60 Years Later, Mary Jane Is Finally Stepping Out of Spider-Man’s Shadow

For nearly as long as Spider-Man has been swinging around on the pages of comic books, so has Mary Jane Watson been there by Peter Parker's side as his true love. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the first time she fully appeared on the page, hitting Peter with one of the most iconic introductions in Marvel history: "Face it, Tiger... you just hit the jackpot!" Since then, she's gone on to become one of the comic giant's A-listers who has done so much more than just dating and marrying the Web-Head. She's helped Peter with his superhero business, became a hero herself, saw their marriage erased by Mephisto in the pivotal One More Day storyline, became the host of Venom, and has been reinvented for the MCU. As long as Spider-Man exists, MJ will be there, with her own stories to tell that show her as much more than just a romantic interest.