Spider-Man 2 Mary Jane Redesign | Is The Internet Overreacting?

Spider-Man 2 is about to release on PS5, and Mary Jane is already a topic of discussion. Over the last few years, the portrayal of women in video games has been a major point of discussion. Some believe that women are being over-sexualized, and others think women are being purposefully made ugly. As with all things, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Women playing video games are being sexualized. That, of course, is only one half of the truth. The other half of the truth is the fact that men are being sexualized as well.

It is not video game women, but video game characters portrayed this way. While this is a fact, a larger question needs to be answered. Why are attractive or even suggestive video game characters a bad thing? People keep complaining about the issue, but no one gives proper reasons for it being bad. That does not mean that reasons do not exist; it just means that the reason given is terrible. The argument always centers around video game sexualization seeping into the real world.

Those making these arguments, however, often state that video game violence does not lead to real-world violence. If that is your take, then you are correct. GTA will not make you more violent, and the women in Final Fantasy will not make you do bad things to them in real life. People who play video games and do bad things will do them regardless. This, however, has not stopped the debates from happening online. The latest topic for discussion is Mary Jane in Spider-Man 2.

The Mary Jane Spider-Man 2 Problem

With Spider-Man 2 set to release on 20 October, many fans are excited. However, there is also a smaller group of people who are always cautious against any new video game release. Over the last few years, many developers and publishers have become more socially aware. Some of them take strong political stances and often bend to social pressure. Whenever any change is made to an existing IP, fans are quick to react. Most people are fine with changes, but if changes are due to social or political reasons, fans will resist.

There are a portion of video game fans who believe that there is an active effort to make video game women less attractive. If you study video game women in a first release and then look at them in sequels, it is clear that specific changes are being made to appearances. The question becomes whether these types of changes matter. Once again, the issue is more complicated than you might think. In the case of Mary Jane in Spider-Man 2, personally, I believe that the problem might be a bit overblown. I have seen pictures of her, and I think she looks relatively normal.

She looks slightly older than usual but still primarily normal. For me personally, I would even go as far as to call her attractive. Even if she was not, I do not believe that it would matter that much. Based on current trends, I am just surprised they did not pull a Disney and re-imagined her even more. I thought by now, Spider-Man would have become Spider-Person. Then again, I do not want to give them any ideas.

Why People Resist Video Game Changes

As stated, making any type of changes to a long-standing video game IP can quickly become a massive issue. While people are open to certain types of changes, it often depends on how far certain developers go. When you completely overhaul characters, people are quick to push back. This rule holds for both video games and movies. People grow fond of certain characters. For many, video games are deeper than just a way of escaping. They find community in certain games and form bonds with characters. If you make major changes to how they know something, they will resist.

If these changes are followed by a pandering message calling you a horrible name for disagreeing, the outrage will grow even stronger. However, sometimes things also go too far. I have seen perfectly normal-looking characters in the past being called ugly for no reason. They wear regular clothes and look like normal people. Not every character needs to wear a mini skirt and look like a model. However, other times it is clear that developers are going out of their way to make someone look as terrible as possible to get a reaction.

They take an existing video game character who was previously attractive and purposefully change their appearance in order to bait a reaction. When people react, they call them horrible names. This is the reason why things can get so complicated. There are overreactions on both sides of the argument. However, I will get off the fence and give you my opinion. I enjoy playing games with attractive women. If I see a pretty girl on a cover, you have my attention. With male characters, it is the same. The cooler you look, the more interested I am in the game.

Does Video Game Characters Need To Be Attractive

I am a visual person, and thus, the look of who I play with is important to me. While we might pretend that this is not the case, the way other people look factors into our opinions about entertainment. I do not exclusively play games only because of how good-looking my character is. In fact, it is very low on the list of criteria for making a decision on what to play or watch. However, if there is an attractive girl, you do get my interest more. When watching movies or playing video games, people either imagine themselves with the character or being the character.

This is the truth for most people. Some stunning and brave people might lie and say that it is not the case, but they are likely being dishonest. With that said, this does not mean that every girl needs to be good-looking. There does not have to be a sexual component to every game, and sometimes, you can create something that goes deeper than looks. Other times, it is possible to do both. No matter what, people will always use visuals to sell a product. In most cases, those visuals will include the appearance of a person. Doing this within video games has sparked a large internet debate.

An entire saga called Gamergate revolved around this issue in particular. In the end, it is important to remember that these are only video game characters. They are not real. While certain imagery can be distasteful, mostly it is harmless. Both men and women like attractive people in their video games.

Conclusion

For Spider-Man 2, I think they are on the right track. The appearance of Mary Jane should not be an issue for this game. She looks like a normal woman and most of the focus will be on Peter Parker.

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