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Essential Spider-Woman #1
Essential Spider-Woman, Vol. 1
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 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 Includes the introduction of several characters by the late great Mark Gruenwald Featuring Shang-Chi, the Werewolf by Night, the Shroud, and more.
Collecting: Marvel Spotlight 32, Marvel Two-In-One 29-33, & Spider-Woman 1-25
Collecting: Marvel Spotlight 32, Marvel Two-In-One 29-33, & Spider-Woman 1-25
576 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 1980
7 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Marv Wolfman
2,307 books306 followersMarvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 13, 2021
Spider-Woman is no relation of the amazing or spectacular Spider-Man even if she meets him in this rather grand collection of her tales which includes her humble beginning in Marvel spotlight then she continues in a team up with the amazing Thing in England. Then she travels to the good ole USA specific LA where she does some magical fighting with her sorcerer friend. Her boyfriend works for SHIELD before he leaves her and then she does what the original Spidey also do muddle on in order to pay the bills. Finally she decides to become a bounty hunter which is where this collection leaves the adventures of Jessica Drew, no family of a certain Nancy either.
This whole collection is a fun read but never has a cohesive feeling that anybody knows what to do with this character. Perhaps the biggest flaw is the b/w of this collection so one cannot enjoy the startlingly red outfit, honestly I never mind b/w as the art can be judged decently.
A nice collection as these essential collections by Marvel give you great collections of one character or one magazine, they are easy to enjoy without taxing your grey matter too much.
This whole collection is a fun read but never has a cohesive feeling that anybody knows what to do with this character. Perhaps the biggest flaw is the b/w of this collection so one cannot enjoy the startlingly red outfit, honestly I never mind b/w as the art can be judged decently.
A nice collection as these essential collections by Marvel give you great collections of one character or one magazine, they are easy to enjoy without taxing your grey matter too much.
January 23, 2016
This is actually my first foray into the world of comic books. I found the art work to be very well done. I was disappointed that the panels are all in black & white. I understand that this cuts down on cost but it would have been nice if the title page for each story had been in color.
Also, there is no chapter list or page numbers, which I think would have been helpful, even if it's not exactly standard comic book format. This is a pretty big volume and it would be nice to not have to flip through the entire book to find something I'm looking for. On my second day of reading, the cover & first page started to come loose from the binding. So, overall, I feel that the quality of the book could have been much better.
The stories are quite interesting & Spider-Woman is an intriguing character. She meets some famous characters that you might not expect to see on the pages of a comic book, such as the wizard Merlin (a.k.a. Magnus). While she is an extremely strong & talented fighter, there are several instances where she proves to be an intelligent strategist, which is not something I expected to see.
Her love interests didn't seem to fit, they just weren't believable & were a little rushed...except for the one with The Shroud, which I wish could have been explored a little more. Overall, I enjoyed the book & will probably get the second volume.
Also, there is no chapter list or page numbers, which I think would have been helpful, even if it's not exactly standard comic book format. This is a pretty big volume and it would be nice to not have to flip through the entire book to find something I'm looking for. On my second day of reading, the cover & first page started to come loose from the binding. So, overall, I feel that the quality of the book could have been much better.
The stories are quite interesting & Spider-Woman is an intriguing character. She meets some famous characters that you might not expect to see on the pages of a comic book, such as the wizard Merlin (a.k.a. Magnus). While she is an extremely strong & talented fighter, there are several instances where she proves to be an intelligent strategist, which is not something I expected to see.
Her love interests didn't seem to fit, they just weren't believable & were a little rushed...except for the one with The Shroud, which I wish could have been explored a little more. Overall, I enjoyed the book & will probably get the second volume.
September 28, 2014
These first few issues of Spider-Woman can be an entertaining read, but unfortunately, her character suffers from misdirection and confusion. It doesn't seem like the writers really knew what they wanted to do with her and therefore, she seems very watered down, and her personality is all over the place. Sometimes I enjoy reading her and can relate to her as woman, and other times I want to bang my head against the wall because of how annoying she can be. She wants her independence, but jumps right into a relationship with Jerry Hunt; she throws herself all over him, but get annoyed when he asserts himself more than she would like. I think she has a lot of potential, but some of the rough edges that show here really need to be smoothed out. On the plus side, I really enjoy the Brothers Grimm stories and appreciate the blend of both female and male villains.
February 17, 2021
This book collects 31 comic books related to the first Spider-Woman Jessica Drew from the late 1970s including her debut in Marvel Spotlight #32, and her crossover in Marvel Two in One #29-33 and the first twenty-five issues of her own magazine.
There's a lot to like about the character and the magazine. She's a woman who has reached adulthood without a past. When she first appears, she's an assassin for HYDRA sent to kill Nick Fury but she realizes she's been brainwashed and turns against evil Hydra only to be recaptured and attack the Thing and then help him in the five part Arch from Marvel Two in One. Then in her own magazines, she fights all kinds of evils.
There's a lot to like about this Spider-woman. The first 19 issues of her magazine are pencilled by the great Carmine Infantino, best known for his work on the Flash. Superhero comics are notorious to shoving women into the most bizarre costumes and poses but Spider-woman may be the best designed superheroine with a costume that's classy, well-designed, and functional.
The character also has a mix of courage and curiosity, but also a great deal of naivete which makes for an interesting character. Plus she has a serious problem that gives people (other women in particular) a serious dislike for her which makes finding a job problematic.
The big downside of the book is that they really don't seem to know what they want her to be. The original slant would have indicated a lot of SHIELD like Spy capers and indeed one issue in her series did have her help her boyfriend Jerry stop a terrorist attack. But mostly she faded into horror comic-like stuff. There was nothing magical about her powers though perhaps they thought the color scheme would indicate horror, but whatever the case in her first 19 issues she had two encounters with Werewolf by Night, several with the Brothers Grimm, Morgana LeFaye among others. These were mostly D-list Marvel characters. Nothing incredibly stupid happened in these stories, the book just seemed to drift.
The only truly dumb thing was her relationship with Jerry which began instantaneously for no reason and ended because she kept saving Jerry. Thankfully by the 1970s, Marvel was no longer making us suffer through break ups that lasted a year, but the entire thing was pointless.
Spider-woman went through three writers after Archie Goodwin wrote the origin story, Marv Wolfman wrote the story arch from Marvel Two in One and then the first eight issues of the comic, Mark Grunewald took over for issues 9-20 and 21-25 by Mark Fleischer.
Issue 20 brought the inevitable meeting between Spider-man and Spider-woman which was a fun little jaunt that included her thinking Spider-man had ripped off her identity. It was nice to see Spider-man guest star in a book without being a jerk. Fleischer took the book in a new direction for the last five issues establishing Spider-woman as a bounty hunting crimefighter. I have mixed feelings on her falling in loved with the Gamesman, the first big time crook she snags, but I was satisfied with the conclusion.
Overall, this is an okay book. I give it 3 stars but I consider it to be towards the higher end of that rating. There's not a whole lot bad about the book, but there's nothing amazing, spectacular, or sensational about it either. It's solidly written in most parts with a few above average stories thrown in.
There's a lot to like about the character and the magazine. She's a woman who has reached adulthood without a past. When she first appears, she's an assassin for HYDRA sent to kill Nick Fury but she realizes she's been brainwashed and turns against evil Hydra only to be recaptured and attack the Thing and then help him in the five part Arch from Marvel Two in One. Then in her own magazines, she fights all kinds of evils.
There's a lot to like about this Spider-woman. The first 19 issues of her magazine are pencilled by the great Carmine Infantino, best known for his work on the Flash. Superhero comics are notorious to shoving women into the most bizarre costumes and poses but Spider-woman may be the best designed superheroine with a costume that's classy, well-designed, and functional.
The character also has a mix of courage and curiosity, but also a great deal of naivete which makes for an interesting character. Plus she has a serious problem that gives people (other women in particular) a serious dislike for her which makes finding a job problematic.
The big downside of the book is that they really don't seem to know what they want her to be. The original slant would have indicated a lot of SHIELD like Spy capers and indeed one issue in her series did have her help her boyfriend Jerry stop a terrorist attack. But mostly she faded into horror comic-like stuff. There was nothing magical about her powers though perhaps they thought the color scheme would indicate horror, but whatever the case in her first 19 issues she had two encounters with Werewolf by Night, several with the Brothers Grimm, Morgana LeFaye among others. These were mostly D-list Marvel characters. Nothing incredibly stupid happened in these stories, the book just seemed to drift.
The only truly dumb thing was her relationship with Jerry which began instantaneously for no reason and ended because she kept saving Jerry. Thankfully by the 1970s, Marvel was no longer making us suffer through break ups that lasted a year, but the entire thing was pointless.
Spider-woman went through three writers after Archie Goodwin wrote the origin story, Marv Wolfman wrote the story arch from Marvel Two in One and then the first eight issues of the comic, Mark Grunewald took over for issues 9-20 and 21-25 by Mark Fleischer.
Issue 20 brought the inevitable meeting between Spider-man and Spider-woman which was a fun little jaunt that included her thinking Spider-man had ripped off her identity. It was nice to see Spider-man guest star in a book without being a jerk. Fleischer took the book in a new direction for the last five issues establishing Spider-woman as a bounty hunting crimefighter. I have mixed feelings on her falling in loved with the Gamesman, the first big time crook she snags, but I was satisfied with the conclusion.
Overall, this is an okay book. I give it 3 stars but I consider it to be towards the higher end of that rating. There's not a whole lot bad about the book, but there's nothing amazing, spectacular, or sensational about it either. It's solidly written in most parts with a few above average stories thrown in.
July 2, 2014
One of the most convoluted back stories in comic book history.
Is she a mutated Spider?
Is she a mind-controled super spy?
Is she the result of an experiment gone wrong?
Is she part of an ancient prophecy stretching back to Camelot?
Not sure if the writers even knew and after awhile you realize it's best if you just stop worrying about it and just read.
Bit too much angst and the writers write Jessica Drew like their only contact with women is made for TV movies, but the art is good all the way through and once they get her to L.A. and start trying to build her a supporting cast and Rogues gallery it gets better.
Lots of truly strange villains save this comic when the writing stumbles.
Is she a mutated Spider?
Is she a mind-controled super spy?
Is she the result of an experiment gone wrong?
Is she part of an ancient prophecy stretching back to Camelot?
Not sure if the writers even knew and after awhile you realize it's best if you just stop worrying about it and just read.
Bit too much angst and the writers write Jessica Drew like their only contact with women is made for TV movies, but the art is good all the way through and once they get her to L.A. and start trying to build her a supporting cast and Rogues gallery it gets better.
Lots of truly strange villains save this comic when the writing stumbles.
November 9, 2013
The beginnings of Spiderwoman. This covers her origins, time with Hydra, love life and bounty hunter. The origin story is very good, though the early cover artists couldn't think of a cover without Spiderwoman being tied up for some reason. It is very of its time, and only improves a bit when she gets rid of the boyfriend who doesn't like being saved by a woman. Spiderwoman is still a good character, shame the high evolutionary origin gets forgotten a lot. A good read.
September 10, 2015
Very enjoyable, with the protagonist's problems and origin being unique (which would have been quite a downer if it were same as Peter Parker).
January 21, 2025
Marvel Spotlight #32 introduces Spider-Woman with the statement that it will be a "nerve-numbing origin" story. I think that's a typo. They clearly meant "MIND-numbing."
What an absolutely ridiculous series. It pains me to have read all the comics in this collection. Any hope that the stories, character and art would improve over the 31 issues was a forlorn one.
Even for comics, the premise of Spider-Woman is stupid. The art is uniformly uninteresting and confusing (for most of the issues everyone looks the same! They should all have to wear nameplates because there are only about four arch types that are used throughout the whole run: Old guy with moustache/beard, young guy with a face of stone, creepy Jessica Drew with ridiculous hair, and Spider-Woman).
As for the villains, Spider-Woman has topped Daredevil's early issues for having to thwart the world's most ridiculous villains. All of her villains are on par with Stilt-Man or the Matador, or Mr. Fear, or The Organizer, The Plunderer, The Masked Marauder, Leapfrog, The Gladiator (he knows most gladiators die in the ring, right?). In fact, hers are so lame that, having just finished the book, I can't remember any of them.
[Postscript: I just read that in the beginning Stan Lee quickly produced a Spider-Woman comic in order to prevent other companies from using the name. This all makes sooooo much more sense now.]
What an absolutely ridiculous series. It pains me to have read all the comics in this collection. Any hope that the stories, character and art would improve over the 31 issues was a forlorn one.
Even for comics, the premise of Spider-Woman is stupid. The art is uniformly uninteresting and confusing (for most of the issues everyone looks the same! They should all have to wear nameplates because there are only about four arch types that are used throughout the whole run: Old guy with moustache/beard, young guy with a face of stone, creepy Jessica Drew with ridiculous hair, and Spider-Woman).
As for the villains, Spider-Woman has topped Daredevil's early issues for having to thwart the world's most ridiculous villains. All of her villains are on par with Stilt-Man or the Matador, or Mr. Fear, or The Organizer, The Plunderer, The Masked Marauder, Leapfrog, The Gladiator (he knows most gladiators die in the ring, right?). In fact, hers are so lame that, having just finished the book, I can't remember any of them.
[Postscript: I just read that in the beginning Stan Lee quickly produced a Spider-Woman comic in order to prevent other companies from using the name. This all makes sooooo much more sense now.]
October 28, 2023
The problem with Essential covering material from the 70s is that it is a time when books didn't always run that long and even those that did sometimes had REALLY high turnover rates in terms of creative teams. Add into the fact this one collects not only most of the first two years of Spider-Woman's solo book, but the two backdoor pilot runs in Marvel Spotlight #32, plus the second test run for the character in Marvel Two-In-One.
Which means we get to see Jessica Drew go through FOUR creative teams, four very different origins, five completely different tones so to say the book is a bit of an understatement. While none of the runs drifts into being unreadably bad, the transitions in style- especially between Dennis O'Neilesque run that Mark Gruenwald was doing and the almost campy (probably to make it a tad more like the upcoming animated series) run by Michael Fleischer is INCREDIBLY jarring.
Which means we get to see Jessica Drew go through FOUR creative teams, four very different origins, five completely different tones so to say the book is a bit of an understatement. While none of the runs drifts into being unreadably bad, the transitions in style- especially between Dennis O'Neilesque run that Mark Gruenwald was doing and the almost campy (probably to make it a tad more like the upcoming animated series) run by Michael Fleischer is INCREDIBLY jarring.
March 23, 2021
Typical 70s comics adventures, but they clearly don't know what to do with the character and she's - at best - naive for a superhero. The convoluted backstory doesn't help but it takes a while for things to get going. The later "bounty hunter" stories are better, but even then Spider-Woman is remarkably clueless for a superhero. Decent solid art but no classic.
December 30, 2025
slow to start. the team ups were rough, along with the origin story. the initial storyline is a little slow and melodramatic without purpose and then they replaced the author and revamped to a detective vibe. still very episodic with just a hint of a storyline. dazzler was more interesting, though will see where volume 2 takes us.
June 6, 2013
Spinnst Du, Frau?
Spider-Woman ist so ein typischer zweite-Reihe-Superheld, in jeder Beziehung. Wenig bekannt, und auch erst spät, wohl in Reaktion auf die überwältigende Popularität ihres männlichen Gegenparts, entstanden.
Leider fehlt ihr sowohl der Humor, den die freundliche Nachbarschaftsspinne so auszeichnet, wie auch eine eigenständige Charakterisierung - und so bleibt letztlich nur, dass sie wirklich hübsch anzusehen ist, mit fantastischen Oberschenkeln, wie man auf dem Cover dieses Essentials toll erkennen kann.
Für Sammler und Komplettisten.
Spider-Woman ist so ein typischer zweite-Reihe-Superheld, in jeder Beziehung. Wenig bekannt, und auch erst spät, wohl in Reaktion auf die überwältigende Popularität ihres männlichen Gegenparts, entstanden.
Leider fehlt ihr sowohl der Humor, den die freundliche Nachbarschaftsspinne so auszeichnet, wie auch eine eigenständige Charakterisierung - und so bleibt letztlich nur, dass sie wirklich hübsch anzusehen ist, mit fantastischen Oberschenkeln, wie man auf dem Cover dieses Essentials toll erkennen kann.
Für Sammler und Komplettisten.
January 7, 2010
A mixed bag, but some intriguing artists and stories at times. Still probably the best female super hero costume ever designed.
May 22, 2014
A musr read for any Spider-Woman fan...or even someone looking to know more about her background.
February 15, 2016
Very nice collection of this mostly forgotten 1970s hero. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews