Aunt May

Aunt May — full name May Reilly Parker Jameson — is one of Marvel's most enduring supporting characters, first appearing alongside Peter Parker in the landmark Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), the very same issue that introduced Spider-Man to the world. That single comic is one of the most valuable and sought-after books in the entire hobby, routinely fetching staggering sums at auction in high grade, and Aunt May is woven into its DNA from the very first pages. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, she began as the warmhearted, frail guardian of a teenage Peter Parker, but decades of storytelling have transformed her into a surprisingly layered figure whose presence anchors the emotional core of the Spider-Man mythology.

Over the years, Aunt May has been placed at the center of some of Spider-Man's most memorable and collectible story arcs. Her apparent death in Amazing Spider-Man #196 sent shockwaves through the fandom, while the controversial Clone Saga of the 1990s revealed that the May who had "died" was a stand-in — a revelation that made key issues from that era must-haves for completionists. Her unlikely but genuinely touching role as a Herald of Galactus in the classic 1983 Marvel Team-Up Annual #6 remains one of the strangest and most beloved oddities in Spider-Man history, giving collectors a quirky grail to chase. The "Back in Black" and "One More Day" eras of Amazing Spider-Man put May front and center once again as a near-fatal shooting set the stage for one of the most debated storylines in modern Marvel history.

May's personal life has also driven major storyline investment. Her relationship with J. Jonah Jameson Sr. blossomed into marriage during J. Michael Straczynski's celebrated run on Amazing Spider-Man, adding a new dimension to a character some readers had underestimated for years. Her humanitarian work with F.E.A.S.T. — the shelter organization that became a key setting during Dan Slott's early Spider-Man tenure — connected her to the villainous Mr. Negative and proved she could carry narrative weight entirely on her own terms. These story developments created a wave of back-issue demand for the relevant Amazing Spider-Man issues that remains steady to this day.

For collectors, Aunt May represents something rare: a supporting character whose key issues overlap almost perfectly with the most important Spider-Man comics ever printed. You simply cannot build a serious Spider-Man collection without her. From the astronomical value of Amazing Fantasy #15 to the cult appeal of her Herald of Galactus appearance, her books reward hunters at every budget level. Whether you are chasing a CGC-graded copy of her debut or hunting down Bronze and Modern Age issues that spotlight her surprisingly rich history, Aunt May's collectible footprint is far larger than her modest superpowers — which is to say none at all — might suggest.