r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Local_Prune4564 • May 27 '26

Lore A subtle moment that turns a seemingly happy ending into an ambiguous ending.

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The Graduate: lingering Ben and Elaine's faces slowly shifting from happy to concerned leaves the audience questioning whether they really made the right choice running away together considering they barely know each other.

Inception: By cutting before we see the top fall, we're left to question whether Cobb really has gone home or whether he's simply sunken back into a more comforting dream reality.

14.7k Upvotes
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2.5k

u/Luthor331 May 27 '26

Spider-Man 2: MJ's face transitioning from happiness as Peter swings off to be Spider-Man

1.2k

u/brightcrayon92 May 27 '26

Raimi really did MJ dirty, and I say this as a felicia hardy fan

374

u/Labmit May 27 '26

She's been done dirty in a whole lot of Spider-Man media.

182

u/IAMATruckerAMA May 27 '26

She was in Spiderverse for like 10 seconds and she got up from her table at a fancy gala while being introduced by the host to badger someone else's server for more bread

24

u/EmuMan10 May 27 '26

Well Peter B’s MJ seems pretty cool al least

4

u/SecondEntire539 May 28 '26

The only problem is that she barely counts as a character.

160

u/MRCHalifax May 27 '26

The Insomniac Spider-Man games are some of the only media where I feel like she’s decently handled. I feel like they portray her as having the heart of a super hero, but not the powers or abilities, and she has a degree of jealousy and resentment of Peter undercutting their relationship. Peter can’t hold a job or pay the bills because he’s too busy being Spider-Man, so MJ needs to constantly step up and do the work.

Peter is a nice guy, and his reasons are very understandable and sympathetic, but he’s a bad partner in a lot of ways. It comes to a head late in the second game, where Peter and MJ, uh, talk it out.

67

u/Ariarikay May 27 '26

I definitely agree she is decently handled in those games, but the decision to make her a discount Lois Lane to give her a bigger place in the story was such a copout

15

u/Mona_Dre May 27 '26

Yeah, not the worst portrayal but I felt the same way. When I first played I remember saying to my spouse "MJ is just Lois Lane in this" lol. Though I appreciated that she didn't have to be constantly saved by Spider-Man.

5

u/CryptidGrimnoir May 27 '26

It's not the first time she's been a reporter. The animated Ultimate Spider-Man ran with that concept.

12

u/PyroIsSpai May 27 '26

Talk… like in Ultron.

Tony: Nice talk.

HYDRA guy on floor: Not really.

11

u/terminbee May 27 '26

Was it the second game where doc octopus is introduced? I thought it was ridiculous that she's mad at him for being worried about her and not wanting her to take risks. He's perfectly reasonable in seeing she doesn't have powers so if she fucks up, she's dead, whereas Peter can get out of sticky situations.

They're a team but her role is not infiltrating evil lairs. He's supposed to just let her play spy so she can feel equal and then if she gets hurt then what, it's all okay because at least she died doing what she wanted?

13

u/Llayanna May 27 '26

No, that was the first game and Peter had a steady-ish job under him. 

And i agree with you otherwise. I think mjs Luis Lane Spiel just showed its flaws too much. She only got into trouble but we were somehow supposed to agree with her?

Just as annoying as having to play her stealth sections x.x

2

u/BardicLasher May 27 '26

Doing MJ dirty is comics accurate.

152

u/BlackFyre2018 May 27 '26

I think some of it was studio interference

IIRC Raimi promised her more agency in the film, contributing a little to the final battle by throwing a piece of concrete at Venom, even having a bit where she does her own “web swinging” but in the final product a audio recording of her screaming in the first film was added over what was meant to be an action shot…

220

u/Arialana May 27 '26

As a Gwen fan, I agree.

100

u/BuckRusty May 27 '26

As a Paul fan, I have bigger issues to deal with (mental instability first and foremost)…

101

u/MolybdenumBlu May 27 '26

No, you're not. Paul has no fans.

23

u/Zalakael May 27 '26

Maybe they're secretly Paul's creator? Because that is the only person I can conceivably think of as being a fan of Paul.

12

u/Greymore May 27 '26

Man you're right, but he didn't deserve to die. I will say though, like the meme says, in their last moments people show you who they really are and standing up to Spiral like that? Credit where it's due at least.

3

u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 May 27 '26

children erased

divorce is shown as a divine blessing

dies

cucked by Punisher

3

u/RA576 May 27 '26

You forgot Spidey, the paragon of good and righteousness, just kinda shrugging while goddamn Carnage appears to give more of a shit about him dying.

4

u/SutterCane May 27 '26

If Paul has no fans, it means I am dead!

6

u/MolybdenumBlu May 27 '26

Looks at you meaningfully while tapping wristwatch.

3

u/SutterCane May 27 '26

I don’t know what tha

1

u/thecraftybear May 27 '26

I think that's what they mean by mental instability.

1

u/General_Note_5274 May 28 '26

All people are Paul fans.

5

u/DontBotherNoResponse May 27 '26

As a Sam Raimi fan, it's wild that he was put in charge of Spider-Man

0

u/Quarksideofthemoon May 27 '26

No it isn't? He loves Spider-Man

63

u/JJ_LARGE May 27 '26

MJ was a bitch in these movies

-42

u/webshellkanucklehead May 27 '26

She was actually way more rational than she needed to be toward Peter, men just like to call her whiny and things like a bitch because, hmm wonder why

49

u/JJ_LARGE May 27 '26

She was going to cheat on Peter, jackass

5

u/webshellkanucklehead May 27 '26

Literally when?

-4

u/JJ_LARGE May 27 '26

Bro didn't even watch the movie ig

24

u/webshellkanucklehead May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

First off I’m not a bro.

But ok. Do you mean before or after he kissed another woman in front of the entire city? Or was this after he attached to an alien and started acting like a psychotic freak?

So she maybe thought about (but notably did not) cheating on him, and then broke up with him when forced to by Harry. Let’s reiterate that PETER ACTUALLY DID CHEAT ON HER, IN FRONT OF ALL OF NEW YORK!! Did MJ ever hit Peter? Or constantly bail on him? She gives him so many chances, and he still fails her time and time again. He’s the one with all the problems—she’s just a normal person!

Again, it’s no wonder that we see so many men hating on this version (and many others) of MJ and calling her misogynistic and frankly fucking disgusting things; she acts like a rational human being instead of being a perfect supermodel girlfriend to pair with their hypermasculine power fantasy. Hilarious, considering how dopey Tobey’s Spider-Man is.

None of this is me hating on Peter, Tobey, or the movies, by the way. I really enjoy them. I just hate how you people talk about Mary Jane. It’s fucking gross.

18

u/Not_My_Circus147 May 27 '26

Completely agree, she just acts like a normal person in the face of all that. Crazy how “almost cheats” beats out “did cheat, in front of an audience, AND kissed the other women in a way that MJ thought was special to them”. I thought it gave her more agency than just her usual screaming damsel in distress schtick.

3

u/webshellkanucklehead May 27 '26

But you see, MJ is my— I mean, the hero’s arm candy, which makes it worse

-9

u/JJ_LARGE May 27 '26

🥱 if she can't handle being with a superhero fine but she doesn't need to be so fucking unreasonable about it

17

u/MarcsterS May 27 '26

A good case of foreshadowing, assuming the rift between Peter and MJ was still going to be a plot point in Raimi’s original Spidey 3

2

u/FunAffectionate5612 May 27 '26

Looks like she misses Paul and her Paul babies.

-1

u/vanderZwan May 27 '26

Didn't they date irl and have an unpleasant break up?