The Legacy: Spider-Girl Vol #1 by Tom DeFalco Illustrators: Ron Frenz & Pat Olliffe Date of Publication: 2004 ISBN: 0785114416 Number of Pages: 144

REQUIRED READING ABILITY: Average
GENRES: Adventure, Graphic Novel
THEMES: Responsibility, Good versus Evil, Family, Revenge

SUMMARY:
The home team is losing by a basket, but "Mayday" Parker gets the rebound and NOTHING can stop her from scoring and winning this big game. Today is the first day of the rest of her life, she is sure. She doesn't understand her newly-discovered powers since her dad, Peter Parker, never told her about his former life as Spider-Man.

When she was two, Spider-Man had his final confrontation with the Green Goblin, and with Norman Osborne's death and the loss of his leg, Peter Parker lost his desire to continue as Spider-Man. He became a family man, and since then, he has lived a normal life...until now.

One day a new incarnation of the Green Goblin returns to avenge the deaths of his father and grandfather. What is a retired Spider-Man to do? Though he has given up his superhero life, he still meets the Green Goblin at the selected rendezvous. Mayday senses that something is wrong and, as Spider-Girl, goes to the meeting place. She outsmarts Normie, the new Green Goblin, and rescues her parents. In an act of good conscience, she also saves Normie's life. A new superhero is born.

Mayday is torn between knowing that her father wishes she wouldn't follow in his footsteps, and wanting to be effective in her new life. "Is it more responsible to be an obedient daughter or to continue the family tradition? " she wonders.

What follows is a collection of adventures where Spider-Girl meets some of her father's former enemies and some new ones, all intertwined with her regular high school life filled with the trials and tribulations of adolescence: friendship, loyalty, bullying and boys.

"With great power, there's always a need for great responsibility!"

WHO WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK? A kid who...

• enjoys action and adventure
• has dreams of being a hero
• has a strong sense of social justice
• likes stories that has a female protagonist
• wants to change the world
• struggles with parental advice

WHAT ELSE?
The is the first in a series of Spider-Girl graphic novels. This volume contains the first five adventures. The complete series will have 100 adventures, currently there are 87. Students who have seen both Spider-Man movies will know enough about the family history to appreciate and understand the story lines.

RELATED LINK:
Review