SPIDER-WOMAN #1 (1978)

In which Jessica Drew dumps the bathing cap look.

First things first: Spider-Woman was (with a few short bursts as the exception) not a good comic.  But there were a lot of interesting elements to it, and Marvel promoted the crap out of it.  It was the first Marvel book to launch with its own TV show.

And as first issues go, this one isn’t bad.

Issue #1 starts with her being hungry, so she breaks into a bodega but then ethically realizes she cannot steal.  We get a brief review of her past, starting with her father being an investor who took his family to Wundagore–the structure at the heart of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s childhood.

When his daughter fell ill, her father asked the scientist later revealed as High Evolutionary for help. High Ev used the genetic accelerator (the same device he used to create the New Men), and that’s what gave young Jessica her powers.

We then get the recap of her having been a triple agent for SHIELD, to explain why we see her struggling with evil/good roles like stealing food from the market.

There’s not a lot of new stuff here, but the issue does a good job at bringing together her past, which was a little jumbled in the original issues that laid it all out.

We also learn that she dyes her hair, which I never knew before (and which I think has been dropped and is no longer canon).

Finally, the issue introduces SHIELD agent Jerry Hunt. Spider-Woman saves his life during a conflict, and he falls instantly in love.

That’s a bit of a gender-reversal, which is fine. Also, look at the typo in the “next issue” blurb where Excalibur is mispelled.

Marv, you’re an editor and you wrote this. You ought to know better!

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