Marvel Confirms Aunt May Had A [Spoilers] – And Fans Think Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Has Finally Caused ‘The Amazing Spider

Marvel Comics has been pushing the impending thousandth issue of The Amazing Spider-Man for months with variant covers and buzz, telling readers that Spider-Man will face “his greatest fear and his most frightening new villain in decades.” Considering the buildup to one of the biggest milestones in comic book history, readers expect something big to justify the momentous number, and one guess from fans might finally prove true.

In the latest story arc of Joe Kelly’s The Amazing Spider-Man run, Peter Parker has been struggling with inadequacies as a son after Aunt May discovers her and Uncle Ben’s long-lost biological son, whom she thought died at birth. Long story short, the two reconnected, and because of Peter’s frequent absences as Spider-Man, Peter felt as if he was being justifiably replaced by someone who would treat her better.

In the latest issue before the thousandth, Aunt May finally forces a talk with Peter and straightens him out, reassuring him that “I already have the son I’ve always wanted. I raised him, one day at a time,” ending with the two hugging it out with the promise of dinner together. After having a brief tussle with Gwen Stacy’s Ghost-Spider, Peter gets the worst phone call imaginable: “May’s had a stroke.”

Aunt May has had plenty of scares over the decades, to the point that her frail constitution became one of her defining characteristics and the reason Peter was so apprehensive about telling her the truth. However, May’s death has always been Peter’s “greatest fear,” something that has been a long time coming after several close calls and fakeouts.

MCU Synergy Might Finally Kill Aunt May

The most immediate assumption from fans has been that this is Marvel Comics finally playing catch-up with the MCU, which killed Marisa Tomei’s iteration of the character in Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, that was nearly five years ago, so why is Marvel Comics only now pulling the trigger?

It could be a combination of factors, but the simplest explanation is that time is finally catching up. After decades-long outcry from fans, and after Insomniac’s Spider-Man video game killed off Aunt May alongside Sony Animation’s Spider-Verse and Tom Holland’s Peter Parker holding a dying Aunt May in his arms, it has come to a point where pop culture has seemingly moved on from an adult Peter Parker needing Aunt May.

While some MCU synergy with Marvel Comics has been for the worse, such as changing Ms. Marvel’s powers, this might be the one time that following after Marvel Studios will do the comics and characters some good. It might even allow Peter to face new struggles, like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in Brand New Day, who was afraid of losing himself in his isolation after her death.

However, fans are understandably wary of Marvel, fearing the company will pull the rug out from under them yet again. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time Marvel has seemingly killed Aunt May.

Third Time’s the Charm

Believe it or not, this isn’t Aunt May’s first stroke. She famously had one in the ’90s before slipping into a coma, culminating in her death in writer J.M. DeMatteis’ The Amazing Spider-Man #400. After waking up, Aunt May spent the day with Peter, telling him she knew he was Spider-Man and that she was proud of him before collapsing. He brought her home, but she had grown too weak. She peacefully died in her bed, surrounded by the people she loved.

Three years later, writers John Byrne and Howard Mackie revealed that the Aunt May who died was actually a genetically engineered actress, surgically altered to look like her. The real Aunt May was held captive by a newly revived Green Goblin. This would also cause her to forget that Peter had ever been Spider-Man. 

The next time Aunt May had a stroke with death, she was shot by an assassin. Dying in a hospital bed, Spider-Man tried getting help from everyone in the superhero community, but no one was capable of healing a gunshot wound. It wasn’t until Mephisto offered a deal that, in exchange for Peter’s marriage to Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May was saved. The couple accepted the deal and, like the rest of the world, his aunt forgot that he was Spider-Man.

It’s understandable that, after those two instances, fans developed trust issues with Marvel Comics, so who is to say it won’t happen again? Hopefully, the comics follow in the footsteps of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and let Aunt May go.