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  • FRIDAY MAY 18 2007 10:00 AM

Mary Jane Hot: Comic Nerds Surpringly Pissed

Submitted by johnnyfu

Edited by Rahodeb

Tags: Spider-man, T&A



Anyone with a passing knowledge of super hero comic books for the last 20 or so years knows that, for the most part, female character’s breasts and butts have been steadily expanding. Maybe it’s due to some kind of free range estrogen mutation that’s morphed the women of both the DC and Marvel comics universes. More likely it’s a sort of creepy look into the overactive, and likely frustrated, libidos of the majority of comics creators and readers.

So it was surprising to see that comic book fans are up in arms about a sexualized statue of Mary Jane Parker, nee Watson.

To celebrate the record-breaking box office of Spider-Man 3, Marvel released a statue of Mary Jane caught in the uber-domestic scene of laundry. Apparently out of clean clothes, she’s wearing ripped jeans, a thong and a skimpy t-shirt and a pearl necklace (not the ZZ Top kind, the kind with real pearls). She’s bending over and looking behind her shoulder with a come hither look that all but screams "come and get it tiger" – you can practically picture webbing on her back (hey-o!).

The perfect storm of domesticity and sexiness has displeased a bunch of comic fans, evidently, resulting flurry of blogging, live-journaling and letter-writing campaigns. The statue has been accused of bad taste, misogyny, and, perhaps most damning for comic book fans, breaking with cherished continuity.

The outrage initially seemed really overstated and sort of silly, at least to me. The defenses for the statue, though, especially when presented in an eye-catching grid pattern, are what turns the whole thing around.

There’s no good reason for women to be hyper-sexualized in this otherwise fairly arrested development-appealing medium. And judging from the number of comments, there are enough female readers of comics for it to matter.

But the bald, flat truth of the matter is that comic books and super heroes are perceived as such loser venues, things that only virginal dudes with overactive frustrated fantasy lives care about, that whatever the intentions of the statue were, everybody involved looks shitty. That includes the statue’s makers, prospective consumers, and, to a lesser extent, the people who get outraged over it.

Kirsten Dunst was the worst part of those movies, anyway.

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Comments
Jamwise

Jamwise

Australia
April 2006

MAY 18, 2007 10:29 AM

Trahern

Trahern

United Kingdom
March 2003

MAY 18, 2007 10:35 AM

Yes. Yes, she was.

Frontline99

Frontline99

Sacramento, CA
March 2005

MAY 18, 2007 10:35 AM

The overall sculpt isn't that great. I'd say $125 is a wee bit pricey.

pmonkeyEsquire

pmonkeyEsquire

I'm lost
May 2004

MAY 18, 2007 10:40 AM

dunst has chicklet teeth and she looks stoned all the time.

Jeseryn

jeseryn

Foxboro, MA
March 2006

MAY 18, 2007 10:42 AM

dislike Kirstin Dunce!

Horrorflick

Horrorflick

Detroit, MI
February 2003

MAY 18, 2007 10:47 AM

Yeah, I dig the statue more than the real dillio...Oh, and by the way, IT's A CoMiC BoOK!!!!

PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

MAY 18, 2007 10:57 AM

johnnyfu said:
Kirsten Dunst was the worst part of those movies, anyway.


The list of "worst things" in Spiderman 3 is long and impressive.

smokeyjo7

smokeyjo7

Salt Lake City, UT
January 2005

MAY 18, 2007 11:03 AM

Well at least everyone recognizes Dunst is a useless bag of crap.

ogre13

ogre13

Jackson, NJ
November 2005

MAY 18, 2007 11:05 AM

The statue is cool and diffrent. As far as getting a twist over it, GET A LIFE. Kirsten Dunst was bad in the Spiderman movies. mad

Uncognitive

Uncognitive

Brooklyn, NY
May 2003

MAY 18, 2007 11:08 AM

I'm holding out for the statue of a provocatively dressed Robin (Tim Drake or Dick Grayson version) doing Batman's laundry. Hopefully there'll be some exposed thong action. Ooh-la-la!

RileyStClair

RileyStClair

Los Angeles, CA
September 2006

MAY 18, 2007 11:08 AM

smokeyjo7 said:
Well at least everyone recognizes Dunst is a useless bag of crap.



seriously.

GS2099

GS2099

Fayetteville, AR
September 2005

MAY 18, 2007 11:09 AM

Meh... I don't read comics regularly anymore, but occasionally I'll pick something up because I still like the artwork.
MJ does seem a bit over the top here... Then again, SHE'S A COMIC BOOK CHARACTER! Mainstream comics are all about being over the top, exaggerated, and silly. My theory is the fans who hate it are simply getting freaked out from over-stimulation. Once they have an experience with a real girl, this sort of thing won't upset them so much. biggrin

d20

d20

San Francisco, CA
September 2003

MAY 18, 2007 11:12 AM

Uncognitive said:
I'm holding out for the statue of a provocatively dressed Robin (Tim Drake or Dick Grayson version) doing Batman's laundry. Hopefully there'll be some exposed thong action. Ooh-la-la!



did you see the spoof that someone did of spidey doing mj's laundry? hilarity. it was on boing boing but i'm too lazy so you'll have to find it yourself wink

personally, i just don't see what the big deal is. it's a toy based on a movie based on a comic book, and it represents the enduring image of mj being the crazy hot girl that a nerd like peter (follow along: he's us) should never have gotten. i put this one right up there with "OMG TARANTINO RAPE TOY!! WTF?!?!".

HadesJones

HadesJones

Phoenix, AZ
June 2004

MAY 18, 2007 11:15 AM

HadesJones

HadesJones

Phoenix, AZ
June 2004

MAY 18, 2007 11:21 AM

Ok seriously now anyone who thinks Mary Jane is somehow "becoming more sexualized" missed her very first appearance.....

After an entire issue of MJ's aunt trying along with Aunt May to hook up MJ with Peter on a blind date and Peter worrying that he was going to get hooked up with a total dog she shows up on his doorstep and blows his socks off (and has the nads to let him know she knows just how hot she is).


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b159/HadesJones/MJWatson.jpg

This character has been curves and sex appeal since day one so maybe the complainers should do a bit of research before getting their panties in a bunch.

And for the record Kirsten Dunst may be a nice girl but she's much more MJ's scrawny kid sister (and no continuity freaks MJ does not have a kid sister)

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