Spider-Tracer: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Aunt May!

Welcome back, Spidey fans! I couldn’t help but notice that it’s been a while since I gave you guys a good list of some kind! And, knowing how much everyone loves lists, I figured that it was time to do another. After thinking about it for a bit, I concluded that I should do one focusing on Aunt May. Sure, ask anyone about Spider-Man’s supporting cast, and May will undoubtedly be one of the first characters mentioned. But really, ask yourself, how much do you really know about Peter’s doting aunt? Exactly! So, sit back, grab some wheat cakes, and let’s go!

 

1. Johnny Jerome (Or, Uncle Ben Who?)

 

 

Everyone knows Aunt May loved the late Ben Parker, but did you know he wasn’t her first love? Before May started seeing Ben, she fell for a petty criminal by the name of Johnny Jerome, as revealed in “The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual” # 4. Fortunately for May, shortly after Johnny proposed to May, Ben warned her of his criminal ways before he was forced to flee by the approaching police. May soon fell for Ben’s charm and responsibility, and the two wed. Johnny would return years later to ask May to marry him again, but she turned him down, basically telling him to move on. I feel like there’s a good What If…? tale in here concerning how different things may have been without Aunt May in Peter’s life…

 

2. Aunt May: Gray Panther?!

 

 

Protesting was all over in the 70s, including a group that advocated for the rights of the elderly known as the Gray Panthers. Did you know May was a member and protesting with them in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #176? As it turns out, a landlord at the time was trying to eliminate rent control, and May joined the Gray Panthers in a demonstration at city hall to protest this, much to her nephew Peter’s surprise. And all was going well… til May had another heart attack, albeit a mild one, thus ending her protesting days.

 

3. Nearly Made Doc Ock Peter’s Uncle!

 

 

Doc Ock once asked May to marry him in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #130, and nearly made it a reality in the following issue! Alas, it wasn’t for love, as Doc Ock secretly wanted access to a nuclear reactor, complete with a rich uranium supply, May had inherited on an island in Canada. Fortunately, interference from Hammerhead and Spider-Man stopped some of the most awkward family dinners from ever taking place.

 

4. Got Engaged and Turned Her Home into a Boarding Home

 

 

For a time, Aunt May lived in the Restwell Nursing Home (the same nursing home where Mysterio once set up shop and where he faked Aunt May’s death), and it’s here that she met Nathan Lubensky, a man she would one day become engaged to. May eventually moved back home to Queens, but brought Nathan with her, and turned the house into a boarding home (a plan she announced in “The Spectacular Spider-Man” #68). This lasted for several years until “The Amazing Spider-Man” #326, when the boarders moved out so May could dedicate her time to Nathan, who had recently learned he was dying of a heart condition. Tragedy struck for May yet again when Nathan’s heart gave out during a scuffle with the Vulture.

 

5. May and Ben Prototypes Debuted Before Peter Parker?!

 

 

That’s right! In “Strange Tales” #97, Aunt May and Uncle Ben prototype characters debuted, sometime before they ever showed up in “Amazing Fantasy” #15. Of course, Ben sported a moustache, but Aunt May was spot on. Neither were given a last name, however. Oddly, they were the aunt and uncle of a mermaid in this weird little story! Perhaps it was all a dream?

 

6. Defeated the Chameleon By Herself!

 

 

Following his unmasking during Marvel’s “Civil War”, a bunch of Spidey’s old enemies came out of the woodwork to attack Peter Parker and his family. When the Chameleon disguised himself as Peter to get close and kill her, Aunt May could tell something was amiss and fed the imposter oatmeal cookies… laced with arsenic! Do NOT mess with Aunt May!

 

7. Dated Willie Lumpkin and Edwin Jarvis

 

 

Aunt May’s love life has connected her to several other heroes over the years. For a short time, she dated the Fantastic Four’s mailman, Willie Lumpkin, who possessed the power to… wiggle his ears.

 

Years later, after a house fire, May moved in to Avengers Tower, where she met and began dating Edwin Jarvis, the Avengers’ butler. This showed a lot of potential, but was tragically cut short after “Civil War”. After things went south and Peter switched to the Anti-Registration side, May, Peter and MJ moved out of the tower, and May was tragically shot. After she was restored to full health by Mephisto, this relationship was sadly never followed up on again.

 

8. Was Replaced by a Genetically Altered Actress

 

 

After Aunt May seemingly passed away during “The Clone Saga” in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #400, May later returned, revealed to have been captured by Norman Osborn, who had then-recently returned as the Green Goblin. It turned out that the woman who passed away was an actress that was altered on a genetic level to look like Aunt May, courtesy of ol’ Norman, of course. Convoluted? You betchya!

 

9. Marries J. Jonah Jameson’s Father

 

 

That’s right! For a time, Peter and JJJ were related (thanks to a wedding in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #600)! Unfortunately, the senior Jameson later passed away, robbing May of yet another love. Note: Do not marry or get engaged to Aunt May (Jarvis got lucky!).

 

10. Had a Miscarriage

 

 

May had originally never wanted children. May’s father left her mother because of constant money woes, and the mother blamed May, saying that children were burdens and ruin everything. However, at one point, after she’d married Ben Parker, May became pregnant, but, tragically, she’d miscarried the baby. Afterwards, it was discovered that May hard a cardiac anomaly that would make it too dangerous for her to try and have another child. The miscarriage was first mentioned in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #238, and wasn’t followed up on again until “The Amazing Spider-Man Family” #7. Both stories were written by Roger Stern, with a 26 year gap between the two issues. If Stern’s not a master of continuity, I dunno who is!

 

And there you have it, 10 facts not every Spidey fan knows about Aunt May! Feel free to drop more facts about Peter’s favorite aunt in the comments section below!