Talk:Aunt May

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"senile old crone" "no guff" - these are hardly encyclopedic or NPOV terms. Please rephrase. --dan

Geez, she's a fictional character. She won't sue. These are NPOV statements of how she is depicted. Ortolan88
Perhaps. The wording is still less than encyclopedic. --dan
Why? Be specific of how that phrase is "less than encyclopedic"
In the older comic books, she was practically sketched in, had no personality at all, just a generic old woman fluttering over Peter, or, you might say, if you wanted to speak colorfully, a senile old crone. Colorful expression is not "less than encyclopedic". Ortolan88

Contents

[edit] First appearance?

The Overstreet Guide lists Strange Tales #97 (June, 1962) as being the first appearance of Aunt May and Uncle Ben, though obviously they were not part of the Spider-Man story then. See this link for a panel. How should this be incorporated into the article? Anyone have more details on the Strange Tales issue? Postdlf 17:20, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

  • No. It's generally accepted as being a fluke; Stan just re-used the names and didn't really notice until years later. Strange Tales and Amazing Fantasy were both full of throwaway stories that didn't really matter to the developing narrative construct that became the Marvel Universe. Plus, it doesn't fit with the Parkers' history, as later revealed, that they would have adopted a mermaid and never mentioned it. (Of course, all this is subject to change should Marvelcorp decide otherwise.) DS 13:47, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Actually, I recently added a section on that. I think it does count, considering the similarity. But, the article is still written from an NPOV.

[edit] Didn't Aunt May die?

I haven't read Spiderman for ages, but I do recall buying a special issue - one with a grey thick-paper cover - in which Aunt May dies. If I recall correctly, there is this scene where Aunt May and Peter are at the Empire State Building, and Peter is struggling with himself on whether to tell her the truth about his alter-ego. She pre-empts him by asking how it feels to swing from building to building, free like a bird. As he stammers, she tells him that she had always known, but couldn't face up to the reality that he could die. Or something like that. At that issue's end we see Aunt May dead, Peter in tears and Ben Reilly on the rooftop of the Parker residence, also crying. How does this death figure in the continuity of things? - Former Spidey Fan

From the article:
She has "died" several times. In her most recent "death", for example, the "Aunt May" who died was, in a widely-derided plot twist, revealed to be a "genetically-altered actress" who impersonated her while May was held captive by villains.
I believe that's the death you're referring to (the one in the Clone Wars saga?) --Aquillion 23:42, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Ah ... thank you. I wasn't sure about that. I think if I had read on (from that issue onward) I might have felt cheated by such developments. - Former Spidey Fan


  • Trust me - everyone felt cheated by those developments. The only reason that it wasn't a clone was the intense readership backlash after the Clone Saga. The concept of a "genetically-altered actress who was never told that this, her greatest role, would also be her last!" is widely held to be one of the stupider retcons in Marvel history. DS 17:08, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Aunt May's maiden name

Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider's surname was taken from Aunt May's maiden name, "Reilly".

However, recent issue of Amazing Spider-Man has Peter telling MJ to register Aunt May under the surname of "Fitzgerald", which he says is Aunt May's maiden name, followed by the line "There may even be a birth certificate with that name on it".

So, which one is correct? Is Fitzgerald a retcon, or editor mistake, or Peter telling MJ to register Aunt May under a fake surname? Sera404 23:43, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like an editor mistake, a pretty big one since I think anyone who's been reading Spider-Man for the last decade remembers, with ire, the name 'Reilly'. The birth certificate remark would appear to be Peter banking on the doctors trying to put a name - any name - to May (who is otherwise a Jane Doe) for insurance purposes. RPM 23:20, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Best Sequel Appearence

In Spiderman-1, Mary Jane is rescued by Spiderman, and he takes her flying thru the skyscrapers of Manhattan in a wonderfully romantic scene. In Spiderman-2, it is Aunt May who is rescued and then flown to saftey. An interesting reuse of the idea/image. In both cases, he loves the woman he saves. In one case, it is the love of a man for a woman, in the other, it is the love of a man for his mother(figure). Aunt May has been the moral center of these movies. Applause to the writers for making such a stong female character, and to the actress for bringing her to life.

[edit] Suggestions

Where are the men May has dated? Doctor Octopus, that guy in the wheelchair, the Fantastic Four's mailman... And while we're at it, the Alternate Universe Aunt May section, while perfect, is seemingly longer then the original one. Am officially confused. Lots42 05:43, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Introduction should be for key facts

The interesting speculation that May's first appearance might have been before Spider-Man is interesting -- but it's hardly key to the character, and shouldn't be in the introduction. It should be moved further into the article. -- 209.6.177.176 23:48, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

I think it shouldn't be in the article at all, since the only source is something just short of a footnote in a reprint. If Stan or Steve, or anyone at Marvel, came out and confirmed/denied it, it should be in the article. But right now, it's just speculation, even on the part of that editor. If no one objects in the next few days, I'll be taking it out. Notthegoatseguy 14:05, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Auntmay.png

Image:Auntmay.png is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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BetacommandBot (talk) 04:23, 12 February 2008 (UTC)