Spoilers for Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1 Ahead!
Although Spider-Man is known for his painful "Parker Luck," it doesn't stop him from having several romantic interests, like Mary Jane Watson and Black Cat. Both MJ and Felicia Hardy have stuck with Peter over the years. However, they've never had much time to get to know each other apart from the Wall-Crawler. In Jed MacKay and Carlos Villa's Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond, Felicia and MJ finally get a chance to break the ice.
Even though most Spider-Man fans acknowledge that Mary Jane is a better match for Peter, Black Cat may be a better match for Spider-Man. In fact, Felicia helps and cares for Spider-Man during his superhero outings. For example, in Peter David and Greg Land's Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads #2, Felicia teams up with Doctor Strange to save Spider-Man. Even though she prefers to work with Spider-Man, Black Cat is willing to work alongside superheroes more than Mary Jane. While it's true MJ once worked for Iron Man, and Tony encouraged her to become a superhero, Spider-Man's girlfriend remains hesitant to become an official superhero.
In Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond, the two rivals finally form a bit of a friendship. Not only does Felicia encourage MJ to suit up in one of her costumes and temporarily become another Black Cat, they openly discuss their respective past relationships with Peter. Felicia comments that she's "'the bad girl.' The distraction, until the good girl wins in the end. The perfect one. It sucks." Mary Jane laughs at Felicia and remarks that she "was the bad girl first! I was the party girl, always getting into trouble somewhere." It's funny to think MJ once had fewer responsibilities than Black Cat has ever had. Even though Black Cat often sways Spider-Man to use his powers selfishly, she usually ends up seeing his side of things and becomes a hero herself.
While Mary Jane does suit up in different costumes from time to time, she never really sticks to the superhero life. Dan Slott, Christos N. Gage, and Giuseppe Camuncoli's Amazing Spider-Man #15 tells the story of when MJ suits up in Peter's old Iron-Spider costume. When asked if she would become a superhero permanently, she replies: "Never again. These costumes have a way of taking peoples' lives... if you let them." It's interesting to wonder why she would suit up again, in one of Black Cat's costumes, of all things.
It's understandable to see where MJ is coming from; she prefers the responsibilities of a citizen in her relationship with Peter Parker. Nonetheless, Black Cat still resembles a "superhero" more than Mary Jane; Felicia's affinity to Spider-Man continues inspiring her to help others in her own way. Marvel's more modern stories continue to prove Black Cat is less of a "Bad Girl" than she lets off, perhaps even less than Mary Jane Watson.