Now that I’ve covered the Osborn
Family Tree, I’ve opened the door to detailing the various families that
intersect with it. The most obvious place for me to start was with the Allan
Family Tree, and so here we are!
As mentioned previously, Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Allan first
appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 as an unnamed student and was identified
as Liz Allan in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #4. Liz
developed a crush on Peter Parker while they were in high school
together, admitting this to him during their graduation in Amazing
Spider-Man (vol. 1) #28. After this, Liz would not be seen for
several years, save a cameo in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #30.
When we saw Liz next, it was over 100 issues later in
Amazing Spider-Man #132-133, her surname was misspelt as ‘Allen,’
we learned what she had been up to during her long absence and we learned of a
familial relationship previously unrevealed. That’s right, Mark Raxton
aka The Molten Man is Liz Allan’s stepbrother. After graduating
high school Liz became a Nurse (or Nurse Aid, according to some handbook
entries) to provide him with care until he later escaped. This relationship
between the two characters would become a reoccurring plot point as time went
on.
Mark Raxton first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #28
as the assistant to Spencer Smythe (see
here) who attempts to steal an
experimental liquid metal alloy only to end up with it coated on his skin as The
Molten Man. While a reoccurring villain initially, Raxton would
attempt to rehabilitate in Web of Spider-Man #62 and afterwards worked to redeem
himself while reconciling with his stepsister and her new family.
The issue with Mrs. Allan being both Liz and Mark’s
mother is simple: having a shared mother would make them half-siblings rather
than stepsiblings but they’ve consistently identified as stepbrother and sister
for decades. I’ve given this a lot of thought and I think I have the solution.
When discussing Mark in Web of Spider-Man #62, Liz states ‘when
we were kids, he and his stepfather, my Dad, were always fighting’.
From this we know for sure that Mr. Allan is not Mark’s biological
father.
The Official Handbook
of the Marvel Universe Update ’89 #5 profile for Molten Man lists a ‘Mr.
Raxton (first name unrevealed, father, deceased)’ and ‘Mrs.
Allan (first name unrevealed, stepmother)’ among his known relatives. From
this we can deduce that Mark’s father died at some point and that Mrs.
Allan is in fact his stepmother. Now the question becomes who is Mark’s
mother, then? Untold Tales of Spider-Man #21 features the following seemingly
throwaway line from Liz: ‘since my folks split up, I get to see him [Mr.
Allan] every other weekend—and when he can spare the time.’ The relevant
detail here is that Liz’s parents are no longer married and she no
longer lives with her father. This story takes place prior to Liz’s high
school graduation in Amazing Spider-Man #28.
Further confusing this point is the profile for Liz in the Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man 2005 -which isn’t strictly
canon to this family tree due to their post-divergence publication date- but
does provide us with first names for both Mr. and Mrs. Allan: Wilson
and Doris, respectively. Notably, however, Doris is given the
surname Raxton, despite being listed simply as Liz’s mother. Molten
Man’s new profile in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z
#7 hardcover similarly lists ‘Doris Raxton (mother)’.
So what’s the truth?
I posit that there are actually two ‘Mrs. Allan’s’: Doris
Raxton Allan- Mark’s biological mother and Mrs. Allan (first
name unrevealed)- Liz’s biological mother. Mark Raxtonis
born to Doris and Mr. Raxton and Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Allan is
born to Mrs. Allan and Wilson Allan. At some point will Mark
is young, Mr. Raxton dies. Liz’s parents separate or divorce and
eventually Wilson and Doris get together and after some time
marry with Doris either legally or otherwise adopting the surname Allan.
This does leave it vague as to which Mrs. Allan was seen at Liz’s
graduation, but that’s a minor issue!
Well, what do you think, does my explanation work? Let me
know. Make sure to check out the Osborn
Family Tree to see how this all connects to the MC2’s Normie Osborn.
Looks like I’ll have to consider related Family Tree’s for Foggy Nelson
and Brenda Drago soon, too. So be sure to look out for that one somewhere
down the line.
Until I stop obsessing over such trivial details as a
supporting character’s own supporting characters, I remain
frogoat
