Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2001
Passages
Together again after months being apart, Peter Parker and Mary Jane have a romantic walk on the Brooklyn Bridge.[1] Eventually, Mary Jane tells them that they can’t spend the whole night walking around as they have plans. Peter suggests that they just run-off so they can be alone together, but Mary Jane insists that they have to finish packing up his things as they are moving back in with Aunt May. [2] Soon they are back at the apartment that Peter has shared with Randy Robertson for the past few months. As they pack things up, they are helped by Randy Robertson, Jill Stacy, and Glory Grant. Randy admits that he’s going to miss living with Peter. One thing Peter is not going to miss is Fluffy, the smelly cat that adopted them, as he cannot take the cat because Aunt May is allergic.[3] Randy doesn’t mind as he’s grown attached to the cat even though it is still quite temperamental toward him. Glory is in the middle of asking Mary Jane what she is planning on doing next when the phone rings.
Mary Jane doesn’t want to answer it because it is another person calling her to get back into modeling. Peter is fed up with all of the phone calls and tells off the caller, getting particularly upset when the caller thinks that her decision to stop modeling was nothing more than a publicity stunt.[4] Mary Jane tells Peter not to stress out about it telling him that they need to get to Aunt May’s house in Queens. When they arrive a short time later, Aunt May is so happy to see Mary Jane back alive and well and is brought to tears over this happy turn of events before returning to the kitchen to make them dinner. Peter and Mary Jane then rush upstairs to have some time alone.[5] When Peter picks up Mary Jane and literally walks up the walls onto the roof, she abruptly tells him to put her down. That’s when the moving truck arrives and they start moving things back into the house. Once they get the last box upstairs to the attic, Peter suggests they go down and get something to eat and then call it a night. That’s when a cross breeze causes the door to slam close as Peter shuts off the light. Still traumatized by her captivity, Mary Jane begins to have a panic attack. When Peter gets the jammed door open, he asks her if she is okay, and Mary Jane suddenly puts on a smile and says she is perfectly fine. She then says she needs some fresh air and runs outside and drops her devil-may-care demeanor. Knowing something is wrong, Peter follows his wife outside and tells her that she doesn’t need to get through this alone, promising that whatever happens, they’ll get through it together.
A short time later, the couple are sitting down with Aunt May and catching up with what’s going on with Mary Jane’s Aunt Anna down in Florida.[6] When May asks what the couple are planning on doing, Peter says that they are going to take things one thing at a time. Aunt May likes that idea, saying that they are still young and have plenty of time to make important decisions, admitting that she would have made some specific changes in her own life if she took the time to think about it.[7] When the couple are up in Peter’s old bedroom, Mary Jane is looking over old photos. Peter tries to get romantic with her, which is not surprising. Peter points out that when he was a teenager he never would have believed he’d ever have a woman as beautiful as Mary Jane in his bedroom.[8] Getting serious, Peter begins telling Mary Jane how much he has missed her and how much he missed about them being together. Mary Jane admits that this is the first time in a long time that she feels safe and comfortable. That’s when they hear an explosion outside. Seeing smoke off in the distance, Peter tries to dismiss it as nothing that Spider-Man is needed for. Mary Jane then tries to get Peter to talk to her about their future together. That’s when a news report comes on the television stating that the terrorist organization known as the Anarchists for Freedom are attacking the UN Building. Peter tries to convince himself that this is something the Avengers can deal with. However, watching the footage of people in danger, Peter can’t dismiss it for much longer and quickly changes into Spider-Man, telling Mary Jane that he’ll be back soon.
As Mary Jane monitors the news coverage of Spider-Man’s battle against the Anarchists for Freedom, she looks over old family photos and remarks about how young she and Peter used to be and how their aunts had them pegged to be a match from the start.[9] As Spider-Man defeats the terrorists, Mary Jane wonders where she and Peter are in their lives.[10] She also admits that while she is coming to terms with her ordeal, Mary Jane decides that she needs Peter to be here with him. When Spider-Man finally returns home, Mary Jane is no longer in a romantic mood. When he asks what’s wrong, she says that they need to talk. They go for a walk and Mary Jane tells Peter that she’s not mad he went off as Spider-Man, saying that she finally understands that aspect of his life and that being Spider-Man is what he does and that its part of the reason why she fell in love with him. Still, after everything that has happened to them recently, Mary Jane says they are not the same people they were when they were younger. She still loves him but she needs to spend some time apart. Peter reluctantly agrees and then pulls out her wedding ring. He says he found it in a box of her belongings at were recovered from the plane crash and he intended to put it back on her finger tonight.[11] Mary Jane tells him to hold onto it for a while longer and when Peter asks what she plans to do next, she admits she doesn’t know. She then tells Peter that she loves him before walking away alone.[12] Peter goes in the opposite direction, saying he loves her too and as the sun rises he admits to himself that if someone asked him where he’d be 24 hours ago he wouldn’t have seen any of this happening.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Glory Grant, Randy Robertson, Jill Stacy, Aunt May
Continuity Notes
Mary Jane was believed to have been killed in a plane crash in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #13. She was later revealed to be alive and rescued by Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #29/Peter Parker: Spider-Man #29. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
Peter has been living with Randy Robertson since Peter Parker: Spider-Man #18 as he could not afford to live on his own after Mary Jane “died”.
This stray cat followed Peter home in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #27.
Mary Jane’s reluctance to model and her jumpiness around the ringing phone are due to the fact that prior to her kidnapping, Mary Jane sent her harassing phone calls starting in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #5.
Mary Jane quips that the Parkers get very emotional when someone comes back from the dead. This is a vague reference to the fact that Aunt May had recently suffered a similar ordeal as Mary Jane. Everyone thought May died in Amazing Spider-Man #400. In reality, she was kidnapped by Norman Osborn and replaced with an impostor until she was rescued by Spider-Man in Spider-Man #97-98.
Aunt May is talking about how Anna Watson tried to vote for Al Gore and ended up voting for the “other guy” instead and making a comment about not knowing who someone named “Chad” is. This is a reference to the 2000 Presidential Election, the primary candidates were Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush. Bush ended up winning the election, however, his election was not without controversy particularly in Florida where votes were made using punch cards realized questions about the accuracy of votes made in that state. Obviously, everything Aunt May says here should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding TImescale of Earth-616.
Aunt May says that Peter and Mary Jane are still young. Just how old are they here? Well, according to Civil War #2, Peter was 15 when he first became Spider-Man. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, Peter has been Spider-Man for about 10 years making him roughly 25 years old at the time of this story.
Peter is depicted as having a television in his room that uses dials to change the channel and old analog antenna to pick up television signals. This should also be considered a Topical Reference.
Aunt May and Anna Watson tried to set up Peter and Mary Jane for quite some time starting in Amazing Spider-Man #15. The pair avoided meeting each other until Amazing Spider-Man #42. Mary Jane avoided Peter in particular because she was aware that he was secretly Spider-Man since he first got his powers, as revealed in Marvel Graphic Novel #46.
Among the photos seen here is a wedding photo of Peter and Mary Jane. The couple got married in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. In the new timeline where the couple don’t get married, they never got married but remained engaged as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #638-639. As such, in the new timeline, Mary Jane would likely be looking a different photo here.
Peter was given a box of Mary Jane’s belongings in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #16.
This starts a period where Peter and Mary Jane are separated. However, they will soon get back together in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #50.
