Watson, Mary

"Face it, Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!"

Mary Jane will become the wife of Peter Parker and a fellow graduate of Empire State University as a Drama Major.

## Mary Jane Watson

### Aliases

MJ (Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, Flash Thompson)

### Relatives

Philip Watson (father), Madeline Watson (mother), Gayle Watson-Byrnes (sister), Spencer Watson (paternal Uncle), Lou Watson (paternal Uncle), Lorraine Watson (paternal Aunt), Anna Watson (paternal Aunt), Sybil Watson (paternal Aunt), Tommy Byrnes (nephew), Kevin Byrnes (Nephew), Frank Brown (cousin), Kristy Watson (cousin)

### Occupation

High School student, College student (Drama Major)

## Biographical information

### Place of birth

Montoursville, Pennsylvania, United States of America

## History

### Early Life

Mary Jane Watson was born to Philip and Madeline Watson. She is the second of two children, with her elder sister Gayle having been born four years earlier. Due to her family's constant moving (as a result of her father's various teaching jobs), Mary Jane began developing a more extroverted and care-free personality, a trait which helped her make friends as the Watson's moved from one location to the next. After Madeline left Philip, the Watson women stayed with various relatives. One such relative that Mary Jane was particularly fond of was her Aunt Anna, living in Queens, New York. On the night of Ben Parker's murder, Mary Jane spotted a frantic Peter running into his house, with Spider-Man emerging from an upstairs window only moments later. At this, she deduced that Peter and Spider-Man were one and the same. Confused by the emotions set off by the discovery, Mary Jane chose to keep this information to herself, and just like Peter refused to pursue a relationship with him, out of fear that he might neglect her for his superhero duties.

After several attempts by Aunt May to pair Peter and Mary Jane together, Mary Jane finally paid a visit to the Parker home. Unfortunately, as Spider-Man was fighting the Spider-Slayer robots, he was not at home. Instead, she encountered Betty Brant and Liz Allan, who were both vying for Peter's affections at the time. Both girls were stunned by Mary Jane's natural beauty. Much like her mother and sister, Mary Jane had an interest in performing arts. Dreaming of a career in either Broadway or film, she starred in high school productions such as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and other various plays and productions.

When her mother fell seriously ill, Mary Jane temporarily gave up her acting at school and took a series of after-school jobs to help support the family. While doing so she encountered another teen named Dick Grayson who was visiting with his friend Donna Troy. When Madeline died, Mary Jane left home and was determined not to sacrifice her dreams of happiness as had her mother and sister.

Arriving at her Aunt Anna's house on a Saturday, Mary Jane and Peter finally met face-to-face when Aunt May and Peter came over for Sunday dinner. When a news bulletin about the escape of the Rhino interrupted the music program the pair were watching, Mary Jane suggested they try and see if they could spot the criminal while hoping to see Spider-Man in action. Agreeing to this, Peter later left her side with the excuse of having to take pictures for The Daily Bugle, only to reappear battling as Spider-Man. Peter soon introduced Mary Jane to his other college friends, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson. With the entanglement of these relationships, jealousy and rivalry were underlying constants between Stacy, Osborn, Parker and Watson.

During a gunfight at the Gloom Room where Mary Jane worked as a dancer, she was put in danger when a criminal tried to use her as a human shield, but Spider-Man rescued her from the ordeal. It was the first time the pair met while Peter was in his Spider-Man costume.