Just How Frail is Aunt May?
The frailty of Peter Parker’s Aunt May was legendary back in the Silver Age. But just how sick was she? Is it true she couldn’t enter a hospital without receiving an operation – even if it was just to pay her bill?
To kick off this weekend’s celebration of the medical excitement of the early Amazing Spider-Man issues, let’s look at the illnesses suffered by Aunt May in the first 3 ½ years of the comic (this covers Amazing Spider-Man issues #1-43, and annuals #1-3 – coincidentally, these are the same issues reprinted in The Essential Spider Man, Volumes 1 and 2, for those of you who want to play along at home).
The following list sums it all up nicely (my notes are in red. ASM stands for Amazing Spider-Man):
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ASM #9
Feb 1964 |
Aunt May is sick in bed at home. Later the doctor arrives and admits her to the hospital. She receives an operation. We’re never told what operation she had. |
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ASM #10
Mar 1964 |
Still in the hospital, Aunt May needs a transfusion and receives one from Peter. Later in the issue, she is discharged from the hospital and goes on a vacation with the next door neighbors, the Abbots. |
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ASM #17
Oct 1964 |
Aunt May suffers “another heart attack” and is admitted to the hospital. Did we ever know about her first heart attack? Or is that what happened in issue #9? |
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ASM #18
Nov 1964 |
Aunt May is home from the hospital and wheelchair bound. Peter reminds her that she needs “lots of rest after [her] operation.” By the end of the issue, she is back on her feet. We’re never told what operation she had, especially since last issue we were told that she had had a heart attack. Coronary artery bypass surgery was not performed on humans until 1967 (or 1968, depending on what source you read), so I have no idea what operation she would have had to "fix" a heart attack. |
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ASM #29
Oct 1965 |
Aunt May feels dizzy and almost faints. She tells Peter a white lie, informing him that she just “dropped a glass.” |
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ASM #31
Dec 1965 |
Aunt May faints. After the doctor examines her, he admits her to the hospital for “special tests.” The doctor tells Peter that his aunt’s condition isn’t good, and she’ll need to remain in the hospital for further tests. The very end of the issue has the lab people state “the poor woman can’t last much longer!” |
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ASM #32
Jan 1966 |
Aunt May is still in the hospital and not doing well. Peter is told that her illness is caused by a “radioactive particle in her blood.” |
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ASM #33
Feb 1966 |
Peter (as Spider-Man), with the help of Dr. Curt Connors, obtains an experimental serum and delivers it to the hospital. Aunt May then receives a blood transfusion |
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ASM #34
Mar 1966 |
Aunt May is visited by Anna Watson in the hospital, and informs her that she shouldn’t have worried as it was “just a silly old operation.” She is discharged from the hospital later that day. Again, it is unclear what operation she had. Last issue we were just told she needed a transfusion, no mention was made of a surgery. |
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ASM #39
Aug 1966 |
While visiting the doctor himself, Peter is told that Aunt May has been weakened by her recent operation and should receive no sudden shocks, as they might prove fatal! |
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ASM #40
Sep 1966 |
Aunt May becomes overwrought because of Peter’s prolonged absence and requires a sedative from the doctor to calm her down. The doctor chides Peter for thinking of himself first. |
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ASM #43 |
Aunt May is bedridden and feeling weak. Peter discovers that she is out of medicine and cannot afford to get it refilled. |
To sum up, Aunt May was in the hospital 3 times: issues #9-10, issue #17, and issues #31-34. She also received 3 operations, in issue #9, around issue #17, and between issues #33 and #34. That’s 3 operations in 3 hospital visits, quite an average!
In 46 issues, she had 3 operations. That’s 1 operation every 15.3 issues. She was in the hospital for a total of 7 issues, or 15.2% of the time. At this rate, by the time Amazing Spider-Man had reached issue #500, she would have had 33 surgeries, and been in the hospital for a total 75 issues…
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