Sam Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy is still the best love interest. Though Dunst’s character has received quite a bit of criticism from fans and casual viewers alike, she’s perhaps the trilogy’s most misunderstood character. Out of all the Spider-Man cinematic love interests, Dunst’s Mary Jane is the only one who goes beyond the role of simply romancing the hero and exists on her own merits with agency and character development. Combined with incredible accuracy to her comic counterpart and three nuanced performances by Dunst, Raimi’s Mary Jane set a standard that no other Spider-Man love interest has reached yet.
The Raimi Spider-Man films began in 2002, at a time when X-Men films, Spider-Man upped the ante for the superhero genre by prioritizing earnest, naturalistic characterization and juxtaposing it with unapologetic faithfulness to the comic source material, making for a series that truly embodied the spirit of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s comics. Raimi’s films have withstood the test of time in a pop culture era now dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, remaining the definitive live-action iteration of the Spider-Man characters for many.
With the Raimi Spider-Man continuity back, thanks to the multiverse hijinks in The Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy is generally looked on favorably by fans, but Mary Jane, unfortunately, remains one of the few divisive aspects of the series. Although she doesn't appear in No Way Home, Mary Jane is mentioned by Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker. Here’s a look back on Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson and why she’s Spider-Man’s best love interest to this day.
Mary Jane's Personality & Flaws
The Raimi trilogy’s Mary Jane Watson was, like Peter Parker, written with a complex personality and verisimilitude, resulting in a layered and realistic character who exists in a world where ordinary people become superheroes or supervillains. Mary Jane has goals, personality traits, and flaws that exist outside of her relationship with Peter. In many ways, Mary Jane is as much the protagonist of the Raimi films as Peter is, and the stories treat her goals with the same importance as Spider-Man’s. Like Peter, Mary Jane is a young adult from Queens who struggles to make ends meet and reach her long-term career goal (in her case, becoming an actress). Unlike Peter, she never accidentally received superpowers, and she’s shown to be popular and extroverted at school (where Peter was a social outcast). Where Mary Jane faced hardship, however, was at home.
Mary Jane comes from a dysfunctional family with a viciously abusive father, who often verbally bullied her, even in public. This left Mary Jane insecure and easily wounded by criticisms, but she’s never framed negatively by the films for this. Mary Jane worries about classist judgment from Harry Osborn in the first film and reminisces on her father telling her that she’s unlovable in a deleted scene from Spider-Man 2 was undeniably cruel, but the novelization reveals that John suspected it might happen, considering how rushed the wedding was, and he urged the guests to forgive Mary Jane for it.
Mary Jane's Character Development
Mary Jane undergoes major character development in each Spider-Man film, with some arcs that run independently from Peter Parker. In the first film, Mary Jane struggles with finding a meaningful romantic relationship alongside her dream of becoming an actress. After breaking up with the shallow Flash Thompson and Harry, who fails to stick up for her during his father’s sexist tirade, she realizes that it’s Peter Parker, not the literal superhero, Spider-Man, who she has feelings for. Meanwhile, Mary Jane progresses in her acting endeavors, starring in a play by the beginning of Spider-Man 2 and moving on from Peter’s (reluctant) rejection at the end of the first film.
Mary Jane feels let down by Peter’s absences and broken promises (not knowing about his double life), but exhibits agency and knowingly chooses a potentially tumultuous relationship with Peter after discovering his secret in the film’s finale. This choice, interestingly, doesn’t affect her career woes in Spider-Man 3, Mary Jane continues to work towards achieving her career goals once more, all while juggling relationship drama with Peter and superhero shenanigans. Throughout the trilogy, Mary Jane is the only person making her own life's decisions, and she succeeds and fails on her own merits.
Being Kidnapped Doesn't Weaken Mary Jane's Character
A common complaint about Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane is that she was kidnapped or otherwise found herself in need of being rescued far too often. While she is rescued by Spider-Man many times throughout the trilogy, this doesn’t impact her characterization. Throughout the trilogy, Mary Jane’s perilous situations were the means for her character development. In the first film, Mary Jane’s first encounter with the Green Goblin and the criminals in the alleyway contributed to her feelings for Spider-Man, who rescued her each time. Her near-death experience on the Queensboro Bridge solidified that she loved Peter more than Spider-Man (in her words). In Spider-Man 2, being held hostage by Doctor Octopus allowed Mary Jane to discover Spider-Man’s true identity, a vital part of her arc in the film, and the Spider-Man 3 finale helped redeem Peter and Harry for her.
It’s important to that Mary Jane also can’t reasonably fight back against her assailants, considering her lack of superpowers and fighting skills. Most ordinary people would fare just as well against the Green Goblin or Venom as Mary Jane did, but she’s still shown occasionally fighting back. In the alleyway, Mary Jane is far outnumbered but still manages to strike several attackers before Spider-Man arrives. Later (as revealed in the novelization), Mary Jane is ambushed by the Green Goblin with sedative gas upon entering her apartment, not getting a chance to defend herself. In the sequels, however, Mary Jane tries (futilely) to strike Doctor Octopus from behind with a metal pole, but manages to drop a cinderblock on Venom, stunning him and saving Spider-Man’s life. For an ordinary human in a world of superpowered beings, her actions are reasonable.
Comic Accuracy
Another common criticism of Dunst’s Mary Jane is that she isn’t accurate to her comic counterpart, but this is also a misconception. Raimi’s Mary Jane condenses decades of Marvel's Spider-Man comic history into a lead role in three films, so naturally, some elements of her comic counterpart are going to be emphasized more than others. Mary Jane was known for being a popular extrovert in her earliest appearances, and this is acknowledged in the Raimi films, but not particularly emphasized. Dunst’s Mary Jane, like the comic version, puts on a façade of an extroverted partier as a means of coping with her abusive home life. Since it’s an intentionally shallow mask, the series briefly shows it in the first film before moving on to the deeper sides of her characterization. With a little over two hours per film, Raimi wisely focused more on Mary Jane’s career aspirations and interactions with Peter than her extroverted student life.
Comparison To Other Spider-Man Love Interests
Mary Jane is also often negatively compared to Spider-Man’s other love interests from the Raimi Spider-Man films, an issue worsened by Liz being written out of the films after Homecoming. While the Spider-Man films all have compelling ing casts, Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson is still Peter’s best love interest.
