Spider-Man Could Have Had His Own Fantastic Four with 1 Simple Change

When Peter Parker became Spider-Man he kept his identity a secret in order to protect his family. He was afraid that his Aunt May might not understand, or even blame him for Ben’s death. But in an alternate universe where Aunt May became Spider-Ma’am, the Parker family became a superhero crime fighting unit, just like the Fantastic Four.

In 2019’s Spider-Verse #2 by Ryan North and Pere Perez, readers are given a glimpse of Earth-3123. On this world, instead of Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man, it was Aunt May who was bitten and became Spider-Ma’am. But while the 15-year-old Peter decides to keep his spider bite and new powers a secret, Aunt May immediately reveals her brand-new powers to her husband and nephew.

With his genius, Peter is able to design web-shooters for the entire family. While Spider-Ma’am is the only one who can use them to swing around the city, Uncle Ben points out that he and Peter can still use them just fine to help people, even if it’s with little things. Ben demonstrates this when he uses his web-slinger, with surprising accuracy, to help a child cross the street.

Even Without Powers, The Parker Family Still Wants To Help People

Spider-Verse #2 (2019) by Ryan North, Pere Perez, Jordi Tarragona Garcia, and Marte Gracia

Peter Parker gained powers when he was very young, and he immediately felt like he screwed up using those powers. He acted selfishly and because of it, Uncle Ben was killed. This pushed him into keeping his identity secret, since he couldn’t exactly tell Aunt May that he was responsible for the death of her husband. He was terrified it would ruin their relationship, which is a very natural thing for a teenager to be scared of. But keeping his identity a secret made it so that Peter never really got to see the extent to which the Parker family is driven to help people. The moment Aunt May does figure out Peter’s identity, she’s almost entirely in on helping him when she can.

Uncle Ben was always a good man and Aunt May was always a good woman. They didn’t need powers to be heroes. They took in their orphaned nephew and raised him with love, providing the upbringing that eventually turned him into a hero in his own right. This story proves that even without powers, the two will always try to help people, no matter what. With the slight change of Aunt May being the one to gain spider-powers instead of Peter, it shows a much stronger family dynamic, and one that fights for the greater good together, instead of Peter having to shoulder the responsibility on his own.

Uncle Ben And Peter Parker Don’t Need Powers To Be Heroes

The Fantastic Four is known as Marvel’s First Family for a number of reasons, chief among those being that they are the most prominent superhero family in comics. While other teams like the Avengers see members come and go, the Fantastic Four will always be bonded by those familial ties. But the Parkers could have given the Richards/Storm/Grimm family a run for their money.

Aunt May becoming Spider-Ma’am changes the entire family dynamic, and some could argue this change is for the better. Taking on the responsibility of the entire world left Peter with some major issues, and it took him years because he was able to open up to Aunt May about the truth of what happened to Uncle Ben and his role in it. When Aunt May transforms into Spider-Ma’am, not only is Peter healthier than he ever was as Spider-Man, but he has his very own superhero family to support him.

Spider-Verse #2 (2019) is on sale now from Marvel Comics!