Essential Spider-Woman—Volume 2

Comic Info

Spider-Woman (1) #37

Reprints Spider-Woman (1) #26-50, Marvel Team-Up (1) #97, and Uncanny X-Men (1) #148 (May 1980-June 1983). Spider-Woman continues to work as a bounty hunter in Los Angeles and the darkness of the world keeps finding her. Be it facing the Enforcer, battling with the X-Men, or taking on Tigra, Spider-Woman has her hands full. When her nemesis Morgan Le Fay returns, Spider-Woman could face her toughest battle ever!

Written by Michael Fleisher, Steven Grant, J.M. DeMatteis, Chris Claremont, and Ann Nocenti, Essential Spider-Woman—Volume 2 finishes up Spider-Woman’s series that started in the ’70s.  Featuring art by Jerry Bingham, Steve Leialoha, Dave Cockrum, and Brian Postman, the series ended with the double-sized Spider-Woman (1) #50 (June 1983).  The Essential series collects the issues in black-and-white reprints.

In this collection, the quality of Spider-Woman really dives. I wasn’t a fan of when she became a bounty hunter and preferred it when she was just struggling to make it. I do like that the series continued to have Spider-Woman faced with the strange and different like the Werewolf, pre-Avengers Tigra, and Silver Samurai, but also strange villains and co-stars like Daddy Longlegs, the Flying Tiger, and Poltergeist. I often wish that some of Spider-Woman’s rogue gallery would return in something modern to see a different take on them.

Spider-Woman (1) #50

Also included in this collection is the big X-Men crossover that introduced two big players in the X-Men universe. Spider-Woman (1) #37 (April 1981) showed the first appearance of Banshee’s daughter Siryn and that adventure crossover into Spider-Woman (1) #38 (June 1981). It also tied into Uncanny X-Men (1) #148 (August 1981) which introduced Caliban. This storyline had a longer effect on Spider-Woman in that she became a private investigator in the story, and she later appeared in Wolverine’s first series as just Jessica Drew instead of Spider-Woman.

The weird thing about the collection is that it has the big double-sized death of Spider-Woman in Spider-Woman (1) #50, but it doesn’t reveal how she was returned to life in Avengers (1) #240-241 (February 1984-March 1984). It seems like this should have been included so readers would at least understand how she returned to life.

Essential Spider-Woman Volume 2 isn’t great, but it is a fun title. I just like this original Spider-Woman and thought Jessica was a fun character. The series had its ups and downs and unfortunately this is mostly down. I like the characters, but it isn’t the strongest series. Still if you can find Essential Spider-Woman—Volume 2 for a good price, it is worth picking up.

Related Links:

Essential Spider-Woman—Volume 1

Spider-Woman:  Agent of S.W.O.R.D.

Spider-Woman—The Complete Series Review and Episode Guide