Collects What If? (1989) #105, Spider-Girl (1998) #1-15, #1/2 and Annual ’99.
What if Peter Parker and Mary Jane had a daughter? The ever-amazing answer is she’d be May “Mayday” Parker — A.K.A. Spider-Girl! Spinning out of the pages of WHAT IF? into her very own universe, the teenage Mayday inherits spider-powers and dons her retired father’s red-and-blues! Now follow her adventures from the beginning as Mayday learns about Spider-Man’s legacy and wrestles with whether to follow in his footsteps! She’ll face threats old and new — from the Venom symbiote and Kaine to Crazy Eight and the Dragon King — and meet incredible faces from the future Marvel Universe including Darkdevil, Wild Thing, the Fantastic Five and the newest roster of the mighty Avengers! Discover a friendly neighborhood hero for a new generation!
Way back in the 90s, there was a little story called the Clone Saga. In amongst the clones, Jackals, Goblins et al., Mary Jane Watson fell pregnant. Unfortunately at the conclusion of that story, she lost the baby. But…what if? Collected here are the first fifteen issues of Tom DeFalco’s original Spider-Girl series, including her first appearance in What If? that introduced the world to Mayday Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Girl!
I have very fond memories of reading and re-reading the original What If? #105 that introduced Mayday; it was reprinted in Astonishing Spider-Man, which was a UK imprint that collected 3 issues of US comics every month, and I devoured Mayday’s story again and again, so getting to revisit it here and actually get to see the rest of her adventures develop is a real treat. I hope this isn’t one of Marvel’s ‘we’ll do one volume and then stop’ kind of deals, or I will be mad.
The MC2 Universe was the Ultimate Universe of the late 90s; in a short space of time, Tom DeFalco created a whole new timeline full of fun new characters and the natural progression of those you know and love, like the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man supporting characters like Flash Thompson, and Phil Urich. DeFalco peppers them into his opening issues to really make MC2 feel like a lived in world rather than one that just sprung up out of nowhere as it actually did.
DeFalco makes an effort (whether conscious or otherwise I’m not sure) to establish some new villains for Mayday before bringing back older Spidey foes. Aside from the newest Green Goblin in the What If? issue, we get the likes of Crazy Eight, Mr Nobody, and Spyral before digging into more familiar faces like Venom, and Kaine, albeit with an MC2 twist. This helps her establish her own rogues gallery and way of fighting, instead of just copying her father. Granted, they’re hardly iconic villains, but everyone should have their own enemies, even if they’re like Spider-Gwen’s Bodega Bandit.
Mayday herself is a delightful blend of Peter and MJ, the best of both worlds distilled down into a character. She has the sense of responsibility of her father, combined with the sense of self of her mother, and the drive to do the right thing from both of them. This is reflected in her ability to be friends with basically anyone; she fits into both the jock and geek crowds at school and straddles the line easily (or as easily as someone with a secret identity can, anyway).
Her struggles with both herself and her father as she attempts to become a hero despite Peter’s protests highlight some fun parallels between May’s plight and her fathers’. There’s something funny about seeing Peter so opposed to May being Spider-Girl when she’s literally doing exactly what he was doing at her age.
The choice to tell all of these stories from a second person perspective (You leap across the building and attack!, etc.) is an interesting one. You don’t get many comics told like that, and there’s definitely a unique air around the series as a result. I’d say it makes you feel more in-tune with Mayday, but I think that could just be because of the sheer amount of narration boxes. This is a Tom DeFalco comic after all, and he doesn’t skimp out on words. Some of it’s very of-the-time (I’m not sure if ‘slamming heat’ has ever been a thing) but I think that just adds to the charm, personally.
Rather than going through all seventeen issues here, I’ll just list off a few of my favourites. The original What If?/Spider-Girl #0 is still a great set-up for the series, especially considering no one involved expected it to become one. The Venom issue’s great fun, and there’s a two-parter that sends Spider-Girl into the past to team-up with her father that I really liked. Both of the Darkdevil focused issues are great (but I’m a sucker for the Clone Saga so take that with a grain of salt), and the Annual reminds me of the annuals of old, with lots of little back-up stories.
The art in every issue aside from the original What If? Is by Patrick Oliffe; he’s pretty good, and the action sequences are bombastic (there’s a 90s word for you), but there’s a lack of detail sometimes that makes some of the supporting characters blend together. That said, this was the 90s, and that’s probably the only way an artist could draw this many issues in a row without a break.
Spider-Girl’s adventures aren’t going to be for everyone. They’re a little cheesy, full of nutty dialogue and probably too many narration boxes, but the characters are charming, the stories still resonate, and the respect for the Spider-Man legacy is clear on every page. I really hope we get more of these collections, because this first one was just great fun.
Two days ago, I was in the middle of a conversation with my best friend of close to 50 years, when he mentioned that Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson had a daughter. I told him that I thought the baby died. He told me that Marvel created an alternate universe where May Mayday Parker grew up to be Spider-Girl. The universe ran for a year, and Spider-Girl had a full one-year run. I immediately sought out the book, and this is the first of the four I found chronicling the stories.
Aunt May passed one year before May Parker was born to Mary Jane and Peter. In the stories contained in the trade paperbacks, May is in high school when she first experiences her powers probably brought on by adolescence. May is a star athlete before she begins to experience the idiosyncrasies of her powers. It is only now that Peter has to explain her origins that now she feels that her parents have been dishonest with her.
Now, that she realizes her powers are passed down from Spider-Man, May has a desire to act the part of hero, even when her parents had wanted to protect her from the potential pitfalls of heroism. Her father actually has survived the loss of a leg and May admires him for his sacrifices, but she recognizes that she has an itch for the life of heroism. She fought Dark Devil, Crazy Eight, Dragon King, Venom, and Kaine in those first episodes. She also has met contemporaries that are emblematic of what she wants to be. Heroes like: Human Torch, Nova, and Franklin Richards.
My mind was blown away with the concept. Nice art by Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema. Overall, I love the Marvel Expansion.
3.5 stars For the most part this was fun but damn every issue is so repetitive. Spider-Girl does Spider-Girl shit lightweight school drama MEAN MASKED DUDE ARRIVES *punch punch swiiiiing* Dad (Peter Parker): This is dangerous stahp Mom (MJ): Let's go shoppinggggg yaasss Spider-Girl: Baller lyfe, nobody gets me ya know?
This was a HUGE let down! I was in a big Spidey mood and figured I’d give this complete collection a go. I’d heard nothing but great things about this series and maybe those people are just high off nostalgia, cause this was a stinker. As you could’ve guessed, Spider-Girl takes place in an alternate universe that was spawned from the popularity of a ‘What-If’ issue that introduced this character. In the world, Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, is long retired, married to Mary Jane Watson, and has a daughter with her named May. May discovers her powers and learns about her fathers heroic past. She finds her uncle Ben’s (Ben Reilly aka the clone of Spider-Man) old Spider-Man suit and wants to take the mantle. Her parents are against it first, but of course through cliche writing, they accept her and help her become a hero.
Tom Defalco is on writing duties for this first volume, and the best way to describe his writing style in this one is as I said before, cliche. His writing of Spider-Girl is so cringey, it makes you wonder if he’d ever actually heard how teenagers spoke in the late 90s. He also writes the narrating parts in second person, which amplifies the cringe to 11! There’s a reason that most writers don’t write in second person, it doesn't work as well as third or first, and Defalco shows just how bad it can be. Now I’ll admit that sometimes it’s tolerable, and the humor aspect kinda reminds me of the show ‘FRIENDS’; its not all that funny but sometimes its so dumb it kinda gets you. However whenever I feel like the reading is getting better, I get worn out by all the cringe due to Defalco filling (and I mean FILLING) the page full of his corny writing. The book never feels like it can breathe which in turn ruins the pacing. There’s a couple of cool concepts in the alternate future, however it’s nothing so crazy that I want more from this universe. Out of all the issues in this volume (0,½, 1-15, and annual 99’) the only one I truly found enjoyable was issue 0 (aka What-If 105). Everything else was meh, boring, and just straight up bad.
Now with all that, you’d at least hope the artwork could make up for it and as much as I wanted it to, I could not vibe with it. The artist is Pat Olliffe and I was very back and forth with stuff in this one, although it was leaning more towards “not enjoying.” I know Olliffe from his work on ‘Untold Tales of Spider-Man’ so he’s no stranger to drawing webheads, but I’ve never seen his work in-depth. So this is my true introduction to his work. There’s just a lot about it that feels lacking. There’s nothing that made me “wow” and the panels felt plain. His angles were off, so when he would do a splash page it wasn’t anything to stare at. He also seemed a bit lazy with expressions and conversation panels. LITERALLY using the same panel between characters in WHOLE pages- like actual copy and paste. It all just lacked passion, expression, flow, and motion, which in turn lacks storytelling. I’m in no way saying Olliffe’s work is bad or that he’s a bad artist. He’s probably better than your average drawer, however his work in this one really shows that just because someone can draw “well” doesn't mean they can be a storytelling artist.
Overall; I expected and wanted so much more from this read, and although it was sometimes tolerable, it was nowhere near what people make it up to be. I can see the appeal as the concept is pretty dope, but like many other stories that let me down, it's a lack of execution.
Mayday Parker certainly has her highlights, but unfortunately she is barely allowed any agency in her own story, as she's mostly thrown about by the whims of various Spider-Man callbacks. Her basketball acrobatics are where she shines visually.
An extremely solid start to the Spider-Girl run of comics.
I will forever hold to the idea that Spider-Girl, as a concept, is where Spider-Man as a comic series should logistically have gone; until some counterintuitive decisions by Marvel's higher-ups that Peter Parker was somehow always going to be in a state of early-20-something 'loserdom', it seemed like that was where Spider-Man was going.
Spider-Girl, fortunately, exists, and it is fantastic. We get to see the natural evolution of Peter's arc, culminating in a character who is as engaging and spirited as Peter himself is. May "Mayday" Parker (as each issue's opening page is fond of reminding you is the main character's name) is a teenage girl and the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. She got the best traits of both her parents: Peter's smarts, cleverness, and (of course) Spider-powers; and Mary Jane's charm, energy, and beauty. From both of them, Mayday gets an intense sense of responsibility, courage, and a constant drive to do what is right. Getting to see these two wonderful characters interact with their daughter is something of a dream come true for anyone who cares about their dynamic and relationship; similarly, their relationship with Mayday is a complex mix of concern, disapproval, and pride.
Tom DeFalco handles writing duties here, and proves time and again, page after page, that he simply gets Spider-Man, gets Peter Parker, Mary Jane, Mayday, and their characters--and he gets why people care about them. DeFalco manages to give us a mixture of everything that a reader might want when reading a legacy Spider-Man story; interpersonal drama, callbacks to Peter's time as a hero (referred to as the "Age of Heroes," which is equal parts cheesy and kind of adorable), a character with the energy and verve of Peter's heroism but with extra layers of problem due to the aforementioned ex-hero... I could go on.
I'll wrap up here to basically just say that these stories are fantastic. Anyone who loves Spider-Man, Peter and Mary Jane's marriage, or really just fun teenage superhero stories should pick this up.
3.75 - First time reading Spider-Girl and really enjoyed this book. Light and breezy set in an alternate future version of the Marvel Universe. May Parker js a fun and likable teenage girl coming into her own spider powers and wanting to act on her own “great responsibility” despite her parents, Peter Parker and MJ, thinking it’s better left alone. I enjoyed the slight tweaks to familiar characters and May establishing her own rogues gallery throughout these pages. The second person narration takes a little getting used to, but it’s not too big of a deal. Pat Oliffe’s artwork is dynamic and flows well. I enjoyed the art more than I’d anticipated for a late 90s/early 00s book as it’s usually not my favorite era of comic art as digital coloring was just starting to take off and often looks pretty bad.
Overall a fun read and a title I look forward to continuing in complete collection vol 2.
Honestly, I wanted to rate this a 5/5 on concept alone.
Peter and MJ have a child, and she grows up to become the next Spider hero. How did it take them until the late 90's to come up with this concept?
Anywho, the book loses a star only because Tom DeFalco is not, in fact, a teenage girl. Thus, some of his attempt to capture the voice of a teenage girl, really fall flat. Then again, if he WAS able to perfectly embody that archetype... I suppose I would have some questions for the man.
The book is also held back by some lackluster side characters and villains.
Otherwise, this is, in my head, the canon ending to 616 Spider-Man's story. May is just as dynamic and heroic a main character as her dad and she needs more love immediately.
4/5, looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
It's an alternate future and Peter Parker has hung his webs to persue a family life with Mary Jane after loosing his leg in an epic battle with a vllian. These are the stories of his daughter May "Mayday" Parker as she follows in the footsteps of her dad as Spider-Girl. When this first came out I thought it was cheesey and didn't bother reading it. Now many years later and reading it for the first time I can say that I really enjoyed it. It has the same sensibilities and teenage angst as the original Spider-Man bstories but with a modern twist. This is one book that I recommend.
De Falco, Frenz and Co. deliver a fun legacy characters in May Parker, and a worldbuilding accompanied by the other MC2 characters.
We got un this volume 15 issues of the title plus a couple of specials and extras. Recomiendes reading for an expander spider-verse that is not so known by the maintstream Marvel aficionado, bit it Is worth a dice into, of you liked the J. Hickman Ultimates Spider-Man run.
I hadn't read this collection before, and was pleased it stood up to the test of time. It also made me realise that the MC2 Universe was kind of a testing ground for the Ultimate Universe. Looks like this was the only title that lasted, as A-Next barely made it to issue 12!
Wasn't sure that I would like this series after reading the first three. Still, by the end of the last in this volume I was hooked and was finding/making time to see where it went. Great story-arch and I am excited to grab the next one.
Spider-Girl was a wonderful romp into a very 90s-style future. May "Mayday" Parker feels like the prototype for a lot of modern teen heroes, from Ghost Spider to Ms. Marvel - not perfect, but still fun. This volume is a nostalgic trip back to a wacky Marvel future, and I look forward to future volumes.