Favorite Characters: MJ (Spider-Man)

I enjoyed Michelle in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but while she stole every scene she was in, she really wasn’t in it much, and if it weren’t for the fact that she was played by Zendaya, it probably could’ve been assumed that she was just a memorable side character. However, her line at the end of the film – “my friends call me MJ” – confirmed fan speculation and all but guaranteed a larger role for her in Far From Home (a few Far from Home spoilers.)

We’ll back up quick and talk a little about what makes her so fun in Homecoming. MJ isn’t really on Peter’s radar at this point, since he only has eyes for Liz, but she regularly pops up at unexpected moments, invariably delivering a couple of great lines. I like that she randomly hangs out in detention (despite not having detention herself) because she “[likes] drawing people in crisis,” and I love that she’s the only kid who doesn’t tour the Washington Monument when the Academic Decathalon team goes to D.C. because she doesn’t want to celebrate something that was built by slaves. Throughout the movie, lots of little moments add up to give her a glimpse of who she is: someone frank, someone deadpan, someone observant, and someone a little bit dark.

When Far from Home comes along, though, and MJ and Peter are both part of a school trip to Europe (even apart from the whole superpowers thing, Peter Parker’s high school experience is very different than mine,) she gets the chance to be more of a character. We learn that she takes interest in morbid things (her favorite flower is the black dahlia “because of the murders,”) she doesn’t really go in for playing games of the teen-drama variety (Peter and Brad may be fighting over her, but MJ herself isn’t into that,) and she projects a self-confidence that’s at least a little bit put on (her trademark frankness gets self-conscious when it comes to admitting her feelings for Peter, and she hedges.)

Not to mention, she doesn’t miss a trick. As Peter works up the courage to tell her that he likes her, she assumes he’s going to tell her his other secret, the one she’s already (mostly) figured out: the fact that he’s Spider-Man. Maybe MJ initially started watching Peter because she had a crush on him, but the things she saw while doing that led her to a correct supposition, and while she wasn’t convinced, she was sure enough to say it out loud to him. That takes a gift for observation, some good deduction skills, and the ballsiness to actually run with what probably seemed at first like a ludicrous theory.

Later in the film, MJ and some of Peter’s other classmates are put in danger by Mysterio, and she holds her own well. No, she’s not a superhero and she doesn’t have any combat training, but she keeps her head and does what she needs to to help keep her and her friends alive. I like that, when she’s in danger, Spider-Man doesn’t have to come at rescue her. Instead, it’s a team effort by the whole group, in which she takes an active part. “Superhero’s girlfriend” can be a dangerous occupation, so it’s good to see that MJ is ready for it.