Amazing Spider-Man #1 has everyone asking "What did Spider-Man do?", just as teasers have been asking leading up to the launch of the new volume. And while that question seems to have a dire and world-shaking answer, it hasn't been revealed just yet.
But another massive surprise is waiting in the last few pages of the story, and it calls into question almost everything readers have learned over the last couple years about Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson - with potentially shocking revelations to come.
Most of the issue focuses on Peter Parker as he avoids people he cares about, lying and sneaking his way around having to deal with or confront the consequences of whatever his actions were.
And oh yeah, after that first page, the actions skips ahead six months later.
Whatever happened in that scene and whatever happened during the subsequent six months, Peter is lying to Aunt May, avoiding his friends, and even dodging calls from Mary Jane - who asked Peter to live with her at the end of the previous volume of Amazing Spider-Man (ASM), but who seems to once again be separated from ol' Pete (although he seems to do a lot of walking by her apartment,
And that's the crux of Amazing Spider-Man #1's major revelation. No, not that Peter Parker and Mary Jane seem to be on the outs again after rekindling their relationship just months ago in real-time, but that Mary Jane seems to have moved on and is living and is in some kind of relationship with a man named Paul.
But that's just prologue to the big bombshell - Mary Jane and Paul seem to have two children together, both of whom are old enough to be walking and talking even though only six months have passed in between the last volume of ASM and the current relaunch.
We say "seems" (and in italics) twice for a reason. The scene is so ambiguous it's hard to interpret exactly what MJ and Paul's relationship is, and even harder to interpret her relationship with the two children. But the boy's enthusiastic greeting of "MOMMY!" and her reply of "KIDDOS!" and her expression of being content tell you what Marvel wants you to think for the moment (not to mention the little girl's red hair).
So what's the deal? Has Mary Jane had children for years who Peter (and all of us) never knew about? Did MJ bond with step-children very, very quickly? Or could this be more manipulation by Mephisto, who has been anything but shy about screwing around with Peter and MJ's love life and not for nothing, their children? Or is there something even bigger afoot?
Editor Nick Lowe addresses these questions in the issue's afterword, stating that answers will be forthcoming, and entreating readers to stick with the story through the shocking changes from the previous Spider-Man status quo, promising more information as Amazing Spider-Man #900 arrives later this year, along with the release of the upcoming Spider-Man Free Comic Book Day one-shot.
Amazing Spider-Man #2 goes on sale May 25.
Speaking of Peter, Mary Jane, and children, Newsarama runs down the history of Spidey and MJ's kids from around the Multiverse.
