Joe Kelly’s run of Amazing Spider-Man has been a series of stories about Peter Parker’s personal life as well as his superheroing. And, so far, the balance of the two has been perfect, especially when you consider that a lot of the issues have focused on Peter’s supporting cast. Chief among them is Aunt May, who has been struggling with her nephew’s absence more than normal.
Considering everything that May has been through, it makes sense that she’s been more cynical with Peter than normal. She still loves him, but you can tell she’s getting more annoyed with his flakiness. Peter was nowhere to be found when F.E.A.S.T. was attacked (Death Spiral) and he was being rude to his loved ones. However, readers know that it was Ben Reilly being a jerk to everyone, and that Peter was doing Spider-Man things when he canceled plans. Sadly, this isn’t something that Peter can tell his aunt.
Throughout his time as Spider-Man, Peter's secret identity has been the thing that has caused him the most pain. He's been called a bad friend, an unreliable romantic partner, and even the reason that people have been hurt. And while it may seem like coming clean would help the Marvel hero, Peter doesn’t believe it. He thinks it’s better to keep the secret than tell the truth. This time around, it isn’t Peter’s secret that’s the problem.
Amazing Spider-Man No. 30
- Writer: Joe Kelly
- Artist and Colors: Pete Woods
During Amazing-Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral, Peter Parker finds out that he has a cousin he didn’t know about. It was a random thing for readers to learn, but writer Joe Kelly doesn’t do haphazard moments without a purpose. It was obviously going to come up again, and it did in the most shocking way possible.
While Aunt May and her boyfriend (Ric Bernal) are repairing the damage to F.E.A.S.T., Peter’s cousin, Cormac “Mac” Crane, shows up to help. The disturbing part is that he looks just like Uncle Ben, and May immediately notices it. Obviously, this was difficult for her, but May soldiered on.
At first, I assumed readers would learn that he was really a clone or something like that. But at the end of the issue, Mac reveals that Ben Parker is his father. Of course, Peter is furious. He thinks that Mac is saying that his Uncle Ben had an affair, which would never happen. That’s when May reveals the truth that not only was Mac Uncle Ben’s son, but that he is her son too. Yes, she’s his mother.
We are six issues away from Amazing Spider-Man joining the ranks of Detective Comics and Action Comics with 1000 issues. It’s not a coincidence that the revelation of May Parker having a son happened so close to this milestone. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait to see what this means for the future of Peter Parker. Luckily, Bam Smack Pow will be here to report what's next.
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