Tio Gabe’s Soapbox: My MJ

Tom Holland sent out damn near the perfect nerdrifically sweet Instagram post to Zendaya. This post shows Holland in his Spider-Man suit with Zendaya over his shoulder using an actual camera to capture the moment. Simple but perfect caption, “My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays. Gimme a call when your up xxx.” If you take a look at the screenshot I was able to get, you see that even Aunt May, Marisa Tomei, chimed in with a few rose emojis that I can only assume means she approves of this relationship. That, and Zendaya responding with “Calling now <3” should have been the end of the story.

But my timeline on Twitter still showed me the ugly side of our current geek culture. It has been 4 years since we were introduced to this universe’s MJ, we find out that they are the first/last name initials. But since she isn’t a Caucasian woman with flaming red hair, the internet at the time threw a fit. Personally, I have always been a fan of Mary Jane Watson. Either because as a kid I wanted to be Spider-Man and date Mary Jane, or because I have thing for gingers, but I never saw the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s MJ as a betrayal or insult to fans.

Too many people are hung up on the original MJ to give Zendaya a chance even after four years and two outings, with a third on the way, as THIS universe’s MJ. I’m not expecting to change the minds of those that have already made up their minds, but rather I am hoping to show solidarity with those that accept the idea of a multiverse with different stories. In the end, this MJ is a strong, smart, beautiful woman that deduced his secret and chose to by his side, both on screen and seemingly in real life too.

This picture does make wish to see a future project where we see a toddler clinging to the ceiling that looks like MJ with Peter’s eyes answering to the name May, but lets see what Spider-Man: No Way Home has in store for this universe first.

What are your thoughts on the MCU’s MJ? Let us know in the comments!