Spider-Girl and MC2

[Erik Rupp]

What If?

What if Tom DeFalco came up with an idea, along with Ron Frenz, for an issue of What If that was such a hit that it created a new (small) line within Marvel Comics? An alternate near future taking place 15 or so years beyond the (then) current timeline.

And What If in this future universe Peter Parker killed Norman Osborn (again, and, again, not on purpose) during their final battle, but lost one of his legs in the process and had to give up being Spider-Man? What If Peter and Mary Jane had a daughter who inherited Peter's powers, and took over the family business, much to her parents chagrin?

And What If the supporting cast and villains were so well thought out that you'd think DeFalco and Frenz had years to put this world together?

Well, it happened, and I just missed it.

The first time around.

I stopped buying comics around 1994/1995 (I'm not sure which year). Spider-Girl came out not long after I stopped buying comics (my reaction to all of the retconning that was then going on regarding important events from Marvel's past, as well as all the absurdly long, multi-title crossover stories that just weren't worth the number of issues devoted to them).

I really missed out.

This is a FUN title that was also well thought out and well written. The characters are great, the stories are great, and the artwork (well, Frenz and Sal Buscema's artwork) is great. (Pat Olliffe, who took over the pencil art when it became a regular series, did a good, but not quite great job.)

What really struck me about this series is how it takes that sense of wonder and adventure from the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko era and fuses it with the late 60's early 70's style, and then adds in modern sensibilities. As a result it is timeless. It really is written for the people who love old school Spider-Man, but still takes modern day into consideration. It's almost a love letter to both that Spider-World that Stan, John, Jim, Big John, and Gil created so long ago, and to the fans that love that era.

I really love this series. (Spider-Girl, then The Amazing Spider-Girl, which had phenomenal art from the Frenz/Buscema team.)

I've got nearly the who ASG run in trades (one more title to go), and Complete Collection Vol 3 for the first Spider-Girl series is coming out in March.

I didn't expect to like this as much as I do. Great stuff!




While not a huge success, Spider-Girl was popular enough to spin off other characters from that, "Future," era into comics of their own - Avengers Next, J2, Fantastic Five, The Buzz, Darkdevil, etc. This universe was cohesive, and it was fun. Sadly, that era came to an end around 2010 or so, but it did have a nice 12 year run.

[Erik Rupp]

So, who, exactly is Spider-Girl, and what's her story?

Well, she's May 'Mayday' Parker, the daughter of Peter Parker (AKA: The Amazing Spider-Man) and Mary Jane Watson/Parker. She lived a normal life until she was 16. She was a bright kid - borderline honors student, solid athlete (on the girls basketball team at Midtown High), outgoing, funny, charismatic, and generally well adjusted. Until one game when she suddenly showed more ability than any kid in the entire school district - maybe more than any player in women's college basketball! She weaved in and around the defenders with ease, and then went up for a monster slam dunk to win a game at the last second, breaking the backboard in the process.

The crowd went nuts, but Peter and Mary Jane were almost terrified. Their worst fears came true - she took up the mantle as a superhero, following in her father's footsteps as Spider-Girl! Constantly risking her life to save people and stop super powered villains.

The series (under multiple names, Spider-Girl, The Amazing Spider-Girl, Spider-Man Family, and The Spectacular Spider-Girl) focused on May's attempt to balance her life as a normal teenager with her life as a costumed superhero. And, of course, for a long while her father was most definitely not OK with her going out and fighting dangerous, potentially deadly foes.

Throughout it all, though, her personality shone through. She got her father's intelligence and sense of responsibility, but she also got her mother's outgoing personality. That made for a great character.

The title was consistently fun and entertaining, and the writing was strong. The stories were told in the old school style - no decompressed, dragged out stories here! But the dialogue and plots were up to date, even if the style was from an earlier era.

Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz did a great job of coming up with not only the characters for this book, but for an entire alternate future universe. It was as if the universe as seen in this comic already existed, and they just plopped Mayday down into the middle of it. The MC2 universe has a real lived-in feeling to it. It doesn't seem like some new, thrown together universe, but rather something developed over several years, which was a remarkable feat.

Sadly, the MC2 is a thing of the past now, but who knows? Maybe at some point there will be a revival. It IS Marvel Comics, after all.