Jean DeWolff

Jean DeWolff is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Team-Up'' #48 (August 1976). Captain Jean DeWolff is a police detective from New York City. She is depicted as tough and unrelenting, the result of her difficult childhood and teenage years. She is a supporting character of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man, for whom she secretly develops romantic feelings. She is also the sister of the original Wraith.

The 1985 storyline " The Death of Jean DeWolff" depicts the character's death at the hands of her partner and lover, Stanley Carter, who became the murderous vigilante "Sin-Eater."

Publication history

Jean DeWolff debuted in ''Marvel Team-Up'' #48-51 (August–November 1976), created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema. She was one of the few supporting cast members in ''Marvel Team-Up''. DeWolff subsequently appeared in ''Marvel Team-Up'' #60-62 (August–October 1977), #65-66 (January–February 1978), #72 (August 1978), #88 (December 1979), ''Ms. Marvel'' #6-7 (June–July 1977), ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #226 (March–April 1982), #239 (April 1983), and ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #103 (June 1985).

The character was killed off in the storyline " The Death of Jean DeWolff", spanning ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #107-110 (October 1985 – January 1986). She has since made posthumous appearances in ''The Sensational She-Hulk'' #53 (July 1993), ''Venom Super Special'' #1 (August 1995), and ''Spider-Man/Human Torch'' #4 (June 2005).

Jean DeWolff received an entry in the '' Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition'' #17, and ''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man'' #1 (2005) and ''The Official Handbook of the Ultimate Marvel Universe: Fantastic Four and Spider-Man'' #1 (2005).

Fictional character biography

Early history

Jean DeWolff's first rejection comes as a child from her harsh and disapproving father Phillip DeWolff, an officer of the NYPD, who resents having a daughter rather than another son. Her mother Celia gets divorced from Phillip six months after Jean's birth, taking her older brother Brian DeWolff with her. Jean and Brian develop a close and loving relationship over the years despite their parents' separation. Four years after the divorce, Celia marries police patrolman Carl Weatherby, who gives Jean the love she never got from her real father. Inspired by Carl, Jean joins the police academy as an adult, but this breaks Celia's heart, as she views the police force as a source of stress and danger. It also angers her father, who is now the New York police commissioner; he dismisses Jean and other women as unfit for police duty while showering praise on Brian for joining the NYPD after graduating top of his class at the academy. Just before Jean graduates from the academy, witnesses see Brian shot in the line of duty, but the body disappears before police or rescue services arrive. Phillip retires as police commissioner soon afterward.''Marvel Team-Up'' #49 (1976). Marvel Comics.

Driven by resentment towards her disapproving parents and fueled by anger and grief over Brian's apparent death, DeWolff grows into a tough, unrelenting police officer. She quickly rises in the ranks, becoming a detective and then a sergeant, known for her no-nonsense attitude, as well as her vintage car and preference for 1930s-style clothing. Just over two years after her father's retirement, DeWolff is promoted by his successor to the rank of captain, running Manhattan's 5th precinct.

While investigating bombings by a criminal known only as the Wraith, DeWolff discovers Spider-Man and Iron Man are also looking into the matter. While many in the NYPD do not care for super-powered vigilantes, Jean sees value in the web-slinger and the armored Avenger and openly asks them for assistance, going so far as to allow the two access to precinct files. The two heroes, along with Doctor Strange, help DeWolff discover that the Wraith is her psionically-powered brother who is alive but in a coma, his actions the result of her corrupt father's machinations. Doctor Strange's combination of magic and surgical skills restores Brian's mind. Phillip is sent to prison, and Jean welcomes her brother back as he rejoins the NYPD.

The DeWolff siblings continue to aid superheroes on different occasions, with Jean developing a regular working relationship and friendship with Spider-Man, despite her acerbic attitude and the web-slinger's need to keep his identity and full life separate. On Spider-Man's request, DeWolff even draws up amnesty papers for the Black Cat so she can retire from crime and become Spider-Man's romantic partner and ally in crime-fighting. When the Black Cat is later seriously injured and hospitalized, DeWolff personally assigns her a protection detail in case any enemies try to take advantage of the situation.

Death

In " The Death of Jean DeWolff" story arc, Jean receives former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Stanley Carter as her partner, and the two develop a close bond, eventually becoming lovers. Unbeknownst to Jean, Carter has an obsession with punishing criminals, which is only worsened by his experiences as a cop, to the point where he decides all "sinners" need to die. Suffering a psychotic break, Carter becomes the Sin-Eater and embarks on a killing spree, during which Jean is killed. Eventually, Spider-Man and Daredevil bring Sin-Eater to justice.''Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man'' #107-110 (1985). Marvel Comics.

Following Jean's death, Spider-Man discovers that she kept a collection of news clippings, as well as a photo of Spider-Man with Black Cat that was cut to remove the latter from the image. Spider-Man is shocked by the implication that Jean had unspoken feelings for him over the years. It is later revealed that when Spider-Man temporarily used the Venom symbiote as a costume, Jean spoke to Spider-Man about her feelings, saying the hero was the only other person she felt she could rely on and she loved him, not knowing that the alien symbiote was in control and lacked a full understanding of human behavior. When Spider-Man silently leaned in for a kiss, DeWolff seemed to feel awkward and clarified that she loved him as a friend, adding that she would prefer never to speak about this conversation again.

Jean's death also drives her family apart: Celia blames Carl for her daughter's death as Carl had inspired her to join the police force in the first place. Driven mad with grief over Sin-Eater's murder of his sister, Brian declares vengeance against the NYPD before being killed by the Scourge of the Underworld.

Post-mortem

Years after Jean's death, her close friend Yuri Watanabe becomes a police captain and assumes the Wraith identity after losing faith in the law's ability to punish criminals. She wears a mask of Jean's face originally created by the Chameleon under her Wraith costume, as both a means of hiding her identity and frightening criminals into believing that the Wraith was Jean's vengeful spirit.

A clone of Jean appears during the '' Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy'' event. This clone, a "reanimate" who possesses all of Jean's memories, lives in a special facility called "Haven" and is created by a villain wishing to gain Spider-Man's cooperation by resurrecting all those whose deaths haunt him. A machine connected to Haven is later activated that destabilizes the clones, making them vulnerable to being infected with the deadly Carrion virus. Several reanimates attempt to escape, hoping their bodies will stabilize if they are far enough away from Haven. Realizing that fleeing means potentially transmitting the Carrion virus to people outside of Haven, Jean assists Spider-Man in stopping any clones from escaping. During her efforts, she succumbs to the virus and dies.

Reception

Benjamin Falbo of '' Looper'' asserted, "While not a prominent character, she appeared quite frequently, and her presence was always a welcome one." Jason Wiese of ''CinemaBlend'' called Jean DeWolff the " James Gordon to Peter Parker’s Bruce Wayne" and a "sharp cop," hoping to see the character in a feature film. Comics journalist Jonathan Miller described Jean DeWolff as a "secondary character that could facilitate a sense of continuity n ''Marvel Team-Up'' someone who knew only the costumed side of Peter's personality, and yet had a genuine relationship with him. Hard-edged and no-nonsense, DeWolff usually made her entrance in her vintage roadster, cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth, a modern, post-feminist take on the classic tough-guy heroes of Dashiell Hammett and Mickey Spillane".

Other versions

''Spider-Gwen''

An alternate universe variant of Jean DeWolff from Earth-65 appears in ''Spider-Gwen''.

''Spider-Man Noir''

Jean De Wolfe, a character based on Jean DeWolff from Earth-90214, appears in '' Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without A Face''. This version is an FBI agent.

Ultimate Marvel

Jeanne De Wolfe, an alternate universe variant of Jean DeWolff from Earth-1610, appears in the Ultimate Marvel universe. This version is a corrupt cop and informant for the Kingpin who is later killed by the Punisher.''Ultimate Spider-Man'' #110

In other media

Television

Jean DeWolff appears in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'', voiced by Irene Bedard. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is a patrol officer of Native American descent and the partner of Stan Carter who is generally distrustful of Spider-Man despite Carter's enthusiasm for him.

Video games

* Jean DeWolff (renamed Jean DeWolfe) appears in ''Spider-Man 3'', voiced by Vanessa Marshall. This version is a police detective with trust issues. Throughout the game, she gives Spider-Man a series of missions that involve investigating a gun-running ring and several crooked cops. She is later lured into a trap by her corrupt partners and almost killed, though Spider-Man rescues her.
** In the Nintendo DS version of the game, DeWolfe is depicted as African-American. She gives Spider-Man leads on several gangs, including the Apocalypse Gang and the Dragon-tail Brotherhood.
* Jean DeWolff appears in '' Marvel Heroes'', voiced by Mary Faber. After witnessing the Enforcers trying to kill the hero Speedball, she kills the group to save the latter's life. However, the Kingpin obtains video footage of the incident and blackmails DeWolff into becoming one of his informants. Her double life is discovered by reporter Ben Urich, who mentions it to the other heroes. After helping defeat Bullseye, DeWolff has a change of heart and turns herself in.
* Jean DeWolff appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'', voiced by Misty Lee. This version is a maverick cop who is secretly gathering information on New York criminal organizations and bosses with the intent of taking them all down.

References

External links

A short biographyJean DeWolff
at Marvel.com
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeWolff, Jean
Characters created by Bill Mantlo
Characters created by Sal Buscema
Comics characters introduced in 1976
Fictional characters from New York City
Fictional murdered people
Fictional New York City Police Department captains
Marvel Comics female characters
Marvel Comics police officers
Spider-Man characters