2018's Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is an animated feature film that follows Miles Morales, a teenager who is bitten by a mutated spider in the subway tunnels, as he grows to take on the mantle of Spider-Man. The film did a great job of delivering the backstory of a teen who is seriously trying to find his way as a young person and work with his new powers.
But in Spider-Verse, Mary Jane Watson (or MJ), a character who in Sam Raimi's films holds a lot of weight in Spider-Man's life, is Peter Parker's widowed wife in Miles' world and Peter B. Parker's ex-wife in another dimension. As fresh as this Spider-Man take is, you still miss a lot of MJ.
10 Her Friendship With Peter
In Spider-Verse, viewers miss the relationship between MJ and Peter Parker. Although it was somewhat tangled and it had its ups and downs, there was something special about the comfort MJ provided Peter in the live-action films.
That relationship is a central theme that works in Spider-Man lore, and being without it was disappointing.
9 Her Romance
In Raimi's trilogy, MJ and Peter have strong chemistry. Between their famous kiss in Spider-Man (2002) and the mutual attraction, they share on-screen, it's tough to settle for an animated MJ who is without Spider-Man)
The relationship between MJ and the original Spider-Man is dead or fractured (depending on what dimension you're in), and it's unfortunate. Eliminating Mary Jane as a point of interest for the protagonist changed MJ's impact as a character in the film.
8 Her Humanity
Human faces can express in a way that animated films just can't manage to do. In Spider-Verse, viewers meet briefly meet an MJ who's been widowed, and an MJ who is Peter B. Parker's ex-wife in another dimension.
And even though these Mary Janes are both hurt by heartbreak, you don't really see much in Spider-Verse's MJ's, aside from the fleeting expressions that are well animated.
7 Her Normalcy
For the most part, MJ provided Spider-Man with a sense of grounding and connection to who he is. So, shifting her character, without a lasting replacement, made her sorely missed as a central part of the new Spider-Man's story.
On the other hand, in Spider-Verse there is a trickling of a connection between Miles and Gwen Stacy, but it can't be anything because she's been pulled out of her own dimension and has to go back home. On top of that, Miles can't share this new side of himself with his parents, and his uncle turns out to kind of be bad news.
6 Her Familial Connection
In the comics, MJ is introduced to Peter by his Aunt May, and in the films, the connection is still there. But in Spider-Verse, Miles doesn't have any connection to Mary Jane, nor is there a character he relates with, aside from his dangerous uncle who Miles' father doesn't click with.
Mary Jane is a character who connected with both him and his family, and it would have been nice to see something like that in this film (especially since Miles seemed to be missing someone he could really talk to). And, so, although Mary Jane was wrong at times, she was that pivotal figure for Spider-Man.
5 Her Thirst For Life
The live-action Spider-Man films also brought to life the infectious zest for life that MJ is known to have. Despite her terrible upbringing, she still had goals and dreams, and she hadn't given up on them.
But in Spider-Verse, which features an MJ who has experienced a lot of loss, she seems beaten down by life. She doesn't have the same spirit and vibrance that live-action MJ does.
4 Her Challenge
MJ kept Spider-Man grounded, as a friend and as a love interest, in the live-action films. She challenged him and his priorities. She made him think about his choices, and ultimately that made him more thoughtful.
In Spider-Verse, Miles doesn't feel comfortable talking to his father about being Spider-Man (because his father hates Spider-Man for a good chunk of the film), his mom goes along with her husband, and his uncle (Aaron Davis) is the supervillain known as The Prowler. Miles is seriously missing a figure (outside of his family) who can challenge him on a personal level.
3 Her Backstory
Another thing that was sorely missed in Spider-Verse is MJ's backstory. The tale of how she lifts herself up from a toxic and dysfunctional environment and chases her dreams is something to be admired.
It's sad how rather than show that (even if to briefly allude to it in the film through Peter B. Parker or during her press conference announcing Spider-Man's death) they didn't focus too much on her character.
2 Her Strength
When MJ tells Peter that she loves him in the film Spider-Man, it's not open-ended. She expects some response from him, but it's still special.
She knew that Peter was loving and kind but flaky, but she told him because she wanted to see if they could be something. It takes a lot of strength to express your feelings on such shaky ground, especially considering her childhood. That kind of strength would've been welcome in Into The Spider-Verse.
1 Her Presence
In Spider-Verse, since this story is about Miles coming to terms with his new powers and identity (and the people, all of them from different dimensions) she is definitely missing.
MJ serves as nothing more than a side character. One version is meant to give Peter B. Parker something to fight for and the other is to mourn Peter's death. There is no development in her role at all.