And does this mean we've seen the last of May "Mayday" Parker?
Next month we will see the debut of Araña's new title, Spider-Girl. Araña's real name, as you may know, is Anya Corazon. She made her debut in 2004's Amazing Fantasy #1. She had her own series and later appeared in Ms. Marvel and Young Allies. After the events of The Grim Hunt in Amazing Spider-Man, Anya decided to take on a new name and new costume. Neither are necessarily new.
Araña will be taking the name of Spider-Girl and will be wearing a costume very similar to Julia Carpenter, formerly known as Arachne. I have to ask if this change is really necessary.
Araña's original look might not have been the best costume out there but it was fitting for her character. The same could be said for her name. While I have always liked Julia's costume (which of course inspired the Venom symbiote's appearance), it just doesn't look right on Araña.
Of course there's one other major problem with Anya taking the code name Spider-Girl. == TEASER == Where does this May "Mayday" Parker from the MC2 universe? As the daughter of Peter and Mary Jane Parker in an alternate future 'universe,' this Spider-Girl has appeared in over 250 issues. Sales for her books were never great but the fanbase was always there to beg and plead for Marvel to continue her adventures. She has once again faced cancellation and I fear that with Araña taking the name of Spider-Girl, we may not be seeing Mayday Parker again any time soon. Publishers don't often allow different characters to use the same name at the same time.
What is the real reason Araña is changing her name? It's not really because of Madame Web's sacrifice and Julia Carpenter's...promotion at the end of The Grim Hunt. It most likely has to do with boosting Araña's sales and giving her more of a tie to Spider-Man.
During The Grim Hunt, several of the spider-characters were brought together to fight a common threat. Araña does need a proper role model to help guide her into becoming proper superhero. It just feels that in trying to boost Araña's profile, Mayday has to be the sacrifice.
This goes back to my questioning whether or not heroes should be "allowed" to change their name. In some cases it could be argued that a name change makes sense. In this case, I'm not sure if I really seen the point.
What are your thoughts on Araña's name change? Do you think it will help her "career"? Will it have any affect on the MC2 Spider-Girl?
