Spider-Man: No Way Home - 10 Biggest Questions It Leaves Unanswered
7. What's The Deal With MJ's Surname?
One of the low-key strangest moments in the film occurs right at the start when MJ (Zendaya) is arrested along with Peter and Ned (Jacob Batalon), and the cop refers to MJ as "Michelle Jones Watson."
MJ quickly replies that she doesn't go by that surname, opting instead for simply Michelle Jones.
It's an interesting and surprising nugget of information, given that many fans have complained that this iteration of MJ feels too divorced from her popular conception, name and all.
Yet beyond this fleeting mention of MJ's changed name, we're given no context whatsoever for the why. It's easy to infer that it's the result of some kind of family discord, though any possible answers are purely speculation at best.
With MJ's future in the MCU no longer guaranteed, it's pretty unlikely we'll ever learn the particulars of this. It's not the end of the world, but it is a nagging, lingering thread all the same.
In reality, this was likely more a practical, pragmatic choice above all else, to shut the complaining fans up and tell them "look, this is the MCU's Mary-Jane, deal with it."