There is no doubt that the MCU has strayed from many of the comic book storylines. However, they have always stayed true to the core of the characters and even have paid homage to many of them throughout their first 24 films. No movie has had more comic book nods than the final movie of those phase 3, Spider-Man: Far From Home.
In Far From Home, MJ finally found out that Peter is Spider-Man - along with a lot of other fundamental things that happened in the movie. Along with that were plenty of tongue in cheek incidents that only true comic book fans would have noticed. Here are the top ten comic book nods for MJ.
TASM143
After the climactic battle against Mysterio, Peter and MJ share a sweet first kiss amongst the debris. As the camera pans, fans will notice that one of the overturned cars has a license plate TASM143. This is an obvious reference to one of the most iconic books ever published in the Spider-verse from 1975.
The book was published in April of that year and is The Amazing Spider-Man: Number 143 (TASM 143). In that issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker and MJ also share their first kiss. The event had been one of Marvel Comic history's biggest build-ups, having been a moment in the making not for just the previous 142 issues, but years.
One-Time Davis
In Far From Home, Peter and MJ are not a couple. In fact, most of the movie sees Peter going head-to-head with Brad Davis, who is his rival for MJ's affections. In the MCU, Davis is a student that survived the snap and is now in school with people who were older than him five years ago.
It is a particularly random nod, as there is only one issue with a Brad Davis in it in the comics world. In The Amazing Spider-Man: Number 188, Peter and MJ had been together. They were taking a break from their relationship, and when they both arrived on a cruise ship, Peter was shocked to see MJ there - with Brad Davis. Davis is never seen in the comics again.
Tigers Galore
There are many interpretations of why Zendaya's MJ is wearing a shirt with a tiger in Far From Home. Some have claimed it is as simple as a nod to their school mascot, the Midtown Tigers. Others have said it is a throwback to the Sam Raimi Spider-Man 2 closing line from Kirsten Dunst's Mary-Jane telling Peter to "Go get 'em, tiger!"
It is so much more meta than that, going back to issue number 42 of The Amazing Spider-Man. After threatening to set her nephew up with her friend's niece with a great personality, Peter is dreading meeting Mary-Jane Watson. Upon opening the door to MJ, she smiles and says "Face it, tiger, you just hit the JACKPOT!"
It would become her famously infamous catchphrase and a nice little nod to true comic fans.
So Alone
In the comics, MJ is a character with no family to speak of. Well, to be both accurate and fair, she has a family, just not one that cares much about her. An abusive father, step-father, and brother-in-law dominate her world in the comics. Though not yet seen in this version, MJ seems very much alone.
None of this is more evident than when she fades away on their return to the states. As loved ones greet everyone else, MJ seems to fade away with no one there for her.
MJ Knows
As MJ and Peter go back and forth, MJ reveals that she knows he is Spider-Man and that she has for some time. She plays off that she has been piecing it all together, and that is why he keeps catching her looking at him and not because she likes him.
The audience later learns that MJ is not fully transparent about Peter's feelings with their kiss, but some may have bought it as there is a storyline like it in The Amazing Spider-Man comics. In issue 258, MJ lets Peter know that almost the whole time he has been Spider-Man, she has known. She saw him in full regalia sneaking out and has been playing ignorant to protect him.
Undeniable Chemistry
If there is one thread from all of the Marvel worlds that stays the same, its MJ and Peter have undeniable chemistry. By making MJ more of a mysterious character, one who has so much hidden and depths unknown, some have complained that there was no real build-up of that chemistry.
What is right out of the comics and into the scenes of Far From Home is that underneath everything, Peter and MJ have a connection and a friendship. That has been missing in past iterations of the web-slinger on screen.
Secret, Hard Life
Though on the surface, MJ may seem to have it all together and be a solid character. However, she has a rough home life. In Raimi's version, her father was seen to be an alcoholic and abusive. This all stems from issue 259 of The Amazing Spider-Man, where MJ confides in Peter about her father and step-father's abusive ways.
The audience hasn't seen anything like this from the MCU's MJ - though she did hint at it in Far From Home. MJ admits that she may not just have been putting pieces together on the bridge scene, and they kiss. She admits it is hard for her to get close to people, hinting at a tumultuous life behind the scenes.
What Baby Goats
In one exciting bus trip, many of these comic elements are nodded to yet again. When Peter accidentally sets drones on Brad, and in his quest to protect him, he yells out for his classmates to look out the window to see the adorable baby goats. As they all obey, he jumps outside of the bus, shoots the drones with some webs, and lands again with the class all looking out the other window.
Only MJ has not moved out of her seat, not rushing to look at the baby goats. Though there is no sense that she saw any of it, it all pays homage to the admission of the above-mentioned issues of 258/259, where Mary Jane admitted she saw him climbing out a window.
Broken Necklace
MJ's necklace is a center point of focus for the movie, with a lot of effort to protect it from being broken. However, as she fights with Happy, Ned, and a few others to survive the killer drones set on them in the final battle, the necklace finally breaks. Her necklace is seen in its broken state in the Newark airport as the class returns home. MJ reveals she likes it better broken.
This is a callback to the MJ character in the comics in general. While previous versions of Mary-Janes have been depicted her as damsels in distress, the MCU has subverted this. She may be a 'broken character' but she is certainly no one's damsel.
Black Dahlias
That broken necklace is the Black Dahlia necklace, and this may be one of the greatest calls to the comics in all of the MCU. Only true comic book fans will grasp onto this one. In the Marvel comics, the Black Dahlias are a group of female crime-fighters. They may be based out of LA in the comics, but that doesn't mean that there can't be adjustments to bring them into the MCU.
With the huge focus on MJ being a fighter and on the Black Dahlia necklace, many wonder if they are hinting at MJ's future path in the MCU.