MayParker

Real Name: May Reilly Parker

Powers: None

History: During the Great Depression, May Reilly was a strikingly beautiful but naive young woman who lived with her parents in Brooklyn. May believed she was in love with a young man named Johnny Jerome, whom she believed offered her the premise of a more exciting life in this time of severe economic hardship than did Ben Parker, another young suitor. Ben warned May that Jerome was actually a criminal,-but she dismissed what Ben said as jealous slander.

One day, however, Jerome unexpectedly proposed to May, saying that he wanted them to heave together right away. May heard the police on the street and realized something was wrong. Then Ben stormed in and told her that Jerome had just robbed a jewelry store and had shot a man who tried to call for help. May then realized that Jerome was indeed a criminal and told Jerome that she could never marry such a man. Jerome was captured by the police and convicted for murder and burglary.

May Reilly set aside her fantasies about marrying someone well-to-do financially and began to make decisions about the direction of her life. Coming to appreciate Bert Parker and his devotion to her, May fell in love with him. She married Ben and their life together was long and happy.

Ben's brother Richard and his wife Mary were government agents and when they went off on an assignment, May and Ben took care of their nephew, Peter. May and Ben had never had children of their own, but after Richard and Mary died on that mission, they became Peter's surrogate parents to and raised him as if he were their own. May and Ben provided the growing boy with the love and emotional support he needed, and they were truly the only two people the lonely youth cared for.

Through an unusual accident, Peter gained superhuman powers. He decided to tell no one, not even May and Ben, and he became the costumed identity of Spider-Man for himself. As Spider-Man, he became an overnight success in the entertainment world. After a television appearance, he saw a guard chasing a thief in the studio building. The guard asked Spider-Man for help, but Peter ignored him, thinking that capturing criminals was none of his business, and the burglar got away.

This unidentified burglar, however, had been the cellmate of the infamous Depression-era gangster, "Dutch" Mallone, who had lived in the very same house that was inhabited by the Parkers. Mallone had hidden a large sum of money in the house, and the burglar heard the elderly Mallone talk in his sleep about the location of the money. (Unknown to the burglar, however, the hidden money had long ago been devoured by silverfish.)

Weeks after the burglar and Spider-Man had crossed paths in the television studio building, the burglar broke into the Parker home one night. Peter was out making a personal appearance as Spider-Man, but Ben took the burglar by surprise. The burglar held Ben and May at gunpoint, and saying that he needed her to show him around so he could find something (the hidden treasure), grabbed May. Furious, Ben ordered the burglar to unhand May and angrily reached towards him. Frightened, the burglar shot Ben and fled. May wanted to send for an ambulance, but the mortally wounded Ben knew that it was too late for a doctor. Telling her he loved her, Ben died.

It was this incident that initially caused May Parker's weak heart condition which has caused her serious health problems over the years. Peter Parker's attitude toward his life was radically changed after that night and he became the motivating force behind Peter's career as Spider-Man. In fact, Peter has saved his Aunt May several times as the Amazing Spider-Man since that fateful day.

For countless years, May never learned that Peter is Spider-Man, and even regarded Spider-Man as a dangerous menace.

For a long time May tried to introduce Peter to her best friend Anna Watson's niece, Mary Jane, but Peter resisted. Finally Peter could put off meeting Mary Jane no longer, and was attracted to her at first sight. Years later Peter finally married Mary Jane.

At one point, Spider-Men's arch-foe Doctor Octopus befriended May and nearly married her. Octopus's true motive was. to gain control of an atomic plant she had inherited. But the wedding never took place, the plant was ultimately destroyed, and May has not encountered Octopus for yearn now.

In more recent years, May decided to transform the house into a senior citizens' boarding house. In recent years, the responsibilities of such an undertaking have consumed much of May's free time, but the therapy has worked wonders on her health.

Later, May Parker realized her then-boyfriend, Nathan Lubensky, was terminally ill, and she considered abandoning the boarding home operation to spend more time with him in his final days. Around the same time, Peter and his newly wedded wife, Mary Jane, moved into a room in May's house due to financial problems.