SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #189: An Aunt May theory

[starwolf_oakley]

The 30th Anniversary of Spider-Man had four supersized issued with holographic covers. They also had backup stories that showed parts of Spider-Man's origin from other perspectives. Here's part of Aunt May's perspective, with an idea that her dislike of Spider-Man didn't stem from what the Daily Bugle said.

Two pages of a five page story.





So, Aunt May went all the way out to that warehouse, huh?



Spider-Man always being around when a super-villain murders a loved one would cause anyone to not like him.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #200 actually put a stop to "May doesn't like Spider-Man." A few fans thought that was when May "figured out the truth" as seen in AMAZING #400. That was retconned by John Byrne in THE FINAL CHAPTER, supposedly because if Aunt May died, Peter would quit being Spider-Man "for real." I don't get that.

Comments

[silverhammerman]

This story contextualizes Aunt May's often annoying aversion to Spider-Man in a really interesting and sensible way. I often find classic Aunt May reads like more of an obstacle for Spidey than an actual character, but this really elevates her, to the point that she actually seems pretty interesting. Who wrote this?

Also, I never really though of it before, but holy shit is it ever a dark ass piece of canon that Aunt May literally sat there in Uncle Ben's blood and watched him die. In my experience most stories that revisit her reaction to his death tend to ignore that incredibly visceral aspect.

[skemono]

J.M. DeMatteis wrote the issue.

[bj_l]

Of course he did!

I'd really like Marvel to put out some DeMatteis Epic Collections off his Spidey run(s?), much like I'd love them to do the same to Carey's X-Men work.

[drtechnobabel]

I'll agree with that. In the early stories her attitude towards Spider-Man comes off as just the stereotypical 'old people don't get kids these days' sort of character. This puts a new and rather interesting spin on things.

[icon_uk]

She and Jim Gordon could probably have an interesting chat about deliberately not making an obvious connection out loud.

[starwolf_oakley]

There was a fancomic about Jim Gordon and Lois Lane having a similar conversation at a party. I will try to find it.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Please do! I'd love to see it (or maybe it was posted a long time ago? It does sound familiar).

[starwolf_oakley]

It was by Paul Gadizkowski. I don't think he still has it on his site, though.
http://members.iglou.com/scarfman/81120720.htm
http://members.iglou.com/scarfman/86010601.htm
http://members.iglou.com/scarfman/91041814.htm