May Parker

"Cut the bullshit. I know you left detention. I know you left the hotel room in Washington. I know you sneak out of this house every night. That's not fine. Peter, you have to tell me what's going on. Just lay it out. It's just me and you."

- May Parker to Peter Parker

May Parker is the aunt of Peter Parker and the widow of the late Ben Parker.

Early Life
May Parker met and married Ben Parker and the two would come to look after their young and orphaned nephew, Peter Parker. The three lived in as Peter grew up and eventually her husband died, resulting in May to look after Peter as he grew up.

Tony Stark's Surprise Visit
"But you didn't tell me anything. What's up with that? You keeping secrets from me now?" "I just know how much you love surprises so I thought I would let you know..."

- May Parker and Peter Parker May was greeted by Tony Stark at Parker Residence. He told her that he had offered Peter a scholarship. Before Peter came back to her apartment, the two were seemingly into a discussion, with Stark complimenting May on her walnut date loaves. When Peter got home from school, May asked him why he did not tell her about the scholarship. Peter, knowing he did not apply for a scholarship and did not receive one, played along until he and Stark decided to discuss everything in private.

Caring for Peter


"Well, hope you got a few good licks in." "Yeah, I got quite a few in actually. His friend was huge, like huge! That's way better, thank you." "Okay, tough guy."

- May Parker to Peter Parker

May later treated Peter's injuries. When she asked where he got his bruises, Peter claimed that he had gotten into a fight with a Brooklyn guy named Steve and his huge friend.

Thai Food


"What's the matter, I thought you loved larb. Too much larb? Not larby enough. Okay, how many times do I have to say larb to get you to talk to me? You know I larb you."

- May Parker to Peter Parker

Two months later, May let Ned Leeds, a friend of Peter Parker's, into his room so he could build his with Peter. A few minutes later, May heard a crash and asked what it was, to which Peter replied was nothing. She came by the room, to find Peter in his underwear and Leeds' Lego scattered over the floor. She invited the two to a Thai restaurant, which Peter accepted but told May that Leeds was unable to go. May told Peter to perhaps put on some clothes before they went out. At the restaurant, May commented on how Peter had barely touched his food. Seeing that her nephew was distracted, she turned around and saw on the television, footage of the Robbery at Queens Community Bank. May told Peter to run for safety if he ever sees something like that happening. A waiter then gave her an extra helping of food, which surprised May as she did not order it. The waiter insisted that it was on the house, and once he left Peter pointed out that he had given it to her out of sheer physical attraction.

School Party


"Oh, Peter. I know. I know it's really hard trying to fit in with all the changes your body is going through. It's flowering now."

- May Parker to Peter Parker

A few nights later, May dropped Peter Parker and Ned Leeds off at Liz Toomes' party. May complemented Leeds' hat, saying that she finds it well fitted for him. Leeds responded with thanks and claimed that the hat gave him confidence. Peter was nervous as he thinks that it was a mistake coming to the party. May tells him that it was okay to be nervous. Before the two got out of the car, May tells Peter to have fun at the party as Leeds waves bye as she drives away.

Confronting Peter


"I'm sorry I made you worry." "You know I'm not trying to ruin your life." "Yeah, I know." "Just... I used to sneak out too."

- Peter Parker and May Parker

Having received a call from the Midtown School of Science and Technology about Peter Parker attempting to skip school and leaving detention early, May waited for Peter to come home so she could talk to him. When Peter came home, she confronted him, informing him that she knew of his absence from school and his sneaking out of the Parker Residence. She offered to help him with whatever he needed, only that he had to tell her what was going on. Peter confessed that he had lost the Internship at Stark Industries. May comforted Peter and told him that she was there for him.

Homecoming Dance


"May! I need your help!"

- Peter Parker to May Parker

Several days later, Peter Parker ran into their house and told May that he needed her help in preparing for the Homecoming Dance, as he had got a date with Liz Toomes. May helped Peter out, giving him a suit to wear, a corsage and teaching him how to tie a Windsor Knot. On the night of the dance, May dropped Peter off at the Toomes Residence after giving some final advice.

Secrets Revealed


"What the fu—"

- May Parker

A few days after the homecoming dance, May walked into her nephew's room and found him in his Spider-Man Suit, cursing loudly in response upon deducing that her nephew and Spider-Man was the same person.

Snap
Thanos wiped May from existence during the Snap in 2018, but along with all other victims, May was resurrected by Bruce Banner in 2023. When May blipped back into existence inside her apartment, her arrival back into the world of the living was shocking to the homeowners who lived in the apartment after her death. May attended Tony Stark's funeral while consoling her nephew over his mentor's death.

Helping the Community
Following her return, May made herself active in helping other people displaced after their return to find new homes. May had Spider-Man act as a celebrity guest to bring in news coverage of the fundraiser she was organizing.

Peter's Trip
During her nephew, Peter Parker's school trip to Europe, May was in a momentary relationship with Happy Hogan, but was routinely calling in to check up on him. Upon his return, due to Mysterio's involvement, May greeted him at the airport while trying to dissuade security from giving her a ticket for illegal parking.

Relations With Hogan
Before his date with Michelle Jones, Peter Parker had a sit down with May and Happy Hogan, questioning their relationship. While Hogan was sure of their being together, May attributed their time as a fun summertime fling, their was mutual attraction but no real interest. Due to this, Happy was taken aback and they both exchanged glances. During their banter of trying to make more sense of what they actually wanted, Parker left the group to meet up with MJ.

Personality
"You know, it's so hard for me to believe that she is someone's aunt." "Yeah, well, we come in all shapes and sizes, you know."

- Tony Stark and May Parker May Parker cares much for her nephew Peter having to raise him alone after the death of her husband, constantly worrying about him as well as giving him advice, including that she believed Tony Stark's "internship" may not be the best thing for him, as she is not a fan of Stark and that it left him distracted and tired, which took away from his school life. May has been described as being very attractive by both Stark and Delmar and is further evident when a server at a Thai restaurant winked at her and gave her free food.

Despite frequently being referred to as "hot" and "attractive" May is perceptive and has a sharp mind. She is able to see that there is something else going on with Peter, but she can't quite put her finger on it. She is also shown to be an avid reader, based on the many books seen in her apartment. May is very selfless and doesn't think of herself very often as Peter does not want to tell her about him being Spider-Man in fear of putting her under more stress than she is already in.

Facilities

 * Parker Residence: The Parker Residence is the apartment home to May Parker and her nephew, Peter. When Tony Stark is required to bring Captain America and his team into custody, he tells May that Peter has applied for "grant" and is going to Germany. After Spider-Man's battle at the airport with the Avengers, May tended to Peter's bruise in his room. When Peter returned back into the residence, Peter then discovered that Stark had returned his suit. Spider-Man put on the suit again, but May shockingly discovered him on the suit.

Family

 * Ben Parker † - Husband
 * Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Nephew

Allies

 * Salvation Army - Employers
 * Ned Leeds
 * Delmar
 * Stark Industries
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man †
 * Happy Hogan - Love Interest
 * Bruce Banner/Hulk - Resurrector

Enemies

 * Thanos † - Killer

Trivia

 * Differently from the comics, May Parker is Italian-American, like the actress Marisa Tomei who portrays her.
 * May Parker's relationship with Happy Hogan, a Stark Enterprises employee in the MCU, is similar to the relationship her mainstream universe counterpart once had with Tony Stark's butler Edwin Jarvis in the comics.

Behind the Scenes

 * May Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the fourth live-action incarnation of the character, following incarnations portrayed by, and.
 * The casting of Marisa Tomei as May Parker received some backlash on social media, with some claiming that she was too young and attractive to play the character, who has previously been a much older woman in various other incarnations. Stephen McFeely explained that this change was made to fit with Marvel Studios' approach to Spider-Man, as they had found it unrealistic for a teenager to have such an elderly aunt: "We were all in lockstep pretty early on to make him as naturalistic as possible, in addition to being as young as possible. So what is it really like for a 15-year-old kid? Where does he live in ? That’s partly why his aunt isn’t 80 years old; if she’s the sister of his dead mother, why does she have to be two generations ahead?"
 * Jonathan M. Goldstein revealed in an interview with  that May had a boyfriend in an early draft of the script for Spider-Man: Homecoming, and that he and John Francis Daley were not opposed to exploring this idea in future installments: "We loved the idea of a cool aunt. In an early draft we actually even had her dating a guy, and part of her relationship with Peter was this inappropriate frankness. It didn’t make the cut, but I could see in the sequel she could get a boyfriend. She doesn’t have to be a mourning widow." Spider-Man: Far From Home seems to recycle the idea, featuring May forming an amicable relationship with Happy Hogan.
 * Following the release of Avengers: Infinity War, Joe and Anthony Russo revealed that May Parker was one of the people who survived Thanos' snap. However, the Russos' statement was later retconned by Jon Watts in the lead up to Spider-Man: Far From Home.
 * Dana Jones was a stunt double for Marisa Tomei in the role of May Parker.
 * Grace Marie Williams was a stand-in for Marisa Tomei in the role of May Parker.
 * Jennifer Finley was a photo double for Marisa Tomei in the role of May Parker.