While the Peter Parker’s retirement was controversial in itself, the birth of May Parker was turned out to be an unintended lightning rod as well. Most of it surrounded in comments Joe Quesada made in an interview in
Heroes Illustrated [1] where he went on a tangent about how Peter’s marriage to Mary Jane Watson and birth of May aged the character. His invective appeared especially focused on the daughter of Spider-Man whom he called a “mistake” and disdainfully asked if they were planning on letting Spider-Man grow old. Of course, Quesada’s comments did not endear himself to Marvel who blacklisted him for many years, which lead to him freelancing for DC, Malibu, or smaller publishers.
Meanwhile, Stan Lee himself weighed in on the matter by reminding the industry that Reed Richards and Susan Storm married during his and Jack Kirby’s run on
Fantastic Four as well as oversee the birth of Franklin Richards. Spirited debates on the future of Marvel Universe erupted on Internet BBSes. Would the House of Ideas allow its iconic characters to age in real time? Of course the answer was “no”, but the existence of Franklin Richards and May Parker did leave Marvel to wonder what the next generation of Marvel heroes would look like.
It wasn’t as if the industry hadn’t grappled with themes of legacy before. The Distinguished Competition’s
Infinity Inc. featured the children of the Justice Society of America, many of whom joined the society after
Countdown. Former Kid Flash, Wally West famously took up his mentor’s mantle after
Crisis on Infinite Earths and Batman had taken in two Robins after Dick Grayson vacated the role. One could argue it was embedded in the DNA of the industry as the murder of MLJ’s [2] Comet inspired his brother to become the Hangman.
The question intrigued
Amazing Spider-Man writer and former editor-in-chief, Tom DeFalco to propose a new comics line with Spider-Girl as the flagship. Bobbie Chase was not only receptive, but excited about the idea. However, could not commit to an entire line. As such, she decided to introduce the character in an issue of
What If? written by DeFaclo and drawn by Ron Frenz.
The story took place fifteen years in the future where May “Mayday” Parker is a student at Peter’s alma mater, Midtown High. Having inherited her father’s intellect and her mother’s outgoing personality, even becoming the captain of the basketball team. Peter himself retired (again) after a confrontation with a resurrected Norman Osborn [3] cost Ben Reilly his life and Peter a leg. As such, Peter settled into civilian life as one of the Fantastic Five’s chief researchers and father to both May and her younger brother, Ritchie. [4]
However, the family dynamic changes when not only May manifests powers similar to her father, but is attacked by a goblin-like figure. Peter suspects that it may be Normie Osborn, Harry’s son, and seeks the help of the F5 and the (Next) Avengers to locate Normie to no avail. Meanwhile, May experiments with her powers while dealing with Ritchie’s blackmail attempts. Mary Jane eventually comes clean about her father’s past and the truth of her late “Uncle Ben.” Peter confronts Normie on the Brooklyn Bridge, but is saved by May wearing Ben’s old costumes and wins by using Normie’s pumpkin bombs against him.
May saves Normie from being run over, who later rants about the “Spider-Girl” as the police arrest him though no one believes him. The Parker family then burns Peter’s old Spider-Man paraphernalia, but the issue end with a teasing “The End?” as the last panel reveal’s May’s new costume designs.
Spider-Girl debuted in
What If? (vol. 2) # 93, and not only became the highest-selling issue of the series but one of Marvel’s highest selling issues of the year. Comic shops quickly sold out of the issue, which ultimately resulted in four printings. Its performance resulted in the green-lighting of a
Spider-Girl ongoing as well as a
Next Avengers title featuring a grown-up Kevin Masterson and Cassie Lang, as well as
Wild Thing featuring Wolverine’s daughter as part of the
Marvel Next imprint. While the latter two would be cancelled less than two years later, the popularity of
Spider-Girl would endure into the new millennium.
However, her inclusion in the animated series “Spider Wars” saga that would solidify her place in the Spider-Man canon. Voiced by Mary Kay Bergman, the character did reveal herself as the future daughter of Peter and the still-missing Mary Jane to give Peter the hope and resolve to combat the menace of Spider-Carnage in the season five finale.
Not bad for someone Joe Quesada deemed a mistake.
[1] Which ceased publication in Spring 1996 OTL, but survived longer without an industry collapse.
[2] Or as we know them today, Archie Comics.
[3] Implied to one of the Jackal’s clones in story.
[4] An original character named after Peter’s father. He’s a junior high student and the sibling rivalry between him and May is a fierce one.
staystillreviews.blogspot.com
en.wikipedia.org
