A Reddit post arguing that Zendaya's MJ is the least developed of Spider-Man's major love interests has reignited a long-running fan debate over how the character compares with previous versions of Peter Parker's romantic partners.
The post, shared by Reddit user realizerealeyesreel on r/Cinephiles, compares Zendaya's character with Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson from Spider-Man trilogy and Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy from The Amazing Spider-Man films. It argues that both earlier characters had more clearly defined ambitions, family relationships and personal struggles outside their connections to Peter.
The Case Against MJ
Redditor realizerealeyesreel argues that Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002-2007) had a fully realised life outside Peter, including ambitions to become a Broadway star, financial struggles, and a difficult relationship with her father that shaped her choices throughout the films.
They've also made a similar case for Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man films (2012-2014), describing her as an accomplished young scientist with academic ambitions and a close bond with her police captain father.
By contrast, the post argues Zendaya's MJ, who first appeared opposite Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), has no visible family, home life, or defined goals beyond her relationship with Peter, calling her 'the worst spiderman love interest of all time'.
The post also references Laura Harrier's Liz Allan, Peter's love interest earlier in Spider-Man: Homecoming, though the original post misnames the character 'Liz Thomas'.
Fans Are Split
This particular post isn't an isolated case. Versions of this critique that MJ was written with less backstory and agency than Dunst's or Stone's characters have circulated across fan forums and social media for years, and it's recurring enough to have outlasted any single viral post.
That said, it has never been the dominant reading of the character. MJ has generally received positive reviews, and Zendaya won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Coverage of her casting and performance, including from outlets like FandomWire, has described the character as broadly well received by audiences, even as this specific critique keeps resurfacing.
Zendaya's No Stranger to This Criticism
Zendaya spoke about her approach to the role around the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, saying she deliberately avoided typical love-interest writing for MJ.
She said she didn't want the character 'to have to change to be the love interest', preferring MJ's quirks and outsider qualities to stand on their own rather than have her undergo a glamorous transformation to be seen as worthy of Peter's attention.
She's also pushed back on criticism of her casting more broadly, telling The Hollywood Reporter that much of the backlash she faced over the years was based on assumptions rather than anything factual about the character.
The Debate Continues Into Brand New Day
The character's arc continued in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, released 31 July 2026, in which Peter erased himself from the memories of everyone he loves, including MJ, following the events of No Way Home.
In one Deadline review, they noted that Holland and Zendaya, who married in real life during the film's production, still managed to generate on-screen chemistry despite a plot that keeps their characters at a distance for most of the runtime.
Whether Brand New Day gives MJ more independent depth than her three previous appearances remains part of the ongoing fan conversation — one this latest Reddit post has added another chapter to.
