Don't mess with Aunt May: Sensational Spider-Man #31

Spider-Man fans who have been around long enough remember how useless Pete's beloved Aunt May used to be. She doddered about the house making wheat cakes for her nephew, totally overlooking the many, many clues that Pete was really Spider-Man. Spidey couldn't reveal his identity because Aunt May's feeble heart would give out with the shock. He was always running from battles because Aunt May needed her medicine, being only minutes away from death. May was so clueless that she thought Spidey was a terrible menace, but she was going to marry "that sweet Doctor Octavius" so he could get his tentacles on her nuclear power plant. (If you don't know the story behind that one, just count yourself lucky and never think of it again.)

However, May Parker has had a bit of a renaissance period over the last decade or so. Gone is the cliched, sickly, dim-witted old lady of the past. Today's Aunt May is a strong, smart, no-nonsense, fount of wisdom and support for Peter and Mary Jane. Nowhere is that transformation more evident than in Sensational Spider-Man #31 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Angel Medina. Part of the fallout from Spidey's Civil War unmasking, this issue focuses on two of the women in Peter's life, Liz Allan and Aunt May.

Now that all the villains Spidey has pounded over the years know his identity, they figure they can get a little payback by attacking those close to him. One bunch of second-rate villains uses Liz and her son to lure Peter into a trap, while the Chameleon goes after the weakest link in Peter's life-Aunt May. I don't want to give anything away here, but lets just say Chameleon made a serious miscalculation. May is not the helpless victim he believed her to be, and I bet he won't ever look at a bakesale the same way again.

It is great that Marvel hasn't shied away from dealing with the logical consequences of Spider-Man's identity being public knowledge. Aguirre-Sacasa has used this controversial Civil War plot point to tell some excellent Spidey stories that could never have been told before. As a Spidey fan for almost 30 years, it's great to have stories with a truly new take on the character. If you've been reading Civil War, but missing out on the great stories spinning out from those events, you're missing the best part of the year's biggest superhero event.

Pick up Sensational Spider-Man #31, pull up a comfy chair and a plate of homemade oatmeal cookies, and enjoy! It's guaranteed at Four Color Fantasies all week. Try it or we'll reveal your true identity!