| Mattie Franklin Spider-Woman | |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance |
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| Created by | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Martha "Mattie" Franklin |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations | New U Technologies Loners |
| Notable aliases | Spider-Woman |
| Abilities |
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Spider-Woman (Martha "Mattie"Franklin) is asuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerJohn Byrne and artistRafael Kayanan, Mattie Franklin first appeared inThe Spectacular Spider-Man #262 (October 1998).[1] She is the niece and adoptive daughter of theDaily Bugle publisherJ. Jonah Jameson.[2] She gained various superpowers after participating in a ceremony to giveNorman Osborn wizard powers.[3] Her admiration forPeter Parker / Spider-Man inspired her to become a superhero when he disappeared.[4] Mattie Franklin is the third character who adopted theSpider-Woman codename.[5]
Mattie Franklin / Spider-Woman made her cinematic debut inSony's Spider-Man Universe filmMadame Web (2024) and is portrayed byCeleste O'Connor.
Mattie Franklin debuted in the shadows inThe Spectacular Spider-Man #262 (October 1998).[6] Her first full appearance was inThe Amazing Spider-Man #441 (November 1998). She later appeared asSpider-Woman inThe Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #5 (May 1999). The beginning of a three-partcrossover led directly into the launch of her ownSpider-Woman series.[7] LikeSpider-Woman volume 1,Spider-Woman volume 3 pitted the protagonist against macabre and grotesque villains, and featured a closing story arc in which she looks into a mirror and sees her own face shriveled down to skin and bones. As a running joke, Spider-Woman constantly changes costumes throughout the series, including a four-issue run (#2–5) in which she adopts a new costume every issue. However, sales were mediocre and the series was cancelled with issue #18 (December 2000).
Mattie Franklin appeared in the 2001Alias series.[8] She returned after an almost two-year absence for a six-issue story. However, the character spends the entire story (save a three-page epilogue) in a semi-conscious state. She appeared in the 2005 limited seriesLoners.[9] This is her first active adventure in more than six years. She appeared in the 2016-2017Silk series.[10]
Martha "Mattie" Franklin is a troubled youth who grew up with her father after her mother died. After overhearing a phone call between her father andNorman Osborn aboutThe Gathering of Five, she takes her father's place during the Gathering and is endowed with the powers thatNorman Osborn desired for himself.[11]
During one ofSpider-Man's temporary retirements, she wears a near-identical costume and fills in for him.[12] Franklin has long been an obsessive fan of Spider-Man who inspired her career as a superhero. This obsession is coupled with repressed romantic feelings for him,[13] which she revealed during a state of delirium after suffering a head injury in battle.[14] She is defeated byShadrac, forcing Spider-Man to return to the costume and save her.[15] After Spider-Man's return, she assumes the identity of Spider-Woman.[16] EventuallyCharlotte Witter, a villain also going by the name of Spider-Woman, attacks her and steals her powers. Mattie manages not only to reabsorb her own powers, but also to absorb the powers of all three previous Spider-Women.[17] Assisted byMadame Web andJessica Drew, she hunts down supervillains wherever she can find them.[18]
Lonely from having only her constantly working father to live with, Franklin moves in withJ. Jonah Jameson, a close friend of her father, and his wife Marla who happens to be her aunt.[19] They have Franklin (a straight-"A" student) enrolled in a private school,[20] where a classmate, Cheryl, spots her using her powers and becomes her friend and biggest fan. During this time, the powers Franklin absorbed from previous Spider-Women begin returning to their original owners.[21]
She is featured in the seriesContest of Champions II. Having escaped from brutal gladitorial fights that other Earth superheroes are unwittingly brainwashed into, she flees into a mysterious jungle and is almost slain by foe and naive friend alike. She ultimately teams up with all original heroes and veteransIron Man andPsylocke.[22]
While on a first date, Mattie is slipped adate rape drug. Since by this time she has lost the toxin resistance power she absorbed from Jessica Drew, she is rendered senseless. A small-time drug dealer then exploits her to produce a drug called Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH), as well as using her for prostitution. To keep her prisoner, he regularly doses her with psychoactive drugs. Private investigatorJessica Jones, with the help of Jessica Drew, rescues Mattie and returns her to Jonah and Marla. Mattie goes through counseling to get over her dependence on the drugs with which she was sedated.[23]
After the events ofAlias, Mattie had retired from being a superhero and became a private investigator. However, she dons the costume once more to track down the dealers who were selling the MGH, and follows them to Los Angeles, where she attendsExcelsior meetings and pretends to quit using her powers. In reality, she is using the meetings to recruit a partner to help her. She is joined byDarkhawk andRicochet, who keep their activities secret from the rest of the group.[24]
The trio's involvement in the MGH ring bust is revealed when Ricochet's later break-in at a Fujikawa lab results inLightspeed being grievously wounded by Hollow (formerlyPenance). The group is confronted by a woman leading armored guards and Delilah; they have come to reclaim Hollow. The matter is settled peacefully byMickey Musashi; Mattie is frustrated about allowing the bad guys to leave. However, Mickey reminds her that she is undoing the damage for which she, Darkhawk, and Ricochet are responsible. It is revealed that another reason for her joining the support group was that she was secretly researching the Slingers. While over at Johnny's house she begins searching around, looking for evidence when she is caught by Johnny whom she sleeps with in order for him not to get suspicious.[25] Afterwards, she privately contacts the father of Dusk, in which she confirmed that the former Slinger named Ricochet has no knowledge of Cassie's whereabouts. Mattie and Johnny later arrive at Mickey's apartment, in which they learn about both Phil and Chris fighting each other in Darkhawk armor. After defeating Phil, she learns about Phil also making a deal with Fumiko Fujikawa and decides to leave the support group, no longer trusting them, pointing out that they had forgotten about how to be heroes in trying to overcome their heroic pasts. Mattie also admits that she regrets sleeping with Ricochet.[26]
In "The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt",Sasha Kravinoff kills Mattie Franklin as part of a ritual to resurrectVladimir Kravinoff.[27]
She is resurrected in a cloned body in "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy", but eventually decays and dies.[28][29]
Mattie Franklin possesses a range of superhuman powers that she gained after participating in the Gathering of Five ceremony.[30][31] She has superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina, and reflexes.[32] Mattie Franklin also possesses the ability to fly at subsonic speeds and psionic spider legs.[33]
After a battle with Charlotte Witter, Mattie briefly lost her powers before regaining not only her own powers, but also those of Witter, the two previous Spider-Women, Jessica Drew andJulia Carpenter, and Madame Web.[34] After a short time, Julia and Jessica regained their powers, which left Mattie with her original abilities and those of Charlotte Witter.[35]
Rachel Ulatowski ofThe Mary Sue stated Mattie Franklin has the most dark and tragic backstory of allSpider characters.[36] Maham Arsalan ofComic Book Resources compared Mattie Franklin to Peter Parker and called her an unlucky character with a turbulent dark existence that can surprise fans,[37] while Sam Stone dedicated an entire article exposing her "tragic fate."[38] Liam McGuire ofScreen Rant described the life of Mattie Franklin as one of the most tragic and "messed-up" ones a superhero can have.[39]
An alternate version of Mattie Franklin appears inMarvel Universe vs. The Avengers. When a plague turned the world's population into cannibals, she was among the many superheroes who succumbed to it. She was seen battling Black Widow, alongside her infected mentor Jessica Drew.[40]
An alternate version of Mattie Franklin appears inMC2. Spider-Man pursued Norman Osborn sooner than he did in the main continuity, and therefore, interfering The Gathering of Five ceremony. Mattie fled with the artifacts needed,[41] and later gained the gift of power.[42]
An alternate version of Mattie Franklin makes a cameo appearance inSpider-Verse as a member of the Spider-Army.[43]
Mattie Franklin appears inMadame Web, portrayed byCeleste O'Connor.[44] This version is an affluent yet rebellious African American teenager who is estranged from her wealthy parents, who are busy with a project across the ocean.[45] After being targeted byEzekiel Sims, whose prophetic visions lead him to believe she might kill him in the future, Franklin is rescued byCassie Webb, who eventually trains her in becoming a superhero.
In 2022,Funko released a Mattie Franklin / Spider-WomanFunko Pop figure as part of the "Beyond Amazing" collection.[48]
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spider-Woman:There Can Only Be One! | Spider-Woman (vol. 3) #1–18 ("Spider Spider", "Suffer the Little Children", "Suffer the Little Children", "Skin and Bones", "A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of Hair", "Shadows & Light", "I Dwelt in Darkness, Dreaming", "Bits and Pieces", "War and Pieces", "Break of Hearts", "Day of Thunder!", "Welcome to My Nightmare!", "Stipendium Pecarte Mors Est (The Wages of Sin Is Death)", "Sinner's Moon", "Eye of Cat", "Flesh and the Devils", "You Are What Eats You", "Bones May Crack and Flesh May Boil!", and "Dry Bones") | 2001 | |
| The Loners: The Secret Lives Of Super Heroes | The Loners #1–6 | March 2008 | ISBN 978-0785122159 |
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