Spider-Woman is the

code name A code name, codename, call sign, or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in ...

of several

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

al characters in

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The first major version is Jessica Drew (and later impersonated by

Veranke Veranke is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The queen of the Skrull Empire, first introduced under the guise of Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), she is the main antagonist of ''Secret Invasion'' in which she ...

), the second major version is Julia Carpenter, and the third major version is Mattie Franklin. Several alternate reality incarnations of the character have additionally received attention, including the Ultimate Spider-Woman, Ashley Barton, and

Gwen Stacy Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man (Peter Parker). A college student and the daughter of George Stacy, Georg ...

Publication history

' then-publisher

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

said in 1978, shortly after Spider-Woman's debut in ''

Marvel Spotlight ''Marvel Spotlight'' is a comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics as a try-out book. It stood out from Marvel's other try-out books in that most of the featured characters made their first appearance in the series. The series or ...

'' #32 (Feb. 1977) and the start of the character's 50-issue self-titled series ( cover-dated April 1978 – June 1983), the character originated because, Following that initial ''Spider-Woman'' series, more followed. Volume two was a

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

published from November 1993 through February 1994; volume three was published from July 1999 through December 2000; and volume four, featuring Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman, was published from November 2009 through May 2010. Volume Five ran from November 2014 through the fall of 2015, featuring Jessica Drew as Spider-Woman. In the March 2015 issue of ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' Vol. 3 #13, Jessica boasts "I have never needed rescuing. Ever. See my wiki entry." In November 2015, ''Spider-Woman'' Vol. 6 launched as part of Marvel's All-New, All-Different event with the same creative team as Volume 5. This volume saw her wearing the same costume as in Volume 5, but now she was pregnant and working as a private investigator. In October 2020, ''Spider-Woman'' #5, the fifth issue of Volume 7, being written by Karla Pacheco, marked the 100th issue of the title and Marvel celebrated the occasion with a special giant-sized issue.

Spider-Women

Jessica Drew

Jessica Drew is the original Spider-Woman who left the role in the early 1980s and returned to her mantle by the late 2000s.

Julia Carpenter

Julia Carpenter is the second Spider-Woman, a former member of the Avengers and Omega Flight, and also used the Arachne and

Madame Web Madame Web (Cassandra Webb) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' No. 210, published November 1980, and was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist John ...

mantles.

Mattie Franklin

Mattie Franklin briefly impersonated the then-retired

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

before receiving her own short-lived comics series as well as also appeared in '' Alias'' #16–21, before going on to appear in the 2007–2008 '' Loners''

Charlotte Witter

Charlotte Witter is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

who used the Spider-Woman name.

Veranke

Veranke is a

Super-Skrull The Super-Skrull is an alias used by characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original and most well-known incarnation, Kl'rt, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #18 (Septe ...

and a queen of the

Skrull The Skrulls () are a race of List of fictional extraterrestrials, extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' #2 and were crea ...

s who impersonated Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman over a long period of time and was a founding member of the

New Avengers The New Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The title has been used for four American comic book series. The first two were written by Brian Michael Bendis and depicted a version of Ma ...

Ultimate Marvel

A gender-swapped clone of

appears in the

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

imprint, the mind of Peter Parker, teenage boy, waking up in the body of a teenage girl and having to adapt to their ‘new’ body.

Gwen Stacy

Gwen Stacy is Earth-65's version of Spider-Woman. She plays this role in the comic book series '' Spider-Gwen'' and its adaptations to film.

Other versions

Ashley Barton

In the pages of ''

Old Man Logan Old Man Logan is an alternative version of the superhero Wolverine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. This character is an aged version of Wolverine set in an alternate future universe in which the supervillains overth ...

'', Ashley Barton is the daughter of Tonya Parker and Hawkeye who did not like the way that Kingpin was running Hammer Falls. She becomes "Spider-Bitch", allying herself with a new Punisher and Daredevil, and plans to take back Hammer Falls, only for the group to be captured and Daredevil and Punisher to be fed to the carnivorous dinosaurs. Hawkeye breaks his daughter out of her cell, whereafter Ashley immediately beheads Kingpin which avenges Daredevil and Punisher's deaths. Then she attempts to kill her father, before taking over Hammer Falls as the new Kingpin. Old Man Logan rescues Hawkeye as Ashley sends her men after them. The character appears in the "

Spider-Verse Spider-Verse is a comic book series issued by Marvel Comics since 2014. Its first major event/storyline started on November 5 in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2014) No. 9 along with an individual issue named ''Spider-Verse Team-Up''. This event ...

" and ''

Spider-Geddon ''Spider-Geddon'' is a 2018 comic book Limited series (comics), limited series and Crossover (comics), crossover Story arc, storyline published by Marvel Comics featuring multiple alternative versions of Spider-Man that had appeared Spider-Man in ...

'' storylines, now referred with her father's surname as Ashley Barton, and alternately referred to as "Spider-Girl" and "Spider-Woman" due to the family-friendly nature of the narrative, and is among the spider-powered characters who are recruited by Superior Spider-Man ( Doctor Octopus's mind in Peter Parker's body) to help fight the Inheritors, before returning to the Wastelands in " Venomverse" and " Old Man Quill".

Claire Parker

In '' Spider-Man: Life Story'', Peter and Mary Jane have twins named Benjy and Claire Parker (physically designed as a

composite character In a work of media adapted from a real or fictional narrative, a composite character is a character based on more than one individual from the story. It is an example of dramatic license. Examples Film *'' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939): Glinda, Goo ...

of Mayday Parker and the Ultimate Spider-Woman). For the first ten years of their lives, the two were solely raised by Mary Jane in Portland, Oregon after she left Peter following a traumatic incident. In 1995, Peter lets

Ben Reilly Benjamin "Ben" Reilly (), also known as the Scarlet Spider, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Grown in a lab by Jackal (Marvel Comics character), Miles Warren/Jackal, he is a Human cloning, clone of Spi ...

take over his life as Spider-Man and CEO of Parker Industries so he could return to his family. In the mid-2000s, Claire convinces Peter to return to New York and become Spider-Man once more shortly after Morlun kills Ben Reilly so he could stop Tony Stark from taking over Parker Industries and to lure Morlun away from his family. Despite his efforts, Morlun attacks the twins and Mary Jane in Oregon as Peter gets involved in the superhero Civil War. When Benjy discovers that Morlun is vulnerable when he is feeding off someone, he uses himself as bait to allow Claire the chance to impale him on a splintered log of wood. Benjy survives the assault, but is crippled for life. By 2019, Claire has become Spider-Woman (now wearing a costume the same as the Ultimate Spider-Woman's), and is instructed by her father to stay behind to protect her brother and mother as he goes to space to end Doctor Doom's reign of terror on the planet with

Miles Morales Spider-Man (Miles Gonzalo MoralesAhmed, Saladin (w), Garrón, Javier (a). ''Miles Morales: Spider-Man'' #1 (2018) Marvel Comics (New York). ) is a superhero and the third predominant Spider-Man to appear in American comic books published by M ...

(actually Otto Octavius).

Earth X

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian v ...

, a character named Spidra appears. She was one of the last survivors of the

Microverse The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

following

Psycho-Man Psycho-Man is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Psycho-Man first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four annual publication, Annual'' #5 (Nov. 1967) and was creat ...

's attempt to drive the entire realm mad. Escaping with the rest of the Ant Men, who were formerly known as the

Microns The micrometre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a uni ...

, Spidra and the rest of the Ant Men are charged with watching Immortus. They are later present at the wedding of King Britain and

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

Erin Hasko

During the '' Web Warriors'' ongoing series, on accidentally coming across actors Felix Lifson and Erin Hasko, in a world where Spider-Man is fictional, shooting a ''Spider-Man'' movie (in which Erin is playing Gwen "Spider-Gwen" Stacy / Spider-Woman), Octavia Otto and the Web Warriors invite the duo to join the team, initially not noticing the pair to be actors shooting the film. On clearing up the misunderstanding, Octavia nonetheless makes the offer again, if either of them would be open to it, and excitedly noting that she learned three different types of martial arts for a previous role, Erin joins the Web Warriors and ventures into the multiverse with them, leaving her shocked crew behind, as Felix asks if they were still filming. Erin returns in the video game '' Spider-Man Unlimited'', now wielding a specialized set of web-shooters made for those lacking spider-strength as a "real" Spider-Woman. After the Spider-Queen escapes from Spider-Force custody, the game's protagonist Spider-Man realizes that since Erin isn't a Spider-Totem, the Queen cannot control her, and sends her on a mission to Horizon Labs to collect a device to suppress the Queen's control over other spiders and Spider-People. Listed as "Spider-Gwen (Erin Hasko)"; in her character description, Erin is revealed to have been acting since she was three-years-old, with the film she was filming on her recruitment having been titled ''Spider-Woman: Goblin's Revenge''.

Helen Goddard

An unrelated earlier Spider-Woman was published by Harry "A" Chesler's Dynamic Comics in 1944. She was Helen Goddard, a non-superpowered crime-fighter who made her first and only appearance in the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

''Major Victory'' #1.

Marvel 2099

In the unified

Marvel 2099 Marvel 2099 was a Marvel Comics imprint, started in 1992, that was originally about one possible future of the Marvel Universe, but later revealed to be the Earth of the main Marvel continuity in the distant future. It was originally announced ...

reality of Earth-2099, a Spider-Woman with the real name of Sivern Dru appears as a member of the 2099 version of the New Avengers. She comes from an as-yet-unidentified alien species.

Mary Jane Watson

There are several alternate versions of Mary Jane Watson known as Spider-Woman. The first version is a

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

of the Spider-clan in the Marvel Mangaverse, and another version is featured in the '' Exiles'' series.

Mayday Parker

Mayday Parker, Peter and MJ's daughter from the alternate future MC2 who is commonly known as Spider-Girl, began calling herself Spider-Woman after her father's death.

Spider Super Stories

A character called Spider-Woman (Valerie the Librarian) appears in the recurring

live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...

skit " Spidey Super Stories" on the 1970s

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

series ''

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. ...

'', portrayed by

Hattie Winston Hattie Winston (born March 3, 1945) is an American film, television and Broadway actress. She is known for her roles as Margaret Wyborn on '' Becker'', Lucy Carmichael in '' Rugrats'', '' The Rugrats Movie'', and the spin off series '' All Gro ...

, who originated the character as the girlfriend of Easy Reader (portrayed by

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...

) before she become Spider-Woman. She also appears as Spider-Woman in the spin-off comic book series ''Spidey Super Stories'' #11 (August 1975) where she has no superpowers.

Squadron Supreme

In the ''

Squadron Supreme The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the previous ...

'' series, Nell Ruggles was a young troubled girl, who upon gaining her powers killed her classmates, who had bullied her in the past. However, her superhuman powers allowed her to be traced back to a device which the Icarus One astronauts brought back from the Moon. Running away from home, she was captured by the Blur and turned over to

Nick Fury Colonel (United States), Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and ...

's S.H.I.E.L.D. Thanks to an electroshock collar, she has been prevented from leaving, though she appears to be making the best of the situation, having made friends and eventually falling in love with Tucker Ford, Biogeneral.

In other media

Television

* The Jessica Drew incarnation of Spider-Woman appears in '' Spider-Woman'' (1979), voiced by

Joan Van Ark Joan Martha Van Ark (born June 16, 1943) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Valene Ewing on the primetime soap opera ''Knots Landing.'' A life member of The Actors Studio, she made her Broadway debut in 1966 in '' Barefo ...

. * The Julia Carpenter incarnation of Spider-Woman appears in ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

'', voiced by Casey DeFranco in season one and Jennifer Hale in season two. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources. * The Mary Jane Watson incarnation of Spider-Woman, also referenced as Spider-MJ, appears in ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

'', voiced by

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The Powerpuff Girls'', '' The Fair ...

. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.

Film

* The Gwen Stacy incarnation of Spider-Woman appears in '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', voiced by

Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...

. ** The Gwen Stacy incarnation of Spider-Woman and a character based on Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman named Jess Drew appear in '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'', voiced again by Hailee Steinfeld and Issa Rae respectively. ** The Gwen Stacy incarnation of Spider-Woman will appear in '' Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse'', voiced once again by Hailee Steinfeld. ** The Jess Drew and Gwen Stacy incarnations of Spider-Woman will appear in a female-centered spin-off of ''Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse''. * The Julia Carpenter and Mattie Franklin incarnations of Spider-Woman appear in ''

'', portrayed by Sydney Sweeney and

Celeste O'Connor Celeste O'Connor (born December 2, 1998) is an American actor. They played Paloma Davis in the Amazon Studios#List of original films, Amazon original film ''Selah and the Spades''. Early life and education Celeste O'Connor was born on December ...

respectively.

Video games

* The Jessica Drew incarnation of Spider-Woman appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'', voiced by

Tasia Valenza Tasia Valenza is an American actress. She is most known for being the voice of Poison Ivy in the '' Arkham series'' from 2009 to 2015 as well as in a number of other video games, such as Sniper Wolf in '' Metal Gear Solid'' and her various roles ...

. This version possesses her comic book counterpart's powers except her super-strength. Additionally, Julia Carpenter's Arachne suit and Mayday Parker's Spider-Girl suit also appear as alternate skins. Originally, Mattie Franklin's costume was intended to be one of the alternate costumes, but was replaced by Spider-Girl's. * The Jessica Drew incarnation of Spider-Woman appears in the PS2 and PSP versions of '' Spider-Man: Web of Shadows'', voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. * The Jessica Drew incarnation of Spider-Woman appears in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', voiced by

Elizabeth Daily Elizabeth Ann Guttman (born September 11, 1961), known professionally as E. G. Daily or Elizabeth Daily, is an American actress and singer. Daily is best known for her animation voice roles as Tommy Pickles on '' Rugrats'' and its spin-off ...

. * Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter / Arachne, and Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman appear as playable characters in '' Marvel Super Hero Squad Online''. * The Jessica Drew incarnation of Spider-Woman appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * The Jessica Drew incarnation of Spider-Woman is a playable character in ''

Lego Marvel Super Heroes ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes'' is a 2013 Lego-themed action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xb ...

'', voiced by

Kari Wahlgren Kari Wahlgren (born July 13, 1977) is an American voice actress who has provided English-language roles for animated movies, TV series, and video games. She got her start in anime voice-overs as List of FLCL characters#Haruko Haruhara, Haruko H ...

. * Gwen Stacy, Mayday Parker, Julia Carpenter, Charlotte Witter, Mattie Franklin, Ashley Barton, Erin Hasko, and both the mainstream and Ultimate versions of Jessica Drew all appear as playable characters in '' Spider-Man Unlimited'', with Jessica Drew voiced by

Laura Bailey Laura Bailey (born May 28, 1981) is an American voice actress. She made her voice acting debut as Trunks (Dragon Ball), Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of ''Dragon Ball Z'' and has since voiced List of Gunslinger Girl characters#First Generati ...

. * The Jessica Drew and Gwen Stacy incarnations of Spider-Woman appear as playable characters in '' Marvel Heroes'', voiced by Ashley Johnson. * The Jessica Drew and Gwen Stacy incarnations of Spider-Woman appear as playable characters in '' Marvel Puzzle Quest''. * The Ultimate Marvel incarnation of Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman, referred to as "Spider-Girl" for unknown reasons, appears as a playable character in '' Lego Marvel's Avengers'' as part of the Spider-Man DLC pack. * The Gwen Stacy incarnation of Spider-Woman appears as a playable character in '' Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order'', voiced by Allegra Clark.

Miscellaneous

* ''Spidey Super Stories'' #56 (January 1982) features Mary Jane Watson dressed as the Jessica Drew incarnation of Spider-Woman for a costume party. * The Jessica Drew incarnation of Spider-Woman was among ten Marvel characters who appeared in a set of ''Marvel Comics Super Heroes'' commemorative postage stamps that were issued in 2007. * An English version of Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman appears in the ''Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D.'' motion comic, voiced by Nicolette Reed.

References

External links

Spider-Woman
at the Marvel Universe

at Rucomics.info * Spider-Woman at the Marvel Database Project
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on August 2, 2017. * * * * *

at the Comics Chronicles {{Set index article, comics Comics about women Comics spinoffs Comics characters introduced in 1977 1977 comics debuts Spider-Man characters code names Marvel Comics female superheroes Marvel Comics female supervillains Groups of fictional characters Marvel Comics characters with spider powers

Publication history

Spider-Women

Jessica Drew

Julia Carpenter

Mattie Franklin

Charlotte Witter

Veranke

Ultimate Marvel

Gwen Stacy

Other versions

Ashley Barton

Claire Parker

Earth X

Erin Hasko

Helen Goddard

Marvel 2099

Mary Jane Watson

Mayday Parker

Spider Super Stories

Squadron Supreme

In other media

Television

Film

Video games

Miscellaneous

See also

References

External links