jones attended this school but didn't really have any friends there. She would often watch others from the side-lines and examine their behavior. It was here she met Peter Parker and Ned Leeds, who would both become her closest friends before becoming romantically involved with Parker. Jones was also apart of the school's Academic Decathlon Team.
* Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop: To be added
* New York Sanctum: Jones visited the Sanctum to assist Parker in sending multiversal visitors home. She and Leeds set up a temporary base here and waited for Parker to transport the visitors to the Sanctum, watching his movements on a laptop via video call.
== Relationships ==
=== Family ===
* Philip Watson - Father
* Mother
=== Allies ===
* Midtown School of Science and Technology
** Morita - Former Principal
** Roger Harrington - Former Teacher
** Andre Wilson - Former Teacher
** Julius Dell - Former Teacher
** Brad Davis - Former Classmate
** Josh Scarino - Former Classmate
** Zach Cooper - Former Classmate
** Yasmin Monette - Former Classmate
** Tyler Corbyn - Former Classmate
** Zoha Souliotis - Former Classmate
** Sebastian Fedas - Former Classmate
** Suzan Yang - Former Classmate
* Massachusetts Institute of Technology
** Ned Leeds - Classmate and Close Friend
** Flash Thompson - Classmate
* Betty Brant - Former Classmate and Friend
* Jason Ionello - Former Classmate
* Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Former Classmate and Former Boyfriend
* Liz Toomes - Former Classmate and Former Decathlon Leader
* Abe Brown - Former Classmate
* Tiny McKeever - Former Classmate
* Cindy Moon - Former Classmate
* Charles Murphy - Former Classmate
* Sally Avril - Former Classmate
* Seymour O'Reilly - Former Classmate
* Bruce Banner/Hulk - Resurrector
* Dimitri Smerdyakov
* Happy Hogan
* May Parker †
* New York City Police Department
* Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop
** Sasha - Co-worker
* Masters of the Mystic Arts
** Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange
* Ned Leeds' Grandmother
* Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Savior
* Peter Parker/Spider-Man
* Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus - Temporary Enemy
* Flint Marko/Sandman
* Max Dillon/Electro - Temporary Enemy
* Curt Connors/Lizard - Former Enemy	
=== Enemies ===
* Thanos † - Killer
* Elementals
** Hydro-Man
** Molten Man
** Elemental Fusion
* Quentin Beck's Crew
** Quentin Beck/Mysterio † - Attempted Killer
** William Ginter Riva
** Gutes Guterman
* United States Department of Damage Control
** P. Cleary
** Foster
* Norman Osborn/Green Goblin - Attempted Killer
== Trivia ==
* In the comics, the nickname "MJ" is used by Mary Jane Watson.
** According to Spider-Man: Homecoming co-writer John Francis Daley, Michelle Jones was intended as a reinvention of Mary Jane Watson.
** Kevin Feige described this as a fun homage to Spider-Man's past adventures and his past love in the comics.
** Jones' birthday being June 10th is a reference to Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #25, where Mary Jane Watson made her first appearance and was released on June 10, 1965, albeit the character's face is not shown.
** According to Zendaya, she wanted the character to be a new version of what Mary Jane represented.
** In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Jones' full last name is revealed to be Jones-Watson, bringing the character more closer to the comics counterpart.
* Jones' literary tastes contain subtle allusions to either the plot or spiders. She was first seen reading Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, in which the novel's protagonist is an orphan living with his aunt and uncle and has trouble fitting in at his new school, a situation similar to Peter Parker's life. Later, she was reading Invitation to a Beheading, by Vladimir Nabokov, a novel in which a condemned man awaits his execution, accompanied only by a spider in his cell, as his peculiarity had made it difficult to blend into society, which strikes a tone similar to Jones, where her odd nature can make her a bit of a loner. Finally, during the Rescue at the Washington Monument, she was wearing a shirt featuring Sylvia Plath, who wrote a poem called "Spider," and used spiders as images in other poems.
* Jones' favorite flower is the Black Dahlia, after the murder of the same person.
* Jones likes churros.
== Behind the Scenes ==
* Michelle Jones-Watson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a reimagined version of Mary Jane Watson, whose previous live-action incarnations were portrayed by Kirsten Dunst and Shailene Woodley.
* Director Jon Watts revealed in an interview with /Film that the primary inspirations for Michelle Jones were Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy) from The Breakfast Club and Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) from Freaks and Geeks.
* In regards to Michelle Jones' backstory, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers originally wrote a scene for Spider-Man: Homecoming which heavily implied that she comes from a bad home, with no one to pick up her after classes or meet her at the bus after returning from Washington, D.C., leading to Peter Parker and Aunt May offering to give Jones a ride home. Although McKenna and Sommers don't know if the scene was filmed or not, they think that this backstory is alluded to by the many things Jones says in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
* Hayley Ainsley, Imogen Leaver, Aja Frary and Jade Bell were stunt doubles for Zendaya in the role of Michelle Jones.
== References ==
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Michelle Jones.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of quotes related to Michelle Jones.
# ↑ Jump up to:1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Spider-Man: No Way Home
# ↑ Jump up to:2.0 2.1 Michelle Jones' Passport
# ↑ Avengers: Infinity War
# ↑ "4/30/2018" on Scott's laptop in Ant-Man and the Wasp
# ↑ Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline
# ↑ Jump up to:6.0 6.1 ‘Spider-Man’ Producers Tease Live-Action Miles Morales Movie and Animated ‘Spider-Woman’ Film: ‘It’s All Happening’
# ↑ 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Team Considered a Donald Glover Cameo
# ↑ Jump up to:8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Spider-Man: Homecoming
# ↑ Jump up to:9.0 9.1 9.2 Spider-Man: Homecoming Deleted Scene
# ↑ Jump up to:10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Spider-Man: Far From Home
# ↑ Avengers: Endgame
# ↑ Joe Russo's Q&A about the plot of Avengers: Endgame in China
# ↑ Spider-Man: Far From Home Mid-credits Scene
# ↑ Spider-Man: No Way Home - The More Fun Stuff Version
# ↑ Your Complete Guide to the 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Easter Eggs
# ↑ Spider-Man: Homecoming Producers Say Twist to That Character Not What It Seems
# ↑ Zendaya says her MJ in the MCU represents original Mary Jane character
# ↑ Spider-Man App
# ↑ ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming' Set Visit: Everything We Learned
# ↑ 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Team Considered a Donald Glover Cameo
== External Links ==
* Mary Jane Watson on Marvel Database
* Mary Jane Watson on Wikipedia
* MJ on Wikipedia