Recently, I've been enjoying the exploits of a character called Mantra. She was one of a special group of superheroes called Ultras. She and her fellow superheroes endured hardships, and enjoyed such spectacular adventures, that Marvel purchased Malibu Comics, the company that published their adventures, back in the mid 1990s. For a time, authors such as Robert W Barr, and artists like Dave Roberts, thrilled readers who made titles like Mantra a part of their lives. The Ultras even ventured into toy stores, and enjoyed a brief run in the TV series "Ultraforce." Sadly, the Ultras, and all memories of their exploits, faded away, when Marvel decided to close Malibu Comics, and stopped publishing their adventures.
Had readers banded together in great numbers, and insisted Marvel publish more of the Ultras' exploits, perhaps their fate would have been different. But no matter how much people loved and admired them, they just didn't care enough about characters like Mantra, and in sufficient numbers, to convince Marvel to continue their adventures.
Stan Lee envisioned Mary Jane Watson as the pretty, wholesome girl-next-door whom Aunt May wanted Peter Parker to date in the early days of "Amazing Spider-Man." Elsewhere, I've mused upon his inspiration for the character. Like Dr John Watson, a man who shares a similar name, Mary Jane has enjoyed a long life and career in comics. Or, perhaps I should say, many lives and many careers. At times she's pursued journalism. At other times, acting. In some eras, she was the girl who loved Peter Parker from afar. In others she dated him, or was his wife. Now she's a new incarnation, no longer living in New York, but in Chicago. She's a former supermodel, and has just opened a nightclub. From the cover of Invincible Iron Man #4, it seems as though she has consigned any hopes of life with Peter Parker to the past. So what's she doing with Iron Man? You'll have to read the issue to find out, won't you?
One thing's for sure: some characters never die. We care about them too much to let their bodies crumble to dust, and let all memories of them fade away. Spider-Man and Iron Man are two heroes who seem destined to live forever. Mary Jane Watson, a woman without lacking any superpowers, is another person who continually rises from the ashes of her former existence to remake, recreate, and reincarnate herself.
How do we embrace each new day? Do we continually look to become someone new? Or do we continue long journeys toward the realization of long-held goals? I suspect Mary Jane Watson does both equally well. Perhaps that is the reason why she refuses to die, and why we keep on insisting that she live.
Dragon Dave
Related Dragon Cache entries
Stan Lee's Inspiration
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