For this MC2 Family Tree, we'll be coving
May 'Mayday' Parker's former rival on the basketball court,
Nancy 'Lucky' Lu and her family.
Nancy Meeko Lu first appears in
Spider-Girl #23 as
Central High's star basketball player. Demonstrating why she had earned the nickname '
Lucky' with her uncanny fortune on the court,
May became suspicious (and perhaps a little jealous) when she and the rest of
Midtown's team were beaten.
As
Spider-Girl,
May followed
Nancy home, hoping to uncover something sinister, only to discover
Nancy and her family appeared to be the very definition of an all-American family, complete with annoying
brother and adorable
sister. Eventually,
Spider-Girl observes
Nancy using her powers to prevent a child from being hit by a car. Confronted,
Nancy admits she's a mutant with low-level telekinetic abilities and that she has no interest in being a super hero. We also learn that
Nancy was approached by the
X-People but turned them down as she wishes to lead a normal life and become a doctor.
Spider-Girl's parting words about not using her powers for anything foolish causes
Nancy to quit her basketball team. This news has the unintended consequence of leaving
May feeling guilty and contemplating the unfair advantage her naturally super-human power's may give her when competing.
But that's not the last we'd see of
Nancy Lu, oh no! After spotting Jack Jameson with Nancy Lu in
Spider-Girl #29 May learns that
Nancy may be transferring to Midtown High's school district as a result of
Mr. Lu changing jobs.
In
Spider-Girl #30 May runs into
Nancy with
JJ at the
Daily Bugle and later
Coach Thompson asks
Davida and
May to convince
Nancy to join
Midtown's basketball team. Again in
Spider-Girl #31, we see
JJ and
Nancy out together but it's seems
Nancy doesn't start at
Midtown High until
Spider-Girl #32 when we see her and
JJ heading to lunch. Nancy makes friends with
Davida and
May even enjoys a one-on-one game of basketball with her in
Spider-Girl #33. May realizes she genuinely likes Nancy despite her previous misgivings. The three girls discuss shoes in
Spider-Girl #34 and
Nancy joins
May's friends for an outing in
Spider-Girl #35. Everything is going very well. So naturally, it won't last.
Nancy learns of
Coach Thompson's plan to use
May and
Davida to recruit her to the school team. When
May attempts to explain things to
Nancy lashes out with her powers, knocking
May into a locker and storming off.
After a failed attempt and a heated encounter with
JJ,
Nancy apologizes to May in
Spider-Girl #43 and we don't see her again for a while.
Spider-Girl #61 is the beginning of a major turning point when
Coach Thompson takes
Davida off the basketball team's starting line-up in favour of
Nancy Lu.
Things only get worse from here on out. During an altercation with Davida in
Spider-Girl #64, Nancy instinctively uses her powers to defend herself, exposing herself as a mutant to the school.
Things reach a head in
Spider-Girl #67 when
Nancy's locker is vandalised and graffitied with anti-mutant messages. At home,
Nancy's parents argue over their daughters situation and
Nancy's siblings are ostracised at school. Later while attempting to get some air,
Nancy is accosted by several hooded figures.
The group attacking
Nancy Lu are revealed to be fellow students from
Midtown High. When
The Buzz (aka
JJ) and
Spider-Girl intervene,
Nancy reveals she's more afraid of hurting others due to a lack of control of her abilities than being hurt herself. Afterwards,
Nancy makes the decision to go with the
X-People to better master her powers.
And for a while, it seemed like we would never see
Ms Lu again. That is until she reappeared in
Spider-Girl #92 in a very different role, that of the mutant hero in training:
Push.
May briefly runs into
Nancy Lu before the two both run off to switch into their hero attire in order to stop a
imposter-Magneto.
I love how
Nancy's X-People costume resembles the original
X-Men's first costumes as a nod to her status as a novice hero. Unfortunately
Nancy has only appeared in one further story to-date. In a plot-line that references
Nancy's own outing as a mutant, student
Sara Hingle's story takes a turn for the worse when she ends up recruited and manipulated by
Magneta and her
Sisterhood of Mutants (
Amazing Spider-Girl #22-24).
Unfortunately that's the last we see of
Nancy Lu to date. Another nice touch with
Nancy's costume now more in keeping with the rest of
X-People. From one-off rival to supporting character to full-fledged super heroine,
Nancy is a wonderful example of how the
MC2 takes small roles and makes them into something truly inspiring.
Nancy never stops striving to be a good person and still aims to be a doctor regardless of how others wish to pigeon-hole her into a single category.
A few little tidbits before I wrap this up.
Nancy's middle name -
Meeko- is given in
Spider-Girl #67.
Push doesn't appear in
Last Planet Standing, which came out within months of her super heroic debut in
Spider-Girl #92. If you look closely in
Spider-Girl #23, you'll notice
Nancy has a cat. I wonder if they accompanied her to the X-Mansion?
I think the idea of the
Lu family as '
The All-American Family' is a nice statement in and of itself, while also reflecting aspects of
May's own home life.
Nancy could have very easily been written as a one-dimensional rival character instead of the nuanced individual we saw develop over time. For that, I'm grateful.
Until I figure out a blogging schedule that includes sleep, I remain
frogoat
