Summary

• Marvel wants to introduce a new Spider-Girl, but fans are disappointed because Mayday Parker remains the most popular version.
• Several Spider-characters such as Jessica Drew and Silk were unable to make it, unlike Mayday Parker.
• Marvel’s hesitation to bring Mayday back as Spider-Girl is due to retconning issues from Spider-Man’s “One More Day” storyline.

The greatest hero in the Marvel Universe is Spider-Man, the company’s most recognizable face. His popularity has inspired countless spin-offs and supporting characters, including female equivalents of the web-slinger. Marvel is now about to introduce a new take on this concept, but the publisher is still overlooking the best incarnation of this heroine.

Spider-Girl is a mantle that has been worn by several heroes, and Marvel Comics recently revealed that a new version of Spider-Girl is on the way. This adds to the seemingly endless line of alternate “Spider-People” that has become an increasing problem for fans of Spider-Man himself. Ironically, the introduction of a new version of the female wall-climber angers some fans in a different way, as Marvel Comics continually passes over a fan favorite.

Why Marvel’s newest Spider-Girl is already controversial

Upcoming debut: Spider Boy #12 by Dan Slott and Paco Medina

The new version of Spider-Girl revealed at San Diego Comic-Con is still a somewhat esoteric and mysterious character. She seems to have no connection to previous versions of the character, and given her age, hinted at by the pigtails peeking out from her mask, she might take the “girl” part of her name literally. That would make her similar to Bailey Briggs/Spider-Boy, who isn’t even a teenager yet. That character is barely a year old, but this new wall-climber is already being introduced. Therein lies one of the biggest problems with the new Spider-Girl among longtime fans of the franchise.

There are already too many different spin-off characters related to Spider-Man, with Spider-Boy himself causing all sorts of groans and skepticism. This is especially true of Spider-Girl, as there have been several versions of her over the years that have been dropped entirely by Marvel. With this particular mantle, it’s even more egregious, as the title Spider-Girl is most associated with one character: May “Mayday” Parker. As the future daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, she was the face of the MC2 (Marvel Comics 2) universe. Although Marvel Comics is hesitant to acknowledge her, she remains the “true” Spider-Girl in the eyes of many.

Mayday was the best version of Spider-Girl

Debut: What if? #105 by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz

Introduced in a possible future that was set in an issue of Marvel’s What if? Most fans imagine Mayday Parker as Spider-Girl when they think of the comic book character. Her story is borne out of the events of the infamous “Clone Saga” and offers an alternate view of that story’s outcome. Named after her paternal aunt (who died shortly before her birth), May grew up as a normal girl who was socially distinct from her bookworm father and party animal mother. However, during a high school basketball game, her powers manifested, proving to her parents that she had indeed inherited Peter’s radioactive genes. A new Green Goblin forced her into action, wearing a modified version of the Spider-Man costume once worn by her father’s clone, Ben Reilly. May assumed the identity of Spider-Girl.

The comic adventures of Spider Girl were popular with fans, and this success led to her book (which was only supposed to last 12 issues) being expanded into an ongoing title. Although sales soon plummeted, the comic book was often saved from cancellation due to fan enthusiasm and trade paperback sales. One reason she continued to be a hit was that Mayday’s adventures resembled her father’s early days.

This old-fashioned nature ironically felt fresh and modern, especially as the Marvel Universe became darker. After the aftermath of Spider-Man: One More Dayin which Peter’s marriage to MJ was deleted, the Spider Girl The title received more praise than ever before, especially from fans who preferred to keep her parents’ marriage in continuity. Although her published comics were eventually discontinued, she was far more successful than some of her other counterparts.

Marvel’s other Spider-Girls and Spider-Women were not big hits

Jessica Drew, Anya Corazon and Cindy Moon do not have the largest audience

Besides Mayday Parker, there were several other Spider-Girls and Spider-Women. Sometimes these were alternate universe incarnations, such as a variant of Betty Brant who became Spider-Girl in a one-off issue. Given the nature of such stories, it is no surprise that these incarnations had little impact in the grand scheme of things. At the same time, Spider-characters who received significantly more momentum have failed comparatively compared to the May Parker version of Spider-Girl.

Chief among them is the Jessica Drew Spider-Woman, who has always been a tangential “Spider-Man character.” Her powers and origins have nothing to do with Peter Parker, and she has barely interacted with him except when they were both members of the Avengers. This is likely why she is unknown at best and completely forgotten at worst, as her lack of connection to Marvel’s biggest character is a notable example of poor marketing and branding. On the other end of the spectrum is Cindy Moon, aka Silk.

Silk was bitten by the same spider as Peter Parker, but she did not become a public superhero until much later, as she was hidden by Ezekiel Sims. She debuted during Dan Slott’s long tenure on The Amazing SpidermanThis first appearance came in the wake of the success of the Miles Morales version of Ultimate Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider, also known as Spider-Gwen (a version of Gwen Stacy from another universe). This made their failure all the more glaring, as both characters became overnight sensations.

Despite her close connection to Spider-Man, Silk failed to stick the landing. The same was the case with Anya Corazon Spider-Girl (who has reverted to her original codename Arachne) and Julia Carpenter Spider-Woman, the latter of whom is perhaps even less iconic than Jessica Drew. In comparison, Venom and the symbiotes are far more popular, despite being villains in many cases. While they are not the most popular, many of these characters continue to appear in various crossovers and event stories, a fate that Mayday Parker unfortunately does not share.

Why Marvel is hesitant to bring back its best Spider-Girl

The fact that Marvel is increasingly hesitant to even acknowledge Mayday Parker, let alone give her more comics as Spider-Girl, stems from the situation surrounding Spider-Man himself. Since One more dayThe hero is stuck in a cycle of mediocrity that prevents him from developing and growing as a character. The fact that his marriage to Mary Jane was erased only makes this more obvious and has been a bone of contention among fans for years.

Now, One more day is almost 20 years old, making it the status quo for the mainstream version of Spidey. Making matters worse are developments like the introduction of a character named Paul, who seemingly only existed to drive a wedge between Peter and MJ. And this despite their love for each other being rekindled shortly before with the Nick Spencer run The Amazing Spiderman suggests that One more day could be overturned.

With Marvel’s editorial staff seemingly refusing to rewrite the controversial storyline, it’s no surprise that anything hinting at a future where MJ and Peter are together is off the table. That includes Spider-Girl, a reminder of how things were before One more dayAn exception to this rule is the new Ultimate Spider-Man Book set in the rebooted version of the Ultimate Universe. In this continuity, Peter does not become Spider-Man until he is an adult and is already married to Mary Jane and has two children with her.

This means that it is already the place of a Spider Man book set in an alternate universe where Peter is happily married, there’s even less room for a title based on Mayday Parker. After all, even characters in the 616 universe, like Ben Reilly, are frequently ignored by editors, and the growing roster of Spider-people only makes this worse. As things stand, the newly introduced Spider-Girl is the one Marvel Comics is focusing on, even if it’s a different incarnation that fans would rather see again.