First Appearance of Spider-Woman: Marvel Spotlight #32

Jessica Drew, the first Spider-Woman, debuted in Marvel Spotlight #32, cover-dated February 1977, created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist Marie Severin (Wikipedia). She began as a brainwashed agent of Hydra and became a hero and later a private investigator.

Wikipedia quotes Stan Lee explaining the rush: he worried another publisher might bring out a female spider character first, so Marvel published one quickly to secure the name. Her own series, Spider-Woman #1, followed in April 1978 and ran 50 issues until June 1983.

PriceCharting values, retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Ungraded: $38.13 (about one sale a day)
• 4.0: $53.41
• 6.0: $64.37
• 8.0: $117.43
• 9.2: $169.00
• 9.8: $1,104.07 (about one sale a month)

Most of the value sits at the very top. A 9.8 is worth about six and a half times a 9.2, so a sharp, well-centered copy is the one worth sending for grading.

Jessica Drew's series ended in June 1983. The next Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter, first appeared as a cameo in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #6 (October 1984), with her first full appearance in #7 (November 1984), created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck (Wikipedia, Julia Carpenter). In her origin, a secret government group called the Commission injected her with spider venom and plant extracts. She later took the names Arachne and Madame Web.

PriceCharting values for Secret Wars #6, retrieved September 25, 2026: ungraded $10.04, 9.2 $59.96, 9.8 $117.25.

Other women have used the name: Mattie Franklin headlined the third Spider-Woman series, and Charlotte Witter once stole Julia's powers (Wikipedia). On Earth-65, Gwen Stacy is called Spider-Woman; see our Spider-Gwen page.

In the Spider-Woman series that launched after Secret Wars (2015), Jessica is already in her second trimester and still working as a private investigator. After the birth she explains that a relationship from about nine months earlier made her want a family, but the man left before she raised it, so she went to a sperm bank. She names her son Gerry (Wikipedia).

• Secret Invasion: the Jessica Drew who joined the New Avengers from its first issue was revealed to be Veranke, the Skrull queen, in disguise (Wikipedia).
• 1979: an animated Spider-Woman series starred Jessica Drew, voiced by Joan Van Ark.
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023): Issa Rae voices a reinvented Jess Drew.
• Madame Web (2024): Sydney Sweeney plays a teenage Julia, under the name Julia Cornwall (Wikipedia, Julia Carpenter).

• Is Gwen Stacy LGBTQ? Not in the comics as Wikipedia describes her. Across the Spider-Verse (2023) gives the Earth-65 Gwen trans pride imagery, but no official statement confirms she is trans (PinkNews, December 24, 2025).
• Who was introduced first, MJ or Gwen? Mary Jane was mentioned in 1964 and glimpsed with her face hidden in June 1965; Gwen debuted in December 1965; Mary Jane's face was first shown in November 1966 (Wikipedia). Details are on our Gwen Stacy first appearance page.

Northstar is the answer usually given. He first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #120 (April 1979), but an editorial policy against openly gay characters kept his orientation implied for years; in Alpha Flight #106 (1992) he said on the page that he is gay, making him the first openly gay character to come out in a Marvel comic. He married Kyle Jinadu in Astonishing X-Men #51 (June 2012), the first same-sex wedding in mainstream comics (Wikipedia, Northstar).

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the title, issue number, date and publisher; reprints and facsimiles say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode that did not exist in the cover year means a later edition.
• Paper: decades-old newsprint tans at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and replaced covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service such as CGC can detect them. See spot a fake or restored comic.

Shoot the front cover flat and straight on in even light, then the indicia and the back cover. Marvel Spotlight #32 is a 1977 book; photograph the cover price box and the indicia, which should read Marvel Spotlight, issue 32. For Julia Carpenter, the book is titled Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, issue 6. ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover art from the photo and shows a reference price range that moves with the grade you pick; there are free scans every day.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market.