While the Spider-Woman name was originally used by Marvel Comics in order to stop other companies from trademarking the name, she soon evolved into a unique character that originally separated herself from Spider-Man and his characters, though their worlds have moved closer together over the years.
The increasing popularity of Spider-Woman and other Spider-people in the Marvel Universe has led to quite a few different versions of Spider-Woman with varying abilities and power levels. Today we are going to take a closer look at the various characters known as Spider-Woman to see which version is the most powerful.
10 NELL RUGGLES
Nell Ruggles was first introduced in the Supreme Power universe that gave the Squadron Supreme the Marvel MAX treatment, with the third volume of the series focusing on a new team assembled by the exiled Ultimate Nick Fury.
A new wave of powerful beings was created after exposure to an alien artifact, which transformed the troubled young Nell Ruggles into a Spider-Woman who was able to create mucous-like organic webbing and had enhanced strength and agility, though she later lost her powers along with most of her world's powered characters.
9 CHARLOTTE WITTER
Charlotte Witter was the granddaughter of the precognitive Madame Web whose latent abilities were enhanced by Doctor Octopus after he spliced her DNA with spider genes that physically transformed Charlotte as well.
She took on the name of Spider-Woman and used her spider-like psionic abilities to hunt down the previous characters who had also used the name so she could absorb their powers, though she was stopped and her powers drained from her by the next hero to use the name Spider-Woman.
8 ASHLEY BARTON
While she was originally known as Spider-B*tch when she was first introduced in the future Wastelands of Old Man Logan, Ashley Barton would eventually take on the name of Spider-Woman after the Spider-Verse event.
Ashley is the daughter of Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Tonya Parker, who is a future daughter of Spider-Man. Ashley's spider-abilities were passed down to her from her grandfather, though her powers are a reduced version of his and she has yet to display his precognitive spider-sense.
7 MARY JANE WATSON
There have been a few super-powered versions of Mary Jane Watson across the Multiverse, though one took on the name of Spider-Woman and even wore a costume that was almost identical to Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
MJ/Spider-Woman first appeared in the pages of Exiles as a member of the Avengers, a group of surviving heroes who are locked in a never-ending battle with Phalanx-infested heroes and villains. While the character wasn't explored much beyond her relationship with Mariko Yashida/Sunfire, she seemed to have the same powers as the mainstream Spider-Man.
6 MATTIE FRANKLIN
Martha "Mattie" Franklin gained her abilities in the mystical Gathering of the Five, amping up all of her physical abilities and allowing her to fly, which she used to initially become the new Spider-Man, though the real Spider-Man soon returned.
Mattie adopted the alias of Spider-Woman after she encountered the Charlotte Witter version, who hunted down every character who had called themselves Spider-Woman so she could drain their powers. Mattie was able to defeat Charlotte, absorb all of the stolen abilities and reclaim her name, though she later died during the Grim Hunt storyline.
5 JULIA CARPENTER
The second character to use the name Spider-Woman was Julia Carpenter, an unknowing test subject in a government experiment by the Commission on Superhuman Activities who were hoping to create their own superhero.
An injected mix of plant extracts and snake venom gave Julia abilities similar to Spider-Man, though she had additional talents that allowed her to create psionic webbing and feel out her environment much like Spider-Man's spider-sense. Julia would later become the second Madame Web, granting her further precognitive abilities.
4 JESSICA DREW
The first Marvel hero to use the name Spider-Woman in continuity was Jessica Drew, whose powers stem from her father's attempts to save her life as a child using a serum made from the blood of different species of spiders.
Jessica would go on to become a Hydra agent and a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent before becoming an Avenger, though she has mostly returned to a solo career as a private investigator. Drew again shares similar abilities to Spider-Man, though she can also glide through the air, generate controlling pheromones, and has a powerful bio-electric venom-blast.
3 GWEN STACY
While she is currently known as Ghost-Spider and more commonly known as Spider-Gwen, the Gwen Stacy who first appeared in Edge of Spider-Verse started her superhero career in her alternate dimension as Spider-Woman.
In Gwen's dimension, she was the one bitten by the radioactive spider that gave the mainstream Peter Parker his abilities which she used to become Spider-Woman, though she now relies on her reality's Venom symbiote to replicate her lost abilities.
2 MAY "MAYDAY" PARKER
In the alternate future MC2 reality, Peter Parker and Mary Jane's child grew up to become May "Mayday" Parker, who initially wore her Uncle Ben Reilly's Spider-Man costume and mechanical web-shooters as Spider-Girl before she took on her father's costume as Spider-Woman.
May inherited her father's abilities, though she had an advanced spider-sense and was even able to extend her own ability to stick to walls to others, though she wasn't as physically strong as Spider-Man.
1 ULTIMATE JESSICA DREW
The Ultimate Universe introduced a new Marvel Universe full of updated characters where anything was possible, as fans found out when the Ultimate Clone Saga resulted in the creation of a female clone of Peter Parker.
She took the name Jessica Drew and worked as Spider-Woman alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Ultimates, though she briefly became the new Ultimate Black Widow. Drew has all of Peter Parker's abilities, though she is able to generate organic webbing from her fingertips instead of having to rely on mechanical web-shooters.