Name

Current Alias

Aliases

Fine. Go to him. Theweb will allow it... now. Becausemy champion has learned the first lesson ofSpider-Island: Even though he shoulders great responsibility, while he's here all of his great powers are absolutely meaningless.

Early Life[]

Julia Cornwall was born and raised inLos Angeles,California. The daughter ofWalter andElizabeth Cornwall. She met and married her college sweetheartLarry Carpenter and together they had a daughter namedRachel.^[12] Unfortunately, shortly after he got a job in public relations, Larry began to cheat on Julia. After five years of marriage, they divorced and Julia was awarded custody of their daughter.^[13]

Being Spider-Woman[]

A secretive government group called theCommission decided to create their own super hero.Val Cooper met college friend Julia Carpenter inDenver, and convinced her to be part in an "athletic study." She was unknowingly a test subject in their experiments. During the experiment, they "accidentally" injected Julia with a mix of spider venom and exotic plant extracts, which gave Julia powers very similar to those ofSpider-Man.^[14]

Not long after she was given identity of Spider-Woman, she was drawn into the firstSecret Wars.^[15] After returning to Earth, Julia joinedFreedom Force,^[16] but much like her predecessor, found herself on the wrong side of the law.^[17] She left the team when she helped theAvengers escape theVault.^[18][19]

Amazing Friends[]

She teamed up withIron Man when she was stalked by a trio of high-tech bounty hunters known as theSeekers. They came to collect the bounty which had been placed on Julia's head. She was wanted by the US government after she helped the Avengers. Iron Man decided to help her with her daughter's situation. They battle the bounty hunters but it ends when she decided to surrender to the US government.^[12]

She teamed up with Spider-Man to battle theWrecking Crew and eventually found herself as a freelance hero.^[20] When one of her assignments led her to California looking for a team of Asian super-villains, she met and assisted theWest Coast Avengers several times.^[21]

Deathweb[]

Julia's main enemies were the arachnid-based team calledDeath-Web, which consisted of three super-villains who were created by the Commission, using a variation of the same serum that transformed Julia.^[22]

WhenMike Clemson, founder of Death-Web, captured Spider-Woman's daughter Rachel, he blackmailed her into fighting Spider-Man, even though she nearly killed Spider-Man, she couldn't commit murder, and Spider-Man helped her rescue Rachel.^[23]

She then found her place with the West Coast Avengers and once they disbanded, joined their spin-off teamForce Works.^[24]

Spider-Women[]

Eventually, Julia walked away from the super hero business to concentrate on raising her daughter. LikeJessica Drew (the original Spider-Woman), Julia was also attacked byCharlotte Witter and had her powers stolen. After the loss of her superpowers, Julia returned to the life of a normal mother.^[25]

Julia was paralyzed for several months after she lost her powers, even though all of her other injuries had healed. TheShroud's company synthesized a duplicate of the serum that originally provided Julia with her powers, and these returned several days after it was administered to her. With the Shroud's help, Julia underwent intense physical therapy and was soon able to walk again. It was during this time that she and the Shroud fell in love.^[26]

Civil War/Initiative[]

Her powers now restored, Julia returned using the code name "Arachne" (which she originally intended to use). During the SuperhumanCivil War, Julia registered under theSuperhuman Registration Act,^[27] and she andWonder Man aidedMs. Marvel in the training of novice super heroes.^[28]

However, Julia was actually a double agent; when she first responded to Iron Man's request, she thought they would be helping people escape registration.^[29] She tipped off several targeted super heroes who had refused to register with the government, such as theProwler. She was by now romantically involved with the Shroud, an opponent of the Superhuman Registration Act.^[30]

Julia was found out when a captured Prowler revealed under interrogation that she had tipped him off. A government strike team led by Ms. Marvel, including Wonder Man andAraña, attacked Julia at her home just as she was about to flee the country with her daughter. Julia was captured and summarily incarcerated. However, Julia escaped captivity during theNegative Zone prison break, and returned toColorado in search of Rachel.^[31] AS.H.I.E.L.D. Psy Ops team telepathically traced her toBrooklyn, where she furiously confronted Araña, demanding to know where her daughter had been taken.^[7]

Omega Flight[]

She spent some time living inCanada and working with the Canadian government as part of Canada's new super hero teamOmega Flight.^[32] She was given the option of having her outstanding charges dropped in exchange for her participation on the team.^[33]

After a battle against the Wrecking Crew, Julia decided to stay on the team.^[6] She helped the team exposeDr. Benning who was using her position with the Canadian government to force an addiction on the new Guardian,Michael Pointer, by feeding him the mutant energy of captured criminals.^[34] With the departure of most of Omega Flight's members, Julia eventually returned to America.^[35]

Grim Hunt[]

Julia was dragged intoSasha Kravinoff's Grim Hunt of Spider-Man as a means to resurrect her husbandKraven the Hunter.^[36] After the unsuccessful attempt at resurrection through the sacrifice ofMattie Franklin, the third woman to take the name Spider-Woman, Julia was captured by the Kravinoff family alongside Araña to be further sacrifices.^[37] As Spider-Man put a stop to their scheme, the Kravinoffs' most important prisoner,Madame Web was mortally wounded. In her final moments, Madame Web transferred her telepathic, precognitive, and astral projection powers into Julia - making her blind, the new Madame Web, and Weaver of the Spider family.^[38]

Madame Web and Spider-Island[]

Julia's first action in this role was to prevent Peter from killing Kraven, explaining to Peter that he was the center of a moral web that would be destroyed if he killed Kraven and advising him that this murder, however justified, would turn him into a ruthless destroyer. After buryingKaine and Madame Web in a potter's field, she explained her new purpose to Spider-Man and Araña before teleporting away. Afterwards, Julia gave her Arachne costume to Anya so she could become the newly christened Spider-Girl.^[1]

When the population ofManhattan developed spider-powers, Julia observed the crisis withShang-Chi, preventing him from intervening until Spider-Man was accidentally attacked by theNew Avengers when he tried to help out.

Later, asAnti-Venom worked on curing the individuals affected of their spider-powers, she reflected on the need for bothVenom and Anti-Venom to fix theSpider-Island problem. At the final battle of the Spider-Island, she soon realized that Kaine (who had been cured) was the one who was willing to kill, unlike Peter, thus seeing him as the last hope of killing theSpider-Queen.

After the Spider-Island events, Julia aided Spider-Man during a "race against time" mission to stop a catastrophe that could destroy the entire city. She warned him that he had to do this work by himself without the aid from either the Avengers or theFuture Foundation. After the danger was averted, Julia congratulated Peter on his efforts.^[39]

Coma[]

Shortly beforeDoctor Octopus swapped his mind with Peter Parker's and temporarily became Spider-Man, Madame Web suffered an overload of her powers as a consequence of presaging the death of Spider-Man, witnessing every point in the future for a split second before falling into a coma. Luckily, she had previously foretold this event, for which she called for an ambulance before collapsing, and was taken to a hospital.^[40] Julia remained in a coma for more than a year. Shortly after theSpider-Army defeated theInheritors and Otto Octavius started damaging theWeb of Life and Destiny that connected all spiders, she woke up from her condition, claiming that her connection with the Web of Life and Destiny had been lost.^[41]

Not long afterwards, Julia became the victim of stalking from her ex-boyfriend the Shroud, who set up a gigantic surveillance system inAlcatraz Island in order to find her as part of an ill-conceived attempt to fix his life.^[42] The Shroud managed to intercept Julia at a local airport since she was on a layover in the middle of a flight to Denver.Daredevil managed to stop the Shroud,^[43] but during a subsequent scuffle, Julia was kidnapped by henchmen sent by theKingpin.^[44] After Daredevil rescued Julia, she helped him set up a trap for the Shroud. On the pretense that she agreed to reunite with him, Julia met up with Max and kissed him. However, she had coated her lips with tranquilizer to knock him out so he could be apprehended by the authorities.^[45]

The Clone Conspiracy[]

With the emergence of a mysterious new company calledNew U Technologies inSan Francisco, Julia put the Shroud's surveillance system to use in order to investigate them.^[46] Her attempts to hack into theJackal's company were trailed back to her, and a clone of theProwler was sent after her.^[47] After shutting down Julia's network, the Prowler attempted to convince her to join the Jackal's cause, but she refused and escaped.^[46]

After escaping from an attack from the newElectro, the Prowler was rescued by Julia. He directed her to New U's headquarters so they could retrieve thespecial pills that Prowler needed to ingest regularly to stay alive.^[48] Julia took advantage of this visit to investigate the facility, and she stumbled into the original Madame Web, one of the many subjects New U had cloned back to life. Madam Web refused to take her pills to halt the degenerative process of her body, since she had seen the future and refused to be part of it. Before passing away, Madame Web told Julia to save the Prowler.

When all of New U's clones started degenerating as a consequence of a clone of Doctor Octopus sabotaging the Jackal's plans, the Prowler crossed paths with Julia and accused her of sabotaging the facility. After failing to convince the Prowler she was not at fault, Julia knocked him out.^[49] Not long afterwards, the dying Prowler was again attacked by Electro. Julia found him and managed to aid him in fending off Electro, while also informing the Prowler that Spider-Man had managed to figure out a way to stabilize the massive degeneration. When Electro attempted to attack Julia, the Prowler sacrificed himself to protect her and died in her arms. In the aftermath of the crisis, Julia found the realHobie Brown in cryo-sleep, and informed him of his clone's actions.^[50]

Order of the Web[]

Julia precognition attuned her to a shared vision of Peter Parker suffering and dying by way of a disfigured and bandageddemon withMiles,Cindy,Gwen,Jess, andAnya.^[51] After Julia gathered and warned them that an unknown force had brought Spider-Man into conflict withSin-Eater, her petition to the other spider heroes reached a consensus and they founded theOrder of the Web to save Peter from Norman.^[52][53]

Following Sin-Eater's momentary imprisonment, the group boarded his escape pod, but she witnessed Norman's antagonism with Peter over Gwen. As Peter uncharacteristically threw Norman out to be prey for Sin-Eater while they escaped, Julia foresaw this outcome, knowing the horror of what would come next.^[54] Like the others, Julia was possessed by a demon sent byKindred to destroy Spider-Man, whose sacrifice of Norman was a deal sealed with Kindred. Before the complete possession, Julia told Peter there was no avoiding the events to come.^[55]

Under the control of Kindred, the Order began wrecking havoc across the city and even battling theNew Warriors.^[56] Arriving at theBrooklyn Bridge, they attacked innocent bystanders and were also harming themselves, forcing Peter to make a deal with the demon. Kindred accepted the deal and released the spider heroes from his control.^[57] The confused heroes were then met byDoctor Strange andBlack Cat, as the sorcerer explained that they needed to collaborate in order to help Peter. Julia used her precognition to see the future idea Strange would have in order to expedite their plan of action, and they all ventured into theAstral Plane, leaving Black Cat behind to guard their way back.^[58]

Spider Physiology when she get injected with a serum mix of spider venom and exotic plant extracts as part of the test subject

• Superhuman Strength: Julia possesses superhuman strength enabling her to lift at least 10 tons.^[61]
• Superhuman Speed: Julia is capable of running and moving at speeds considerably greater than the finest human athlete.^[61]
• Superhuman Stamina: Julia's musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. She can physically exert herself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to impair her.^[61]
• Superhuman Agility: Julia's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete.^[61]
• Superhuman Reflexes: Julia's natural reaction time is enhanced to a level that is beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete.
• Superhuman Durability: The tissues of her body are somewhat harder and more resistant to injury than those of an ordinary human. While far from invulnerable, Julia is able to withstand impact forces that would severely injure or kill an ordinary human with only mild to moderate discomfort.^[61]
• Regeneration: If injured, Julia is able to recover from mild to moderate injuries somewhat faster and more efficiently than an ordinary human. She is capable of fully healing on her own in a matter of days that would require an ordinary human to undergo surgery. Julia is also physically immune to all known types of poisons.^[61]
• Superhuman Tactile Sense: Julia's sense of touch is developed to the point that she can sense vibration like a spider on its webs. Her senses are so sharp, that she can detect a hollow area under a solid steel floor by walking over it.

Psionic Powers: Some of Julia's spider-like abilities are the results of developed psionic capabilities rather than her physical attributes.

• Wallcrawling: She can stick to walls in a manner similar toSpider-Man, manipulating the inter-atomic binding forces of matter to create temporary but powerful molecular bonds between her body and whatever she touches.^[61]
• Psionic Webbing: Julia can utilize psionic-based webbing (psi-webs). By using psychokinetic energy, she can bind ambient free-floating molecules into strands of solid force. Her psi-webs can be used to wrap enemies, or focused into narrow web-lines that she can swing from. Due to its psychic nature, her psi-webs can be used in ways Spider-Man's webbing never could, such as causing webs to form from a distance, or controlling the movement of her webbing mentally. She can create webs of psionic energy able to hold up to 10 tons when properly anchored.^[61]
• Psionic Vibrations: By casting small strands of psionic webbing into her environment, Julia can feel "psychic vibrations" reverberating through them just like a spider can feel regular vibrations through their webs. This allows her to sense the presence of other people in her vicinity, pinpointing potential attackers over a distance.^[62]

Madame Web: As Cassandra Webb died, she passed on her abilities as Madame Web to Julia. By inheriting this psychic power, Julia became physically blind but greatly increased her psionic abilities.^[1]

• Precognition: Ability to perceive aspects of the future.
• Telepathy: Ability to read minds and project thoughts.
• Astral Projection: Ability to project her consciousness outside her body and travel.
• Possible Teleportation: Since becoming the new Madame Web, Julia has seemingly teleported from one location to another. This is not an ability previously demonstrated by either her or the first Madame Web. It is possible Julia is not actually teleporting, but rather projecting a very vivid astral projection to a secondary location. This appeared to be the case in at least one instance where she suddenly appeared.^[63]

Julia is a good hand-to-hand combatant, having been trained by the CSA and later on-the-job Avengers training.^[13]

• The appearance ofSpider-Man'sblack costume is based on Julia's costume.
• Julia was romantically involved withShroud.^[26]
• Julia stated that Spider-Man's personality is the only thing that stopped her from dating him.^[36]

• Julia is a fan ofDazzler's music.^[26]

• Fantasy
• Sci-fi
• Marvel