Previous Post I'm of the opinion that the only things affected by the mephisto deal were the returning aunt may to full health, and the alteration in history that led to the marriage never happening. I suspect that Harry's return will be shown to be unrelated, just like the "remasking" had nothing to do with it either. > > > Yeah.Now Harry's return, on the other hand, was never explicitly mentioned in the deal and might have nothing to do with it. > > > > You're right that it wasn't mentioned in the story, but Quesada said in an interview afterward when asked about Harry's return: "There is always a price to pay when you make a Faustian pact" (or something to that effect). > > If I remember correctly, during the deal with Mephisto, MJ argued to have a few conditions thrown in the deal, one of which was to have Mephisto put Peter's life back the way it was and give him a chance to happiness. Perhaps this chance to happiness included having to raise Harry Osborn from the ashes. After all, Harry was Peter's first best friend, wasn't he? Even if Peter and Flash became more chummy in later years, we can't really say they were best friends. Good friends...sure...best friends...I don't think so. With having such a condition in place during the deal, Mephisto had free reign to do everything in his power to ensure that Peter would have a chance to happiness. Thoughts? > >

My take is that both ways are true.

MJ knew Peter would never be able to be happy if he knew about the deal. Therefore she asked for these things to be returned to Peter's life gradually and with a realistic scientific reason for each event. That way Peter would never look too deeply at these drastic changes.

Aunt May?
Martin Li manipulated into position by Mephisto.

Aunt May's House being rebuilt?
After Mephisto plants the seed in his brain, it was rebuilt by Tony Stark, because his employee destroyed it.

Harry's Return?
An unknown logical event set into motion by Mephisto.

The Unmasking?
An Unknown logical event set into motion by Mephisto.