Who Was Mary MacLeod?

 

I am going far a field for this one! I had trouble justifying my recent little post about William ‘Wild Will’ Fitzpatrick as it wasn’t directly related to the MC2 at all, and was just something I wanted to cover to break me out of my writer’s block. Today is a similar post not directly pertaining to the MC2, but I am hoping to build this and the previously mentioned post along with other related posts into a rather large combined entry in the MC2 Family Tree series. Today, we will be looking at the Marvel character Mary MacLeod.

 

Who is Mary MacLeod? Why am I talking about her? What does she have to do with anything? Well, let us start at the beginning…which is also the end. Confused? Let me explain. In 1990 the long-gestating, gorgeously illustrated graphic novel Spider-Man: Spirits of the Earth by Charles Vess was released. In its pages Peter and Mary Jane take ‘a sort of second honeymoon’ to Scotland when Mary Jane is bequeathed the estate of her relative, Mrs MacLeod.

 

We learn from a letter written and mailed before Mrs MacLeod’s death that her home county of Ross-Shire (which is a real place by the way) is being bought up by business developers with plans to destroy the area’s natural beauty. Travelling to Scotland to untangle legal matters, Peter and Mary Jane rent a room in the village’s local inn for a week. The publican Alan Sinclair correctly identifies the couple as ‘Mr and Mrs Parker’ and informs Mary Jane he has been expecting ‘the niece of Mary MacLeod’ for some time. While the village is not named, we can use context and geography to identify it.

 

The village is near Duncraig Castle (another real place, though greatly fictionalised here) overlooking Lochalsh or Loch Alsh (that’s ‘Lake’ Alsh for those not in the know, yet again a real place) and thanks to the letter Mary MacLeod wrote to her niece, we even have the postcode ‘IV40’. Putting all this together, it appears the village just might be Kyle of Lochalsh which looks out at Loch Alsh and is located a few minutes’ drive from Duncraig Castle. An essay written by Charles Vess’ which was published alongside the story confirms these very real locations he visited on his many travels to Scotland’s Highlands, with an additional point of interest being that Eilean Donan Castle seems to be the visual inspiration for Duncraig Castle, given it resembles a castle unlike Duncraig. Further, Mr Vess begs forgiveness from the people of the Highlands ‘for stretching and rearranging their landscape and villages to suit the requirements of my story.’ A class act.

 

Let us circle back to Mary MacLeod. As mentioned above the barkeep Alan Sinclair refers to Mary Jane Parker as Mary’s niece, but also says ‘A fine lady was our Mary, she spoke of you manys the time. It’s pleased I am to be meetin’ a relation of herself.’ When Mary Jane and Peter visit the church graveyard, Mary Jane reflects ‘the letters she wrote always made me feel so close. I almost felt as if I knew her.’ In the MacLeod Croft, while looking at Mary’s photos, Mary Jane notes ‘look…her whole life is in these pictures and, oh Peter, here she is at my christening.’ Together, these comments paint a picture of a solitary older woman who cherished her niece or grand-niece as she had no family of her own. While the honorific ‘Mrs’ may indicate MacLeod is Mary’s married name, ‘Mrs’ is also used for older women and those who preference it. If MacLeod were the maiden name, it could be argued that Mary Jane’s mother Madeline was also a MacLeod before marriage which would make Mary Jane’s family heritage almost indisputably Scottish.

 

As I’ve touched upon in my Osborn Family Tree and Osborn Name Origins there are some interesting real-world tidbits we can learn from surnames and their origins. Watson is a common Scottish and English with ancient Anglo-Saxon origins. MacLeod as a surname is of Scottish origin, being an anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic surname MacLeòid meaning ‘son of Leòd’ and derived from Old Norse.

 

Finally, we learn that Mary attended the christening of Mary Jane, presumably an infant at the time, which further defines the family’s religion or cultural practices as some form of Christianity, which fits well with a Scottish background with it is the largest religious denomination in the country.

 

This last point is not factual, but worth meditating on. The story of Spirits of the Earth features three Mary’s: Mary MacLeod who’s correspondence and passing brings Peter and Mary Jane to Scotland where the events unfold, Dark Mairi of the Shore, a mysterious and magical old woman who communes with the fairies and spirits, and Mary Jane Parker who becomes heavily involved in events, even aiding Mairi by adding her own youthful spirit and energy to bring down a cavern at the stories climax. Notably, when glimpsed from afar, Mairi appeared as a youthful redheaded woman with a resemblance to Mary Jane. I wonder if Mary MacLeod had red hair too?

 

Despite not even appearing once, Mary MacLeod provides us a rare glimpse into the broader history, culture, religion, and geography surrounding Mary Jane Watson’s family. It is also nice to know that should the Parker Family ever travel to Scotland, they have a nice little cottage with a sublime view waiting for them. A wholehearted special thanks to both maydaymemer and arias-98105 for their help on this one, it’s greatly appreciated.

 

Until I crack the Watson Family Tree and retire to the Isles, I remain

 

frogoat

Venom and Eminem

Today I present for your consideration an old post I wrote back in 2018ish on Tumblr (when it was relevant) following the release of Sony's first Venom movie. It's a bit of a departure from my usual musings but I'm fairly happy with the analysis younger me produced. My hope is that I can preserve some of my older material here for future me to re-discover. Who knows, maybe someone else will find it interesting? Anyway, enjoy!

 Venom and Eminem

I’ve recently had a few people ask me my opinion on the song ‘Venom’ by Eminem for the soundtrack of the titular film. So here we go:

Despite perhaps not being top-tier in terms of his best work, Eminem’s Venom song does hold more merit than might be thought from your first listen. 

For those only familiar with his early hits or present day charting singles, Eminem frequently utilizes more than one persona for his various songs: Eminem (the Rap God), Marshall Mathers (the man behind the facade) and Slim Shady (the dark and offensive Evil Twin). 

Through his early career the artist became mostly associated with his Slim Shady persona, partly because of which songs became hits and which lyrics drew negative media attention and partly because he encouraged it and even enjoyed it. 

Over the years, he’s come out with many songs discussing his meteoric rise to fame, his poor handling of the popularity and the scrutiny of media associated with living in the public eye. His marriage fell apart, he was banned in places and demonstrated against. He was a villain because he gave into his dark impulses and didn’t care who got hurt as a result. Sound familiar?

Venom started out as a villain who gained popularity exceptionally quickly and was later transitioned into an anti-hero as a result. Often described as an evil counterpart to Spider-Man, the combination of the alien symbiote and former journalist turned obsessive Spidey stalker Eddie Brock, Venom never actually corrupted it’s former host Spider-Man. In fact, until Eddie came along the symbiote was merely a glorified tool, an extension of the hosts will. Under Eddie’s influence Venom suddenly became a fearsome malevolence that hurt and killed those in their way without remorse and justified and rationalized their actions so as to never blame themselves. 

'Ever since I came along
From the day the song called “Hi! My Name Is” dropped
Started thinking my name was fault
'Cause anytime things went wrong
I was the one who they would blame it on
The media made me the equivalent of a modern-day Genghis Khan’

–Guts Over Fear

Further into his career, Em tried to transition himself into a more sympathetic light, with more singles and album tracks focusing on his personal struggles and private life, while still maintaining the harder edge and unapologetic attitude that made him famous. In terms of trajectory, this very much mirrors Venom’s repositioning into an anti-hero in the comics. In more recent times we’ve seen Em address his own status as a villain in the industry including attempts to make amends with such songs as 'Headlights’ and 'Bad Husband’ as well as more vulnerable songs like 'Walk on Water’ and ‘In Your Head’. 

‘Hailie, baby, I didn’t mean to make you eighty/Percent of what I rapped about/ Maybe I shoulda did a better job at separating/Shady and entertaining from real life/But this fame thing is still the hardest thing to explain/It’s the craziest shit I/Ever seen, and back then it was like I ain’t even/Bothered taking into consideration/You one day being older and may hear me say things/I didn’t (A) mean and (B) just ain’t me/’

–In Your Head

There’s almost a one to one comparison between the character of Venom and the artist Marshall Mathers. Eddie blames others or deflects responsibility for his behaviour, as Em often dismissed criticism of his foul and offensive lyrics as just his art - the work of his evil other half, Slim Shady- not intended to be taken seriously. Both became overnight hits, both became more sympathetic overtime and both seemingly flit between the role of villain and anti-hero in their respective mediums and in the eyes of fans.

The song Venom itself makes for a microcosm of themes. The song starts by claiming it’s for those who’ve been given a ’raw deal’ and are feeling angry. This can be read as referring to both Eddie Brock and Marshall himself when they were at low points in life. then we are introduced to a few themes with 'When something’s in your mitochondrial/ 'Cause it latched on to you’ conjuring images of the alien symbiote and 'Knock knock, let the devil in, malevolent/ As I’ve ever been, head spinnin’, this medicine’ using the symbiote as a metaphor for his past drug dependence and bad behaviour. These ideas reoccur throughout the song, with shifting meanings as the song progresses. 'shoulda been dead a long time ago’ can also be read as referring to both Em’s near death experience via overdose before going sober and Eddie Brock’s attempted suicide and/or cancer diagnosis before finding the symbiote.

The chorus makes reference to the erratic behaviour of both Eddie and Marshall with ’ Venom, (I got that) adrenaline momentum/ And I’m not knowin’ when I’m/ Ever gonna slow up and I’m/ Ready to snap any moment I’m/ Thinkin’ it’s time to go get 'em/ (W-w-when they get bit with the-)/ Venom’. There’s also not-so-subtle references here to the adrenaline rush a person feels when using certain drugs, which also describes the way Eddie feels when empowered by the alien symbiote. 

Another commonality, Venom and Eminem are known for using descriptions of over the top violent acts, often for humourous effect. The humour is also juxtaposed against the dark themes of the song or the actions taken. This can be seen to address the power fantasy of both Eddie Brock’s newfound abilities and Marshall’s fame and influence, which inevitably results in them abusing their abilities and status. Tell me that doesn’t remind you of anyone else?

'Then I wait to face the demons I’m bonded to/ 'Cause they’re chasin’ me but I’m part of you/ So escapin’ me is impossible/ I latch onto you like a—parasite/ And I probably ruined your parents’ life/ And your childhood too/'Cause if I’m the music that y'all grew up on/I’m responsible for you retarded fools/ I’m the super villain Dad and Mom was losin’ their marbles to/ You marvel that? Eddie Brock is you/ And I’m the suit, so call me—/ Venom’

While the symbiote is initially used as a way to talk about the dark side of Marshall’s personality, fame and former drug addiction, by the song’s conclusion he admits that despite his decade of sobriety and efforts to change, the darkness always resided within him. Unlike Eddie Brock, Marshall is taking responsibility for his actions. However, if Em is the symbiote suit, then he’s granting great power, and it’s up to the audience (’Eddie Brock is you’) to use it responsibly.

Or maybe it’s all just a catchy song to sell records?

Mayday's Eyes

 

With Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse bringing more attention to our favourite MC2-alumni with the introduction of Peter B Parker and Mary Jane Watson-Parker’s adorable baby daughter Mayday Parker, I thought now would be the perfect time to discuss Mayday’s Eyes.

 

One of the most notable talking points in the lead-up to Across the Spider-Verse was baby Mayday’s unique eye colour choice; heterochromia. This was seen in the officially released concept art which coincided with the first trailer’s debut online. With one iris blue and the other brown the design was distinctive, but having viewed the film, it did not appear to have been retained for the character as she appeared on screen. Unless I am mistaken, baby Mayday on the big screen had two blue eyes. Presumably in both cases the intent was to show Mayday inherited her eye colour from her parents, with Peter B having brown eyes and this Mary Jane having blue eyes in her brief appearances.

 

Now, let’s take look at the eye colour of the MC2’s May ‘Mayday’ Parker. While the comics have often been inconsistent with varying eye colours between issues, there is one colour that Mayday appears to have more consistently: blue. This is supported by a rather obscure source for official character information: Spider-Girl Battlebook: Streets of Fire. As I mentioned a very long time ago, with a cover date of November 1998, this was the first published source to provide officially approved physical characteristics for May ‘Mayday’ Parker.

 

However, when the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Women of Marvel 2005 gave us a full profile for Spider-Girl, Mayday was instead listed as having brown eyes. This was corrected to blue once again when the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Hardcover Vol. 11 updated the profile information. It is worth noting that the Main Marvel Universe and MC2 Mary Jane is firmly established to have green eyes and similarly, Peter has hazel eyes.

 

Now, let us look at one other aspect of May ‘Mayday’ Parker’s eyes you may not have considered: poor vision. If we go all the way back to the beginning with What If #105, we do briefly glimpse May rocking glasses, presumably for some kind of vision impairment. Notably, this instance takes place shortly after Mayday’s powers first manifested during a basketball game and she does not continue to wear them in future appearances. As far as I can tell, the only other occasions of May donning eyewear are for the purposes of fashion, disguise, or safety such as Spider-Girl #42, #60, #65 and Amazing Spider-Girl #20.

 

What is interesting is May did not revert to using glasses when she lost her spider-powers following her battle with Killerwatt in Spider-Girl #25. Maybe Mayday only uses glasses in some circumstances or her spider-powers had already ‘healed’ any deficit in her eye-sight? It is not a certainty, though Peter has not returned to using his glasses on the occasions his own spider-powers have been lost.

 

Until I gain some perspective and take a long-sighted view on what I focus on, *eye* remain

 

frogoat

 

 

The Parker Family Home

 

A very long time ago a young and eager fan wrote a but if a deep-dive into the layout of Mayday’s Room. Today, an older, more cynical, and time-poor fan writes a potted history of the Parker Family Home.

 

 

This will not be a definitive, exhaustive look at every appearance of the Parker residence. The aim of this post is to provide some history and context to the home now owned and occupied by Peter, Mary Jane, May, and Benjy Parker in the MC2 by looking at its published history.

 

Let us start with some background and details about the house. Located at 20 Ingram Street, ‘a quiet street in the Forest Hills section of New York, is the neat frame, two-story house’ (Amazing Spider-Man #316-#317, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1) which was owned by the bootlegging criminal Dutch Mallone during the prohibition era of the 1930’s.  The house was eventually surrounded by treasury agents led by Eliot Ness and Mallone was sent to prison. Rumours abound that Dutch had hidden away millions of dollars somewhere (in his house) that was never found (Amazing Spider-Man #200, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #50-#51).

 

At some point, Ben and May Parker moved into the home and later their nephew Peter came to live with them after his parents died (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5, Amazing Spider-Man Family #2). Unless I am mistaken, we have never seen a flashback to a younger May and Ben moving in to Forest Hills.

 

Now, for the more straightforward stuff. The Parker House first appears in Amazing Fantasy #15 when we are introduced to Peter’s Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Sadly, after Ben’s murder, May struggles to afford the rent and Peter sets out to earn money to help, and eventually uses money he earned from his Spider-Man pictures to pay off the rent for a full year (Amazing Spider-Man #1-#2).

 

 

We get an iconic look at the house in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, the layout and appearance of which is fairly consistently maintained by future artists.

 

 

 

When Peter is offered the opportunity to move in with Harry Osborn in an apartment, he worries about leaving his Aunt May alone, until she reveals Mary Jane’s Aunt Anna has asked her to move in. Notably, Peter suggests May could sell the house to live comfortably for the next few years (Amazing Spider-Man #46). This implies May now owns the home…so perhaps they were doing ‘rent to buy’ and finished paying it off? Either way, after this we do not see the Parker House for a long time.

 

A detour now, because after a few appearances of what must be Anna Watson’s House including the time where May takes in Doctor Octopus as a boarder while Anna is away resulting in the house being badly damaged during a super-battle (Amazing Spider-Man #53-#55), we later see May lives in an apartment building that may be in Forest Hills and later appearances suggest Anna lives there too (Amazing Spider-Man #110). For anyone who’s interested, their address is given as ‘124-05 24^th St Queens, NY’ (Amazing Spider-Man #119) after May runs away to stay with Doctor Octopus, and it’s later referred to as their ‘Forest Hills Apartment House’ and ‘Apartment Complex’ on occasion including when May protests the removal of rental-control on the building (Amazing Spider-Man #167, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #2 and #7).

 

 

Jumping around a bit, it seems the only time we actually glimpse the Parkers House is in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 during a flashback to Peter moving a trunk to the basement only to discover articles about his parents Richard and Mary’s deaths and the accusation they were traitors. This presumably means May had neither sold nor rented out her old home, though perhaps this was her clearing things out.

 

This would change in Amazing Spider-Man #170 where we witness a scene of a realtor showing the house to someone who is very interested in the premises and agrees to rent it. Notably, the realtor mentions May still owns the home and will use the rent money as a pension.

 

This proves true, as after suffering a heart attack during a protest in Amazing Spider-Man #176 and an eventful extended hospital stay, May Parker leaves for Restwell Retirement Home in Amazing Spider-Man #189. While May settles into the Retirement Home, her Forest Hills house is entirely trashed by her tenant who is searching for something. We learn this is The Burglar who shot and killed Ben Parker when he shows up at Restwell seeking information from May Parker, threatening the Home’s Dr Ludwig Rinehart (an alias of Quentin Beck aka Mysterio) (Amazing Spider-Man #193).

 

 

The Burglar reveals he was looking for something when he entered the Parker Home and shot Ben Parker, but he cannot extract the information from May with her nephew Peter visiting so often. The disguised Mysterio offers to deal with Peter and secretly plans to do the same to The Burglar once he learns exactly what he is after (Amazing Spider-Man #194).

 

The criminal Mysterio, maintaining his disguise as Dr. Rinehart, enacts his plan by faking May Parker’s death to ensure Peter would no longer be around to interfere, sending him a note informing him his aunt has died (Amazing Spider-Man #195). Notably, Rinehart even mentions that May was using her home to pay for her stay at Restwell and asks if Peter wants to make arrangements for this. Peter makes a trip to his childhood home only to discover it has been ripped apart which leads him to realize he recognizes the name ‘Rinehart’ (Amazing Spider-Man #196).

 

With Peter Parker out of the picture, The Burglar tells ‘Rinehart’ what he is after; Dutch Mallone’s hidden millions. Turning the tables, Rinehart reveals himself as Mysterio and tells The Burglar of his Nursing Home scam: ensuring the residents’ wealth and properties are signed over to him so he profits when they pass away. However, having learned of The Burglars plan to find the hidden millions, Mysterio changes his plan and captures him. Spider-Man makes his way to Restwell Retirement Home and battles Mysterio who now technically owns the Parker’s house. Their fight continues at Spider-Man’s old home in Forest Hills where Mysterio is now searching for Mallone’s treasure, before returning to Restwell where Spider-Man is rendered powerless with a dart full of ‘depressant’. Mysterio apparently cuts his losses and escapes as he does not appear in the following issue (Amazing Spider-Man #198-#199).

 

 

Meanwhile, The Burglar escapes his bondage and Peter returns to his Aunt May’s old home and decides to solve the mystery. Paying a visit to Anna Watson next door, Peter asks about the tenant living in May’s house but she can only suggest he ask the rental agency. Peter does so and learns the name of the tenant: it is The Burglar who killed Uncle Ben. Piecing things together, Peter learns the story of Dutch Mallone’s treasure, the reason The Burglar went to the Parker’s home the night he shot Uncle Ben (Amazing Spider-Man #200).

 

The still depowered Peter returns home only to be captured by The Burglar, who reveals that Mallone shared a jail cell with him and had spilled the location of the treasure while talking in his sleep. Eventually taken to the warehouse where Spider-Man first captured The Burglar, Peter learns Aunt May is alive before fighting The Burglar, who dies of a heart attack after Peter shows him he is Spider-Man. In the end, May reveals to Peter that she and Ben had found a box of Mallone’s while pulling down wallboards, but it’s contents had long ago been eaten away by silverfish. The whole event was for nothing. Presumably, with Mysterio’s scam revealed, and May still alive she would retain ownership of her old house (Amazing Spider-Man #200).

 

 

Still recovering from her recent illness and kidnapping, May returns to Restwell Retirement Home (Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #38). While there, she meets and begins a relationship with fellow resident Nathan Lubensky (Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #47).  May mentions she wants to move back into her home and turn it into a boarding house in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #68. Nathan and May attend a leaving party at Restwell in Marvel Team-Up #120 before unofficially opening her home for boarders in Marvel Team-Up #124. Almost a week later May obtains a special licence as a special-status landlady from the tax authority. We learn that along with Peter and May, Nathan has also invested his own savings to convert May’s house into a boarding house (Amazing Spider-Man #238).

 

May and Peter are targeted by Mysterio in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #50-#51, who returns still seeking Mallone’s treasure. Peter reveals the truth about the treasure being destroyed by silverfish, though Mysterio naturally initially does not believe him. Peter continues to assist May’s boarding house financially, as seen in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #78.

 

 

Much later, the now married Peter and Mary Jane Parker are evicted from their Bedford Towers home on Christmas Eve and forced to move in to Aunt May’s boarding house. Peter struggles with this as he feels he has long since outgrown the situation and it compromises his self-image as an adult. After being offered a room behind a gym by Flash, Peter visits Uncle Ben’s grave and finds Aunt May there which finally makes him realize he should accept her offer (Amazing Spider-Man #314).

 

Having learned Nathan has heart failure and only about six months to live, May considers phasing-out her boarding operations. Peter and Mary Jane are offered a loft above Harry and Liz Osborn’s own place in SoHo (Amazing Spider-Man #321). The couple move out of May’s place in Web of Spider-Man #57 and the other boarders begin to find other accommodations, with the last moving out in Amazing Spider-Man #326, leaving only May and Nathan in the house.

 

Nathan dies after an encounter with The Vulture in Amazing Spider-Man #336 and following his burial, when Peter and Mary Jane offer to have May stay with them for a while but she says she must get used to living alone again (Amazing Spider-Man #337). While May does find a new companion in Willie Lumpkin, she seems to continue to live alone.

 

Let us skip ahead to Amazing Spider-Man #391 where May, alone and filled with pent up emotions after a visit from Mary Jane, collapses to the ground and fortunately found shortly after by a returning Mary Jane.  It is revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #392 that May has suffered a stroke and fallen into a coma. After some weeks in hospital, May regains consciousness (Web of Spider-Man #123) and returns once more to her home in Forest Hills (Amazing Spider-Man #400).

 

While back in her own house, May deduces that hero daughter-in-law Mary Jane is pregnant (with the aptly named May ‘Mayday’ Parker aka Spider-Girl)  before spending a week with her beloved nephew Peter and, during a trip to the Empire State Building she reveals she’s known for years Peter was secretly Spider-Man. Finally, at home in her bed, May says her last goodbye to Peter. Peter recounts May reading Peter Pan to him as a child as she passes away peacefully (Amazing Spider-Man #400).

 

 

It is worth noting that May’s death occurs amid the Clone Saga and her hospitalization was the impetus for Peter’s clone brother Ben Reilly to return to New York City after five years in self-imposed exile. Ben also observes his aunt’s passing unseen and unable to be present, a truly tragic moment (Amazing Spider-Man #400).

 

Peter and Mary Jane eventually move to Portland and during the events of Spider-Man: The Final Adventure, Peter loses his spider-powers. Meanwhile Ben Reilly assumes the role of Spider-Man. When the expectant couple return to New York, we learn that Anna Watson has begun getting the Parker’s House back into shape (Web of Spider-Man #127) for them. They move in to the house (Amazing Spider-Man #413, Spider-Man #70) and shortly after they are joined by Anna Watson who moves in to help them with their coming baby (Amazing Spider-Man #417).

 

A side note; the Parker House’s address is given as ‘309 Austin Avenue, Forest Hills’ in Spider-Man #70 when Mary Jane calls 911 for an ambulance when Peter has a seizure. This is not the only instance of a different address for the house, but given the prominence and recurrence of ‘20 Ingram Street’ I am going to stick with it instead.

 

During the Revelations arc, Peter and Ben spend some quality time together in the attic, sorting through their old belongings (Spectacular Spider-Man #240). This would be their last happy moment together before Ben dies fighting the original Green Goblin aka Norman Osborn (Peter Parker: Spider-Man #75).  Of course, Mary Jane and Peter’s baby May is declared stillborn in Amazing Spider-Man #418. This is part of a horrific plot afoot and in the MC2 she is eventually returned safely to her parents thanks to Kaine (Spider-Girl #48-#49).

 

Before parents and child are reunited, Peter and Mary Jane mourn their loss. As part of this process, Mary Jane repaints the nursery in their home and decides to enroll at Empire State University, and Peter considers returning to complete his masters degree (Amazing Spider-Man #419). In the MC2, we know that Peter did, in fact, do this as he is referred to as ‘Doctor Parker’ and works as a police scientist (What If #105). Mary Jane’s studies also appear to have been successful, as many years later she accepts the position of guidance counselor at Midtown High School (Amazing Spider-Girl #8-#10, #16).

 

Now we can look at the MC2’s established history involving the Parker’s Family Home. We know Peter and Mary Jane continued to live in the house after the MC2 diverged from the Main Marvel Universe, as seen in stories set during Mayday’s early life including the Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man story seen in Amazing Spider-Man Family #1. There, Mayday is left with Anna Watson when Peter and Mary Jane leave for dinner with the Connors only for Spider-Man to have to battle The Lizard. It appears Anna Watson also continued to live in the house during Mayday’s infancy, though it is possible she was just staying there to babysit in Amazing Spider-Man Family #2.

 

 

The Parker Family remain in their Forest Hills home throughout the MC2’s entire publication run from What If #105 to Spider-Girl: The End. It is worth pointing out that Anna Watson does not make any appearances in the present-day MC2, so not only does she no longer live there, she may have actually passed away.

 

Perhaps the most notable appearance of the Parker Family Home in the MC2 was when Peter and baby Benjy were kidnapped by the current host to the Carnage Symbiote. Carnage left destruction in his wake and a message scrawled in blood (Amazing Spider-Girl #10).

 

The Parker’s attic is, somewhat fittingly, a reoccurring location of some significance. It’s where Mayday learns of the events surrounding her father’s final battle with the Green Goblin and the loss of his own leg. It is also where Mayday finds her Uncle Ben’s costume and web-shooters before heading out to save her father (What If #105/Spider-Girl #0). Mayday would return here on occasion to seek a costume (Spider-Girl #7) and eventually Peter would teach his daughter to make web-fluid there using a makeshift lab (Amazing Spider-Girl #20).

 

In closing, I hope the significance of the humble abode of the Parker’s is not lost on readers. While for a long stretch of time after Peter and his Aunt May moved out the home ceased to hold any relevance it has since become a major part of the not just the Spider-Man mythos, but that of Spider-Girl’s own. Acting as a point of safety and stability, there really is no place like home.

 

 

Until I figure out if Peter paid out the remaining mortgage or if May and/or Ben had just a little left to pay off on a rent to buy scheme, I remain

 

frogoat