See Marisa Tomei Bringing Spider-Man’s Aunt May Into The LGBTQ Community
Marisa Tomei took to Instagram where she not only teased the movie but perhaps a hint at her character’s sexuality as well.
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Marisa Tomei may have subtly suggested that her version of Aunt May could be the latest LGBTQ+ character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marisa Tomei will appear in her fifth movie in the franchise when she reprises her role as Peter Parker’s only remaining family member following the death of his parents. She previously played the doting Aunt May in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Now, as fans await the highly anticipated third standalone installment of Tom Holland’s web-slinger, the actress took to Instagram where she not only teased the movie but perhaps a hint at her character’s sexuality as well.
On Monday, Marisa Tomei shared what appears to be a screencap of herself from the film holding a letter. However, what followers have zeroed in on is her shirt. With a pink collar that gradually turns from purple to blue at the waist, many couldn’t help but notice that it is almost an exact mirror of the bisexual flag. As a result, many are taking this as official confirmation that Aunt May is joining the likes of Valkryie, Loki, Sylvie, and Phastos as the franchise’s LGBTQ characters. See the picture from Marisa Tomei below.
Admittedly, Marisa Tomei simply wearing a stylish shirt with some telling colors is not necessarily the type of confirmation that Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have come to expect, but it’s something. However, for the sake of the LGBTQ+ community, one hopes that if the plan is to address Aunt May’s sexuality, a less subtle approach will be taken when Spider-Man: No Way Home debuts on December 17. However, it’s possible that a previous plot point with Marisa Tomei’s character may preclude her sexuality from coming up.
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, it was revealed that Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May had begun a relationship with Happy Hogan. While a bisexual woman can of course be in a relationship with a man without it affecting her sexual identity, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which it comes up amid a movie that’s supposed to be filled to the brim with returning characters from past Spider-Man movies, her nephew’s legal struggles and an entire multiverse in peril. That said… never say “never.”
In addition to comments on Marisa Tomei’s Instagram speculating that this is the first signal that Aunt May will reveal herself to be bisexual, many are also speculating that this will be her last appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Speaking in an interview with BacksatgeOl, the actress explained that a scene at the end of the movie was so traumatic for her that she had to talk it out with her therapist. As with any Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, fans believe that a character will meet their demise by the time the credits roll. While most speculation had to do with Happy prior to this interview, now many believe that Peter will have to deal with losing his Aunt May on top of everything else.
Then again with Producer Amy Pascal saying that there’s more of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man on the way in the franchise, perhaps killing off his only relative would be too much of a bummer? Fans will just have to go to the theater to see Spider-Man: No Way Home (and then promptly shut up about it to avoid spoilers) to find out.
