(pb;
1977–1979, 2005: graphic novel. Collects Marvel
Spotlight #32, Marvel Two-in-One
#29–33, and Spider-Woman #1–25.)
From
the back cover
“Before
she was an Avenger, she was. . .a Hydra agent?! Witness the Arachnidian
Adventuress’s dire debut against Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a
follow-up arc alongside the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed Thing! After working out a
few bugs out of her origin, she set up shop in California and faced an array of
eccentric enemies rarely equaled to this day! Featuring Shang-Chi, the Werewolf
By Night, the Shroud and more!”
Overall review
Spider-Woman is a fun read if you
can get past the initially awkward, fumbling-to-define-the-title-character
plotlines of early issues─the first six issues of this collection─as well as
Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman’s initial romantic, childish neediness with her early
male date-mates. Part of this latter complaint can be explained by Jessica’s traumatic
childhood (stemming from Hydra-forced experiments upon her, and her expulsion
from her village of Wundagore, in the country of Transia─also the birthplace of
the Scarlet Witch and her brother Quicksilver). But Spider-Woman, being a comic
book character, has these attributes exaggerated a bit too much.
Despite
these rough-start nits─the Seventies and early Eighties were not a politically
correct period─Spider-Woman has flashes
of action-punctuated and character-building excellence, and by the eleventh
issue, the writers and artists have worked out most of the
glaring-even-for-the-Seventies sexism to a time-appropriate acceptable level.
If you
are a patient reader with a presentist mindset and an appreciation for pulpy,
supernatural-fringed storytelling, this back-then incarnation of Spider-Woman might entertain you.
(Presentism: “The notion that we should not judge the actions of people in the
past using modern-day standards.” Definition provided by dictionary.com.)
Issues / story arcs
“Marvel Spotlight”─‘Dark Destiny’ (#32):
Spider-Woman’s first appearance in comics. Recruited by and experimented on by
Hydra after being driven out of her village, she is sent on a mission to kill
Nick Fury (Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Her Hydra name: Agent Arachne.
“Marvel Two-in-One Presents: The Thing and
Shang-Chi–Master of Kung Fu”─’Two Against Hydra’ (#29): The two heroes
battle Hydra minions in order to rescue a scientist, Dr. Louis Kort. They are
unaware that a bigger threat─a brainwashed Spider-Woman─looms in their future.
“Marvel Two-in-One Presents: The Thing and
Spider-Woman”─’Battle Atop Big Ben!’ (#30): Spider-Woman, still brainwashed
by Hydra, clashes with Ben Grimm. Meanwhile, thieves hit the famous clock
tower.
“Marvel Two-in-One Presents: The Thing Alone
Against the Mystery Menace─’My Sweetheart─My Killer’” (#31): Ben Grimm and
Spider-Woman fend off the Hydra-mutated Alicia Masters (Grimm’s kidnapped
girlfriend), trying to stop her without killing her. . .a near-impossible feat.
““Marvel Two-in-One Presents: The Thing and
Invisible Girl”─’And Only Invisible Girl Can Save Us Now!’ (#32): Spider-Woman,
Ben Grimm and Invisible Girl try to contain Alicia Masters, mutated into a
giant eight-legged creature.
“Marvel Two-in-One Presents: The Thing and
Mordred the Mystic”─’From Stonehenge. . .with Death!’ (#33): The thieves
from issue #30─now four elemental demons─hold human hostages at Stonehenge.
Mordred, Ben Grimm and Spider-Woman attempt to defeat the elementals and free
the hostages.
“Spider-Woman”─’. . .A Future Uncertain!’ (#1): The first issue of Spider-Woman provides more information
about her origins. She is now knows her non-hero name, Jessica Drew, and her
inhuman powers are revealed. She also attracts the unwanted attention of a
police officer, Jerry Hunt, whose intentions are unclear to her.
All following issues are also Spider-Woman issues.
“A Sword in Hand” (#2): Spider-Woman
confronts Excalibur, a thief possessed by Morgan La Fay, in a museum. She also
meets Magnus─an old man with mystical powers. S.H.I.E.L.D. associate/lawman
Jerry Hunt continues tracking our titular heroine.
“The Perils of Brother Grimm” (#3): In
L.A., Magnus tells Jessica (a.k.a. Spider-Woman) that her father was murdered
two months prior. While investigating the traumatic mystery of who did it, she
tangles with Brother Grimm, a constumed odd character, and Congressman James T.
Wyatt, who is somehow linked to the death of her father, John Drew.
“Hell is the Hangman!” (#4): Spider-Woman
is trapped between Brother Grimm (who continues to kill people) and the
Hangman, a vigilante who seeks to bring Grimm to justice. . .Also: Spider-Woman
gets a new lead in her investigation into who murdered her father. And,
beknownst to her, Jerry Hunt─S.H.I.E.L.D. associate─arrives in L.A., teaming up
with Bill Foster, an employee of Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man.
“Nightmare” (#5): Spider-Woman, prisoner
of violent hallucinations, tries to escape what appears to be a sorcery-ruled
house.
“End of a Nightmare!!” (#6): Jack
Russell, a.k.a. Werewolf By Night, is drawn into a battle with Morgan La Fay
and Magnus. . .Also pulled into this conflict is Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman and
Jerry Hunt, who has fallen for her. Their mutual, wild attraction is sudden,
plot-convenient and not well-explained at this point.
“July 4, 1978. . .” (#7): Jessica and
Jerry discover what happened to her father, why he died and who killed him.
They, once again, face off against Brother Grimm, Congressman James T. Wyatt
and minor bad guys. . .Magnus reveals that his not Merlin, Morgan La Fay’s
teacher, but her student.
“The Man Who Could Not Die!” (#8):
Jessica rescues Samuel Davis (a man doomed to eternal life), and finds herself
in a strange, sympathy-tinged fight. . . There is a second, separate story in
this issue: “The Suit!”. In this
second tale, a haunted suit brings about a case of mistaken identity. This is
an especially oddball mini-work, one that requires more than the usual
suspension of disbelief.
“Eye of the Needle” (#9): Spider-Woman
and Jerry Hunt try to end the nighttime terror of the Needle, a silent and
vengeful stitcher of his victims’ lips.
“Things That Go Flit in the Night”
(#10): Gypsy Moth─a winged mystery woman with a penchant for weaving people in
gossamer cocoons─attacks the attendees of a party Jessica is at. Magnus, now a
celebrated magician, is also there. . . Jessica and Jerry Hunt have a
melodramatic tiff over her focus on her alter-ego’s activities.
“And Dolly Makes Three” (#11): This is
an especially fun issue. Jessica Drew and Jerry Hunt are assaulted by Brother
Grimm─who looks like two dolls Jessica’s landlady owns. . . these dolls were
glimpsed in issue #10. The landlady’s name: Priscilla Dolly.
Meanwhile,
Magnus returns to Priscilla Dolly’s boardinghouse, where he also lives,
pretending to be Jessica’s uncle. Of course, he walks into a trap. This excellent
issue has a cliffhanger finish.
“The Last Tale of the Brothers Grimm!”
(#12): Magnus─full name Charles Magnus─is forced to perform a ritual to
resurrect Nathan Dolly, Priscilla’s husband, from his possession-slumber. It
seems his spirit is split between the man-sized doll forms of their sons, Jake
and William, a.k.a. Brothers Grimm. . . Magnus does this because Priscilla
holds Jessica/Spider-Woman and Jerry Hunt hostage.
Like
the previous issue, there are effective twists in this one. This is one of the
more fun issues in the series, thus far.
“Suddenly. . . the Shroud!” (#13):
Jessica gets a receptionist job at the Hatro Institute For Emotional Research,
an organization─unbeknownst to her─with a secret agenda. When the Shroud, a
villain-turned-hero, sneaks into their headquarters, Jessica’s alter-ego is
there to stop him.
“Cults and Robbers!” (#14): Jessica,
with the Shroud unconscious and in her custody, is confronted by knife-wielding
thugees (cultic devotees of the dark goddess Kali).
After
the Shroud is kidnapped by the thugees, Jessica tries to track down the thugees’ lair to rescue the
Shroud.
“Into the Heart of Darkness!” (#15): The
Shroud─whose powers stem from the positive aspects of the goddess Kali─and
Spider-Woman further investigate the in-name-only cult of Kali. The head of the
cult, unknown by the heroes, is headed by Jessica’s reclusive boss, Adrienne
Hatros, a.k.a. Nekra.
“All You Need is Hate” (#16): Spider-Woman
fights Nekra. Nekra’s source of invincibility is her hatred, a weapon that may
or may not help her defeat Jessica/Spider-Woman. . .There are lesbian overtones
to this issue.
“Jessica’s Night Out” (#17): Jessica,
depressed about breaking up with Jerry Hunt, goes to a disco─a place she’s not
been to before─to lift her spirits. Result: a theft, a rescue, and a meeting
with a questionable, strangely-afflicted man.
“Sins of the Flesh!” (#18): Spider-Woman
tracks the “Melting Man” who attacked her in issue #17.
“The Beast Within” (#19): Continuation/crossover
of Werewolf By Night (issues #42 and
#43). . .Spider-Woman and Jack Russell, a.k.a. Werewolf By Night, repel The
Enforcer, a silver-pelt-shooting and bolt-throwing masked villain.
Russell
last appeared in Spider-Woman issue
#6. The Enforcer previously appeared in Ghost
Rider (issues #22—24).
“Tangled Webs” (#20): Spider-Woman and
Spiderman meet under semi-friendly circumstances.
“Beware the Spider-Woman─Bounty Hunter!”
(#21): Taking Spider-Man’s advice (from the previous issue), Jessica focuses on
her strengths and goes high-tech, with help from her wheelchair-bound neighbor
(Scotty).
As this
issue’s cover noted, this is a positive turn-about for Jessica Drew─and this
series.
“Bring On. . .the Clown!” (#22): A
greasepainted misogynist terrorizes women, drawing Spider-Woman’s ire.
“Enter the Gamesman” (#23): Spider-Woman
meets─and is romanced by─Tim Braverman, a reporter who may be more than he
says. She also stalks and battles the masked thief (Gamesman), whose gang has
been stealing high-profile jewels. Silly, romantic melodrama in this one, given
how fast certain characters connect.
“Trapped in the Doomsday Room!” (#24):
With Tim Braverman (a.k.a. the Gamesman) in prison professing his love for her,
Spider-Woman deals with Braverman’s old gang, who are still on the loose─and
perhaps more dangerous.
“To Free a Felon!” (#25): Spider-Woman
continues to thwart the Gamesman’s gang as they try to get the loot that
Braverman stole from them.
There
are some ill-timed inner-dialogue plot explanations in this issue,
but it is otherwise okay.
#
On
August 30, 2018, Marie Severin, co-creator of the Marvel comics character
Spider-Woman, “died at age 89, following a stroke”. The “longtime Marvel Comics
artist and colorist. . . was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2001”.
Severin designed Spider-Woman’s “iconic costume. . .in 1976”.
I got
this from Brian Cronin’s online/CBR article “Spider-Woman Co-Creator Marie Severin Dies At Age 89” (posted 8/30/18). The article also said: “Severin broke
into the comic book industry in the early 1950s when her older brother, comic
book artist John Severin (1922—2012) asked her to color one of his stories for
EC Comics. She did such a good job that she was soon the regular colorist for
EC Comics. When EC Comics’ comic book line went out of business following the
institution of the Comic Code Authority (which seemed almost specifically
designed to put EC Comics out of business), Severin worked for Atlas comics a
little bit before leaving comic books entirely to go work at the Federal
Reserve.
“In the
late 1950s Severin began to get back into comic books, working for Atlas again
doing some production work. As Atlas turned into Marvel and began to expand,
Severin’s work for them expanded as well. By the end of the late 1960s, Severin
was the main colorist at Marvel while also doing the occasional penciling job.
When the Hulk gained his own series, Incredible
Hulk, Severin was the penciler for the first five issues. . .
“In the
1980s she began working in Special Projects (again, her likenesses were always
amazing). She was let go by Marvel during their restructuring following their
late 1990s bankruptcy. She continued working as an artist until retiring in the
mid-2000s.”
