Characters / Spider-Man: Family

Benjamin Parker

Notable Aliases: Uncle Ben

First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15 (August, 1962)

Peter Parker's uncle and the father figure whose death was the main inspiration for Peter becoming Spider-Man. Ben Parker taught Peter that with great power comes great responsibility.

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the origin issue, and in flashbacks, he and Peter are shown having a warm and loving relationship and while Peter had a chip on his shoulder for time in school, Uncle Ben and he were always close. In the Raimi Trilogy and in Ultimate Spider-Man and other versions, they add in some teen rebelling against parents drama between Peter and Ben to make Uncle Ben's death more tragic and heartbreaking (since their final conversation was them fighting and so on).
• Cool Old Guy: In quite a few flashbacks, he's been shown to have had his hip and happening side. Because Peter had a Friendless Background, Uncle Ben wasn't just his dad and uncle, he was also his best friend growing up. He was also a World War II veteran.
• Dark Secret: It would be years before Peter could admit to Aunt May that he's responsible for Uncle Ben's death.
• Death by Origin Story: His murder set Peter down the path of using his powers for good, precisely because Peter could have prevented it.
• Happily Married: To Aunt May, until his death. They were a childless couple who only had each other and he took in Peter after the death of his brother.
• Killed Off for Real: Due to Death by Origin Story. He's pretty much the only Marvel character who hasn't come back from the dead^note The only significant character from either of the two major comic book companies, actually—of the three major comic book deaths which people used to believe were permanent (Ben, Bucky Barnes, and Jason Todd), he's the only one still dead as of the 2020s. Even Bruce Wayne's parents were brought back once, but Uncle Ben has remained dead for all these years..
• The Mentor: It varies in continuity to continuity, but he is the main inspiration in Peter's resolution to do good.
• Papa Wolf: One flashback to Peter's childhood has him chasing off a few bullies harassing Peter with a baseball bat. Another has him fist-fighting Flash Thompson and his goons and winning despite being outnumbered. He chalks it up to basic training.
• Parental Substitute: Peter's substitute father.
• Posthumous Character: He's been dead since the first issue but he hasn't been forgotten for the 1000 plus issues that have been published since then.
• Practically Different Generations: Despite being Richard's older brother, he often looks around 10-20 years older than him.
• Retired Badass: Ben Parker was originally a World War II veteran, although recent comics have downplayed this owing to the timeline issues. He still is referenced as some sort of military veteran.
• So Proud of You: A possible posthumous encounter in the afterlife in Issue 500 has Ben insisting that he's quite proud of his nephew.
• Tragic Keepsake: An item Peter treasured among his gifts is a microscope. When he visited his grave years later he left that microscope on his grave. Said microscope was picked by a squatter who needed a gift for his genius son.

May Reilly-Parker

Notable Aliases: Aunt May

First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15 (August, 1962)

Peter Parker's aunt-by-marriage and one of the most important people in his life.

• Almighty Mom: She can get J. Jonah Jameson and Wolverine, of all people, to submit to her requests!
• Beware the Nice Ones: As the Chameleon found out to his surprise.
• Cartwright Curse: While Peter's infamous for losing one certain love interest, May seems to have even worse luck when it comes to them. Her first husband had a fateful run-in with a burglar, her fiancee Nathan contracted inoperable cancer and then suffered a heart attack as a result of a hostage situation, and her second husband passed away from a disease. The Parker luck seems to run in the family.
• Character Development: Aunt May is unusual in that her character development on multiple occasions was redone and retconned, essentially creating three different versions of the same character:
  • J. M. DeMatteis in Amazing Spider-Man #400 which had her death, had her reveal that she had figured out that Peter was Spider-Man some time ago. She and Peter exchange greetings and sentiments and then she dies. This was absolutely intended by writers and editors to stick and considered her true death and passing. Some two years later, Howard Mackie and John Byrne retconned this and claimed that the Aunt May in this scene was an actress, and she regressed into the clueless Aunt May of before.
  • JMS had Aunt May find out Peter was Spider-Man in "The Conversation" (Amazing Spider-Man #38) and this started a new period in her relationship with Peter which was more open, communicative, and honest than before. OMD retconned this and hit the Reset Button on her relationship with Peter again.
  • Post-OMD, her character who thanks to sliding timescale has been drawn and written a little younger than before. A new arc with her getting married again began, with her having her own life separate from Peter and here she encourages Peter's scientific aspirations (including getting him a job at Horizon). Towards the end, her second husband also dies. Her relationship with Mary Jane which was always warm and supportive (since she saw her as her own daughter) was made distant and colder, and at the start of The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) Peter's plagiarism scandal cooled her relationship with Peter significantly as well.
• Cool Old Lady: You can beat on Spider-Man all you want, but you don't mess with Aunt May.
  • She cemented this in Lee-Ditko Spider-Man when after Peter fusses about her after an operation has left her wheelchair-bound, she rebukes him firmly and gently:
    Aunt May: Now you listen to me, Peter Parker...!! Even though I'm an old woman, I'm not a quitter! A person needs gumption—-the will to live—-to fight—-you mustn't worry about me so much, Peter dear! We Parkers are tougher than people think!
  • She went from dowdy old fusspot to really cool once readers realized that she was setting her nephew up with Mary Jane Watson, leading many to call Aunt May the ultimate wingman.
  • Later during the Civil War when everyone knew who Peter Parker was and was out to get him, became a downright cool old lady, even going so far as to appear clueless when the Chameleon impersonated Peter while simultaneously tricking him into thinking he'd been poisoned with cookies full of sleeping pills and knitting a sweater with the word "GOTCHA" in big letters the whole time.
  • When Wolverine complains about letting Jarvis have the morning off (with May picking up the slack making breakfast), May grabs the cigar from his mouth and dunks it in his whisky, while setting the rule of "no drinking or smoking in the premises until noon". Wolverine just stares at her for a couple of seconds, then announces he's just going to get doughnuts.
  • She once managed to talk the freaking Scorpion into not attacking Spider-Man. While she was hospitalized no less.
• Dude Magnet: Despite her age, she dated numerous different men (within her age range, of course) after Ben's death: Otto Octavius, Nathan Lubensky, Willie Lumpkin, Edwin Jarvis (who was actually a Skrull) and JJJ's dad, who ends up marrying her.
• Granny Classic: Depending on the writer she might Take a Level in Badass, but everyone seems to be in agreement she likes to bake, cook, and can't be bothered with hair dye.
• Happily Married:
  • To Ben Parker before his Death by Origin Story. They were old, in love, and childless and gladly adopted Peter to complete their family.
  • With JJJ's dad as of BND (the ceremony takes place in issue #600). Peter alternates between finding it adorable and horrifying. Jonah would rather not think about it at all.
• Heroic Bystander: More so when written by JMS, during her brief time being in on the secret.
• Horrible Judge of Character: For a long time, she considered Spider-Man to be "awful", and thought Doctor Octopus was a "gentleman" (Even after he held her hostage). She was even like this in her youth: She almost got engaged to a criminal named Johnny Jerome, refusing to listen to Ben when he tried to tell her the truth about him, thinking he was slandering Johnny out of jealousy. It was only when he showed her hard evidence that her engagement ring had been stolen that she believed him.
• Insistent Terminology: In The '60s, would constantly say "pussywillow" instead of "pussycat" when attempting to use hip lingo.
• Jerkass Ball: Is not supportive of "Peter"'s relationship with Anna Maria Marconi, going so far as to disparagingly remark on her short stature. Although "Peter" admits that it's also his fault because he should've told Aunt May earlier about Anna's condition before they met.
• Living Emotional Crutch: For Peter ever since Uncle Ben died. She's Peter's only surviving family and Peter burdened by the guilt of causing Uncle Ben's death and widowing her is constantly worried sick about her health and well-being.
• The Match Maker: For Peter and MJ most famously. A Running Gag and early story arc is that May wanted to set Peter up with his neighbor's niece and Peter believing that it was embarrassing for his Aunt to set him up with a date wasn't keen, and likewise thought it couldn't be anyone cool. To say the least, he was proven wrong.
• Maiden Aunt: Although she's a widow and not a maiden.
• Mama Bear:
  • She has demonstrated this line of abilities when somebody messes with her dear nephew and adopted son, Peter. When the Chameleon, a ruthless assassin and skilled infiltrator, tries to take Peter's place, she not only manages to subdue him in an undeniably classy fashion, she also scares the bejeezus outta him in the process.
  • And in another storyline, when the Vulture broke into their house and threatened them with a gun, after Peter managed to disarm him of it (trying hard not to show his full strength and give his identity away) she picked the weapon up and pointed it at the criminal, and ordered him to leave.
• My Beloved Smother: Gwen Stacy called her out in this near the end of the Lee-Romita era during a period when Peter was missing. Gwen reminds her that Peter is quite tough (even though she worries about Peter a great deal too)
• Parents in Distress: Peter will kill you if you even threaten Aunt May. Just ask the Kingpin who got the beating of his lifetime in Back in Black.
• Parental Substitute:
  • She is Peter's mother all things considered. She and Ben couldn't have children, and when Peter fell into their lives, Peter fulfilled her wishes for a child and so she doted on him greatly. She also keeps worrying about him all the time, hoping he settles down, finds a job that sticks, gets married and so on.
  • Pre-OMD, she was also one for Mary Jane. She always considered MJ Peter's ideal match and believed that she and Peter would be perfect for one another. She was a supportive mother-in-law for both of them during their marriage, and after Peter and MJ reunited, she counseled MJ to turn to acting for the stage when her movie and fashion career was hitting a dead end.
• Practically Different Generations: Like with Ben, May often looks around 10-20 years older than Peter's birth parents.
• Progressively Prettier: In the earlier issues, May looked very wizened and wrinkled. Over time, artists have drawn her as less so. They even modernized her hairdo from the classic old ladies' bun to short, shagged hair (which is her default style in the Ultimate Universe). In terms of adaptations, May gets younger all the time, to the point that her Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation is played by Marisa Tomei, of all people.^note which was a rather deliberate attempt to also invoke Younger and Hipper, since such a large gap between her and a teenage Peter would not be as realistic half a century after Spider-Man was created
• Scatterbrained Senior: Early incarnations of her suggested this, though it varies from issue to issue, with her being unexpectedly tough and insightful in some moments, and having questionable judgment on other occassions.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Pre-OMD, she was a consistent and vocal Peter/MJ shipper, and conspired with Anna to set them up on their first date. During the "First Clone Saga" when Gwen's clone threw a wrench in Peter and MJ's budding romance and Mary Jane came to her for advice, Aunt May told her to go fight for her man. She also supported and did her best to make sure Peter and MJ got back together during the period of separation in their marriage.
  • Post-OMD, owing to the Cosmic Retcon changing and altering the dynamics of the characters, May and Mary Jane had a falling out, with May taking Peter's side after MJ ended their long live-in relationship with Peter. Anna Watson was still May's friend, and she had to bring MJ as her plus one for May's wedding to John Jameson and while their relationship is cordial, May no longer tries to ship Peter and MJ together, and has on occassion been supportive of Peter's other relationships, such as with Bobbi Morse.
• Supreme Chef: May is very skilled in cooking with baked goods. Except, Depending on the Writer, for meat loaf.
• You See, I'm Dying: She has cancer, and the revelation shocks Peter greatly.

Mary and Richard Parker

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 (November, 1968)

Richard and Mary Parker are the parents of Peter Parker (Spider-Man). They were killed in a plane accident arranged by The Finisher when Peter was still very young.

• Badass Normal: Depending on the Writer, mind you, but they've been shown doing some pretty awesome things, and they took on the Russian Red Skull, for pete's sake, even if it did result in their deaths, but they died protecting their country, which Peter takes some measure of pride in. More recently in the standalone story Family Business, in particular, they're shown operating some rather powerful weaponry.
• Death by Origin Story: Something of a lesser variant, they weren't directly involved in Peter's origin as Spider-Man (though their profession and deaths resulted in Peter living with Ben and May), and their deaths weren't even elaborated on until an annual during the Lee/Romita run.
• The Mole: They were spies; in some continuities they were Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Amusingly, even in mainline continuity, the writers can flip-flop on this. The cover you see to the right? It says they're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but in the actual comic, they're working for the CIA instead.
• Practically Different Generations: Richard is the younger brother of Ben. Richard and Mary often look at least around 10-20 years younger than Ben and May.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Richard is often drawn looking nigh if not outright identical to Peter. For obvious reasons, not quite so much with Mary.

Teresa Parker

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business #1 (June, 2014)

Peter's long-lost sister. She appears out of the blue to rescue Peter from a gunman and claims to have only learned about their relationship recently.

• Ambiguous Situation: The story raises the possibility that Teresa is not Peter's sister, but a sleeper agent working for the Finisher who came to believe her false identity. The Chameleon offers to give her definitive answers in exchange for breaking him out of prison, but she refuses and chooses to embrace Teresa Parker as her true identity, regardless of what her origins are.
• Badass Normal: Like mom and dad, she has no superpowers. She's instead a CIA agent with considerable hand-to-hand combat skills and is a crack shot with a pistol. She later gets a flight pack that makes her a full-fledged flight-based superhero.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Like her brother, Teresa is an nice person to be around, but may The One Above All help you if you piss her off.
• Brother–Sister Team: She and Peter work together on occasion now that she's back.
• I Believe I Can Fly: She gets a flight pack similar to Falcon's from Hophni Mason to better help Peter in the field. She grumbles that she spends much of her time carrying people away from fights now that she can fly. Peter tells her that it's 90 percent of her job as a flight-based superhero.
• Long-Lost Relative: Neither of them knew they had a sibling until Teresa showed up to save Peter from gunfire. Then it's subverted when it's revealed that their relationship may have been nothing more than a figment created by Mentallo's powers... then it's Double Subverted when Teresa uncovers her birth certificate and a picture showing her in Richard and Mary's arms, and then it's Triple Subverted when even that is made ambiguous.
• Secret-Keeper: She learns about Peter's secret not long after they meet and keeps it under wraps for him.

Mary Jane Watson-Parker

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #42 (December, 1966)

Mary Jane (or MJ) was the wife of Peter Parker in the main continuity from 1987-2008, until One More Day erased those years with a Cosmic Retcon (in other universe, like MC2 universe or The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, they are again married). During their marriage, she legally added Parker to her surname. See her personal page on info relative to her.

May "Mayday" Parker

Notable Aliases: Spider Girl

First Appearance: What If? Vol 2 #105 (February, 1998) ^note As Spider-Girl; Amazing Spider-Man Vol 3 #15 (April, 2015) ^note As Spider-Woman

May "Mayday" Parker is the child of Peter and Mary Jane Parker in a future of the alternate MC2 continuity. Here they were reunited with their baby daughter by Kaine, who found the child living with Alison Mongraine, the con artist who had kidnapped the baby on instruction from the Green Goblin. See her personal page.

Benjamin "Benjy" Parker

Benjy Parker is the baby brother of May Parker and the child of Peter and Mary Jane Parker in a future of the alternate MC2 continuity. For the most part, he's just been the cute baby brother in the background that May will occasionally play with and would make sure he wasn't climbing on the walls. But he has been involved on the action from time to time. See here for more info.

Anna-May "Annie" Parker

Notable Aliases: Spiderling

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1 (August, 2015) ^note As Annie Parker; Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #5 (November, 2015) ^note As AMP; Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows Vol 2 #4 (April, 2017) ^note As Spiderling

Anna-May "Annie" Parker is the child of Peter and Mary Jane Parker in the future of another alternate continuity. Here, Annie grew up having to hide her powers from a villain known as the Regent until his defeat enabled Annie and her parents to resume her normal lives and even adopt her own costumed identity with her family.

Phillip Watson

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #259 (September, 1984)

MJ's estranged father.

• Abusive Parents: Stress at his inability to write mixed with rising bills from not having a job lead him to hit Gayle, at which point Madlyne immediately took the kids and left.
• Didn't Think This Through: Phil was a happily married and successful teacher adored by his students, who wanted to make it as a novelist. All well and good, but he then quit his successful and high-paying job without making sure whether he could write in the first place, at which point the Watson family started to fall apart.
• High Hopes, Zero Talent: He wanted to be a successful novelist... and as it turned out was no good at it.
• Jerkass: After Madeline took the kids, he sued her for desertion, won, and then broke off all contact with his daughters anyway. The next time he reappeared in MJ's life, it was to try and pressure her into committing theft for him.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Eventually fell into this after realizing his failed ambitions had cost him everything he loved.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Eventually reappeared having done time, but softened out enough for MJ to forgive him.

Gayle Watson-Byrne

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #246 (August, 1983)

MJ's older sister.

• Put on a Bus: She hasn't been seen or heard from in a while now, beyond a mention here and there.
• The Resenter: Towards MJ, on account of her going off to try and live her life while Gayle has wound up an abandoned mother of two.

Anna May Watson

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (August, 1964)

Anna May Watson is best friends with May Parker and a paternal aunt to Mary Jane Watson. Once the Watsons were neighbors to the Parker's in Forrest Hills.

• Maiden Aunt: She's Mary Jane's aunt, and never married.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, treating Peter badly even when he didn't do anything to deserve it. In the comics, she's a sweet lady who's never anything but polite and respectful to Peter. She was also impressed by Spider-Man's kindness and good manners after he saved her from a Spider-Slayer.
• Pet the Dog: Anna was the only one of the Watson family to show any kind of support to her sister in-law and nieces after Madeline left Phillip.
• Shipper on Deck: Less so than May, but still helped set up Peter and MJ's first date. No matter how fraught Peter and MJ's relationship got in the 80s, she and May would insist they would be getting married any day.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: When she came to live with Peter and Mary Jane for a while in the 1990s, she filled a similar role to Aunt May.