Aunt May has long served as the foundation for Peter Parker's life. She's there for him when he needs her the most, offering sage advice and inciteful wisdom. Although Uncle Ben's death motivates him to be Spider-Man, it Aunt May's continued relationship that drives Peter to be a better Peter Parker.
Despite being one of the most important Spider-Man characters, there are a lot of facts that fans simply do not know about the wall-crawler's aunt. Given her long history and utmost importance as a character, quite a lot of interesting things have happened to her over the years. Here are the top ten things you didn't know about Aunt May.
10 10. Married Jameson's Father
While working at a homeless shelter, Aunt May ran into none other than John Jonah Jameson, the father of Peter's longtime employer at the Daily Bugle J. Jonah Jameson. The two seniors really hit it off and began a relationship together.
Not too long after, the couple was walking in Central Park when John dropped down on one knee and proposed to May. She accepted, and the two were wedded by J. Jonah who at the time was serving as Mayor of New York.
9 9. Worked For Mister Negative
Aunt May began working at the homeless shelter FEAST run by Martin Li during the Brand New Day arc of comics. After returning from her honeymoon with John, May stopped by the offices of FEAST.
Upon doing so, May discovers Li is, in fact, the supervillain known as Mister Negative. Although he influences May with his corrupting touch, she is eventually able to break through and warn Peter about Li, who goes on to take on the dangerous supervillain.
8 8. Dated Doctor Octopus
John Jameson wasn't the only notable boyfriend May has had since Uncle Ben passed. She actually dated his arch-nemesis Doctor Octopus for a time as well. This caused many obvious problems for Peter, as he wanted to find a way to stop Doc Ock without hurting his aunt.
Although the relationship didn't last too long, May definitely left an impression on the evil doctor. This was so much so that Octavious actually tried to sabotage May's wedding to John. Unfortunately for the supervillain, he was unsuccessful.
7 7. Replaced By An Actress
In what was perhaps one of the worst twists in comic book history, it turns out that May had been replaced by an actress genetically altered to look just like her.
During the events of the Clone Saga, this actress dies in Peter's arms, who then believes that his aunt has passed. It is later revealed this was all a ploy by Norman Osborn who had kidnapped May.
6 6. Lived In Stark Tower
Around the time that Peter first joined the New Avengers, Aunt May's house had been destroyed in a horrible fire. Then, after much deliberation, both Aunt May and Mary Jane decided to move into Stark Tower so they could be with Peter.
Having the two women live in Start Tower was very helpful to Spidey, as he often needed the comfort and support of the two most important women in his life. Their stay wasn't exactly drama-free however. Mary Jane was often ogled by the other male member of the Avengers, and even Aunt May began flirtations with Tony Stark's long-time butler Jarvis.
5 5. Revived By Mephisto
After staying in Stark Tower for some time, the three were forced to flee during the events of Civil War when Spider-Man switched sides to oppose Iron Man. After revealing his identity to the world at May's behest, Peter found himself having a hard time trying to protect his family.
Eventually, Spider-Man's villains caught up to him. A sniper hired by Kingpin shot and fatally wounded May. Although the sniper was caught and Peter convinced the Kingpin to end his crusade, May remained at death's door. With nowhere else to turn, Spidey then decided to make a deal with the demon Mephisto. Mephisto healed Aunt May, but only after Peter agreed to allow Mephisto to erase Peter and Mary Jane's marriage from existence.
4 4. Set Up Peter With Mary Jane
Early in the Amazing Spider-Man series, there was a running gag that Aunt May kept trying to set up Peter with her friend's niece Mary Jane. Peter kept dodging this meetup, assuming that the girl wouldn't exactly live up to May's descriptions.
Peter Parker could not have been more surprised when he finally met her. If it hadn't have been for Aunt May's constant persistence in setting up the two youngsters, Spidey may have never met the love of his life.
3 3. Golden Oldie
In an alternate universe storyline, Aunt May is chosen as the herald for the cosmic entity and eater of worlds known as Galactus. As the herald, it becomes May's sworn duty to help her master satiate his incredible hunger.
Instead of finding worlds for him to devour, as many of his former heralds had done, May instead discovers an alien baker with a penchant for making planet-sized cakes. Eventually, at the end of the story, it is all revealed to have been a dream.
2 2. Mentors The New Spider-Man
In Marvel's Ultimate universe, Peter Parker tragically dies in a fight with his arch-enemy the Green Goblin. Not too long after his death, a new Spider-Man comes on the scene.
Although the public, and many superheroes, feel as though Miles is disrespecting Peter's memory by taking up the mantle, both May and Gwen are very supportive of him, offering him not just their help but Peter's old web-shooters as well.
1 1. Aunt May Movie
Shortly before Sony's Spider-Man series with Andrew Garfield began to fall apart back around 2014, there were several spin-off series in the works. One of these series was said to be a solo-film about Aunt May.
Although May never had any sort of adventurous past in the comics, this new movie was said to be a spy film following May's younger years as she worked for the CIA. These plans seemed to fall through, although with Sony recently decided to no longer work with Marvel Studios, anything is possible going forward.