Memorable Mash-Up of a Spiderman Defining Moment

Amazing Spiderman #42 – Mary Jane Watson’s 1st Cameo Appearance by John Romita – “Face it Tiger…You just hit the Jackpot!”

Mary Jane Watson made her first full-face cameo appearance in Amazing Spiderman #42 (November 1966). Though she had been mentioned by name a year before in issue #25, with her head and face obscured by a scarf and a red potted flower, her non-appearance became a running joke in the magazine. Peter just always seems to miss meeting her month after month, despite Aunt May’s best efforts to get them together.

That is, until her first official appearance in #42, where standing in her doorway she and Peter finally meet face-to-face, and she utters the character-defining catchphrase which reverberates around the world yet today: “Face it, Tiger…You just hit the Jackpot!” In drawing those legendary panels, John Romita also introduced Mary Jane’s most potent physical feature: her glowing red hair.

Decades later, in March 2012, Joe Quinones would echo Mary Jane’s first words in perhaps an unforgettable homage. For issue #678’s 1:50 variant, Quinones mashes the love of Peter’s life with his greatest enemy by venomizing Mary Jane Watson, who grins hauntingly as she announces all-too-happily, “Face it, Tiger. You just lost the Jackpot.”

Though more than 60 years old, Mary Jane never looked better (if you include Mary Jane’s age when she and Peter meet). Fans agree. This variant continues to climb in value year over year, far out of reach of most new collectors…and the average collector, too.

Just as Quinones salutes Romita’s pose for Mary Jane’s introduction, later artists continue to salute both artists by homaging Mary Jane’s first actual appearance, even if it is a cameo.