WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #9 by Nick Spencer, Humberto Ramos, Michele Bandini, Victor Olazaba, Edgar Delgado, Erick Arciniega and VC’s Joe Caramagna, out now.
Recent issues of Amazing Spider-Man have seen the fan-favorite relationship between Mary Jane Watson and Peter Parker blossom once again (against the wishes of the demon Mephisto, one imagines). Writer Nick Spencer has already shown these two on-again, off-again lovebirds share more than one conversation about the difficulties of sharing a romantic connection with a superhero, but in this week’s Issue #9 MJ is learns of a support group that caters for her very specific needs, and it feels very familiar to readers of the Distinguished Competition.
While Spider-Man is dealing with an uncomfortable reunion with his ex, Felicia Hardy (Black Cat), as they face the threat of the Thieves Guild, Mary Jane is having coffee with another of Peter’s exes: Carlie Cooper. First introduced in Amazing Spider-Man #545 and created by Dan Slott and Joe Quesada, Carlie was the first relationship Peter had in the Brand New Day era of Spider-Man. Brand New Day followed on from the "One More Day" storyline, which saw Peter and MJ’s marriage traded off to Mephisto in order to save Aunt May’s life. This means that Carlie was technically Peter’s first relationship since his marriage ended, not that MJ (or Peter) remember it like that.
What both Mary-Jane and Carlie do know, however, is that it’s difficult being in love with a superhero, and while Carlie seems genuine about wanting to catch up with MJ, she also has another motive for the meeting. She introduces MJ to the Lookups: A support group for those people that share the burden of knowing a superhero’s secret identity. Whether they’re sidekicks, romantic partners or family members, those that gather at the Lookups meetings are all there because, well, if they are the support for superheroes, who is there for them?
The conversation between Carlie and MJ feels a little awkward to start with, but Carlie reassures MJ that her intentions are good and that this support group could really help. She confesses that even after she removed herself from New York and from Spider-Man’s life, she still couldn’t shake the overwhelming burden that knowing Peter’s secret placed on her. Mary Jane is reluctant to confess all of her secrets to a room full of strangers, but Carlie assures her that it’s completely anonymous. There are all kinds of safeguards in place, and, most mysteriously, she claims that once MJ discovers who runs the Lookups, she’ll know she can trust it.
NEXT PAGE: Mary Jane Watson Meets the Lookups
Mary Jane soon finds herself outside Saint Joseph Church and makes her way into the Lookups meeting. She’s greeted by some strange looking hovering security robots, but she’s almost immediately met by a very familiar face: Jarvis, the longtime butler to the Avengers. After his traumatizing incident in Avengers: No Surrender, in which he was nearly killed, Jarvis set up this support group as a way of being there for all of those people who are unfortunately thrust into dangerous situations because of the superpowered people they love. Jarvis reveals that Janet van Dyne, Tony Stark and Stephen Strange all contributed to the Lookups, some providing the essential security measures and mind-confusing aspects of the meeting room which helps to maintain total anonymity.
If this all feels a little familiar, then maybe you’ve been reading DC’s latest event Heroes in Crisis. In that series, from writer Tom King and artist Clay Mann, the Justice League have established a support facility called the Sanctuary, a place where superheroes can go to deal with guilt, remorse, grief and post-traumatic stress. Sanctuary was mentioned throughout the DC Universe in the lead-up to Heroes in Crisis, but its first appearance was in Issue #1 of the event, in which Sanctuary has been invaded and violated, with many of the superhero patients inside killed by yet-named assailants.
There are differences between Sanctuary and the Lookups, of course. For one thing, Marvel’s Lookups is a group dedicated to those close to superheroes, and not necessarily for superheroes themselves. It’s even named for those that spend their lives looking up to the sky to see their loved ones flying or swinging by. DC’s Sanctuary, however, seems to be geared more towards the heroes themselves, providing a place hidden away from the world (disguised as a farmhouse in rural Nebraska) for costumed vigilantes to receive care and recuperation from their often dangerous adventures.
Both establishments are there for the same fundamental reason, however. The life of a superhero is dangerous and traumatic, not just for them but for those around them. Those loved ones who carry the weight of knowing a superhero’s darkest secrets potentially have it the worst of all, as they have all of the knowledge but none of the power, and no one to talk to about it. If the Lookups are as legitimate as it appears on the surface, then it may provide MJ with the support that she needs in order for her relationship with Peter to truly flourish. That, or it’s an elaborate plot by Mephisto in order to interfere with their relationship yet again. What can we say? The life of a superhero is always unpredictable and often dangerous.