One of Marvel‘s most controversial comics of all time may have just become canon, with a ridiculous twist. The comic in question was Spider-Man adjacent, and teased as an alternate origin for Peter Parker. However, while the circumstances are not exactly the same, they are close enough to spark comment.
The twist in question comes at the end of Amazing Spider-Man #30, by Joe Kelly and Pete Woods. Peter Parker is still trying to tidy up his life after several months lost in space and battling the family-hunting serial-killer Torment. It was this latter battle that introduced a new character named Cormac “Mac” Crane, who was apparently a cousin of Peter Parker.
This revelation brings Cormac into the life of Aunt May. He starts volunteering at the FEAST shelter May manages and befriends her. Peter finally meets Cormac officially, recognizing him as the man he saved while fighting Torment as Spider-Man. More, it occurs to him that Cormac looks like a younger version of his Uncle Ben.
Before Peter can ask any questions, Cormac attempts to make an awkward confession. He explains that he had some genetic testing done and discovered that Ben Parker was his biological father. To make things even more awkward, he discovered Aunt May was his mother.
The idea of Aunt May having a secret child may stir memories for some Spider-Man readers. This setup is remarkably similar to the 2003 miniseries Trouble. It is also an incredibly silly idea, as Trouble is one of the most infamous stories in Marvel history.
Why is Marvel’s Trouble miniseries controversial?
Trouble was Marvel’s attempt to revive the long-dead genre of romance comics. The series centers around two brothers, Richard and Ben, who get jobs at a resort over the summer. They start seeing two best friends, Mary and May, with both brothers having sex with May over the course of the summer.
However, May falls in love with Ben, and tells him that she is pregnant. Unfortunately, Ben is sterile. Ultimately, Mary agrees to pretend the baby is hers, as Richard affirms his commitment to her. While none of the characters are given last names, Spider-Man fans immediately noticed the familial connection to Peter Parker.
Trouble was controversial beyond the implication that Aunt May is Peter Parker’s biological mother. The original comics used photo covers featuring teen models in bikinis rather than artwork. While Marvel claimed this was meant to emulate the covers of the popular Gossip Girl series, their models were posed far more suggestively.
Additionally, the content of Trouble was far more mature than even the most charged young adult novels of the time. This made it all but impossible to promote the book to the intended audience. For all these reasons, Trouble has not been reprinted since 2011 and is not available through Marvel’s digital distribution apps.
Spider-Man has history of lost loved ones drama
The idea of Spider-Man having lost loved ones has been done before and overdone. Perhaps the most famous example of this was Mary and Richard Parker coming back from the dead in Amazing Spider-Man #365. They were later revealed to be Life Model Decoys.
Beyond that, there also Peter’s sister, Teresa, various clones of Gwen Stacy, and the twins Gwen apparently had with Norman Osborn. Even ignoring the inspiration of Trouble, this revelation is foolish and repetitive. There is nothing that justifies Aunt May having a secret son.
