AMAZING #151, #152, #153: A different look at the Peter/MJ relationship
I posted this panel earlier this month. I thought I would add some context from the three issues.
So, how did we get to MJ raging out at Peter. It all starts with a party... hosted by J. Jonah Jameson?
J. Jonah Jameson is throwing a party (?) for the engagement of two of his employees, Ned Leeds and Betty Brant. Peter Parker is attending the party with Mary Jane Watson and Flash Thompson. (Flash would later have an affair with Betty circa 1986.)
Electricity is actually mined by coal. Or moving water to power a turbine. Or something. Also, is this the first time MJ met Jonah?
I'm trying to figure out why either Flash or Jonah like Guy Lombardo. And who is Mantovani?
Wikipedia to the rescue! Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (November 15, 1905 – March 29, 1980), known by the mononym Mantovani, was a popular conductor and light orchestra-style entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. He is more associated with the light orchestra genre than any other entertainer.
MJ can even make '70s fashion look good. And I'm guessing Harry's therapist is Dr. Barton "Bart" Hamilton.
We've discussed on this board how Peter Parker doesn't usually drink anything with "zing" in it. The Daily Bugle has a Paris office? Newspapers sure have changed.
It's the Shocker that's doing this, not Electro, surprisingly. Peter webs his way up to the helicopter. Later on, next issue...
Len Wein must watch a lot of Marx Bros. movies or something.
Suffering succotash!
So, wait... Mary Jane was a student at ESU? I might have to break out the ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN collections, but I don't recall Mary Jane actually being a college student along with Peter, Flash, Harry, etc.
Who knew Peter Parker was a finicky eater?
Another issue passes, and...
Yes, Peter's talking about the Gwen Stacy clone.
You know, a moment like this you have to wonder what Mary Jane was really thinking, especially with the "I know Peter is Spider-Man, but he doesn't know I know" addition. I would like to see a moment like this revisited from Mary Jane's POV, showing specifically what she was thinking. And keep in mind, at this point MJ could easily guess Ben Parker's death was why Spider-Man suddenly went from performer to crime-fighter even if she *didn't* know Peter blamed himself for that.