Spider-Man: The Clone Saga- The Gift
PART 5
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Mark Bagely
J.M. DeMatteis writes an emotionally driven and beautiful farewell for Aunt May, which respects her legacy in Spidey's mythos...
Ranking: 5 stars
Welcome to part 5 of CLONE MADNESS folks, where we look at an era that while infamous for producing horrible Spider-Man stories, still managed to generate some pretty good ones too.
In my last CLONE SAGA review I tore into SMOKE AND MIRRORS, which was not only the first genuinely bad story arc of the saga in my eyes, but also the story that would begin the saga’s gradual descent into infamy. While the story did succeed in its goal of reviving the Jackal, the original creator of the clones, the execution of it was phenomenally mishandled. Not only did SMOKE AND MIRRORS retcon the character development that Miles Warren had undergone back in the original 1970’s CLONE SAGA by devolving the character from a tragic villain into a one-dimensional Joker rip-off, but it also went as far as to insult the reader with terribly manipulative suggestions that Gwen Stacy had never actually died. What’s truly sad about it all is that the stories that came before SMOKE AND MIRRORS were actually really good (despite having flaws), but after that storyline THE CLONE SAGA would slowly start to decline into horrible mischaracterizations and badly written stories. However, while SMOKE AND MIRRORS did start the decline of the saga’s quality as a whole, there were still several good story lines that came afterwards and today’s comic THE GIFT is a prime example of that. THE GIFT was a story published for the 400th issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and was important because it not only resolved one of the saga’s major plot points, but also killed off long-time supporting Spidey character Aunt May. As I’ve stated in previous CLONE SAGA reviews, one of the major events that built up to the saga was that Aunt May had suffered a devastating stroke, putting her in a life-threatening comma. This event not only furthered Peter’s temporary descent into madness, but it also prompted Ben Reilly’s return into Peter’s life, as despite being a clone, he was unable to let go of his love for Aunt May. Her comma also provided an emotional anchor in all of the previous stories I reviewed as it not only connected Peter and Ben on a psychological level, but also because Aunt May has been a pivotal character in Spider-Man’s mythos. However, the storyline PLAYERS AND PAWNS (which directly followed SMOKE AND MIRRORS) saw May finally awaken from her comma, leading here to THE GIFT, which not only details her and Peter’s final moments together, but also is quite easily one of the most well-written and emotional Spider-Man stories ever created.
The 400th issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN begins with Spidey rapidly swinging towards the hospital, having received contact from the doctors about a sudden change Aunt May’s condition. As he swings over New York’s skyscrapers, Peter is struggling with conflicting feelings of hope and doubt, as far too often in the past has he suffered disappointment and tragedy, yet it is also in his nature to hope. Fortunately for Peter, he soon arrives at the hospital to discover that not only has May awakened from her comma, but that she is fully functioning and happy to see her nephew. Much to the doctor’s astonishment however, May immediately requests that Peter take her back home despite not being scheduled to leave the hospital yet. Unknown to everyone else, May was severely weakened by the stroke that put her in a comatose state, and knows that her time is quickly approaching. Therefore, her sole desire is to spend the last of her remaining time with her nephew. While Peter is not fully aware of May’s impending fate, he can sense that his Aunt is indeed hiding something as she has become increasingly sentimental in her behavior. As Peter is doubtfully pondering over the future, he is suddenly visited by his clone Ben Reilly, who tells him that he is preparing to leave New York as the only reason that he came back was to be there for Aunt May when she was comatose. During their conversation, Ben tells Peter that it doesn’t matter who is the clone or who is the original as Ben had become a very different man from Peter during his travels across America, and that even if he could somehow regain his former life, he’s not sure what he would do with it. He then leaves after telling Peter to hold on to the happiness in his life and never let go of hope. After Ben leaves, Peter and Mary Jane spend one last week with Aunt May, where they reminisce over the happy moments in their lives, reveal secrets that they’ve been hiding for years, and accept the both the gifts that May has given them in the past, as well as gifts of hope for the future before she finally passes away…
I will admit that I had doubts about this issue before reading it as (SPOILER ALERT) Aunt May reveals to Peter that she had always known that he was Spider-Man, which I feared would contradict the issue of JMS’s run that took place after Aunt May had been brought back from the dead and she shockingly discovers Peter’s secret identity. Fortunately though, it turned out that my feelings of doubt were 100% wrong as THE GIFT may not just be just as good or even better than THE CONVERSATION (which still stands as one of my favorite issues from JMS’s run), but it is quite easily one of the most beautiful and emotional Spider-Man stories ever published. It saddens me that THE GIFT is heavily obscured behind the overall hatred surrounding THE CLONE SAGA, as this comic stands strong on it’s own by not only well-written and emotionally driven powerhouse, but that the entirety of the narrative is dedicated solely towards Peter’s last moments with Aunt May before she passes away. The decision to focus only on Aunt May in the story was extremely important to me as aside from Uncle Ben, May has quite easily been the most important character in Peter Parker’s life. Aunt May is not only the person who helped raise Peter and endow him the morals that he follows today, but after Peter failed to save Uncle Ben, his relationship with May grew even stronger. Throughout Spider-Man’s history, he has constantly worried about his Aunt safety, as she not only struggled with financial and health problems, but he feared her discovering his secret identity as well as the fact that she could become threatened by his enemies. Therefore, a large portion of Peter’s superhero career has been centered on his feelings of love and concern for his Aunt. These qualities have Aunt May not just a simple supporting character, but a major driving force of Spider-Man’s mythos that helped shape and define its protagonist into the character he is today. Because Aunt May’s contributions to Peter’s life were so enormous, the writers knew that when they decided to finally kill her off, the not only had to honor the legacy of her character, but place as much emphasis and focus on it as possible. As a result, over 95% of THE GIFT’s plot is centered on scenes of Peter and May sharing their last moments together before she died. This showed that the writers not only understood the importance of May’s character, but that they were willing to put in all of their effort in giving her a respectful farewell that honored her legacy.
Another element that makes THE GIFT a respectful farewell story is how emotionally driven the writing is around the characters, and in particular Aunt May and her final moments with Peter. J.M. DeMatteis, who I believe was the perfect choice taking on an assignment as important as this, wrote this issue. As I stated in my WEB OF DEATH review, a major aspect of DeMatteis’ writing is that his narrative is heavily driven through the emotions of the characters, allowing the readers to easily immerse themselves in their dilemmas. While those aspects were prominently spotlighted in WEB OF DEATH, DeMatteis simply out does himself here! All of the characters felt alive and real to me, and every single one of their emotions and feelings struck home in my eyes. This is especially true in regards to Aunt May, who is simply written perfectly in this story. She came across to me as how someone who was dying of old age would behave in real life, as even though she is aware of her impending fate, she is not scared or sad. Instead, she shown to be proud of the life she has led, which is conveyed through scenes of her describing her house as “a museum of memories,” as well as her telling Peter “there is no greater responsibility than raising a child” when she learns of MJ’s pregnancy, reflecting her the dedication she put towards raising Peter. The emotional legitimacy of May’s character and behavior is also conveyed in the legacy and morals that she leaves behind for Peter. This rings particularly true in one of the book’s most gripping scenes where she reveals to Peter that she had always known that he was actually Spider-Man, and that while she had hated the danger that her nephew constantly faced, she came to accept it because of the good that he did. Her blessing to Peter’s secret identity is exceptionally well done as it not only conveys how strong May’s love for her nephew is, but also absolves Peter of any fear or regrets before her passing. This especially connects well to her final legacy to Peter: to cherish the good moments of the past, and remain hopeful of the future despite any hardships life may throw at him, which is not only a perfect final payoff for May’s character, but also acts as a perfect parallel to conflicts that Peter will face later in THE CLONE SAGA. What I also love about May's final legacy is how it reflects Ben Reilly's earlier statement to Peter in THE GIFT about grabbing onto whatever happiness he can. It perfectly interweaves May's death into the overall narrative of THE CLONE SAGA while also reflecting my own feelings on how that it doesn't matter who is the clone and who is the original Peter Parker, as both Peter and Ben have led unique lives and experiences, and have developed into great characters in their own right. In regards to this story though, because of how perfectly DeMatteis writes Aunt May her mannerisms not only feel human and convincing, but also her final moments are so emotionally driven to the point where I nearly cried.
Overall, THE GIFT stands not only as one of my favorite stories from THE CLONE SAGA (alongside THE EXILE RETURNS and my personal favorite, THE LOST YEARS; which I’ll cover in a future review), but also as one of the most beautifully written and emotionally powerful stories in Spider-Man history. Not only does J.M. DeMatteis pay Aunt May’s character a respectful farewell by dedicating the entire issue towards her final hours, but makes it an emotional powerhouse of a story through how flawlessly he writes her character by making her emotions feel as real and human as possible, as well as her legacy providing finality for herself along with hope for Peter’s future. Quite rarely have I seen a long-time supporting character be killed off with such respect and dignity than in this story. In fact, May’s death is so well written to point where I’m tempted to say it’s almost perfect. While May’s death would later end up being undone after the end of THE CLONE SAGA in THE GATHERING OF FIVE storyline, and we would still get great moments of her in JMS’s run on Spider-Man, THE GIFT will forever stand to me as the best final send-off that has ever been written for her character. Even if you hate THE CLONE SAGA as a whole, this story is a gift in itself to any Spider-Man fan, and should not be ignored.
“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.”
-Billy Graham
