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What If? (Publication Order) #164
What If... Aunt May Had Died Instead Of Uncle Ben? #1
We all know that Spider-Man's heroic career was inspired by Uncle Ben's death after his speech about great power and great responsibility...but what if Uncle Ben WASN'T the one who died? What if Peter's mother figure, Aunt May had been the one in the path of that bullet? How different would Peter's life have been?
23 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Ed Brubaker
1,796 books3,007 followersEd Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 9, 2016
This (and several other What Ifs) popped up on the home page of my Marvel Unlimited account the other night, and this one looked especially campy, so...I just couldn't resist.
Is there anyone who doesn't love Aunt May?!
I mean, besides The Jeff.
*In tonight's episode, the part of Jeff will be played by Doctor Octopus*
Of course we love her! She's an important, dare I say integral, part of the Spiderverse. Which is why this silly little single issue was sorta interesting to read.
I say sorta, because (unlike some of the other What Ifs) the outcome of Parker's life pretty much stays the same. The journey, however, was vastly different.
The gist is that Uncle Ben steps out for a pack of smokes (or something), and Aunt May ends up getting whacked by the robber.
And just like in the original, it was the same damn guy that Peter had selfishly decided to let run past him while he was boozing it up with some chicks at a dive bar.
They tend to gloss over that part in his origin story, but I swear it's true!
*cough*
Anyway.
It was interesting to see how Pete's reaction was different (read: a tad more violent), and how that shaped the way things turned out for a while.
Oh, and be prepared for lots of tears if you're going to read this one. Not your tears, mind you. Just multiple panels of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man ugly crying.
Maybe Tobey Maguire used this thing as his source material?
If you get a chance to read this campy stuff, don't pass it up!
Is there anyone who doesn't love Aunt May?!
I mean, besides The Jeff.
*In tonight's episode, the part of Jeff will be played by Doctor Octopus*
Of course we love her! She's an important, dare I say integral, part of the Spiderverse. Which is why this silly little single issue was sorta interesting to read.
I say sorta, because (unlike some of the other What Ifs) the outcome of Parker's life pretty much stays the same. The journey, however, was vastly different.
The gist is that Uncle Ben steps out for a pack of smokes (or something), and Aunt May ends up getting whacked by the robber.
And just like in the original, it was the same damn guy that Peter had selfishly decided to let run past him while he was boozing it up with some chicks at a dive bar.
They tend to gloss over that part in his origin story, but I swear it's true!
*cough*
Anyway.
It was interesting to see how Pete's reaction was different (read: a tad more violent), and how that shaped the way things turned out for a while.
Oh, and be prepared for lots of tears if you're going to read this one. Not your tears, mind you. Just multiple panels of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man ugly crying.
Maybe Tobey Maguire used this thing as his source material?
If you get a chance to read this campy stuff, don't pass it up!
June 7, 2023
Brubaker'ın Captain America serisinin bir hayranı olarak What If Spider-Man'i nasıl ele alacağını merak ettim. Beklediğimden farklı bir hikaye bulsam da beğendim. May ve Ben Peter'ın hayatına farklı noktalardan dokunan kişilikler. Bu hikayede hayatını kaybeden May olsa da Peter ikisini de hayatından yitiriyor diyebilirim. Kendisine ahlaki bir yol gösteren olmayınca da zor günler birbirini izliyor. Tüm kötülüklere rağmen işleri bir şekilde yoluna oturtmasına sevindim okurken. Varılan nihai noktayı belki de ana hikayesindeki noktadan daha bile çok beğenmiş olabilirim.
October 11, 2018
I am not big on Spider-Man. His holier than thou attitude is way too annoying. What teenager is 100% perfect all the time? Anyway, I like this comic because it tackled the Spider-Man origin much more realistically. It took Peter a very long time in this comic to come to terms with everything. When his Uncle Ben died, it took him a few seconds, which to me isn't real.
The artwork in this was great, the story was solid, the pace was in the middle for me. I loved the ending though.
The artwork in this was great, the story was solid, the pace was in the middle for me. I loved the ending though.
December 17, 2025
Would be a 4-star story. Part-way in, where J Jonah Jameson's editorials excoriate "this Spider-Man charlatan" for sharing headlines and column inches with his dead hero astronaut son, I have to take issue with a small but significant detail, because this What If...? only happens by getting a certain detail wrong.
JJJ's editorial motivation is that the public cares about a missing costumed hero, perhaps more than for a killed astronaut. But this Spider-Man wasn't yet a New Yorker-saving hero. He was barely an up-and-coming rassler, with a single win – from a single match – that was so far away from being leveraged for fame that the promoter refused to pay him what was promised.
The smear campaign fills a sorrowful, depressed, foster-care housed Peter Parker with enough vitriol to track down JJJ and... well, I don't want to spoil too much.
Ofc the defense for Brubaker, a masterful tale-teller, to include such an error is that the framing device is that two young men are what-iffing though their workday in a LCS. Dude is improvising an alt-history for Parker/Spidey, and maybe he isn't so much of a nerd that he has the lore memorized. Which I can relate to, haha.
By-the-by, there's an excellent gag waiting for you in the last panel.
JJJ's editorial motivation is that the public cares about a missing costumed hero, perhaps more than for a killed astronaut. But this Spider-Man wasn't yet a New Yorker-saving hero. He was barely an up-and-coming rassler, with a single win – from a single match – that was so far away from being leveraged for fame that the promoter refused to pay him what was promised.
The smear campaign fills a sorrowful, depressed, foster-care housed Peter Parker with enough vitriol to track down JJJ and... well, I don't want to spoil too much.
Ofc the defense for Brubaker, a masterful tale-teller, to include such an error is that the framing device is that two young men are what-iffing though their workday in a LCS. Dude is improvising an alt-history for Parker/Spidey, and maybe he isn't so much of a nerd that he has the lore memorized. Which I can relate to, haha.
By-the-by, there's an excellent gag waiting for you in the last panel.
December 24, 2023
The first MARVEL What if...? comic I ever read and by far the best has been "What If... Aunt May Had Died Instead Of Uncle Ben?" This collection of six MARVEL What if...? stories is worth it for this one issue alone while the other comics are mostly average. Uncle Ben's remarkable example of influence shines in shocking and unexpected ways as he ends up the survivor of Aunt May's murder. Without Aunt May to guide and help Peter Parker, the rise of Spider-Man turns out entirely differently. The story has a touching emotional core about Peter Parker's grief that will bring a tear to your eye in a way no other comic has. This is a must read issue of of MARVEL What if...? and would be my most anticipated comic that I wish would be adapted for an episode of Season 2 of MARVEL What if...? on Disney+
February 27, 2023
SPIDEY AND THE BENNNN
This story was done much better in the first volume than it was here. This is just bad and I recommend saving two dollars. The ending is just terrible.
"Next month on CBS get ready for SPIDEY AND THE BEN! Two crime fighters showing the world how justice can be done right in a world made so wrong. SPIDEY AND THE BEN TUESDAYS AT NINE ON CBS!"
This story was done much better in the first volume than it was here. This is just bad and I recommend saving two dollars. The ending is just terrible.
"Next month on CBS get ready for SPIDEY AND THE BEN! Two crime fighters showing the world how justice can be done right in a world made so wrong. SPIDEY AND THE BEN TUESDAYS AT NINE ON CBS!"
April 29, 2021
Interesante, pero un tanto rebuscado. Uso excesivo de texto y el arte me resultó demasiado oscuro para un comic de Spider-Man.
Entretenido, sin más.
Entretenido, sin más.
June 29, 2021
stan jerry and stu
October 12, 2018
This comic brake the fourth well, which is just as well because the story that the comic book guy narrator comes up with relies heavily on a bizarre detail on about page three "in order for the story to work".
As a result this isn't so much What If Aunt May Died so much as What If This Story Played Out Exactly This Way?
It defeats the entire purpose of the title question and is basically safe utopic fan fiction. You can find better stuff on fan forums, albeit without the pictures.
As a result this isn't so much What If Aunt May Died so much as What If This Story Played Out Exactly This Way?
It defeats the entire purpose of the title question and is basically safe utopic fan fiction. You can find better stuff on fan forums, albeit without the pictures.
September 2, 2016
Un vendedor de comics tiene una conversación con un comprador, este último le empieza a contar otro punto de vista de Spiderman y es aquí donde empieza todo. ¿Y si la tía May hubiera muerto en lugar de tío Ben?
Es interesante este otro punto de ver la historia pero me quedo con la teoría de la película. Aún no sé si sea la misma del comic pero lo averiguaré.
Es interesante este otro punto de ver la historia pero me quedo con la teoría de la película. Aún no sé si sea la misma del comic pero lo averiguaré.
August 24, 2017
This was an interesting "What if?" I'm not extremely well-read in regards to Spiderman comics, but this comic allows for that, and if you've seen any of the movies, you should be able to follow this one along with ease. Plus, it was interesting how the author envisioned things happening in this potential scenario. I appreciated the writing and the good structure it had.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews