Spider-Man Films Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Aunt May
S2 Aunt May
Name: May Reilly-Parker
Alias(es): Aunt May
May
Spouse(s): Ben Parker
Portrayed by: Rosemary Harris
First appeared: Spider-Man
Last appeared: Spider-Man 3
"I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most."
―Aunt May[src]

May Parker, commonly known as Aunt May, was a housewife who was widowed after the death of Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson). She was the one who encouraged Peter with her words of wisdom as Uncle Ben had done before his death, even managing to make him try to return to his Spider-Man life after giving up the persona.

History[]

Early Life[]

"Your Uncle, had it all planned, took me to the beach one sunday, oh he was a knockout with his bathing suit and I haven't look that bad myself, we were very good swimmers, It was a beautiful day and he said let's got to an island May and we did, we found a perfect spot by an old tree, we layed down and looked at the sky, then he said close your eyes Mays, so i did and then he said open them, dazzling thought it was the sun."
―Aunt May telling Peter, an old memory of her and Uncle Ben.[src]

May Parker was born in May 1, 1935. During her young adulthood, she had met a man named Ben Parker. The day Ben proposed to her, she didn't accept the proposal, saying that she wasn't ready yet. However, the two went to the beach and swam to another small island. There at the small island, Ben propsed to her and May accepted the proposal. Together, the two married each other in August, 1954.

Around 1984, May and Ben began to raise Peter Parker when he was only a year old. Due to the absence of his parents, the two decided to take care of him.

The Death of Uncle Ben[]

In June 2002, After Ben was shot and killed by a carjacker, Peter and May shared their grief for Uncle Ben. 


The Green Goblin’s Attack On The Parker's Residence[]

"Deliver us, from evil!"
―Aunt May during Green Goblin’s attack[src]

In Thanksgiving of 2002, when Peter moves into an apartment with his friend Harry Osborn, Aunt May visited them for Thanksgiving dinner. She was not shy about reprimanding Harry's father Norman for his rude and boorish behavior that day.

Shortly thereafter, when Norman learns of Spider-Man's true identity, he attacked May at her home while she was saying her prayers. May is terrified by The Green Goblin's demonic appearance and was hospitalized after The Green Goblin injured her during the attack.

After Norman Osborn's defeat, May attended Norman's funeral alongside Peter, Mary Jane, and Harry. Soon after that, she and Peter visited Ben's grave located elsewhere in the very same cemetery.

Two Years Later []

In 2004, Aunt May continued to keep her eye on Peter while having her own financial difficulties since the death of her husband, Ben. Eventually, the bank forced her to sell her house and live in a smaller apartment. 

Held Hostage by Doc Ock at the Bank[]

Her opinion of Spider-Man was not high at the time, claiming "the less we see of him, the better." However, when May's visit to the bank with Peter was interrupted by a robbery perpetrated named Doctor Octopus, Octavius took her hostage and climbed up the side of a skyscraper with her.

She was rescued by Spider-Man and in return, she helped Spider-Man during the battle by batting Doctor Octopus' head with her umbrella.

From that point onward, she believed that Spider-Man was good. It is implied, but never stated that she may have deduced his secret identity as her nephew. Later, Peter's powers began to wane, because of a subconscious desire to live a normal life and decided to give up his costumed persona



Learning the Truth of Uncle Ben's Death[]

When Peter visits his aunt, May speaks fondly of Spider-Man which encourages him to resume his heroic activities. Later, she expresses that she feels that she caused Uncle Ben's death, prompting Peter to admit that he caused the death by not stopping the killer.

May is understandably stunned and sad, but later thanks Peter and tells him that admitting the truth to her was a brave thing to do.

Six Months Later[]

Six months later Peter informed Aunt May that he intended to ask Mary Jane to marry him after the two embraced. May then told him that he needed to come up with a good way to instigate his proposal and that he needs to put his wife before himself, no matter what.

She then elaborated to Peter how Uncle Ben proposed to her and that they would have been married for fifty years that August if Ben had not been killed.

She then takes off her own engagement ring and told Peter to use it to propose to Mary Jane. May later went alongside Peter to the police station when Captain Stacy informed them that Flint Marko, was still on the run.

Later, when Peter informed May about The Sandman's apparent demise at the hands of Spider-Man (under the influence of an alien symbiote), she delivered another speech which was more of a warning to Peter of the danger to oneself in seeking revenge. 

Learning of Sandman's Apparent Death[]

Peter was at first shocked at his aunt's reaction for he expected Aunt May to be glad since The Sandman was Partnered with Bens Killer.

Peter soon realized that this is not the case and Aunt May says that Uncle Ben would never have wanted such revenge. Much later, May talked to Peter in his apartment where he stated that he'd done terrible things (after separating from the symbiote suit that had caused him to hurt both Mary Jane and Harry).

He tried to return her ring to her, but Aunt May says that she knows that he will find a way to put it right and gives it back. Later, May was last seen by attended Harry Osborn's funeral.

When her Peter (played by Tobey Maguire) gets dragged to another universe in the 2021 film "Spider-Man: No Way Home," nothing is spoken of her but it can be assumed that she is still alive given that the actress playing her, Rosemary Harris, is herself still alive at the ripe age of 95.

Trivia[]

See Also[]


Raimi Film Series
Films: Spider-Man | Spider-Man 2 | Spider-Man 3
Characters: Peter Parker/Spider-Man | Mary Jane Watson | Harry Osborn | J. Jonah Jameson | Uncle Ben | Aunt May | George Stacy | Gwen Stacy | Robbie Robertson | Betty Brant | Curt Connors | Flash Thompson | Dr. Stromm | Mr. Ditkovich | Ursula Ditkovich | Maximillian Fargas | Henry Balkan | Rosalie Octavius | Hoffman | Bernard Houseman | Mr. Aziz | Bonesaw McGraw
Enemies: The Green Goblin | Doctor Octopus | The Sandman | New Goblin | Venom | The Carjacker
Locations: The Daily Bugle | Oscorp Technologies | Quest Aerospace | Osborn Penthouse | Goblin Lair
Video Games: Spider-Man | Spider-Man 2 | Spider-Man 3
Advertisement