WINTER PARK, Colo. – For generations of Colorado skiers, Mary Jane has been more than just another place to ride a chairlift. Known for its steep moguls and unforgiving terrain, the mountain has long served as a proving ground for skiers looking to test themselves.
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This season marks 50 years since Mary Jane officially opened as part of Winter Park Resort, a milestone that offers a look back at how one mountain helped shape what skiing in Colorado looks and feels like today.
“Mary Jane is iconic to Colorado ski culture,” said Jen Miller, a spokesperson for Winter Park Resort.
Mary Jane opened to the public on Jan. 10, 1976, during what was considered one of the largest ski-area expansions of its time. But its roots stretch back much further than lift chairs and season passes.
The land was once used by Indigenous peoples and later by sheepherders and miners. Then, the Arlberg Club acquired a mining claim in the area and cut what is now known as the Mary Jane Trail in the 1920s and 1930s. That trail is widely regarded as the first downhill recreational ski trail in the western United States.
“This is kind of the origins of recreational skiing in the western United States,” Miller said.
When Mary Jane officially opened, resort leaders made a deliberate choice to preserve the mountain’s rugged character rather than soften it for wider appeal. The terrain quickly became known for its steep pitches, tight trees and mogul-heavy runs.
“The terrain on Mary Jane is known for being steep and rugged, so it gets a lot of moguls,” Miller said.
That decision helped cement a mindset still closely associated with Colorado skiing, one where challenge is expected and effort is part of the experience.
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Allan Bock, 50-Year Skier
Allan Bock skied at Mary Jane during its opening week in 1976. He stopped skiing in 2024 after a knee replacement but says the mountain shaped decades of memories.
“It was really a joy to be able to ski someplace that hardly anybody was skiing,” Bock said.
Bock said Mary Jane became a central part of his family’s life in Colorado, with his children learning to ski there at a young age.
“This was a family joy activity for us,” he said.
That generational connection is part of what has kept Mary Jane’s reputation alive for half a century.
For Bryn Dessel, a 22-year skier who grew up on the mountain, Mary Jane still feels like home.
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Bryn Dessel, 22-Year Skier
“My parents have been skiing Winter Park and Mary Jane since 1989, so this is the mountain I grew up on,” Dessel said.
Dessel describes Mary Jane as “perfectly unpolished,” a place where the focus remains on the mountain itself rather than luxury amenities.
“It’s a place where skiers who really love to ski get to ski,” Dessel said. “It’s not about the experience and the restaurants. It’s about the mountain and the terrain they’re offering.”
Fifty years after opening day, Mary Jane continues to challenge skiers, shape memories and define a style of skiing many say is uniquely Colorado.
“If you can ski Mary Jane, you can ski anywhere,” Dessel said.
Winter Park Resort says celebrations marking Mary Jane’s 50th anniversary will continue throughout the season, but for the skiers who keep returning year after year, the mountain’s legacy has been built one run at a time.
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As they’re getting ready for the final match in Challengers, Zendaya’s Tashi Donaldson questions asks her husband, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), if he wants to just be rich or if he actually wants to be a tennis champion. Mid-argument, their young daughter Lily cuts the tension by asking if she could watch … Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse instead of more tennis. At the Los Angeles premiere, Zendaya gave a little insight on how the reference made it into the final cut; after all, she is one of the film’s producers. “What’s funny is that I think it might have been something else, but that’s what we could get cleared,” she said with a wink. “It’s a fun little callout.” The “callout” is, of course, referring to her role as MJ in MCU’s Spider-Man alongside her real-life boyfriend, Tom Holland. While she doesn’t appear in the animated Spider-Verse films yet, she and Mr. Spidey both have expressed interest in joining the next movie. For now, it’s just a fun little Easter egg that is sure to get a couple chuckles, even if a proper Spider-Man: Homecoming mention didn’t make it into the final cut.
Last summer, Marvel Comics boldly announced that it would return to “The Most Notorious Spider-Man Story Ever Told,” to which the world cried out “You’ll really have to be more specific!” After quickly clarifying that it was a sequel to Spider-Man: Reign, the world cried out again: “Oh. The one with the radioactive jizz?” Now, we know a little more about the hows and whys.
Exclusive First Look at Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Painting
Today, Marvel announced that Spider-Man: Reign II would begin this summer, a five-issue miniseries that sees Reign’s original writer/artist, Kaare Andrews (for whom Reign was his first major comics work), return to the world of his 2006 story—an alt-future tale that starred an older, grizzled Peter Parker. Peter grapples with a long life lived as Spider-Man, that, as previously mentioned, is now mostly remembered derisively for its revelation that in this continuity, Peter’s radioactive bodily fluids were responsible for giving his wife, Mary Jane, the cancer that ultimately took her life. Peter recounts this information to Mary Jane’s corpse, having just dug it up out of the cemetery.
It’s a lot—but Andrews recognizes that, and sees a return to Reign as a seasoned creative as chance to, well, reign in some of the impulsive tendencies of his younger self. “Reign was full of tragic and dark absurdity that only a young creator could come up with. A way to challenge the idea of personal power and responsibility,” Andrews said in a statement. “But as I’ve grown older, and after sitting with this story for so long, I started to ask myself this question, ‘What if there was a way to go back and change what happened? What if I could fix everything?’”
Image: Kaare Andrews/Marvel Comics
“Many call it the most infamous Spider-Man story ever told. But for me, what’s kept it relevant is the love behind creating that book,” Andrews added. “This is the character I grew up with, the one that taught me how to be a man, how to live with failure and keep standing back up, the unrelenting force of trying to make things better.”
Little else is currently known about Reign II, other than it will introduce older versions of both Felicia Hardy, aka the superthief Black Cat, and Miles Morales as a second Spider-Man. As you can see from the alternate cover art for the first issue above, the fact that Miles is replicating the infamous cover to Reign #1, this time hugging Peter’s grave instead of Mary Jane’s, suggests maybe there’ll be an even grimmer ending for Peter than, well, hugging his wife’s decaying body.
We’ll find out when Spider-Man: Reign II begins on July 3.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is almost here (or already out if you’re reading this after October 20) and you might want a refresher on the first game, from way back in 2018, before swinging back in and seeing what’s next for everyone’s favorite webhead.
The Week In Games: What’s Coming Out Beyond Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 actually does include a short recap video before you start playing, and it’s worth watching. But that video leaves out some key details and moments from the first Spider-Man game’s DLC episodes, as well as theMiles Morales-focusedspin-off. Never fear, True Believers. I’ve taken the time to concisely (as much as possible) summarize everything that happened in the first game, all its DLC, and the PS5 launch title, Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Ready? Here we go!
Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018)
Spider-Man starts with a call to Peter Parker from NYPD Captain Yuri Watanabe to assist with the arrest of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin. Spider-Man—with a hyphen as explained by the superhero himself—joins in, helps the police capture Fisk, then quickly leaves to get back to work at his day job.
Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (don’t tell JJ Jameson) is revealed to work for Dr. Otto Octavius. In the comics and films, he’s known as the villain Doc Ock, and has giant mechanical arms. But this time around, Dr. Octavius isn’t evil and instead wants to help people, even if it doesn’t always pay the bills, which inspires Parker to be even better. Boy, I hope this lovely relationship between surrogate father and son doesn’t get ruined…
A few days later, after defeating C-tier villain Shocker, Spider-Man encounters Mary Jane Watson during a museum heist. But Parker and Watson aren’t dating or married in this version of the Marvel universe. Instead, they broke up before the game started and are now separated. And yeah, it’s kind of awkward.
digitalshot / Marvel / Sony
After working together to help foil the heist—though failing to stop the gang from stealing a folder with important info—MJ and Parker meet up at a favorite restaurant to chat about things. It goes about as well as you’d expect between two exes who haven’t talked in a bit. Later, after some police sirens bring their meeting to an abrupt end, Parker heads over to FEAST, a homeless shelter run by his Aunt May and created by Martin Li. During the heist, MJ grabbed a creepy mask worn by the gang members and Parker thinks Li—an art expert—can help shed some light on it. Li warns Parker the masks are used by a dangerous gang and that he should stay away. Li seems nice but actually…
Li is a powerful supervillain, Mr. Negative, and is running a gang called the Inner Demons—the same ones who robbed the museum and grabbed the folder. It turns out Li hates Norman Osborn, who is mayor of New York City. With Fisk gone, Li and his gang take over Kingpin’s turf and resources with plans to use them against Osborn and the city. Oh and also, guess who else hates Osborn? Dr. Otto Octavius. He holds a grudge against the mayor for betraying him and kicking him out of Oscorp after they founded the company together.
We also learn that Octavius is suffering from a disease that’s destroying his body. However, Peter helps the doctor work on mechanical prosthetics that can be controlled via neural implants. Regardless, the disease (and hatred) corrupt the doctor and soon he’s scheming to hurt Osborn and get his revenge. Anybody else in this city have problems with Osborn…?
Later, at a rally for Norman Osborn’s re-election, Li and the Inner Demons attack. Norman Osborn gets away, but Miles Morales’ father—a police officer who helped Spider-Man—isn’t so lucky, and perishes in a suicide bomber’s blast. Parker tries to connect with Morales, as he knows how he feels, and ultimately gets him to join FEAST. Oh, and during the attack on the rally, Peter Parker sees Martin Li turn into Mr. Negative.
At some point, while helping out at FEAST, the still grieving Miles Morales is bitten by a strange spider accidentally brought in by MJ after she sneaks into Osborn’s labs. Wonder if that means anything…
Santosx07 / Marvel / Sony
Following some investigating, Spider-Man and MJ discover that Martin Li has stolen a bioweapon, called the Devil’s Breath, that Osborn inadvertently created while searching for a universal cure for all diseases. (Wonder why he wants that…) Li and his demons then attempt to deploy it but are stopped by Spider-Man and MJ. He’s arrested and sent to the Raft, a super-secure prison. Meanwhile, Dr. Octavius goes full Doc Ock, building powerful mechanical arms and staging a prison break of the Raft, freeing classic Spider-Man villains including Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture, and the recently arrested Martin Li.
After almost dying while trying to stop all of the villains from escaping, Spider-Man is left drifting in the waters outside NYC. Meanwhile, Doc Ock goes to Times Square and releases the dangerous Devil’s Breath bioweapon into the air, causing any who come into contact with it to develop a deadly disease. But don’t worry, there is a cure! Bad news: Osborn has it and he’s hiding behind private mercs he hired to capture the Demons. These mercs are led by the badass Silver Sable. She… doesn’t like Spider-Man.
Later, Spidey is rescued by NYPD Captain Watanabe. He’s hurt, but he pushes through the pain and goes after the villains who are now causing chaos across an infected NYC. After cleaning up that mess, Spider-Man tracks down Martin Li, who has discovered Osborn’s location and is holding him hostage.
Spider-Man fights Li, but eventually convinces him to give up his need for revenge against Osborn, who in the past tested Devil’s Breath on Li, which gave him his powers, but also led to the deaths of his parents. However, at just that moment, Doc Ock shows up and overpowers Spider-Man, nearly killing him. Octavius then leaves with Osborn and the cure. Silver Sable, who at this point realizes that Spider-Man is good and Osborn sucks, helps bring Spider-Man to FEAST where he recovers for a bit.
Targa / Marvel / Sony
Once he’s feeling better and has built a new, tougher suit, he goes after Doc Ock. During the fight, Octavius reveals that he’s known about Peter’s secret identity for quite some time now, angering Peter as it means that the doctor has, essentially, been trying to kill him or at least let him get killed for days now. Rough stuff. Thanks to Peter’s new suit, he beats Doc Ock, who gets arrested, and brings the cure back to FEAST, where Aunt May is dying from exposure to Dragon’s Breath.
Because this is a Spider-Man story, Peter is forced to make a gut-wrenching choice. There is only one vial of the cure. He can use it to save Aunt May, but that’s it. Or he can give it to a scientist helping them who can, in a few days, turn it into a cure for everyone. Although Peter wants to save May, he knows he can’t. Before she dies, May reveals that she’s known Peter’s secret for a while. May also tells him how proud she is of him and reassures Peter about his choice to save the city over her. She then quietly dies next to Peter. And I cried.
In a mid-credits scene, we learn that Morales has developed Spider-Man-like powers and Peter Parker reveals his secret to the young teen. In a post-credits scene, Norman Osborn’s son and Parker’s best friend, Harry Osborn—who is said to be visiting Europe—is revealed to be in a coma inside a large medical tank. A strange black goo is wrapped around him, helping him fight a disease that killed his mom.
Marvel’s Spider-Man DLC (2019)
A few months have passed since the destruction of Fisk’s empire, and all the damage wrought by the Inner Demons and Dragon’s Breath. After all that, another power vacuum has formed in NYC and the Maggia crime families want to take over. MJ learns that a lost painting is currently on display and the Maggia crime family wants it. Spider-Man is alerted and stops them from stealing it; however, master thief Black Cat gets her hands on it and breaks it open to grab a secret data drive.
Spider-Man learns that Hammerhead, one of the five heads of the Maggia crime empire, has hired Black Cat to steal four data drives belonging to the other dons. Spidey tracks down Black Cat and confronts her about why she’s working with Hammerhead and what’s up with these drives. She won’t say what’s on the drives, but reveals that if she doesn’t do what Hammerhead wants, they will kill her son. Later, MJ discovers that long ago the families agreed to combine all their assets in one place to create peace. The ability to access these assets was split across five USB drives, and whoever gets them all can take everything and bankrupt the families.
Eventually, Spider-Man tracks down the last data drive, but Black Cat beats him there, and a chase ensues. When he finally catches her, he convinces her to let him help her break free of Hammerhead. The plan: Spidey will look for Black Cat’s son while she stalls the gangster. This leads to Black Cat learning about a massive vault Hammerhead recently bought, and she deduces that her son is being held in there.
With Spider-Man’s help, and after learning that Hammerhead has taken Sable merc weapons and tech from the NYPD after the Devil’s Breath crisis, Black Cat finds the vault. (Yes, Silver Sable’s mercenary company is called Sable.) But she leaves right as some goons show up. Once defeating them all, Spidey enters the vault and sees a briefcase inside that once held a USB drive.
Shirrako / Marvel / Sony
Black Cat then traps Spider-Man in the vault and reveals that she took Hammerhead’s own drive—contained in the secure vault—and gave the gang leader fake USB drives and kept them all for herself. Also, she lied about having a son to trick Spider-Man into helping her. She escapes, but Hammerhead soon learns of her deception and plants bombs in Black Cat’s penthouse, blowing it up and seemingly killing her in the process.
A few days pass and all-out war engulfs NYC as the Maggia families have united against Hammerhead’s goons. Spider-Man and Captain Watanabe help lead a SWAT team assault on one of Hammerhead’s bases to possibly capture him. But after getting split up, Yuri Watanabe and her team are ambushed by Hammerhead who kills everyone and nearly gets Watanabe before Spider-Man saves her. This deeply traumatizes the NYPD captain and she vows revenge.
Later, Spider-Man learns that Hammerhead is after “Project Olympus” and plans on capturing and killing the other Maggia family dons. Despite police trying to protect the family heads, Hammerhead captures them and brings them to a construction site to kill them.
Spider-Man shows up just in time to save them, but runs into Hammerhead who is now wearing a powerful suit of armor—revealing what “Project Olympus” was—and the two fight. Spider-Man wins (duh…) but Watanabe interferes and shoots Hammerhead dead. Or so everybody thinks, as we later see him revived and carried away by his goons.
A short while after all that, Spider-Man and MJ learn that Hammerhead is alive and in hiding. He’s trying to steal more Sable tech and this leads to Sliver Sable returning to stop him. She works with Spider-Man and they discover Hammerhead wants to meet her on top of a tower in NYC. She goes after him, even though Spidey warns it might be a trap. Spoilers: It’s a trap.
Spider-Man saves Silver Sable and they fight together to defeat Hammerhead’s goons. Eventually, Hammerhead himself shows up and is now a full-on cyborg thanks to more Sable tech he stole. He fights the Sable and Spidey, nearly winning. But Black Cat shows up and saves Spidey, while Hammerhead gets away with Silver Sable. Black Cat apologizes for all the deception and gives Spider-Man a data drive that will help him beat Hammerhead.
MrRedRivers / Marvel / Sony
Spider-Man tracks down Silver Sable, who is being held in the sewers. He saves her from being tortured and, using the data drive, they discover they must melt down Hammerhead’s steel head with a massive amount of heat to finally defeat him. Using a powerful Sable-tech laser, Spider-Man and Silver Sable break through his steel-plated head and they eventually defeat him.
In a post-credits scene, Miles Morales is seen training with Spider-Man, which takes us right into…
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020)
Set roughly a year later, Miles Morales opens with Peter and Miles working together as Spider-Men and fighting Rhino. During this fight, Miles Morales discovers he has a unique electricity-like power referred to as “Venom.” (Not to be confused with Venom, the character that is appearing in the sequel.) Anyway, Parker tells Morales that he is leaving with Mary Jane to help her with a news story in Symkaria, aka the homeland of Silver Sable.
Now alone, Miles Morales is protecting NYC by himself. To help the lone Spider-Man keep the city safe, Morales’ friend Ganke creates an app that lets people report crimes and strange events happening around New York City. Later, Morales has to stop a criminal gang known as the Underground from stealing a powerful prototype energy source, Nuform, from the Roxxon Energy Corporation.
While all this is happening, Mile Morales’ uncle, Aaron Davis, figures out his nephew is Spider-Man. He promises not to tell his mom and tells the young Spidey to call him if he ever needs help. He seems like a good dude!
Jekavac TV / Marvel / Sony
Shortly after all that, another big fight happens between Roxxon and the Underground. During this tussle, Spider-Man learns that the leader of the gang, a villain known as The Tinkerer, is actually none other than his childhood friend Phin. Cue the dramatic music! While trying to stop more Nuform from being stolen, Morales accidentally destroys it with his new Venom powers, and the citizens of New York grow upset with the new Spidey. But Morales does figure out another neat trick he can do: This Spider-Man can turn invisible.
After some investigating and punching, Miles learns that Phin, aka The Tinkerer, had a brother, Rick, who created Nuform while he worked at Roxxon. However, the powerful energy source made him sick. Phin and Rick work together to try and expose the truth about Nuform, that it’s dangerous and deadly, but Rick gets killed before the public can be warned. Phin, desperate and angry, works with Miles to help stop Roxxon and its CEO, and warn people about Nuform.
But wait, remember Uncle Aaron? Well, he is the Prowler, a dangerous villain who sometimes kills people for money. Boy, Miles Morales knows a lot of secret superheroes and supervillains.
At first, Prowler helps Miles infiltrate Roxxon to get revenge for Rick’s death and expose the truth about Nuform. But eventually, Prowler betrays Miles, capturing the younger Spider-Man and holding him for his own good, or so he believes. He explains that it’s best to let Roxxon and the Underground destroy themselves. But Miles disagrees, explaining that heroes don’t sit back while people get hurt. Spider-Man escapes using his powers and fights Prowler, beating up his uncle in the process.
Miles Morales then learns that Phin and the Underground’s plan to destroy the Roxxon building will also destroy most of Harlem. Wishing to save his neighborhood and stop Phin, Morales quickly goes after her and stops her just before it’s too late and convinces Phin that what she’s doing is wrong. She agrees and helps Miles stop the explosion.
Cinema Clips / Marvel / Sony
To do so, Morales uses his Venom abilities to absorb all the energy of the Nuform into his body and Phin flies him into the air high above the city, where he can detonate all that stored-up power safely. Miles Morales lives, but Phin doesn’t.
The incident puts a spotlight on Roxxon, its CEO, and Nuform. Roxxon ends up in hot water and its CEO is arrested. Aaron, inspired by his nephew, turns himself in as the Prowler and reveals to authorities that Roxxon hired him to do criminal acts. He testifies against Roxxon, helping seal the CEO’s fate.
Meanwhile, after he risked his life to save Harlem, NYC’s populace is back on Miles’ side. Peter Parker returns and the two Spider-Men catch up and get back to protecting New York City, together.
Finally, in a post-credits scene, we see Norman Osborn talking to Curt Connors aka the Lizard. They are discussing Harry Osborn, who is once again seen inside a tank covered in black goo. It seems he’s getting released soon…
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Depending on your hobbies and interests, Thursday might be a holiday of sorts.
That’s because it’s April 20th, better known as 420.
For business owners Ryan Dills and Joe Salome, it’s the biggest day of the year.
“For the cannabis industry and for us as well, this is Christmas,” Salome said. “This is definitely our Christmas Day.”
It opens the gate for spring and summer sales.
“420 is kind of the kickoff of the retail season for us,” Dills said.
And it’s one heckuva kick. Since starting the Georgia Hemp Company almost five years ago, they’ve already expanded to four locations throughout Metro Atlanta.
It’s a sharp change in a short amount of time.
“I used to get shut down by every credit card processor, Venmo, and PayPal to begin with,” Salome said. “Now it’s a little bit different.”
CBD is now a $20 billion industry. Bloomberg estimates it could hit $60 billion by the end of the decade.
And yet, that doesn’t explain why 420 is, well, 420.
“I think mainly because of pop culture, especially now with the talk of legalization,” said a customer who fittingly identified himself as “Spicoli”.
Still, at this time, cannabis is illegal in Georgia.
“Illegal or regulated,” Salome corrected. “Regulated is a better way to say it.”
But with the state missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for any number of public uses, Dills and Salome are betting it won’t be long until the industry…
