In a new cover in promotion of Marvel’s upcoming Secret Invasion miniseries, Mary Jane Watson takes on a new Skrull form. In a roundabout way, the cover actually explains another controversial Spider-Man Marvel Comics cover that featured the heroine striking an impossible pose. The image could be a secret parody of the Marvel Comics cover and could hilariously make sense of why Mary Jane had a very inhuman body in the original J. Scott Campbell cover.
In 2009, artist J. Scott Campbell drew a cover for The Amazing Spider-Man #601 for Marvel Comics featuring Mary Jane Watson looking at Spider-Man swing into action. The cover received a mixed response, as Watson was drawn in an oversexualized manner, with her arms pushing her cleavage together, as she wore low-cut jeans. Watson’s waist was also drawn to be unrealistically thin (a Campbell staple) as she sat in a ridiculous pose. The controversial image is classic Campbell, whose style and covers are very popular among collectors. To be fair to Campbell, he actually parodied the pose himself in Marvel Comics #1000, where he offered an updated look of Mary Jane Watson enjoying some chips and dip, commenting, “you don’t actually think I sit that way… do you?”
This week, Marvel Comics revealed a brand new cover from artist Jan Bazaldua for The Amazing Spider-Man #4, which features Mary Jane Watson turning into a Skrull as part of a series of variants for the upcoming Secret Invasion miniseries. The cover is similar to J. Scott Campbell’s 2009 image, as it offers another look at Mary Jane Watson as Spider-Man leaves their apartment to swing into battle. While the image might not be intentionally referencing Campbell’s work, it would explain why Mary Jane would strike a pose that is so inhuman. Perhaps, in Campbell’s controversial image, she was a Skrull – which would make the impossible pose make sense.
It’s possible, Mary Jane Watson shapeshifted into a Skrull before striking the much-maligned pose from Campbell. As an alien, her body could twist in much more different ways than a human. It would be a hilarious retcon of the cover.
While we’re mostly joking, it would be funny if the new cover took place seconds before the controversial J. Scott Campbell cover. Ultimately, the new cover could be a slight parody of Campbell’s Spider-Man cover. Explaining that Mary Jane Watson was a Skrull would solve the controversy behind the impossible pose. Readers can pick up the new cover when The Amazing Spider-Man #4 arrives in comic book stores in May.
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