Mar 2, 2022

Anna May vs Mayday... Who is the better Parker kid?

 Mayhem "April" Parker is not in this fight since we know she's the superior and Original child of Peter Parker, Spider-Man... Totally not a clone made by Norman Osborn... but I was able to read some of Anna May's adventures a while back, which made me want to reread May's time as Spider-Girl.

Trying to pick who is the best is a bit unfair. Annie has a lot less issues than May, and May has close to 10 years in advantage.

I like both because of their differences, but more importantly, they are a big Fuck You to Joe Quesada. The reason for this is that they show how an older and married Spider-Man CAN WORK. Peter doesn't need to be a perennial loser who can't keep a stable relationship.

But let's talk what makes each special:
Let's start with Annie Parker, who hates being asked about her well being. Especially if she's been hit by, she's been struck by a smooth criminal...

Her comics are weird because they don't feel like Spider-Man comics but at the same time they do. The whole Super Powered Family of Spiders is a bit weird dynamic. This makes it a refreshing experience for Spider-Man readers, because the comic doesn't follow all the Spidey tropes to a T. There is a bit of Symbiote trpuble and Osborn Drama, but it feels more Saturday Morning. The crossovers with other heroes are there, but since Annie had so few issues, we didn't get to explore more of her Earth.

Mayday on the other hand feels like a true Blue Spidey comic. Bad luck in romance, you got it. The Parker issue of having to juggle school life, love life, and web slinging... May has it! Having to deal with the repercussions of the Osborn vendetta against Parker, May has it too! Clones, Symbiotes, Goblins oh my! Mayday has it as well... Crossovers with other heroes... Yup! May has it as well.

Based on that, we can say that May has the obvious advantage. But we can't just judge on number of issues.

Both are a mix of their parents. May is more MJ-like than Annie, despite May looking more like Peter (later issues tried to make her more MJ-like), while Annie looks more like MJ. They reverted to the more Peter-like May when the Spider-verse event happened. But it's kinda sexist and borderline creepy picking a favorite here. But your preference may depend on the family dynamics.

Outfits: May, hands down. I hate how all of Annie's outfits expose too much skin and hair for a Spider-person... especially when Annie is the daughter of the super neurotic Guy who went through a Clone Saga. She's a Ginger, for crying out loud... do you know how scarce those are?

So, powers... They are similar in basic skillset with Annie apparently, being slightly stronger than May and having her powers for a longer time. Annie also has the visions from the Web of Life that kinda act like Kaine's old Spider-sense... (an ability he lost after being brought back from the dead.) She also is better at teamwork. May on the other hand has Martial Arts training from Elektra Natchios, Ben Reilly's extra equipment (web stingers and impact webbing), her pinpoint Spider-sense that can be even more sensitive than Spidey's... and last but not least her enhanced clinging powers that allow her to "magnetize" a surface. It all depends on your preference.

So, who am I picking as Best Parker Child?
Benjy the Spectacular Spider-Baby...

Kidding. Here I have to pick May, because she has had an unfair advantage over Annie. I was invested in May during the Clone Saga and the MC2 gave me the happy ending I yearned. With that said, my choice of May doesn't mean that Annie isn't OK... it's that I wish we had MORE of Annie for this to be fairer.

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