WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Spider's Shadow #4 by Chip Zdarsky, Pasqual Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
The dark world of Spider's Shadow has transformed one of Spider-Man's most classic storylines into an absolute horror show. This retelling of the original symbiote saga has seen a symbiote-consumed Peter Parker embrace the living darkness and become a sadistic killer. While the oozing tendrils of Venom have started to spread throughout the city, the heroes that remain have already put themselves on the front line of the battle. The Avengers might be Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but Mary Jane Watson has just reminded all of them exactly how heroic she can be as well.
Since Venom forcefully bonded to Reed Richards, the Avengers' best attempts to break into the symbiote-covered Baxter building have been futile. As soon as Peter appears on the scene, things take an even more ominous turn. The symbiote enveloping the skyscraper peels itself away to make a path for Spider-Man. Knowing that it is himself that the symbiote is after, Peter steps through the entry and towards whatever horrors await. But before the opening can close in on itself behind Peter, Mary Jane rushes in after him, and Johnny Storm follows close behind her.
Mary Jane Watson has played many roles over the years since she first stepped into Peter Parker's life back in 1966's Amazing Spider-Man #42 by Stan Lee and John Romita, but she has never been a typical damsel in distress. There have been plenty of times when Mary Jane needed some amount of rescuing, but she has retained the headstrong spirit that led her to rush into the Baxter Building here. On multiple occasions, Mary Jane has been imbued with the powers to fend for herself against some truly intimidating foes.
For the most part, Mary Jane has never had a problem looking Peter right in the eye to tell him whatever uncomfortable truth the villain needs to hear. This is much the same attitude that she took towards film production and being surrounded by supervillains during 2020's Amazing Mary Jane limited series by Leah Williams and Carlos Gomez. It's also the exact same sort of unwavering self-confidence that might just get Mary Jane killed in the fight against Venom now.
After grabbing a gun from a comatose guard, Mary Jane creeps through the halls and stairwells of the Baxter Building until coming upon the deranged Reed Richards in the middle of battling the Human Torch. Reed's impromptu armor has been keeping the symbiote safe from the flames, but Mary Jane takes her shot while the monster's back is turned.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like either Venom or Mister Fantastic are too concerned with some light gunplay, but Mary Jane's actions are still valiant. Mary Jane Watson has certainly done some heroic things in her own right, but she may have bitten off more than she can chew been a hero in her own right, but at the moment, she is going to need a lot of help if she has any hope of surviving Spider's Shadow.