| Spider-Girl | |
|---|---|
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| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | What If #7 (November 1977) |
| Characters | |
| Spider-Girl | |
Spider-Girl is thecode name of severalfictionalcharacters incomic books published byMarvel Comics. The most prominent version and first to receive anongoing series isMayday Parker from theMC2 universe, the second version isAnya Corazon, the third version isGwen Warren, and the fourth version isMakawalu Akana, the latter three from theEarth-616 universe. Several alternate reality incarnations of the character have additionally received notoriety, including theUltimate Spider-Girl,Ashley Barton,Betty Brant,April,Penelope andPetra Parker, andCharlotte Morales; the name is also used by the Spider-Man advocacy group "The Spider-Girls".
The first portrayed Spider-Girl,Mayday Parker, first appeared in a one-shot story in the ongoing seriesWhat If. Following positive fan response to the concept,Spider-Girl and two other series (A-Next andJ2) set in the same alternate future universe were launched under theMC2 imprint withThe Amazing Spider-Girl andSpectacular Spider-Girl.[1][2] On November 8, 2008, Marvel EICJoe Quesada confirmed that Spider-Girl would become a feature in the monthly anthology magazineAmazing Spider-Man Family. The series would replace the feature "Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man", written by DeFalco, which served as a prequel series to the Spider-Girl universe.[3] The title would continue to be simultaneously published in paper form withinAmazing Spider-Man Family.Amazing Spider-Man Family #5 (published April 2009) through #8 (July 2009) contained these Spider-Girl stories until the title's cancellation with issue #8, followed by one last Spider-Girl tale,Spider-Girl: The End, in which fellow Spider-Girl April Parker is killed.
In November 2010, a newSpider-Girl series was launched that was unconnected to the MC2 universe. The MC2 Spider-Girl title was cancelled, having surpassed publisher expectations for longevity. The new series featured a new character,Anya Corazon, whose adventures occurred onEarth 616. The series was canceled after only eight issues. No official reason was given for the cancellation. This character returned for aSpider-Island limited series.[4]
The character who would in 2023 become the second Earth-616 Spider-Girl was introduced inAvenging Spider-Man #16 (January 2013),[5] before returning a decade later inX-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #69 (January 2023) under the name "Gwen Warren", assuming the mantle of Spider-Girl as a member of theX-Men.
Spider-Boy vol. 2 #12 (October 2024) introduced the supervillain Funhouse (Makawalu "Maka" Akana), the villainous protégé ofBullseye, who aiming to become Spider-Boy's nemesis, temporarily takes the name "Spider-Girl" to mock him while the two partake in a tournament, ultimately keeping the name as the third Earth-616 Spider-Girl.[6] This Spider-Girl later gained her own comic series that detailed what happened to Spider-Girl after she parted ways with Bullseye.[7]
The daughter ofPeter Parker andMary Jane Watson from theMC2 universe.
Prior to calling herself "Mayhem", Mayday's clone April goes by Spider-Girl, the two sharing the mantle.
The first Spider-Girl in the mainstream Marvel Universe is theLatina superhero who originally called herself Araña (Spider), and occasionally goes by Spider-Girl.
The second Spider-Girl in the mainstream Marvel Universe is theChimera genetic daughter ofGwen Stacy,Ana Soria, andCyclops. She was created by thecloningmad scientistJackal using DNA stolen fromMister Sinister. Gwen has the ability to transform at will into a giant spider with optical lasers. Seeing Cyclops as her father, Gwen later joins the X-Men Green.[5][8][9][10]
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The third Spider-Girl in the mainstream Marvel Universe is introduced in second volume ofSpider-Boy as thesupervillain minion ofBullseye. She is later revealed to be a Hawaiianmutant namedMakawalu "Maka" Akana, possessing the ability to duplicate superpowers and other talents. Following a cliff-diving contest in Hawaii, she was approached by Bullseye. Akana originally uses the nameFunhouse earlier in her career upon working for Bullseye, but assumes the Spider-Girl alias after copying Spider-Boy's powers, being able to wield them as a default ability.[11][6]
After parting ways with Bullseye, Spider-Girl struggles to be a superhero in New York City while attending the Red Snow martial arts studio. She is targeted byVermin andLady Bullseye, who have been sent after her byDoctor Tramma onTombstone's behalf; as well asPaper Doll.[12] After Hijack is injected with a formula, gets into Rand Enterprises' systems, and takes control of a drone, Spider-Girl rescues some of the employees as she is confronted by Spider-Man, who helps to pursue the drone. Tombstone advises Tramma to dispose of them.[13] Spider-Girl ends up disabling the drone as Tramma tells Tombstone and Lady Bullseye that it will be back to being operational soon. Spider-Girl finds Tramma with Hijack. Upon knocking Tramma and her minions to the ground, Spider-Girl wakes up Hijack and accidentally taps into his abilities, knocking herself out and shutting down all power in Manhattan. Hijack carries Spider-Girl away and calls for help with a pay phone. Maka wakes up in her apartment where Hijack is as she meetsRogue. When Maka's mother starts to come up, Maka expects herself to be grounded and asks Rogue for theX-Men's number so she can use it once she is no longer grounded.[14]
Peter Parker #1–4 (March–June 2010) features a Spider-Man advocacy group known asThe Spider-Girls in "The Private Life of Peter Parker", consisting ofBecky,Emma Paley, andLeila Goldberg, who operate a community service centre in Spider-Man's honour, opposed in merchandising byTeri Hillman, also calling herself Spider-Girl, with the four coming to peace and ultimately all being known as Spider-Girl by the storyline's end.[15]
In "What If Someone Else Besides Spider-Man Had Been Bitten By The Radioactive Spider?", Betty Brant is one of three candidates – along withFlash Thompson andJohn Jameson – who is bitten by the radioactive spider which gaveSpider-Man his powers. After confiding in Peter, and with his assistance, she begins to fight crime under the name "The Amazing Spider-Girl", with a mask similar to Spider-Man's but a very different costume. One time, she fails to stop a certaincrook, who subsequently murders Peter'suncle Ben. The shock over the consequences of her failure makes Betty quit her Spider-Girl identity, although Peter takes up the identity of Spider-Man later on by synthetically recreating and ingesting the irradiated spider's venom.[16]
This incarnation also appears in the events "Spider-Verse" and "End of the Spider-Verse".
AnUltimate Marvelversion of Spider-Girl/Spider-Woman is featured with the Ultimate continuity. This version, known by various names, is a gender-swapped clone of the Peter Parker of the Ultimate Universe, with all of his memories, from their perspective having gone to sleep one day a boy and woken up the next as a girl. Initially known as Spider-Girl/Spider-Woman, she joins the Avengers and takes on the mantle of Black Widow, before returning to their original name.
InUltimate Spider-Man #200, a glimpse of the future showsKitty Pryde to eventually become Spider-Girl.[17]
In the pages ofOld Man Logan, Ashley is the daughter of Tonya Parker and Hawkeye who did not like the way thatKingpin was running Hammer Falls. She becomes "Spider-Bitch", allying herself with a newPunisher andDaredevil, 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.[18] Hawkeye breaks his daughter out of her cell, whereafter Ashley immediately beheads Kingpin which avenges Daredevil and Punisher's deaths.[18] Then she attempts to kill her father, before taking over Hammer Falls as the new Kingpin.[18] Old Man Logan rescues Hawkeye as Ashley sends her men after them.[18]
The character appears in the "Spider-Verse" andSpider-Geddon 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 The Superior Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus's mind in Peter Parker's body) to help fight theInheritors, before returning to the Wastelands in "Venomverse" and "Old Man Quill".[19][20]
Introduced in "Spider-Verse", Penelope P. Parker is the 11-year-old Spider-Girl of Earth-11, who is best friends withMary Jane Watson and has a crush onFlash Thompson.[21]
The celebrity daughter ofGwen Stacy andMiles Morales from Earth-8, Charlotte "Charlie" Morales operates as Spider-Girl alongside her brother Max as Spider-Boy.[22] InSpider-Man: Reign 2, Charlotte and Max are revealed to be Miles' children withTiana Toomes, and just Gwen's stepchildren on Earth-8.[23]
An alternate universe variant of May Parker/Spider-Girl originating fromIron Man 2020's timeline appears in the novelTime's Arrow 3: The Future by Tom DeFalco andRosemary Edghill.
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