You have a gift. You have power. And with great power, there must also come great responsibility. 
- —Aunt May[src]
History
May was the aunt to Peter Parker. She was married to his uncle Ben Parker, before he died under unknown circumstances.
Peter's Internship[]
She was visited by Tony Stark, who claimed to have granted Peter a scholarship. Not long after, Peter left for Germany for the "internship." Peter soon returned from the "internship," battered and bruised. May treated his wounds, which he told her was from a fight with a Brooklyn man named Steve and his huge friend.[1]
Months later, she let Peter's friend Ned into her apartment to build his Lego Death Star. A few minutes later, May heard a crash and asked what it was, to which Peter replied was nothing. She came by the room to find Peter in his underwear and Ned's Lego scattered over the floor. She invited the two to a Thai restaurant, which Peter accepted but told May that Ned was unable to go. May told Peter to perhaps put on some clothes before they went out.
At the restaurant, May commented on how Peter had barely touched his food. Seeing that her nephew was distracted, she turned around and saw television coverage of a robbery at the Queens Community Bank. May told Peter to run for safety if he ever saw something like that happening. A waiter then gave her an extra helping of food, which surprised May as she did not order it. The waiter insisted that it was on the house, and once he left, Peter pointed out that he had given it to her out of sheer physical attraction.
A few nights later, May dropped off Peter and Ned at Liz Allan's house for a party. She told Peter that it was okay to be nervous and complimented Ned's hat. After being contacted by Midtown High about Peter skipping detention and school, May waited until Peter returned home and confronted him on the matter. He claimed that he had lost the Stark internship, and she comforted him. Days later, Peter requested May's help because he had asked Liz out to the homecoming dance. May helped him pick a suit and corsage, and later dropped him off at Liz's at the night of the dance.[4]
Secret Keeper[]
Days after the homecoming dance, May walked into Peter's room and caught him in his Spider-Man suit. Realizing that her nephew was Spider-Man all along, she cursed in shock, much to Peter's horror.[4]
May was disintegrated by Thanos's snap alongside half of the universe's population.[5] Five years later, when Hulk used the Infinity Stones to revive the snap's victims,[6] May was resurrected in her apartment to find that another family lived there.[2] She later attended Tony Stark's funeral with Peter.[6]
For the next eight months, May helped the resurrected to find new homes. By this time, she had accepted Peter's dual identity as Spider-Man, and even had him appear as a guest to one such event. The next day, as Peter was packing up for his field trip, May advised him to pack his Spider-Man suit, but he declined, feeling that he deserved a vacation after what he had been through. She packed it up anyway. During the trip, May was in a momentary relationship with Happy Hogan, routinely calling Peter to check up on him. Due to Mysterio's machinations, Peter and the school were forced to return early. Peter questioned May and Happy's relationship, but May believed that it was just a summer fling. Peter left them alone to figure things out and went out as Spider-Man,[2] only to rush back suddenly some time later, being greatly agitated and trying to keep all doors and windows closed. May and Happy tried to find out the reasons for it, until they saw on the TV a news helicopter right outside their house and learned that Peter's secret identity as Spider-Man has been revealed to the world by J. Jonah Jameson of TheDailyBugle.net.[3]
Spider-Man Unmasked[]
Peter and all his friends and relatives, May included, were taken in for questioning regarding the death of Mysterio. Eventually, Peter's lawyer Matt Murdock managed to get the charges against him dropped, but warned Peter that he still had to face the court of public opinion. To avoid attention and get better security, May and Peter moved into Happy's appartment. Around this time May began working at the F.E.A.S.T.
One day, Norman Osborn from an alternate reality showed up at May's work, asking to talk to Peter. She called him and he quickly rushed to her, informing May that Osborn and the others were foes of Spider-Man from other universes, who had to be send back with the help of Doctor Strange. After Peter let slip that they were also destined to die, May insisted that he try and save them to avert those fates. This inspired Peter to break those villains out of Sanctum Sanctorum's and take them into Happy's apartment to try and seek a cure for their conditions. May helped transport them inside a F.E.A.S.T. delivery van and while Doctor Curtis Connors wished to remain in it, Osborn and the other three, Otto Octavius, Maxwell Dillon, and Flint Marko all found themselves unexpected guests at May and Peter's temporary residence.
Peter and Osborn used leftover tech of Tony Stark to manufacture a chip that corrected Octavius's connection with his tentacles, allowing him to regain his true self. However, as Peter was proceeding to help Dillon, Osborn was taken over by his Green Goblin persona, who convinced the others to take his side. A fight ensued and while Octavius and Marko left, Peter had to fight the Goblin. Peter told May to run downstairs, but the fight spilled to the outside of the building and he found himself on the main floor before her. May was determined to get to Peter the synthesized cure for Osborn's Goblin Formula effects, all while he tried to get her to leave. As she was standing between them, the Goblin summon his Goblin Glider which opened fire on May from behind. The Goblin then taunted Peter and left while May, who initially seemed fine, soon felt the effect of her wounds and expired in Peter's arms, shortly after telling him that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility."[3]Notes
- Marisa Tomei portrays Aunt May in the films Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Trivia
- May is Italian-American.[4]
See Also
- 9 appearance(s) of Maybelle Parker (Earth-199999)
- 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Maybelle Parker (Earth-199999)
- 9 image(s) of Maybelle Parker (Earth-199999)
- 1 quotation(s) by or about Maybelle Parker (Earth-199999)
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