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Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin)
Encyclopedia
Spider-Woman is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who is a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. She is the third character to be called Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is the codename of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Marvel Comics' then-publisher Stan Lee, said in 1978, shortly after Spider-Woman's debut in Marvel Spotlight #32 Spider-Woman is the codename of several fictional characters...
and the second to receive her own ongoing series.
Publication history
The character first appeared in Spectacular Spider-Man #262 (in the shadows), in November 1998. Her first full appearance was in The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#441 (1998), and her first appearance as Spider-Woman was in The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #5 (1999).
Fictional character biography
Martha "Mattie" Franklin was a troubled youth who grew up with her father after her mother died. She was granted her powers when, after overhearing a phone call between her father and Norman OsbornGreen Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
about the The Gathering of Five, she took her father's place during the Gathering and was endowed with the powers that Norman Osborn desired for himself.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
's temporary retirements, she wore a near-identical costume and filled in for him. During this time she was defeated by Shadrac, forcing Spider-Man to return to the costume and save her. After Spider-Man's return, she assumed the identity of Spider-Woman. Eventually Charlotte Witter
Spider-Woman (Charlotte Witter)
Charlotte Witter, the fourth Spider-Woman, is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. The character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #6 .-Fictional character biography:...
, a villain also going by the name of Spider-Woman, attacked her and stole her powers. Mattie continued to fight Witter and managed not only to reabsorb her own powers, but also to absorb the powers of both previous Spider-Women (which Witter had also stolen) and Witter's own powers. With the blessing of Jessica Drew
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)
Spider-Woman is a fictional character, a superheroine in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #32 , and 50 issues of an ongoing series titled Spider-Woman followed...
and Julia Carpenter, she took up the Spider-Woman mantle. Franklin eventually settled with J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
, a close friend of her father, and sported eight costumes before deciding on the last one.
Loners
Mattie required assistance when a boyfriend exploited her to produce a drug called Mutant Growth Hormone, which afforded superhuman powers to a user for a short time. In order to harvest the MGH, her boyfriend kept her severely sedated. During one of her stupors, Mattie broke into private investigator Jessica JonesJessica Jones
Jessica Campbell Jones Cage is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos. Jones debuted in the series Alias as an embittered former superheroine who had used the aliases Jewel, Knightress, and currently Power Woman...
' apartment looking for Jessica Drew, but quickly left when Jones confronted her. With the help of Jessica Drew, Jones rescued Mattie and returned her to her uncle.
Mattie tracks down the dealers who were selling the MGH, and follows them to Los Angeles, where she attends Excelsior 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 by Darkhawk
Darkhawk
Darkhawk is a fictional comic book superhero who first appeared in his own self-titled series, Darkhawk #1...
and Ricochet
Ricochet (comics)
Ricochet was an alternate identity used by the fictional superhero Spider-Man, and later adopted by college student Johnny Gallo, who appeared in the Marvel Comics series, Slingers.-Ricochet :...
, who keep their activities secret from the rest of the group.
The trio's involvement in the MGH ring bust is revealed when Ricochet's later break-in at a Fujikawa lab results in Lightspeed
Julie Power
Julie Power is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Power Pack #1 and was created by Louise Simonson and June Brigman.-Publication history:...
being grievously wounded by Hollow (formerly Penance). The group is confronted by a woman leading armored guards and Delilah
Delilah (comics)
Delilah is a fictional Marvel Comics character, a Spider-Man villain from the 1990s and an enforcer of the Rose. She first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #414 , created by Tom DeFalco and Mark Bagley.-Fictional character biography:...
; they have come to reclaim Hollow. The matter is settled peacefully by Mickey Musashi
Turbo (comics)
Turbo is the name of two fictional characters in the Marvel Comics universe. One a comic book superheroine, the other a superhero. Michiko "Mickey" Musashi debuted in New Warriors #28 and her ally Michael "Mike" Jeffries in New Warriors #33.-Torpedo Armor:The Torpedo armor was a creation of the...
; 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. Afterwords, 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 (just as Mickey did) and decides to leave the support group, no longer trusting them, pointing out that they forgotten about how to be heroes in trying to overcome their heroic pasts. Mattie also admits that she regrets sleeping with Ricochet.
The Initiative
She has been given status "potential recruit" by Iron ManIron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
in Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
: Battle Damage Report.
The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt
Mattie has been active in New York City, and as she was about to help Spider-Man against Lady Stilt-Man she was attacked by Ana Tatiana Kravinoff and captured. Mattie is then shown lying unconscious in a laboratory where Madame Web is also bound. Madame Web apologizes to Mattie for getting her involved in this, but Mattie is still unconscious. She is killed by Sasha Kravinoff as part of a ritual to revive her son Vladimir KravinoffGrim Hunter
Grim Hunter is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe, in which he is an enemy of Spider-Man. He is the son of Kraven the Hunter. His first appearance was in Spider-Man #47.-Fictional character biography:...
. It was a success, but Vladimir was revived as a large humanoid lion creature.
Powers and abilities
Mattie Franklin possessed a variety of superhuman powers, derived from her participation in the Gathering of Five and the absorption of the superhuman abilities possessed by the other Spider-Women and by Madame WebMadame Web
Madame Web is a fictional supporting character in the Spider-Man comic book series.-Fictional character biography:Cassandra Webb was born in Salem, Oregon. She is a paralyzed, blind, telepathic, clairvoyant, and precognitive mutant, allowing her to work as a professional medium...
. Thus she possessed the following superhuman abilities:
- Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes/reactions, coordination, endurance
- Superhumanly acute hearing and heightened senses
- Adhesive touch that allows her to cling to walls and other surfaces via electrostatic attraction
- Immunity to all forms of non-corrosive toxins and poisons after an initial exposure to them. These initial exposures make her dizzy, but her metabolism quickly recovers and renders her immune to it.
- Immunity to all forms of radiation
- Venom blast: Spider-Woman can discharge a powerful toxin with her body's excess bio-electricity, which she focuses through her hands. These bio-electric blasts affect the nervous system, and their intensity can be regulated to deliver a minor shock, render someone unconscious, or even kill. (Their concussive force is powerful enough to puncture metal.)
- Pheromones: These chemicals can make her extremely attractive to men and tend to repulse women.
- Flight
- Psionic webbing: By using psychokinetic energy, she can bind ambient free-floating molecules into strands of solid force. Her psi-webs can be used to wrap enemies, or focused into narrow web-lines that she can swing from. Due to its psychic nature, her psi-webs can be used in ways Spider-Man's webbing never could, such as causing webs to form from a distance, or controlling the movement of her webbing mentally.
- Psychic spider legs sprouting from her back. Occasionally, Mattie has been shown to be able to fire blasts of unknown energy from the tips of her spider-legs which are able to stun an opponent. Having the legs exposed is her natural state; she must concentrate in order to conceal them, which creates a constant feeling of pressure in her back.
- Moderate telepathy
- Precognitive flashes
Franklin had none of the training or experience of the earlier women who carried the Spider-Woman mantle. Due to her inexperience she was not be able to make use of all of these abilities.
Video games
- Mattie was intended to be one of Jessica Drew's alternate Spider-Woman skins in Marvel: Ultimate AllianceMarvel: Ultimate AllianceMarvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game developed for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Xbox 360 by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was simultaneously ported to the PlayStation Portable and Wii by Vicarious Visions, and to Microsoft Windows by Beenox...
, as was Julia Carpenter; this is shown in an unlockable concept art screen. However, in the game, she was replaced by Spider-GirlSpider-GirlSpider-Girl is a superheroine in Marvel Comics' MC2 universe. The character was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz as the teenage daughter of Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson, and first appeared in What If #105...
.