Liz Allan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the writer with a similar name, see Liz Allen.
| Liz Allan | |
 Liz Allan drawn by Clayton Crain. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Amazing Fantasy #15 (August, 1962) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko. |
| In story information | |
| Full name | Elizabeth Allan |
| Supporting character of | Spider-Man, Daredevil |
Elizabeth Allan, who usually goes by the name Liz Allan (commonly misspelled, even in the published comics themselves, as Liz Allen), is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. In the character's earliest appearances, she was an attractive, popular girl at the high school of the nerdy Peter Parker, who is secretly Spider-Man. She was an early love interest of Peter but differences in their levels of social acceptance kept them apart. Since then, she has been seen semi-frequently in various Spider-Man series and has had ties to his adversaries the Green Goblin and Molten Man.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Liz Allan was a high school classmate of Peter Parker when they attended Midtown High School together, and a minor love interest of Parker and Flash Thompson.
An unnamed blonde female high school student in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) appears to be Liz Allan. Liz Allan is first named in Amazing Spider-Man #4 (September 1963), the same issue in which Betty Brant first appears. Initially, Peter likes Liz. However, she is Flash Thompson's girlfriend and initially considers Peter Parker something of a loser, even taking part in the general ridicule that Pete endures on a daily basis. Her earliest appearances depict her as flighty and rather thoughtless - not outright cruel, but lacking the empathy necessary to detect Peter's good points.
Over time, however, she begins to admire Peter's intelligence and develops some degree of affection for the former "bookworm" (specifically, after issue 12: "Unmasked by Doctor Octopus"). By this time, ironically, Peter's interest has waned considerably: noting that Liz never showed any real interest in him until he began dating Betty Brant, Pete assumes that Liz's feeling are little more than a schoolgirl crush. Amusingly, Betty and Liz clash several times over Peter; Betty thinks of Liz as a blonde tramp.
In Amazing Spider-Man #28 (September 1965), Peter and Liz graduate from high school. At the graduation ceremony, Liz admits her feelings to Peter, but tells him that they cannot be together and left shortly afterwards. In the same issue, Spider-Man battled the Molten Man, who in later issues is revealed to be Liz's step-brother Mark Raxton.
She does not reappear in the comics for a few years, during which time Peter developed relationships with Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson.
When Liz returns, she dates then marries Harry Osborn, who she met at Betty Brant's wedding to Ned Leeds, becoming Liz Allan Osborn. The couple have a son, Normie Osborn. Their family history turns tragic, however, after Harry Osborn becomes the Green Goblin and later dies.
In the graphic novel Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil, Harry attempts to pass the legacy of the Green Goblin down to Normie Osborn but fails due to the efforts of Spider-Man, Mark Raxton and Ben Urich.
Later, Liz Allan dates lawyer Foggy Nelson, the legal partner of Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil. The couple breaks up after Mysterio manipulates Foggy into having an affair in a plot to drive Daredevil insane. Like so many of the men in her life, Liz feels like Foggy has let her down and ends their relationship.
She has recently been seen to be extremely upset when Spider-Man unmasked, blaming Peter for bringing so much death into their lives. However, after the events of the One More Day storyline, all knowledge of Peter's marriage to Mary Jane leaves multiple repercussions on the timeline, including the knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity and Harry now being alive - and divorced from Liz.
[edit] Other versions
[edit] MC2
In the MC2 continuity, Liz Allan married Foggy Nelson after the death of Harry Osborn. She developed a fatal illness (of a non-specified nature), which contributed to her son Normie's breakdown and finally choosing to adopt the mantle of the Green Goblin.
[edit] Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
Liz Allan is portrayed as Mary Jane Watson's ditzy and feisty best friend. Liz is a cheerleader and has recently reconciled with her boyfriend Flash Thompson after breaking up with him because he declared that he loved Mary Jane at homecoming.
[edit] Ultimate Liz Allan
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Liz Allan goes to the same high school with Spider-Man and Mary Jane. She is close friends with Mary Jane. In Ultimate Spider-Man #4 (February 2001), a drunk Liz attempts to make out with Peter, who refuses her advances when Mary Jane sees them. They later have a very personal moment when both students are called to talk about the Green Goblin's attack on the school. Otherwise, there is no instance of any relationship between Peter and Liz. Liz had an uncle who was a mutant, and this led to his death, though what exactly happened has not been explained. (The Official Handbook of the Ultimate Marvel Universe suggested that her uncle may have been killed in Magneto's attacks during Ultimate X-Men, but Bendis has never commented on it.) As a result of this, Liz has a phobia of mutants and super-powered beings, and it has been suggested by other characters that she worries that she herself is a mutant. When Johnny Storm joined her school briefly, she became extremely attracted to him and they shared a happy date - until he accidentally lit himself on fire, revealing himself as the Human Torch. Mary Jane reveals to Johnny that Liz believes that she lit him on fire. Due to her phobia, she refused to see him ever again, and he left the school.
With the arrival of Kitty Pryde, a publicly known mutant & former X-Man, at Midtown High, Liz has been complaining to anyone that will listen that Kitty should be with her "own kind" and even accused Kitty of thinking she was better than everyone else due to her being a former X-Man, at which point Kitty rebutted Liz's accusations. Liz's best friend, Mary Jane, has also told Liz to keep her mutant phobia to herself when she's around MJ, and that she'd prefer it if Liz kept those thoughts to herself in general.
It is recently revealed that Liz is a mutant herself, and the Ultimate version of Firestar. Her powers manifest and are witnessed by her friends during a beach party. At first, she accuses her date, Johnny Storm (the Human Torch), of making her super-powered. After a talk with the X-Men's Iceman and Spider-Man, and upon recalling that her 'uncle' was a mutant, she accepts that she may be a mutant herself.
Magneto appears after detecting the manifestation of her powers and reveals that years ago, her father asked Magneto to reach her after the manifestation of her mutant powers. Magneto promised to him, whether Liz is a mutant or not, he will tell Liz of what her father has sacrificed. Magneto revealed to Liz that her father is a mutant and one of the Brotherhood of Mutants.
Magneto, intending to keep his promise of reaching Liz, is delayed by the combined efforts of Iceman and Spider-Man. However, they are no match for Magneto, though they are able to buy Liz the time she needs to get away. Liz returns home, and demands her mother tell her the the identity of her father. Her mother reveals that her Uncle Frank, otherwise known to as The Blob is actually her father and not her uncle after all. This conversation is interrupted by Magneto, who tells Liz that she must go with him to see her father. This is prevented when the X-Men arrive at her doorstep. Liz is pressured to decide between the two mutant groups; The Brotherhood or the X-Men. After asking Spider-Man's advice, she decides she doesn't want to follow either group, and that she is angry at her mother for lying to her all these years, and flies away. Spider-Man figures out that she's going to Mary Jane's house, and follows.
After Liz arrives at Mary Jane's home, MJ suggests that she should talk to Kitty Pryde about being a mutant. Spider-Man arrives, and to gain Liz's trust, unmasks himself revealing that he is Peter Parker, one of her friends. Liz promises not to tell his secret just as Iceman arrives, offering Liz a place at Xavier's School so she may learn to control her newfound powers. Liz, unwilling to return to her mother's house, decides to be with the X-Men until she can figure out what to do next. She promises to call Peter and MJ soon.
In Ultimate X-men #94 it is shown that Liz is now seemingly getting along with the X-men and has better control of her powers, threatening to "burn the hair" off Wolverine's nipples. It also shows that she has taken the Mutant name of Firestar.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Novels
- According to the novelization, Liz Allan appears in a small scene in Spider-Man, played by Sally Livingstone. At the beginning of the movie, Peter Parker attempts to share a seat on a bus with a girl with thick glasses, to which the girl (Liz) responds, "Don't even think about it."
[edit] Television
- Liz appears in the 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series as a friend and confidant of Mary Jane Watson. She is attracted to Harry Osborn, even after his brief stint as the second Green Goblin. Eventually, Liz attended Peter Parker and Mary Jane's wedding, which was attacked by Harry, who'd returned to his role as the second Green Goblin and threatened to blow up the church and everyone in it if the minister didn't perform a wedding between himself and MJ. Liz then appealed to Harry that his friends do love him, and told him finally that she desired to be more than friends. Harry relented, and returned to the hospital where he'd been receiving treatment.
- Liz Allan appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Alanna Ubach.[1] She is dating Flash Thompson is the start of the series, but shows interest in Peter Parker after he takes an interest in tutoring her. She even expresses slight regret after Flash and the popular clique reject him. After spending some time with Peter at Coney Island in "Reaction", she broke up with Flash and has become openly complimentary towards Pete. This seems to match the portion of the comics where Liz developed a crush on Peter. This version is very different visually and vocally from other versions of Liz, appearing to be Latina.
