This document is part of a match ideas double feature. This one focuses on matches for May "Mayday" Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Girl! For the other side of this coin, you can click here for the matches involving her clone, Mayhem.
Backstory:
I think at this point, anyone who's a Spider-Man fan has at least heard of the Clone Saga. If you haven’t, it was an infamous story arc from the 90's where Peter Parker finds out his clone from an old 70’s story survived their encounter. Now going by the name Ben Reilly, the clone- after a journey of self-discovery across the globe- returned to New York so he could check up on Aunt May, who’s recently fallen ill. Ben’s creator, the Jackal, has also returned and begins playing mind games with Peter and Ben, making them doubt which one’s the “real” Peter Parker. While this is going on, the Jackal's first Spider-Man clone, Kaine, has come to New York with two goals: kill Ben (who he believes is trying to steal Peter's life), and prevent Mary Jane's death, which he saw in a precognitive vision.
Things get really complicated after this, but I'm just going to focus on what’s relevant here: Mary Jane's pregnancy. One day, during her third trimester, Mary Jane ordered some shrimp gumbo at a cafe. Unbeknownst to MJ, the one preparing the meal was Allison Mongrain, a con-artist working for the Green Goblin. Under the Goblin’s orders, Allison slipped a poison into the gumbo that accelerated MJ’s pregnancy, forcing her to make an emergency trip to the hospital. After a long, painful struggle from the stress of pregnancy and the poison in her system, Mary Jane finally gave birth. Unfortunately, this otherwise joyous occasion soon fell into shambles when Mary Jane realized her daughter wasn't crying, nor was she showing any signs of life. The daughter she'd been looking so forward to welcoming into the world... was a stillborn.
At least, that's how it appeared at first. In reality, her daughter had been kidnapped by Alison, who disguised herself as a labor nurse and swapped the baby with a stillborn. After meeting with her employer, Allison was convinced by Norman to take an expensive vacation in Europe while accompanying baby May. Over the next few months, Allison (who initially despised children) would form a bond with May and grow to love her as if she was her own daughter. Unfortunately, once her vacation was up, Norman chose to enact his plan.
Using his connections with a brotherhood of assassins called the Scriers, Norman had them collect the child and attempt to dispose of Allison on her yacht. Allison only survived the attempt thanks to the efforts of Kaine, who had discovered her while investigating Norman Osborn. After interrogating her, Kaine, disgusted by Allison’s actions, threw her overboard and left her for dead. He then called Mary Jane, told her that her baby was alive, and explained everything he’d been told, vowing that he would find her daughter.
While Kaine carried out an investigation spanning from New York to the Caribbean, Norman began work on the first part of his ultimate revenge scheme, Project: Changeling. Using his knowledge of genetics, Norman cloned May and performed some “genetic tinkering” on the two, ensuring that their spider powers would manifest earlier than usual. Once he’d finished modifying one of the girls, he passed her off to his good friend Philippe DeJunae. Shortly after this delivery, Kaine arrived, retrieved the baby, and returned to New York. Kaine delivered May to Mary Jane, and before he left to continue pursuing Norman, he encouraged her to take DNA tests to ensure the baby was theirs.
For some time, Peter and Mary Jane would continue living out their lives, with Peter’s sense of responsibility driving him to continue his work as Spider-Man. This eventually came to a head during his final encounter with the Green Goblin. The battle ended when Norman prematurely detonated a Pumpkin Bomb, with the explosion claiming his life and Peter’s right leg. The loss of his leg gave Peter a serious wake-up call, and with his greatest enemy gone, he hung up his threads to focus on raising his daughter.
Over the years, May would go on to become an exceptional student, achieving straight-A’s in her classes and playing starter for the Midtown High girls’ basketball team. She was so skilled in basketball that it earned her the nickname “Mayday” and a pathway to going pro.
But everything changed when she turned 15. During a basketball game at Midtown High, May began exhibiting some impressive physical feats, like jumping well above the height of the backboard and slam-dunking the ball so hard it shattered the backboard. This immediately concerned her parents, though they tried to play it off and congratulate her, unaware that a figure from their past had been watching them.
As it turned out, Normie Osborn, grandson of the Green Goblin, had decided to take up the family business. Wanting revenge on Peter for his dad and granddad’s deaths, Normie confronted May and her friends, telling her to let her father know they had unfinished business at the bridge.
Wanting answers, May confronted her parents about this. Peter tried to remain vague and took matters into his own hands, but once he’d left the house, Mary Jane explained to May her father's career as Spider-Man and his history with the Osborns. Inspired by her dad’s actions, May donned the costume of her "uncle" Ben and fought Normie head-on, ultimately coming out on top.
Despite this victory, Peter and Mary Jane forbade May from pursuing the life of a superhero, believing it to be too dangerous. Undeterred, May went against their wishes, citing Peter's own experiences and history as a reason when she was caught. Although they were initially hesitant, both eventually warmed up to her career as a superhero, allowing Spider-Girl to enter the world as one of its newest heroes.
Using his connections with a brotherhood of assassins called the Scriers, Norman had them collect the child and attempt to dispose of Allison on her yacht. Allison only survived the attempt thanks to the efforts of Kaine, who had discovered her while investigating Norman Osborn. After interrogating her, Kaine, disgusted by Allison’s actions, threw her overboard and left her for dead. He then called Mary Jane, told her that her baby was alive, and explained everything he’d been told, vowing that he would find her daughter.
While Kaine carried out an investigation spanning from New York to the Caribbean, Norman began work on the first part of his ultimate revenge scheme, Project: Changeling. Using his knowledge of genetics, Norman cloned May and performed some “genetic tinkering” on the two, ensuring that their spider powers would manifest earlier than usual. Once he’d finished modifying one of the girls, he passed her off to his good friend Philippe DeJunae. Shortly after this delivery, Kaine arrived, retrieved the baby, and returned to New York. Kaine delivered May to Mary Jane, and before he left to continue pursuing Norman, he encouraged her to take DNA tests to ensure the baby was theirs.
For some time, Peter and Mary Jane would continue living out their lives, with Peter’s sense of responsibility driving him to continue his work as Spider-Man. This eventually came to a head during his final encounter with the Green Goblin. The battle ended when Norman prematurely detonated a Pumpkin Bomb, with the explosion claiming his life and Peter’s right leg. The loss of his leg gave Peter a serious wake-up call, and with his greatest enemy gone, he hung up his threads to focus on raising his daughter.
Over the years, May would go on to become an exceptional student, achieving straight-A’s in her classes and playing starter for the Midtown High girls’ basketball team. She was so skilled in basketball that it earned her the nickname “Mayday” and a pathway to going pro.
But everything changed when she turned 15. During a basketball game at Midtown High, May began exhibiting some impressive physical feats, like jumping well above the height of the backboard and slam-dunking the ball so hard it shattered the backboard. This immediately concerned her parents, though they tried to play it off and congratulate her, unaware that a figure from their past had been watching them.
As it turned out, Normie Osborn, grandson of the Green Goblin, had decided to take up the family business. Wanting revenge on Peter for his dad and granddad’s deaths, Normie confronted May and her friends, telling her to let her father know they had unfinished business at the bridge.
Wanting answers, May confronted her parents about this. Peter tried to remain vague and took matters into his own hands, but once he’d left the house, Mary Jane explained to May her father's career as Spider-Man and his history with the Osborns. Inspired by her dad’s actions, May donned the costume of her "uncle" Ben and fought Normie head-on, ultimately coming out on top.
Despite this victory, Peter and Mary Jane forbade May from pursuing the life of a superhero, believing it to be too dangerous. Undeterred, May went against their wishes, citing Peter's own experiences and history as a reason when she was caught. Although they were initially hesitant, both eventually warmed up to her career as a superhero, allowing Spider-Girl to enter the world as one of its newest heroes.
Record:
As of this writing, Mayday hasn't been in any fights. I’m planning on having her fight Jolyne Cujoh, though that won’t be coming out for a while. Until then, let’s see if we can give her some fights.
Terry McGinnis (Batman Beyond) (DC)
Connections: Genetically-altered teenage successors who are the next generation of Batman and Spider-Man. Both began their careers in high school after discovering and donning their predecessor’s old suit. They used this costume to fight off the newest incarnation of said predecessor's green and purple-clad archenemies (the Jokerz and Normie Osborn). Despite initially disapproving of their actions, the elderly heroes eventually began helping them as mentors and got them involved with one of the largest superhero teams in the world. Finally, when they were well into their careers, they killed their mentor's green-and-purple clad archenemy, who had been revived by uploading their memories into an elderly ex-hero (Tim Drake and Peter)
Who I think wins: Terry had a definite advantage in arsenal and experience considering the events of "Epilogue". However, May takes a hard edge in the stat trinity, and she counters pretty much everything in his arsenal with her agility, durability, webbing, and Spider-Sense
Cassandra Cain (DC)
Connections: Both are heroines who debuted in the 90s, had long-running titles, and maintain a loyal fanbase to this day; yet for most of their publication history, the higher-ups hated or ignored them. This neglect eventually led to them being included in a story that fucked over their personalities (Spider-Verse and beyond turning May into a bitchy, bloodthirsty edgelord who adopts an identity she was previously established as hating, Wanted turning Cassandra into a cold-blooded murderer and leader of the League of Assassins), which a later writer would retcon to appease the fans (In Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz’s case, they wrote Spider-Verse May’s later appearances and did everything they could to establish her as an AU version of the original. With Geoff Johns, he explained Cassandra's behavior as Deathstroke drugging her for part of a revenge scheme)
Who I think wins: I'm planning to research Cass more in-depth at some point, but as of now I'd say she's more skilled in combat, might be comparable in speed, and probably has the better weapons. The problem is May one-shots her, is more than durable enough to tank her hits and weapons, and her powers and webbing would make it hard for Cass to land any hits
Stephanie Brown (DC)
Connections: Heroines who have similar personalities, debuted in the 90s, had long-running titles, and are popular among the fans. But despite their love from the fanbase, the higher-ups hated them or neglected them, which eventually led to editorial including them in a story that fucked them over in some way (see above for Mayday, while Steph had War Games where she was humiliated, depicted as a failure, and got killed by Black Mask) which was later retconned (see above again for May, while Steph's death was retconned as being faked by Leslie Thompkins to sneak her out of the country)
Who I think wins: Pretty sure May should stomp
Huntress (Helena Wayne)
Connections: Alternate universe daughters of Batman and Spider-Man who became heroes against their parents' wishes and went on to become members of their worlds' premier superhero team (The Avengers and Justice Society)
Who I think wins: Helena gets to join her parents
Power Girl (DC)
Connections: Female relatives to an optimistic, red and blue-clad hero from the Big Two. Both are older than their prime universe counterparts and hail from a universe where their predecessor retired, leading them to become their successors
Who I think wins: Power Girl sneezes and May dies. I say that as a joke, but since Karen's a Pre-Crisis Kryptonian, that probably could happen
Jolyne Cujoh (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Connections: Daughters of an older iconic hero from a previous age. Both inherited their father's powers and went against their wishes by getting involved in their line of work. This decision would eventually lead to them fighting a follower of their family's archenemy (Pucci and Fury the Goblin Queen) and preventing them from carrying out said enemy's grand scheme (Pucci obtaining Heaven to honor Dio, Fury enacting Project: Changeling to revive Norman Osborn). Plus their clothes have web patterns and they fight using string-based substances
Who I think wins: I plan on writing this soon, so I’m not spoiling it here
Josuke Higashikata (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Connections: Teenage high schoolers from the 90’s whose dads are snarky, wisecracking heroes now past their prime and sporting a prosthetic limb
Who I think wins: Josuke’s faster, roughly even in strategy, and arguably has better control over the battlefield with Crazy Diamond. Despite this, Spider-Girl’s strong enough to one-shot him, durable enough to tank what he dishes out, is more skilled in CQC, and her webbing covers a range that CD can’t reach
Who I think wins: Josuke’s faster, roughly even in strategy, and arguably has better control over the battlefield with Crazy Diamond. Despite this, Spider-Girl’s strong enough to one-shot him, durable enough to tank what he dishes out, is more skilled in CQC, and her webbing covers a range that CD can’t reach
Joseph Joestar (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
Connections: Cunning and intelligent brunettes who serve as successors to a hero whose family was terrorized by an egotistical, hammy villain that obtained powers through some sort of genetic modification (Dio and Green Goblin). They also inherited their ancestor's powers and often fight by exploiting the environment to their advantage.
Who I think wins: Joseph's debatably faster, arguably on par with May’s intelligence, and could possibly bypass her durability with Hamon. However, May’s more than strong enough to one-shot, her Spider-Sense could warn her of anything Joseph tries to pull, and her electrostatic transfer can easily counter the Joestar Secret Technique
Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Connections: Teenagers who had a rocky relationship with their fathers (May due to Peter initially disapproving of her being Spider-Girl and Ed hating Hohenheim for abandoning Trisha), whose reputations had a pivotal role in the history of their respective careers (Spider-Man becoming a legendary figure after his retirement and Hohenheim being responsible for Xerxes' destruction). Both also have a similar mindset when fighting, since they tend to rely on their brains and use the environment to create impromptu traps or weapons.
Who I think wins: Even if you composite Ed, Spider-Girl completely demolishes him in stats and her powers hard counter his control over the battlefield
Ruby Rose (RWBY)
Connections: Red-clad teenagers who are leaders of their respective teams (RWBY and the New Warriors), serve as successors to a renowned hero (Summer and Spider-Man), and often utilize speed and agility when fighting.
Who I think wins: Ruby gets completely shitstomped. You could maybe argue that Petal Burst would let her last a bit longer, but May blitzes before she can use it
Deku (My Hero Academia)
Connections: 16 year old high schoolers who are successors to a legendary, red-and-blue-clad hero who suffered a critical injury from his most dangerous villain. Both inherited their powers from said hero and eventually developed their own unique abilities that set them apart from their predecessors (May with her ability to transfer her electrostatic stickiness across surfaces, Deku developing the ability to communicate with previous OFA users and use their Quirks).
Who I think wins: Deku. He has a massive advantage in strength, is at least comparable in speed and intelligence, and has his own equivalents to her Spider-Sense and webbing
Connections: Children of one of the most famous heroes on the planet. Both received their powers as teenagers and were coached by their dads, who they had a falling-out with at one point because their dad didn’t approve of their heroic deeds (Peter out of concern that May could die in action, Nolan due to Mark’s actions conflicting with Viltrum’s goals).
Who I think wins: Even if you just use his animated feats, Mark stomps May into the ground
Who I think wins: Deku. He has a massive advantage in strength, is at least comparable in speed and intelligence, and has his own equivalents to her Spider-Sense and webbing
Invincible (…)
Connections: Children of one of the most famous heroes on the planet. Both received their powers as teenagers and were coached by their dads, who they had a falling-out with at one point because their dad didn’t approve of their heroic deeds (Peter out of concern that May could die in action, Nolan due to Mark’s actions conflicting with Viltrum’s goals).
Who I think wins: Even if you just use his animated feats, Mark stomps May into the ground
Homelander (The Boys)
Connections: Red and blue-clad heroes who gained their powers through genetic modifications courtesy of a major corporation. Both are the leaders of their respective heroic teams despite not getting along with the other members and are among the most popular and beloved heroes in-universe. Aside from these connections, there's a contrast in that Spider-Girl is a clean-mouthed, pacifistic teenager who acts as a hero out of a sense of responsibility and refuses to kill. Meanwhile, Homelander is the exact opposite: a foul-mouthed, violent adult who's more concerned with his public image than being a hero, and he's willing to butcher and kill those who displease him. Plus, the idea of Homelander losing his shit as Spider-Girl taunts him sounds fun
Who I think wins: While Homelander's more experienced, brutal, and willing to kill, Mayday completely outclasses him in stats, has more than enough experience with flying enemies, and has survived similar blasts to Homelander's heat vision
Rushuna Tendo (Grenadier)
Connections: Red-clad, pacifistic teenagers who live by a strict no killing rule and have a complicated relationship with a scarred relative who saved them as kids (Kaine and Namari). They’re also rivals with their facially deformed, villainous, adopted siblings (Mayhem and Namari) who held a grudge due to believing their parents favored her over them
Who I think wins: Spider-Girl would win, though Rushuna has her fair share of advantages. She’s on par with May strategy-wise, has a far more varied arsenal thanks to her different ammo and techniques, and her heightened state heavily outclasses May’s strength and durability. The problem is her base form is so drastically outclassed in stats that May blitzes her before she could pull it off. Even if Rushuna did manage to use her heightened state, its speed boost doesn’t even come close to anything Spider-Girl scales to, and it’s likely Mayday could eventually find some way past the physical gap (such as clogging Rushuna’s guns with web fluid and webbing her up)
Seras Victoria (Hellsing)
Connections: Female protégés to a famous, red-clad figure who was one of the first in their line of work (Alucard being Dracula, Peter being one of the most famous heroes of the Age of Heroes). Okay, it doesn’t have much in terms of connections. I just thought it would be cool to have Mayday fight a vampire
Who I think wins: Seras has a better healing factor and is likely the more brutal of the two, but this doesn’t mean much when Mayday outclasses her hard in stats, is better in CQC, and could blitz her before she tries anything
Yuri Sakazaki (Art of Fighting/King of Fighters)
Connections: Friendly, outgoing girls who went against their father’s wishes and used the powers they inherited to pursue their own goals (Mayday becoming Spider-Girl to protect others, Yuri entering KOF tournaments to prove to Ryo and Takuma that she can handle herself)
Who I think wins: Yuri completely dominates in strength and durability, and she could probably copy some of Spider-Girl’s powers over the course of the fight to make it easier. May's faster by a slight margin, but without the ability to actually harm Yuri, this doesn’t mean much
Cassie Cage (Mortal Kombat)
Connections: Daughters of a snarky, wisecracking hero who inherited their dad's powers and are members of a team combining the next generation's heroes with some older veterans (Special Forces for Cass, the New Warriors for May)
Who I think wins: Spider-Girl blitzes and one-shots
Kim Possible (...)
Connections: High school girls who regularly struggle to manage their hero lives with their school lives, have strong connections with the other heroes of their worlds, and have terrible luck when it comes to dating guys. There's probably more to it, but I can't really think of anything
Who I think wins: Mayday due to having a massive stat advantage
Shantae (...)
Connections: Red-clad heroines with similar personalities who gained their powers due to their unique physiology
Who I think wins: Unless you use a full composite Shantae, Spider-Girl completely demolishes her
90’s Spider-Man Successor Royale (Scarlet Spider vs Spider-Girl vs Spider-Man 2099 vs Spider-Boy)
Connections: Genetically altered successors to Peter Parker's legacy who all debuted in the 90's
Who I think wins: This fight is a genuine tossup... outside of Spider-Boy. He lacks any impressive feats to his name, and while he can boost his strength and fly using his gravitokinesis, everyone else is more than capable of taking him out since they have experience fighting flying enemies. Combine that with a lack of Spider-Sense and an inability to take things seriously, and he'd be easily picked off by the others. As for the rest, May's possibly a bit weaker than Ben and Miguel, but she makes up for it by being faster. Her electrostatic transfer makes her more unpredictable, and her Spider-Sense is way more advanced than Ben’s. That said, Miguel and Ben both outclass her in experience, easily rival her intelligence, and have some tricks of their own. I feel like you could honestly make an argument for any of them
The following were suggested by 
:
:Kitana (Mortal Kombat)
Connections: Kindhearted female heroes who, after discovering the truth about their fathers, disobeyed their orders and became heroes. Both have also been turned into jerks/villains by their writers.
Who I think wins: While Kitana has a better arsenal and way more experience as a fighter, she has no real way of dealing with the massive stat gap between them
Kenshiro (Fist of the North Star)
Connections: Kindhearted heroes who are the successors to a superhero/ancient martial art respectively, and have an adopted sibling who has impersonated them and tried to kill them.
Who I think wins: The only thing Mayday has here is speed, and depending on where you put Hokuto no Ken characters, her advantage there may not be that high. Kenshiro completely demolishes her everywhere else
Ragna the Bloodedge (Blazblue)
Connections: Red-clad heroes who were placed in a lab when they were young, have blue-clad siblings that have tried to kill them, and have terrible luck (May inheriting her father's Parker luck, while Ragna's luck in general is terrible).
Who I think wins: Ragna. To give May credit, she's immensely faster, completely outclasses him in long-range, and the Spider-Sense would make it harder for Ragna to land hits on her. Unfortunately, she doesn't really have any hax that could get past Ragna's own enormous edge in strength and durability
Kasumi (Dead or Alive)
Connections: Friendly heroines who fought an evil corporation that harmed their father/brother and were running an underground cloning operation.
Who I think wins: Kasumi in a complete slaughter
Nakoruru (Samurai Shodown)
Connections: Kindhearted female heroes who do their damnedest not to kill and are very adamant about using their powers responsibility.
Who I think wins: This is kind of hard to figure out. While Nakoruru has a massive advantage in strength and durability, Mayday completely eclipses her in speed to the point where Nakoruru wouldn't be able to realistically hit her. Nakoruru's got the better healing of the two, and she could summon Mamahaha and Shikuru to help her in battle. However, they're just regular animals that May can easily incapacitate with her webbing or strength alone. Without her animals to help her, Nakoruru lacks any ranged options, meaning that Spider-Girl could probably outlast her by keeping her at a distance
Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Connections: Young heroes who use their intelligence to solve problems and have a cocktail, wisecracking hero they try to emulate.
Who I think wins: Tails has pretty much every advantage
Pit (Kid Icarus)
Connections: Kind and noble heroes who joke and banter with/like their older paternal figure primarily to hide their own nervousness in combat.
Who I think wins: The only advantage Mayday has is a more strategic mind, and even that is countered by Palutena acting as Pit's mission control
Samus Aran (Metroid)
Connections: Female protagonists who had their DNA tampered with by an evil scientist, which gave them incredible agility-based powers that lead them to become great heroes. They've also had to deal with blue and black-clad copies trying to kill them
Who I think wins: Samus due to having pretty much every advantage
Nero (Devil May Cry)
Connections: Wisecracking teenage heroes who are the successors to cocky, red-clad heroes.
Who I think wins: Regardless of where you put DMC stats, Nero should stomp
