Eyes: | Blue |
Features: | Slightly overweight elderly woman. |
Hair: | Grey |
Height: | 5'8'' |
Weight: | 180 |
Abilities: | Makes a great veggie soup. |
Limitations: | That of an elderly woman. |
Strength Level: | That of an elderly woman. |
Citizenship: | United States |
Created By: | |
Current Aliases: | "None" |
Current Groups: | "None". |
Current Occupation: | Unknown. |
Dual Identity: | Known |
Education: | High school |
Former Aliases: | "None". |
Former Bases: | "None" |
Former Groups: | "None". |
Former Occupation: | Actress. |
Known Allies: | May Parker, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Peter Parker |
Known Confidants: | "None". |
Known Relatives: | Philip Watson, Mary Jane Watson, Gail Watson |
Legal Status: | No criminal record. |
Major Enemies: | Alistair Smythe. Her own guilt and suspicion. |
Marital Status: | Divorced. |
Place of Birth: | New York, New York |
Real Name: | Anna Watson |
Usual Bases: | Forest Hills |
Mary Jane's aunt Anna Watson, older sister to her father, Philip Watson, always seemed to be the nice friend of Peter's Aunt May Parker. Anna invited May to live with her so they could help each other out as they got older, set Peter up with Mary Jane, brought him vegetable soup and comforted May when he left for college.
"Fun 'N' Games"
Anna, unlike May, tended to stay out of trouble when it came to New York's super criminal element. That changed when she was kidnapped by Alistaire Smythe, who thought he was taking Spider-Man's aunt, to be used as bait. Mary Jane held on to her aunt as she was taken by Smythe's flying saucer, and later managed to convince Alistaire that she was actually Spider-Man. This managed to buy Peter enough time to find and rescue the Watson's. (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #19)
Aunt Anna stayed a close friend of the Parkers and moved in with Peter and MJ after May Parker "died." Living with Peter exposed Anna to his unusual comings and goings and made her suspicious of how he could be gone for days at a time. She also didn't trust his habit of making last minute changes in plans.
Anna confronted MJ with her concerns but Mary Jane was just glad that she hadnt discovered Peter's secret. Instead of accusing Peter of being Spider-Man, she believed that he was having an affair. Returning home that night after being under the control of Calypso, Peter was confronted by a furious Anna Watson. MJ, tired of her aunt's nonsense, told her that Peter was Spider-Man. Anna believed that Mary Jane made up the story of Peter being Spider-Man to show her how foolish she sounded for accusing him of having an affair. She apologized and confessed to Peter that she had been married to a man named Jacob Hilliard after moving out to California to become an actress. She was 19 years old and married Jacob, a radio writer, within a month of meeting him.
Their romance quickly went stale and Anna soon met a singer named Johnny Dipalma while at an audition. He asked her to lunch and she soon convinced herself that she was in love. The guilt made her feel terrible. She stopped seeing Johnny and told Jacob the truth. She came back to New York and never told anyone that she had been married, not even May Parker.
She assumed that Peter hated her for accusing him of cheating on Mary Jane, but Peter said he loved her and he had nothing to forgive her for. She returned to Florida after May was revealed to be alive.
”The Last Temptation of Eddie Brock”
She took part in the seance with Madame Web to contact the comatose May after she was shot by a sniper hired by the Kingpin. (Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #39)
“One Moment in Time”
Anna played a minor part in the ending of Peter and MJ's relationship. Due to Mephisto's tampering with the past, Peter was late to his wedding to Mary Jane, causing Anna to regret ever introducing the two of them and MJ to refuse to marry Peter. They did, however, stay in a relationship. Years later, the thug that caused Peter to be late to his wedding returned and tried to kill Anna. This caused MJ to leave Peter for good and head to California.
”A World Without Love”
Anna had been diagnosed with dementia, which was greatly alleviated by drugs from Krakoan pharmaceuticals. Mary Jane was the brand ambassador for the medications, but since she was putting her face on the product, she had Norman Osborn check them, to make sure they were safe. Norman had been made into a good man after being shot by the Sin Eater's magic shotgun. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #7)
”Maxed Out”
Anna was having dinner with May, Robbie Robertson, his wife, J. Jonah Jameson and Peter when Norman joined them. Peter and May were the only ones to accept him. Robbie reminded Norman that he had been good friends of the Stacy family and that some things are never forgiven. Norman reminded him that his son, Randy Robertson, was engaged to the daughter of Tombstone, so he must believe in second chances. Anna toasted to that, as she had been cured of her illness by a mutant flower. Peter’s spider sense went off and he hurried out, with Norman and Jonah right behind him. (Spider-Man (vol. 4) #9)
The anti-mutant group known as Orchis had found a way to manipulate every human that had taken the Krakoan medicine, a number in the millions. If mutants didn’t leave earth, Orchis would kill the human patients, first by sending them into a rage. (Hellfire Gala) The X-Men defeated Orchis and the human patients were safe. However, Anna was institutionalized after her violent outburst at her birthday, attacking both Mary Jane and May. (Amazing Spider-Man Annual (vol. 6) #1)
Anna was locked up at Ravencroft Asylum after she became violent. Spider-Man snuck into her cell with an antidote to the tainted Krakoan medicine and gave her the injection despite her calling him a degenerate and junkie. She bit his hand as he injected the cure and screamed that she’d kill him. The cure quickly took effect and she was ashamed of how she wanted to kill everyone around her. Spider-Man offered to break her out and she refused, wanting to pay for hurting people. He’d offered to have Norman Osborn’s lawyers make the prison break charges go away but she still refused. Norman was glad to hear it, as even his lawyers would have difficulty making a prison escape charge disappear.
Peter and MJ later visited her at the asylum and she was happily chatting with the Human Fly and Whirlwind. Her nurse was happy with her recovery and was trying to get her released asap. Peter let slip that Anna had threatened to rip the nurse’s face off, which confused the nurse as no one else had been present when it was said. Peter made an excuse to leave and accidentally crossed paths with William Baker. They chatted amicably until Peter mentioned Spider-Man, which enraged the Sandman. His inhibitor harness shocked him into compliance and the nurse told Peter to leave. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #45)
The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.
Some of the above information is extracted from the various versions of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and the more recent Marvel Encyclopaedias.