Created by Fiona Avery and Mark Brooks in the second volume of Amazing Fantasy, Anya Corazon has been one of the most underrated modern members of the Spider family. She's played various roles in the Marvel Universe, working alongside more experienced heroes and eventually becoming a mentor of sorts herself.
Now, CBR is taking a look back at the history of the former Araña and current Spider-Girl.
Who Is Anya Corazon?
Anya was first introduced in Amazing Fantasy #6 as an average high school student. She got caught up in a battle between the mystical organizations the Spider Society and the Sisterhood of the Wasp and was mortally wounded, but saved by a member of the Spider Society named Miguel. Given a magical tattoo that healed her, Anya also received a number of typical spider abilities and a tough exoskeleton. She became a dedicated hero to Brooklyn known as Araña and an agent of the Spider Society. This would eventually put her up against a Sisterhood of the Wasp warrior named Amun, who proved her equal.
With her mother long-dead, Anya only had her father Gilberto to depend on. So when he was threatened by Amun, she chose to save him instead of Miguel, who was killed. Shaken, Anya received advice from a chance encounter with Spider-Man, who imparted the knowledge that "with great power comes great responsibility". While Miguel would be resurrected, it was clear that Anya was not as dedicated to the Spider Society as Miguel had hoped. Eventually, her role as the Hunter for the society was given to a girl named Nina during a battle with the Sisterhood of the Wasp. Miguel was killed (this time for real), and Araña became her own hero in the process.
How Araña Became Spider-Girl
Araña was soon approached by Carol Danvers and Simon Williams to join the pro-registration side in Civil War. She agrees to work with them, essentially becoming a sidekick to the pair. Gilberto learned about her secret identity and supported her working with other heroes. However, after defeating a villain meant forcibly separating her from her young daughter, Anya expressed doubts in the Pro-Registration version of heroics. She still worked with Carol Danvers however, and eventually even began to see her as a mother figure. However, a battle with Doomsday Man left her severely injured and without her exoskeleton.
After healing and deciding to continue to be a hero, Araña was targeted by the Kravinoff family as a potential sacrifice to help resurrect Kraven during the Grim Hunt storyline. She was captured along with Julia Carpenter and Madame Web. She managed to work alongside the other spider heroes to try and save the day, although Madame Webb was killed in the process. Carpenter received her magical powers, and Anya received a new costume and took the moniker Spider-Girl.
How Anya Corazon Became a Spider-Verse Web Warrior
Anya continued to work with various heroes, most notably the Young Allies, but faced a new tragedy when Gilberto is killed by an assassin. She channeled that fury into her heroics helping stop an army of spiders from overwhelming Marvel's heroes during Spider-Island, helping the Young Allies during Fear Itself and working with the Avengers during Inhumanity. Her most important role came during the Spider-Man crossovers Spider-Verse and Spider-Geddon. The Inheritors targeted all spider heroes, which compelled her to join up with the other such heroes of the multiverse. Due to her magical origins, Anya proved to be capable of deciphering the ancient scrolls that the Inheritors used. This gave the heroes the edge they needed to win the day.
Following the battle, Anya remained with Spider-Man UK to protect the Web of Life and Destiny. As a founding member of the Web Warriors, she helped protect the entire multiverse. When Spider-Geddon began, her implicit connection to the mystical side of things made her invaluable in battling the returned Inheritors once again. She even found a way to pay back Peter Parker for the advice he gave her years ago, helping tutor his alternate universe daughter Spiderling in how to embrace her more mystical powers. This revealed that Spiderling was a "Pattern-Maker," capable of altering the web of destiny and empowering her fellow spider heroes. Anya has proven herself a capable and worthy hero, and while she's not featured in any current title, it's only a matter of time before Spider-Girl makes her triumphant return.