Phoenix Princess

Phoenix Princess (Mary Jane Watson) is the main female protagonist (alongside male protagonist Spider-Man) in Ultimate Spider-Man and the New Avengers and a major protagonist in Avengers: New Heroes’ Time.

Early Life
Mary Jane has been dear friends with Peter since they were children and attempted to get serious when they turned 12. However, it proved to be too much for them and they became great friends.

Years later, Mary Jane became an aspiring journalist who dreams of reforming Daily Bugle Communications and rehabilitating Spider-Man's reputation which was attacked by J. Jonah Jameson on a daily basis. At the time, she initially believed that Peter and Spider-Man are two individuals (unaware that both were one and the same), has been a student at Midtown High School, and also has Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson as friends/acquaintances. Mary Jane wa an occasional target for super-powered heroes and villains who Spider-Man encountered: Mary Jane distracted Thundra during the Frightful Four's attack on Midtown High, helped Peter and Harry get along despite the Venom symbiote's rampange, used her camera to record Spider-Man and the Hulk having a showdown with Zzzax while interviewing the wall-crawler, got disgusted with Wolverine transplanted into Peter's body by Mesmero, tried to get an interview with Jameson despite the S.H.I.E.L.D. Trainees fighting with the Beetle in the same building, dealed with the chaos from Phil Coulson's school play with Flash dressed as Spider-Man and the Trapster crashing the play, and when she and Harry helped a showdown Spider-Man and Stan the Janitor had with the Lizard. She also witnessed the Beetle attacking Midtown High while searching for a fragment of the Venom Symbiote which attached to Flash Thompson (who became at the time the new hero Agent Venom).

Learning that Peter Parker is Spider-Man
Sometime later, after Spider-Man and the other heroes with him saved New York after winning the Contest of Champions, Mary Jane was seen walking in the streets of New York until she saw Spider-Man with Peter's aunt May Reilly visitting a nearby Graveyard. Right after she witnesses Spider-Man and Aunt May visitting Uncle Ben's grave and the two leave, Mary Jane took a small peak on the grave and red the inscription saying: "Here Lies Ben Parker. Beloved Husband of May Reilly and Uncle of Peter Parker.". It took her a few seconds of happly accept that her childhood best friend Peter Parker and her favorite hero Spider-Man, the two good men she was in love with, were one and the same. She later left the graveyard claiming to have understood why Peter kept his heroic activities in secret from her and vowing to help him with his reputation (and also keep Jameson from ruining it by sabotaging his live reports).

Redwing and Wanda Maximoff
Later on, as she continued sabotaging Jameson's bussiness, leading his company's rival New York Sun Communications to take over the role, Mary Jane also started a journalist career of her own with a website Journal TV show called "The Daily Web", on which she reported to New York about Spider-Man's heroic and civilians actions. During her career, she interviewed numerous citizens who saw the wall-crawler as a hero. One of these citizens was Maggie Lang (the wife of the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang), who expressed her positive opinoins about Spider-Man by mentioned him being her daughter Cassie's babysitter for one day. Later, as dhe witnessed Spider-Man trainning with Captain America, Mary Jane was with her Aunt Anna in a nearby restaurant interviewing Tony Stark, who also expressed good opinions about Spider-Man as a worthy recruit to the Avengers. Before she could hear why Spider-Man left the team, her interview was at the time interrupted by the attack of an Spider-Slayer giant robot, which was secretly sent by Jameson to destroy Spider-Man. But before Spidey could battle it, the Spider-Slayer was suddenly attacked and destroyed by Redwing, who also expressed some respect Spider-Man, who eventually became able to understand what he said. As the citizens reacted amazed with Spider-Man's good connection with the bird, Mary Jane approached them and found herself able to understand Redwing as well when the bird demonstrated that he likes her. She and Spider-Man shared friendly banters before he left with Redwing. As Iron Man and Captain America checked on the damaged robot, Mary Jane personally deduced that Jameson might have been responsible due to his obssessive hatred for Spider-Man. Stark inittially doubted this until his A.I. F.R.I.D.A.Y. traced its origins on the undergrounds of Daily Bugle Communications. As he and Stark left as well, Captain America gave her a small ear communicator to let her know when or if something ever happens.

Sometime later, Mary Jane was shown to have made a new friend in Midtown High with Wanda Maximoff, a Sokovian teenager who lost her home in Sokovia and is living with Mary Jane and Aunt Anna until she finds a new one. Mary Jane and the other students had also organised an "Welcome Back Committee" festival for their friends who had previously left to study in other schools. During the event, she happily reunited with Peter, to whom she introduced Wanda. A few hours later, Mary Jane revealed to Peter that she secretly had Daily Bugle access documents (with the identity of deceased employee Emma Holmes) which allowed her to sabotage Jameson's bussiness. Peter ended up winning Mary Jane's loving sympathy when he vowed to keep her secret, specially by calling her "Tiger" (it was at this point he learned that she knows his secret as Spider-Man). Mary Jane eventually continued her work with The Daily Web with citizens expressing more positive opinions about Spider-Man as well as negative opinions about Jameson, criticalling him for doing nothing but endangering heroes with his reports (like he indirectly did when the Collector started abducting superheroes on Earth). This led Jameson to hire mercenaries to capture her dead or alive.

As she spent time with Wanda, Mary Jane was contacted and alerted by Captain America of Jameson's hostile intentions with her. Right after she decided to leave, Wanda suddenly revealed to have powers of her own by manipulating Mary Jane's minds; she also claimed to have heard her conversation with Peter about the DBC documents and left with them. As a result of Wanda's powers, Mary Jane started experiencing disturbing visions of the past, which revealed that HYDRA Agents under Baron Strucker's orders were working on a science project for the creation of Metahuman Living Weapons, on which Wanda and her brother Pietro, who was given with Superhuman Speed power, were the only surviving subjects, until a Spider-Slayer bursted in and wrecked havoc in their base, inadvertently causing collateral damage in a small city of Sokovia and resulting in the demise of twelve innocent people, including Pietro, who sacrificed himself to save his sister. Later, Mary Jane had a more terrifying and haunting vision of a possible future of what would occur if Jameson remained as reporter, which involved heroes led by Captain America and Iron Man fighting each other until most of heroes perished. Mary Jane was unable to wake up from her nightmare until she watched in horror as a unmasked and bruised Spider-Man was accidentally killed by a collision blast between Captain America and Iron Man. Tearfully terrified and feeling guilty for what she might have become, Mary Jane ran away.

New Avengers vs. Spider-Slayers
Mary Jane was later seen sitting in a chair at Central Park. Still haunted by the visions she had, she was crying over guilt until she was approached and comforted by Captain America. Just then, she was approached and reunied with Spider-Man after he defeated the mercenaries Jameson sent after her. She was later taken by the wall-crawler into a building far from the Bugle tower to keep her safe from danger.

Just then, Spider-Man (no longer needing to hide his identity from her) apologised for not telling the truth when she wanted to know what happened. Mary Jane in turn forgave him and claimed she understands why he kept the truth from her. The two shared a small but very loving embrace until they were approached by White Tiger, whom Mary Jane also symphatized with. The three were suddenly approached by Redwing, who alerted them of Wanda's plan to manipulate Jameson into attacking New York in revenge of the damage caused in Sokovia which cost Pietro his life.