History ComicBook / SpiderManLovesMaryJane

Over recent months, however, she has developed something of a crush on Spider-Man, a charismatic, quick-witted and confident SuperHero with whom she feels a connection, and after he saves her life when the train she is riding is attacked by a super-villain (and inadvertently lets slip a hint that he knows her), Mary Jane makes a resolution -- she is going to ask Spider-Man to be her date to the Homecoming Dance. However, she soon finds that following up her crush leads her life in unexpected directions, many of which seem to lead back to her developing friendship with the kind but {{geek}}y and [[SecretIdentity strangely behaving]] [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]]...

ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson is a popular, sweet-natured and well-liked teenage girl at Midtown High in Queens, who is part of the popular crowd, along with her best friends: [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders head cheerleader]] (and [[AlphaBitch queen bitch]]) Liz Allan, [[JerkJock star athlete]] Flash Thompson and wealthy Harry Osborn, who is clearly interested in Mary Jane in a romantic sense (feelings which Mary Jane is not entirely sure that she shares). Although 'MJ' is apparently happy-go-lucky and cheerful to everyone she encounters, it's all [[StepfordSmiler a lie, of course]]; underneath it all, Mary Jane is unhappy, lonely and insecure, feelings which she keeps bottled up in order to project her cheery facade.

* MeaningfulEcho: In the first issue, after accidentally revealing he knows where Mary Jane lives, Spider-Man stutters out a flustered {{Blatant Lie|s}} ("It's one of my special powers!") before quickly scurrying away in embarrassment. At the end of the "Homecoming" arc, after walking her home from the diner, Peter Parker scurries away in a similarly flustered and embarrassed fashion. [[SecretIdentity Almost as if they were the same person...]]

* BeautyMark: Liz Allan has one on her upper left lip.

* CelebCrush: MJ towards Spidey

* ChickMagnet: Harry. Probably helps that he has normal hair here.
* ChildhoodFriends: MJ, Harry, Flash and Liz in this continuity.
** ChildhoodFriendRomance: All over the place, it first starts with Flash and Liz dating, with Flash having a secret crush on Mary Jane. Then Mary Jane starts dating Harry. Then Flash and Liz break up and so do Mary Jane and Harry. After a while Flash falls out of love with MJ and then starts dating Liz again. And while it never actually happens, it's heavily implied that Mary Jane and Peter are going to end up as this.

* DeadpanSnarker: Spider-Man

* {{Goth}}: Mary Jane's old friend ComicBook/JessicaJones.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Mary Jane and Liz Allen.
* HeroesWantRedHeads: Note the title.
** Spider-Man also briefly dated Firestar.

* AdaptationalRelationshipOverhaul: Dialogue seems to indicate Mary Jane has a strenuous relationship with her ''mother'' instead of her father.

* ClingyJealousGirl: MJ is a reasonable example.

* DemotedToExtra: Since the series focuses on Mary Jane, many of the classic characters (such as Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, several villains) are either de-emphasized or [[AdaptedOut absent]] altogether.

* PerspectiveFlip: Non-villainous example; it's ''Comicbook/SpiderMan'' told from the point of view of Mary Jane (and a few other members of the supporting cast) instead of Peter Parker.

* CanonCharacterAllAlong: [[spoiler:Mr Limke]] ends up becoming the Looter.

* MeaningfulEcho: In the first issue, after accidentally revealing he knows where Mary Jane lives, Spider-Man stutters out a flustered [[BlatantLies Blatant Lie]] ("It's one of my special powers!") before quickly scurrying away in embarrassment. At the end of the "Homecoming" arc, after walking her home from the diner, Peter Parker scurries away in a similarly flustered and embarrassed fashion. [[SecretIdentity Almost as if they were the same person...]]

* LoveDodecahedron: Take a seat; Mary Jane starts off in a relationship with Harry Osborn. At the same time, Flash Thompson, the boyfriend of Liz Allan, Mary Jane's best friend, also has a [[YourCheatingHeart not-so-secret crush]] on Mary Jane. Mary Jane also happens to have a crush on [[LovesMyAlterEgo Spider-Man,]] who himself [[WillTheyOrWontThey may or may not have a thing]] for the super heroine Firestar. [[LampshadeHanging Overwhelmed by all of this nonsense]], Mary Jane swears off boys, only to later develop a crush on [[GiveGeeksAChance Peter Parker.]] The moment she's ready to confess it turns out she's too late because he's now in relationship with Gwen Stacy. Dejected, [[RunningGag Mary Jane kinda-sorta gets back together with Harry Osborn who kinda-sorta may also have feelings for Felicia Hardy]]. In the end, both Peter and Mary Jane end up single, [[EveryoneCanSeeIt and everyone can see the inevitable happening]], but it ironically never does.

* DudeNotFunny: In-universed. In a flashback panel in one issue, Flash sees Peter quietly slinking through the school corridors, obviously upset about something, and makes a snide taunt towards him. One of his friends, appalled, has this reaction... and then realises that Flash hasn't heard the news about [[DeathByOriginStory what happened to Peter's Uncle Ben the previous night]].

** Similarly, Liz is a bit of an AlphaBitch but she genuinely does like MJ, and her mean treatment of Flash conceals genuine fondness for him.

* AdaptationalBadass: ''The Looter!'' The character is genuinely seen as one of the biggest losers in the supervillain community in the normal Marvelverse, rivaled only by Stilt-Man and Leap-Frog. Here, he's far more adept, and actually gets away from Spiderman for their first '''five''' battles.

'''''Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane''''' is, of course, the popular Creator/MarvelComics character ComicBook/SpiderMan told from the point of view of his LoveInterest, Mary Jane. It explores Mary Jane's friendships with Flash, Liz and Harry (who are, of course, themselves key members of the ''Spider-Man'' cast of characters) and her developing friendships / romantic relationships with both Spider-Man and Peter Parker (whom, although it was strongly implied at times, was never directly revealed to be Spider-Man throughout the course of the book). Although primarily a TeenDrama aimed at teenage girls with little in the way of superhero exploits, it soon developed a following amongst a more diverse collection of fans owing to its clever and interesting writing (by Sean [=McKeever=]) and distinctive art (mainly by Takeshi Miyazawa).

!!''Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane'' provides examples of the following tropes:

Under [=McKeever's=] pen, the book lasted for two four-issue mini-series ('''Mary Jane''' and '''Mary Jane: Homecoming''', focusing on the build-up to the Homecoming Dance) and a twenty-issue run, which Miyazawa drew up until issue fifteen (where he was replaced for the last few issues by David Hahn). After [=McKeever=] left to work for DC Comics, Marvel started the series again at issue one with Terry Moore (''ComicBook/StrangersInParadise'') writing and Craig Rousseau on pencils (it was originally supposed to be [[Comicbook/{{Runaways}} Adrian Alphona]], but he quit comics).

Under [=McKeever's=] pen, the book lasted for two four-issue '''''Mary Jane''''' mini-series (focusing on the build-up to the Homecoming Dance) and a twenty-issue run, which Miyazawa drew up until issue fifteen (where he was replaced for the last few issues by David Hahn). After [=McKeever=] left to work for DC Comics, Marvel started the series again at issue one with Terry Moore (''ComicBook/StrangersInParadise'') writing and Craig Rousseau on pencils (it was originally supposed to be [[Comicbook/{{Runaways}} Adrian Alphona]], but he quit comics).

Under [=McKeever's=] pen, the book lasted for two four-issue mini-series (focusing on the build-up to the Homecoming Dance) and a twenty-issue run, which Miyazawa drew up until issue fifteen (where he was replaced for the last few issues by David Hahn). After [=McKeever=] left to work for DC Comics, Marvel started the series again at issue one with Terry Moore (''ComicBook/StrangersInParadise'') writing and Craig Rousseau on pencils (it was originally supposed to be [[Comicbook/{{Runaways}} Adrian Alphona]], but he quit comics).

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: While Flash Thompson is the high-school bully to Peter Parker that he is in every continuity, in this one we see a lot more of his perspective on things and thus witness more humanising moments from him. Notably, however, the "Heart of Gold" part is never allowed to excuse the "Jerk" part, as those around him tend to be quick to criticise him whenever they see him bullying Peter Parker.

* LovesMyAlterEgo: Mary Jane starts out the series with a huge crush on Spiderman, but when the two actually go on a date, she finds that there isnt much of a connection between them, and Spiderman becomes a confidante instead. Instead, MJ begins having eyes for her Adorkable classmate Peter Parker...

* DeadpanSnarker: [[CaptainObvious Spider-Man]]

* {{Jerkass}}: Harry Osborn starts off as a fairly decent, if slightly flighty and shallow, guy at the beginning of the series, but gradually begins to become more of a jerk as time goes on.

* LighterAndSofter: Spider-Man might be a light hearted superhero, but he is still one surrounded by death. Here at least no ones life is on danger.

* {{Goth}}: Mary Jane's old friend Jessica Jones.

* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Spiderman initially turns down MJ asking him out because of how insanely dangerous his life is.

* LovableAlphaBitch: Liz Allan

* MeaningfulEcho: In the first issue, after accidentally revealing he knows where Mary Jane is, Spider-Man stutters out a flustered LameExcuse ("It's one of my special powers!") before quickly scurrying away in embarrassment. At the end of the "Homecoming" arc, after walking her home from the diner, Peter Parker scurries away in a similarly flustered and embarrassed fashion. [[SecretIdentity Almost is if they were the same person...]]