Book Review: Marvel-verse: Spider-Woman by M. Wolfman et al.

Marvel-verse: Spider-Woman written by Marv Wolfman, Mark Gruenwald, Gerry Duncan, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Jen Van Meter, and art by Carmine Infantino, Steven Grant, Salvador Larroca, and Barry Kitson

Spider-Woman isn't just some Peter Parker clone. Jessica Drew was the daughter of scientist Jonathan Drew who teamed up with another scientist, Herbert Wyndham, to conduct unlimited research in an isolated area. Young Jessica was exposed to radiation. Combining Drew's expertise in spiders (who are highly resistant to radiation according to this book) and Wyndham's knowledge of evolution, they are able to preserve her life. Jonathan mysteriously drops out of the story and Wyndham goes crazy, calling himself "The High Evolutionary." He evolves lower animals into humans, though they don't get along with the human/spider hybrid that Jessica becomes. She escapes, only to fall into the clutches of Hydra. She's brainwashed into being an assassin for Hydra but leaves that behind, trying to strike out on her own. Jessica has a hard time finding a regular job (with no background or references) but she resists the temptation to turn back to evil. 

This book contains a couple of different stories. The first is her origin as a superhero in the 1970s. After all the backstory, she's in London starving. She struggles with stealing to eat and finding any work at all. She's being followed by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who, naturally, falls for her. They don't get along. The next story jumps ahead to Spider-Woman in Los Angeles, where she runs into Peter Parker, who happens to be on a press junket to some scientific labs. They tussle as Spider-Woman and Spider-Man. Jessica is not up on her superheroes and assumes he's an imitation of her! They come to a peaceable end without revealing their identities to each other.

The book then jumps to stories from the 2010s. In a bit from the A + X saga, she teams up with X-Man Kitty Pride to thwart the Absorbing Man from stealing a bit of non-terrestrial metal that will make him overpowered. The next story is set during a big crossover battle. The Avengers (which Spider-Woman has joined) head to outer space with a coalition of of goodies and baddies to fight the Builders who have a seemingly unstoppable fleet. The Avenger split into two spacecraft, with Spider-Woman on a different ship from Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. Jessica dated Clint at one point and had a bad breakup. He's now extra-friendly with Carol, who is also a former close friend of Jessica. So Spider-Woman has mixed feelings about them. The action is exciting and the side of soap-opera is much less interesting. The story has some nice personal moments, especially with Black Widow.

I enjoyed the earlier stories better. They are self-contained and look at Jessica as she seeks a new and better life, a redemption from her past. An evil character turning to good is a favorite storyline for me. The later stories are parts of larger narratives and feel incomplete taken out of their contexts. I like the art better in the later stuff but the story is more important to me.

Mildly recommended.