I got into Spider-Girl with its second title, the Amazing Spider-Girl. I've been trying to collect the old Spider-Girl issues ever since.There seems to be a small Pro-Life message in just the fact that Mayday/Spider-Girl supposedly died in the original Amazing Spider-Man comic.
Mary Jane went to the hospital to have the baby, but there were complications and the baby died. Peter and Mary Jane were of course devastated.
In a "What if...?" comic, Tom DeFalco wrote a story about who that child would have been if she had lived. A fifteen-year-old girl who is a science geek, the star of the school basket ball team, miss popular, and a great friend to geeks and jocks alike.
If that doesn't quite make my case about Spider-Girl being Pro-Life, let me share something else with you that I just learned.
I had always known that Spider-Girl has a baby brother named Benji.
What I didn't know was that there had been serious complications with Mary Jane's pregnancy.
Mary Jane collapses and is rushed to the hospital. The doctors run some tests and say that the complications could be fatal to both mother and child. Let me write out the conversation between Peter, MJ, and the Doctor for you.Doc: The situation could turn critical at any moment.
Peter: Wh-what do you mean?
Doc: I've detected a number of troubling anomalies with this pregnancy and
Mary Jane is at considerable risk.
MJ: And my baby---?!
Doc: I...I'm sorry, Mary Jane...but I'm afraid that you and your husband
have to make a very difficult decision.
MJ: Is there any hope for a healthy baby---?!
Doc: I suppose there's always a chance...but we need to be practical You
two need to talk...
With that, the Doctor leaves MJ and Peter holding hands. I bet that now you're thinking, "That wasn't Pro-Life at all!" but there's more.
After 11 pages of Spider-Girl fighting crime we get back to MJ and Peter alone in the hospital room.
Peter: I...I can't imagine my life without you. Maybe we should take the
doctor's advice.
MJ: Maybe...but I keep thinking about May and how we almost lost her.
Peter: May Jane...you don't have to do this.
MJ: I know, but I come from a family that often takes risks for the things
that matter.
Okay, not the strongest, outspoken Pro-Life message and Peter was getting on my nerves there, but there is a message there. The things that matter, the near loss of the first child. To Mary Jane, Benji isn't just a pregnancy. He's a child that she's willing to die for.
He's now a happy wall crawling toddler that lights up when he sees his sister, that burps when his dad feeds him chili, and almost lost his hearing when his sister saved him from a villain called Carnage.
Benji and Mayday are both in the Marvel Universe because someone fought to save them.
Whether you agree with me or not, I thought that I should share what I've learned.
I don't read the Amazing Spider-Girl for her awesome spider powers and the action packed fight scenes. I read it because what makes any hero is that he or she is willing to fight for what's right.
3 comments:
That's a good insight. Maybe I should start reading these comic books.
It's very refreshing to see the good-guy being good. This is the heroic tradition of risk and sacrifice. I think we can forgive Peter. He is very attached to his wife and probably caught off guard.
Great blog! I didn't even know there was a Spider girl comic, but I can definitely see the pro-life message in it! Thanks for pointing it out :)
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