Spider-Woman has been around in comics since the late 70s and typically you don’t hear a whole lot about her in or outside of comic books these days but with the announcement that Olivia Wilde will be directing a future female led Marvel movie, rumors have started to pop up that it’s most likely going to be a Spider-Woman movie and that left me thinking…well which Spider-Woman are we talking about because there have been quite a few in the comics…So let’s take a look at all the different possibilities of just which character this film might be about. I won’t go over anyone’s complete origins but will try to add pertinent details for each entry.
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Jessica Drew
The original Spider-Woman debuting all the way back in 1977 is Jessica Drew and this is the most likely candidate in my opinion and this is who most people will think of when you say Spider-Woman. Debuting in Marvel Spotlight #32 back in 1977 and created by Marie Severin and Archie Goodwin Jessica Drew got her own 50 issue series shortly after and would continue to pop up in comics throughout the years. Her origin is different from that of her male counterpart and her powers originate from a serum her father gave her when she was gravely ill and the serum contained irradiated spider’s blood. This is my pick for who the movie will be based on.
Julia Carpenter
Known by a few different names in the comics such as Madame Web and Arachne Julia Carpenter started out referred to as the 2nd Spider-Woman and regardless of the fact that she’s usually featured with teams I think she could carry a film on her own. This time around she gained her powers through a mysterious government organization who injected her with spider venom and exotic plant extracts giving her powers very much like Spider-Man’s but with the added ability to create webs from psychokinetic energy. although I’m leaning towards Jessica Drew being the pick Julia Carpenter is certainly a possibility.
Mattie Franklin
A whole different take on spider-woman would be Mattie Franklin as she started out impersonating Spider-Man after he retired and would then go on to be known as the 3rd Spider-Woman. She has a pretty tragic backstory that could make for a powerful movie touching on subjects from date rape to drug abuse it could be a more serious take on the character and is always a possibility I suppose.
Charlotte Witter
This one is a bit unlikely seeing Charlotte was a villain who used the name Spider-Woman but her story could feature all of the Spider Women as her origin has her steal the powers of all of them before her, in the comics she lost the powers and was left in a coma but they could completely change that for a movie if they wanted and perhaps a Marvel movie focused on a villain is just what we all need.
Veranke
Although she was a Skrull impersonating Jessica Drew for a very long period of time and it would be odd for Marvel to introduce the character as an imposter, Veranke’s storyline would fit right in with what Marvel has planned in the next two phases of movies, with the Skrulls seemingly the main focus of the films at this point perhaps this is the Spider-Woman we get?
Mary Jane Watson
There have been multiple versions of Mary Jane who went by the name Spider-Woman, one who was actually a ninja and another featured in The Exiles comics which focus heavily on the concept of multiple universes/realities. I think if they focused on Mary Jane they could bring more about the multiverse into the movies, which is what they seem to be trying to do anyways…maybe we get a film like Into The Spider-Verse and we get to see many different Spider-Women…you never know with Marvel.
Ashley Barton
The movie Logan was a huge success and based on the book Old Man Logan, So why not feature a Spider-Woman from that same popular series and in that same gritty dystopian type setting. Ashley Barton is the daughter of Hawkeye and Tonya Parker and uses the name Spider-Woman in the Old Man Logan timeline, although she originally went by Spider-Bitch but I don’t see Marvel using that one…
Gwen Stacy
Although she is more widely known as Spider-Gwen she is generally accepted as her universe’s version of Spider-Woman and in my opinion would be the best choice for a film although I don’t think the most likely choice. Spider-Gwen is a fan favorite and would be a more than interesting choice for them to make…Instead of losing her life to the Green Goblin she got to live and be the hero in this universe and that’d be a great story to watch unfold on screen.
Mayday Parker
The daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane from an alternate future could have the movie exploring a not so distant future, maybe even featuring one of the actors that played Spider-Man as her father…Mayday is one of the more interesting versions and although she went by Spider-Girl at first she eventually changed it to Spider-Woman. she was even part of the Avengers at one point so there’s that they could work with as well.
This is by no means a definitive list, there are quite a few others that have gone by the name Spider-Woman throughout the years but these are my personal picks for ones they could do a movie about…Oh and honorable mention since I don’t think they’ll focus a movie on her, the character Silk is a small possibility as well but didn’t think enough of one that I should add her.
What are your thoughts?
Did I miss any good ones?
Let us know in the comments.
The Listerzine 
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