What If...? #105

History

The story was written by Tom DeFalco — then the ongoing writer of What If...? and a former Marvel Editor-in-Chief — and co-plotted and drawn by Ron Frenz, with inks finished by Bill Sienkiewicz, colors by Matt Webb, and lettering by Chris Eliopoulos; editor Kelly Corvese oversaw the issue. DeFalco conceived the MC2 universe as a possible alternate future for Marvel that would be accessible to new readers without years of accumulated continuity baggage, drawing its divergence point from the Clone Saga storyline in which Mary Jane's baby was apparently lost. The issue was intended as a standalone one-shot but, after copies sold out quickly and an unusually large volume of fan mail arrived demanding more stories set in that future, editor Bob Harras and the Marvel editorial team greenlighted the full MC2 imprint, with DeFalco taking on writing duties for nearly every title the line produced.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance and full origin of Spider-Girl (May 'Mayday' Parker, Earth-982), created by writer Tom DeFalco and artist/co-plotter Ron Frenz, with inks by Bill Sienkiewicz.
• First cameo appearance of J2 (Zane Yama), son of the Juggernaut (Cain Marko), who would go on to headline his own 12-issue series in October 1998.
• First cameo team appearance of the group later formalized as A-Next — the MC2 universe's next-generation Avengers — including Jubilee, J2, Thunderstrike (Kevin Masterson), Jolt, and others.
• The story's premise branches from the Clone Saga: in the MC2 timeline, Peter and Mary Jane's baby daughter survived the events of Amazing Spider-Man #418 rather than being lost, and was later reunited with her parents by Kaine after being taken by Alison Mongrain on the Green Goblin's orders.
• Mayday debuts wearing Ben Reilly's Spider-Man costume (the Scarlet Spider-adjacent suit), kept in storage since Reilly's death — a narrative thread that ties her directly to the Clone Saga and to the legacy of 'Uncle Ben' Reilly.
• The issue's unexpectedly strong reader response directly caused Marvel to launch the MC2 imprint in October 1998, with three initial titles (Spider-Girl, A-Next, J2) all written by DeFalco — a rare case of a What If? one-shot giving birth to a full publishing line.
• The Spider-Girl ongoing series that grew out of this issue ran for 100 issues (1998–2006) and became Marvel's longest-running superhero title headlined by a female character.
• The issue has been reprinted multiple times: as Spider-Girl #0 (October 1998), in Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (2018), in the Spider-Girl Modern Era Epic Collection Vol. 1: Legacy (2024), and in Spider-Man: Spider-Verse – Spider-Women (2020). The character also appeared as an infant in the 2023 animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Cast · 40 characters

Full credits

Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers