Mary Jane and Felecia Hardy’s unifying point is their interest in Peter Parker. When push comes to shove, they can rely on each other. Find out their next adventure in Mary Jane & Black Cat #1 by Marvel Comics!

DARK WEB: MARY JANE & BLACK CAT #1 (OF 5)

Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Vincenzo Carratu
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letterer: VC’s Ariana Maher
Editor: Devin Lewis
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: December 21st, 2022 

Previously in Dark Web: Ben Riley and Madelyne Pryor are Peter Parker and Jean Grey clones. They have teamed up to swear revenge on those who have wronged them as Chasm and the Goblin Queen! And their first target is New York!

Mary Jane and Black Cat #1 shows Mary Jane being attacked by household appliances and exhibiting superpowers. Luckily, Black Cat is there to observe and help her defeat a water tower. Mary Jane exhibits fire powers channeled through a fire sword, but the powers diminish after the fight. Black Cat explains the Ben Riley situation and how these weird appliances are a demonic plague. Suddenly, they are teleported to Limbo, where Jean Grey reveals that her powers are random. This time, she turns into a weird sludge monster. As they defeat demons around Limbo, they discover they were summoned here by Belasco!

When I picked up Mary Jane and Black Cat #1, I knew it wasn’t intended to be the main title. The main details of the event seem elusive, and Mary Jane’s powers are a mystery. I’m fortunate enough to get review copies and am familiar with this event. However, I found myself distracted by how little information I had here. This feels weird because there isn’t a lot of plot development. We briefly had a cameo from Iron Man, which seemed to fill space. Which strikes me as maybe an editorial choice rather than a creative team choice. What was interesting was the conversations between Mary Jane and Felicia. The interactions have a great sense of awkwardness, with affection and respect for each other. Great work here.

Mary Jane and Black Cat #1 has some great ideas but lacks proper execution. The art style is standard affair, but the story lacks depth in its current vision. I enjoy these characters and hope this story will improve as the story progresses. 3 out of 5 stars for Mary Jane and Black Cat #1.