Marvel’s sexiest comic book breathed new life into classic Marvel characters, and rewrote Spider-Man’s origin in the most heartbreaking way imaginable.
For the past six decades, Spider-Man has stood firm as an indelible part of the Marvel Universe, with Peter Parker’s origin story becoming one of the most iconic in all of pop culture. While his web-swinging antics have always played a major role in his story, it is the people who Peter cares most about that have managed to stand out even more than his incredible battles. Over the years Peter’s family and friends have become much more than background players, with their own stories having often devastating impacts on his own. In the case of Aunt May, that couldn’t possibly be more true, especially when the skeletons in her closet would change everything Spider-Man knows about his own life.
2003’s Trouble by Mark Millar and Terry Dodson was a throwback to a time when superheroes hadn’t quite overtaken the realm of comic books as they have now. Rather, mystery, horror, and romance were the hot genres, and the latter of those three was where Trouble found its drama. Starring teenage brothers Richard and Ben alongside best friends Mary and May, the series found them all working together at a nearby resort over the summer, not to mention falling in love. Richard and Mary soon enough paired off while Ben and May did the same, leading to some seriously intimate moments between the couples. Unfortunately, May and Richard would eventually find themselves in each other’s arms despite the fact that they were cheating on the people they cared about the most. Even worse, May becoming pregnant was soon enough revealed to be the result of this secretive fling when she announced it to Ben only to be told that he was unable to have children.
Once the truth came out, relations between the group completely fell apart, leading May to run away with a man she couldn’t stand just to escape the shame of what had happened to her. Ben and Richard would eventually reconcile their differences at home, but May and Mary’s friendship was nearly shattered by the former’s deception. It wasn’t until May finally returned to confront what she had done that Mary would open up to her, and the two quickly hatched a scheme to ensure that no one would suffer any further. After May gave birth, she passed the infant along to Mary to present as hers and Richard’s son, with no one outside of their immediate group (and May’s parents) having any idea. As hard as it was to give up her son, doing so at least brought a close to the couples’ dramatic story while also giving Ben and May the chance to come to terms with what had happened and rekindle their relationship. For Richard and Mary, raising young Peter would be the most important thing they ever did.
It may not have been obvious to readers at the time, but by the end of their story these characters were meant to be none other than Ben and Richard Parker, Peter’s ill-fated uncle and father, with Mary and May playing the roles of Peter’s mother and famous aunt, respectively. This revelation was earth-shattering at the time, especially for those who wondered whether or not Trouble would have any impact on the Spider-Man of the present. Thankfully, Trouble remains part of its own self-contained universe, at least as far as fans know, yet the implications it carried were still shocking. The series may not have been the triumphant return of the romance genre that Marvel had hoped it would be, and has been relegated to near total obscurity in the years since. Still, it stands out as one of the most heartfelt dramas of the early 2000s in spite of it never attaining the reach that it probably should have.
Trouble didn’t just try to break the status quo surrounding Peter Parker’s origin, it gave more depth to his family than has ever been seen outside of the wall-crawler’s own comics. Uncle Ben and Aunt May have always been an invaluable part of Spider-Man’s story, and seeing them as young, hot, flawed individuals grappling with both their emotions and libidos was more humanizing than any other tale they have played a part in. The series also gave readers the sort of insight into Peter’s parents that they have never really been given in more mainstream comic books, fleshing them out as people who cared more for their friends and family than anyone could have guessed before it. Even if Trouble never makes its way into the primary Marvel Universe’s continuity, it is still a story that readers lucky enough to get their hands on it will never be able to forget.
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