12 Spider-Man Questions That Always Confused You

6. What Happened To Peter Parker's Family?

Spider-Man Questions
Marvel Comics

In Spider-Man's debut, the titular character was referred to as an orphan since his parents, Richard and Mary Parker, died in a plane crash.

For years, it was assumed that the Parkers' demise was a tragic accident. Years later, Peter Parker learned his parents were CIA operatives and agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. When the Parkers were assigned to take down a terrorist group in Algeria, the Red Skull ordered an assassin to blow up their plane.

However, Richard and Mary's lifestyle wasn't the only family secret they kept from their son. It turns out that Peter Parker has a sister! Before his parents were murdered, Mary birthed another child called Teresa. Since her parents worked with S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury took Teresa in as an agent when she came of age.

When Teresa learned that a group of criminals were planning to kill her brother, she rescued him and admitted that she was his long-lost sister.

Because she has had several run-ins with a brainwashing supervillain called Mentallo, Parker believed that Teresa wasn't related to him and the whole situation was a mind game devised by the Kingpin. After analysing her DNA, it was confirmed that the pair were in fact siblings.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows