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A Sticky Situation: Is Aunt May Dating a Villain in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'?

Aunt May may play a bigger role in the story, seeing as she may be dating a villain in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'.

By Max FarrowPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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Excitement is running high for Spider-Man: Homecoming all across the board. With director John Watts confirming that filming has now finished, fans are now hoping that a trailer will soon hit the internet and shed light on that closely-guarded plot. Indeed, there’s already been a great deal of speculation as to what the movie will feature, but that was before this particular news! We may just have found out more about a particularly mysterious villain, and just how they are related to Peter Parker himself!

If you’re clamoring to read more about the upcoming Spidey-flick, then simply scroll on down!

Beware though, this information could be a tad SPOILERY...

Spider-Man: Under Pressure

Marvel Comics

If there’s any truth to the SchmoesKnow’s latest scoop, the heat is on for our web-slinging wonder. There’s clear evidence that the Shocker (most likely Bokeem Woodbine) will be making an appearance, and, with the casting of Michael Keaton and Logan Marshall-Green as additional antagonists, Spidey (Tom Holland) certainly has got his work cut out with three villains to face! And that’s not even counting Michael Chernus as the Tinkerer! But I’m sure that some will be thinking: what about the Vulture?

Isn’t Michael Keaton playing him?

According to Schmoes, it isn’t that clean cut. Yes, ol’ Vulchy is the main villain, but there hasn’t actually been any confirmation that it will be Keaton who is donning the feathered outfit – even though he's someone who would be a great fit, given his acting calibre and his past roles. So at this point, whilst Keaton probably is Adrian Toomes, there’s a chance that Marshall-Green could be the Vulture too. Despite this, that still leaves us another undisclosed villain for one of them to play...and according to Schmoes, it’s not going to necessarily be a colorfully garbed character.

“This third ‘villain’ is a non-super powered character who butts heads with Peter in his everyday life.”

Hmm, who could this be referring to? Because Homecoming is set in Peter’s high school, we could assume that it’s one of his many bullies, or even Flash Thompson, if Tony Revolori wasn’t already cast in that part. How about J Jonah Jameson? They have “butted heads” even when Peter isn’t in costume...But wait, there’s more!

“You know, I'm having a hard time believing she's someone's aunt."

Aunt May has always been a major player in the world of Spider-Man. Many write her off as an elderly damsel-in-distress and a source of worry for the wall-crawler, but is she also person who gives a lot of comfort and guidance to the young hero. Played brilliantly by Rosemary Harris and Sally Fields in her previous incarnations, the MCU has a new version to go with their Spider-Man, but this Aunt looks set to be go where no May has gone before. As Erin Parisien writes for Schmoes:

“[The villain] also may be the new someone Aunt May begins dating in the film, a guy that Peter does not approve of. Whether or not the guy is actually bad or its just Peter’s prejudices clouding his judgement remains to be seen...”

Peter barely manages to conceal his new web-shooters from May. Credit: Marvel Studios

Now that is something unexpected! We’ve already been introduced to the MCU’s Aunt May in Captain America: Civil War, where she was played by Marisa Tomei. As such she was a lot younger than her comic book counterpart. Indeed, she amusingly caught the eye of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark.

Could we see some awkward encounters between Peter and Tony if he decides to pursue Aunt May? After all, Stark is unattached now that he and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) are on a break. But obviously, that still leaves Marshall-Green without a role. So...could Marshall Green's character be wooing Aunt May? And what character could he be?

The Lovers of May Parker

Yup, this happened... *shudders*. Credit: Marvel Comics

It may surprise some people, but Aunt May has had several lovers following the passing of her beloved Ben Parker (that's Uncle Ben, to you!). She famously almost married Doctor Octopus in a particularly bizarre story arc (as seen above), and more recently she married J Jonah Jameson Senior (yup, Jameson’s long lost dad!).

Yet both of these seem to be very unlikely candidates for this villainous character. It’s doubtful that Marvel would want to have a villain like Doctor Octopus in a supporting role, and it would be odd if Marvel introduced the lesser-known character of Jameson Sr when we haven’t yet seen his more iconic son. Additionally, Marshall-Green is a good actor, but he doesn’t quite gel with these two roles somehow.

Could Aunt May be dating The Jackal?

The Jackal loves to monologue... Credit: Marvel Comics

It's worth mentioning that, whilst Schmoes say that May's new man isn't super-powered, that doesn't mean that the character couldn't acquire some in future installments. Therefore Marshall-Green might, be more suited to the part of Miles Warren. Are your spider-senses tingling at that name? Indeed, the Jackal has long tormented Spider-Man in the comics. As Peter’s professor at Empire State University, he secretly fell in love with Gwen Stacy, and, in the wake of her death, he blamed Spider-Man for her demise. Seeking vengeance against the hero, he created various clones of Stacy, the wall-crawler, and himself. And, in so doing, he began the famous Clone Saga!

Miles Warren could just be this mystery character, albeit in his pre-villainous days. In the comics, Miles’ brother Raymond taught Peter science at High School, and even introduced them to each other. Tellingly, if we take a look at that leaked Homecoming cast list, we can see that Selenis Leyva is a certain Ms. Warren in Peter’s school, so it’s certainly possible that she might be related to Miles in some way. Indeed, Schmoes have even speculated that this mystery adversary could be a teacher at Peter's school!

Miles meets Peter in Ultimate Spider-Man #114. Credit: Marvel Comics

Yet you might be wondering how this relates to Aunt May; well, in the Ultimate Universe (from which Homecoming is taking a lot of inspiration), Miles Warren appeared as Harry Osborn’s hypnotherapist, and crucially, May’s one-time partner. Peter only met him once under strained circumstances, and though May and Miles weren’t together for that long, there was definitely something odd about the whole affair. Could Miles be getting close to Aunt May in Homecoming so that he can keep eye on the all-new Spider-Man?

Is that why Peter is suspicious of him?

Is Nathan Lubensky Aunt May's mystery lover?

Nathan throws some serious shade in Amazing Spider-Man 254. Credit: Marvel Comics

On the other hand, there is another character who could be wooing Aunt May. At one point in the comics, May fell in love with, and even become engaged to, a wheelchair bound man named Nathan Lubensky. Peter was happy for them, for the most part at least. May and Nathan came together during a troubled era for Spider-Man, meaning that Peter spent long periods of time in his costume, and as such he frequently neglected his Aunt May. Nathan tried to patch things up between them, but even he lost patience with Peter. The growing tensions between the two men weren’t helped by Nathan’s shady gambling debts.

When Nathan met Adrian. Credit: Marvel Comics

A lot of this definitely fits in with what we know about May’s new beau, but the real clincher might be the fact that he was notably friends with none other than Adrian Toomes. Certainly, the fact that he had a complex, yet tragic friendship with the Vulture means that we may very well see Lubensky’s cinematic debut in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Seeing Peter struggling with Aunt May's new boyfriend, his school work, girl problems and his superhero-ing are definitely the kinds of things we'd expect to see in a Spider-Man movie. If it this is explored, its certainly adding a fresh twist to what we've seen before.

Whoever this mystery villain is and whatever their connections are to Spider-Man and his family, it's certainly interesting to consider how diverse Marvel's options are, and how much potential Spider-Man: Homecoming has. If done correctly, it could deliver something that is vibrant and new to cinema audiences, whilst remaining true to the comic book character, and advancing the MCU in an exciting way.

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About the Creator

Max Farrow

A fanatical film-watcher, hill-walker, aspiring author, freelance writer and biscuit connoisseur.

These articles first appeared on Movie Pilot between Jan 2016 and Dec 2017. Follow me on Twitter @Farrow91

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