Mary Jane Watson holds a special place in the hearts of comic book fans. As the wife of Spider-Man, she was the glue that often held insane dual life together. She has been there for the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and more. Simply put, she's played a large role in the overall Marvel Universe, more than a simple support character.

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At times, Mary Jane has even played the role of a hero, outright saving the day. She proves that in a world of mutants and marvels, being a hero doesn't always require powers.

10 Saving Her Sister

Mary Jane Saves Her Sister

After Peter's second marriage proposal, Mary Jane decided to leave New York for a while. She headed for Pittsburgh, where her sister Gayle had been sent to prison for a crime she didn't commit. MJ being MJ, she set out to prove her sister's innocence, free her from prison, and put the right person behind bars.

She was successful in her mission, the only hitch being that the real criminal behind everything was Mary Jane's father, Philip. MJ's family dynamic is a complicated one, but that doesn't stop her from doing what needs to be done to help them. Or put them in jail. She makes that determination on a case by case basis.

9 Hiding A Dangerous Secret

Mary Jane Hiding A Dangerous Secret

Spider-Man's identity is one of the most well-guarded secrets in the Marvel Universe. Well, unless he blurts it out on national TV at Iron Man's request. What even Spider-Man didn't know was how early Mary Jane was aware of his dual life.

The night Uncle Ben was killed, Mary Jane watched him leave his bedroom window dressed as Spider-Man to hunt down the man who killed him. From those initial moments, Mary Jane knew the danger Peter was in and carried that with her every day. She held his secret from everyone, a duty she still takes seriously.

8 A Painful Love Triangle

Mary Jane A Painful Love Triangle

The death of Gwen Stacy hit everyone in her circle of friends hard, but none more than Peter and Mary Jane. Peter was, of course, Gwen's significant other and Mary Jane was one of her closest friends. It was kind of an awkward situation since Mary Jane dated Peter before Gwen did. Regardless, Gwen's death in the battle between Spider-Man and Green Goblin devastated them.

Mary Jane put Peter's feelings ahead of hers and did everything she could to comfort him, despite how brutally he lashed out at her. She made the decision to stand by her friend, no matter what.

7 Fighting A Spider-Slayer

Mary Jane Fighting A Spider-Slayer

When Peter Parker finally realized that MJ was the woman for him, he proposed marriage. She said no. So, he tried again. She said no again. This left them at somewhat of a marriage stalemate until a Spider-Slayer arrived on the scene. Robots initially funded by J. Jonah Jameson to hunt and kill Spider-Man, the Spider-Slayers have continually been a thorn in Parker's side.

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This time, Mary Jane aided in the fight, helping him defeat one of the Slayers. The side benefit was the incident helped MJ reconsidered her views on marriage and finally agreed to marry Parker.

6 Spider-Island Resistance

Mary Jane Spider Island Resistance

When everyone on the island of Manhattan gained spider powers, and most of them started changing into spider monsters, Mary Jane discovered she was immune to the disease due to her time around Spider-Man.

She did develop her own set of spider-powers, though. Mary Jane entered battle by helping defend the Empire State Building from the masses of spider creatures while Spider-Man delivered the antidote. With or without powers, Mary Jane will always do what's right, but having superpowers of any kind definitely make things easier.

5 Hey, Jude

Mary Jane Hey, Jude

One of the more recent realizations Tony Stark came to was that he was, in fact, adopted by the Starks. This led him to seek out his biological parents, which is how he found his mother, Amanda Armstrong. She gave her son away to the Starks when she discovered that Tony's father, Jude, was a HYDRA agent.

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After Tony recovered from a coma, Jude reappeared and came after Amanda in an attempt to get her to help him ambush Tony. That's when Mary Jane stepped in, shooting Jude in the shoulder. When you're in a relationship with Spider-Man, you get used to starting danger in the eye.

4 One More Day

Mary Jane One More Day

Heroism takes a lot of forms. Sometimes, making an incredible sacrifice is one of those forms. During the first Civil War, Spider-Man openly revealed his secret identity, a decision he came to regret when Aunt May was mortally injured. Mephisto appeared to Peter and Mary Jane, offering them a deal to save Aunt May's life.

After much consideration, they took the deal, and their relationship was wiped away. Always thinking of her husband, Mary Jane added a few stipulations to the deal, like making Peter's identity a secret, again.

3 Saving Stark Industries

Mary Jane Saving Stark Industries

After moving from New York to get away from the superhero nonsense, Mary Jane opened a club in Chicago. Naturally, it was destroyed by Iron Man and Doctor Doom when they were fighting Madame Masque. As an apology, Tony offered her a job with Stark Industries, which turned out to be a really good idea for Tony.

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As usual, Tony faked his death and disappeared for awhile. His Board of Directors took his absence as an opportunity to take over his company, a move Mary Jane fended off through negotiations with the disgruntled board members.

2 Fighting Regent

Mary Jane Fighting Regent

During the period when she worked for Stark, a new vigilante named Regent showed up. It was eventually discovered that he was kidnapping heroes and using his special suit to steal their powers. Spider-Man and Iron Man confronted him but were soundly defeated. Luckily for them, Mary Jane was around to save the day.

She put on the Iron Spider costume Stark had made for Parker and engaged Regent. If there's one thing that Mary Jane knows, it's how to dress for the occasion. She liberated her friends then, with the help of Miles Morales, they were able to defeat Regent.

1 Short-Circuiting Electro

Mary Jane Short Circuiting Electro

The ex-girlfriends of Peter Parker have a unique bond, probably due to surviving so many harrowing incidents. One evening, Mary Jane and another of Peter's exes, Carlie Cooper, went to a play starring MJ's acting nemesis, Melanie Daniels. As one would expect, Electro attacked the event and took Melaine hostage.

But with no Spider-Man around to save the day, MJ and Carlie had to take matters into their own hands. They were able to free Melanie and defeat Electro. When this made the news, Mary Jane was suddenly very popular and started getting acting requests again. Perhaps that was Electro's plan all along.

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