The Spider-Verse - Marvel's term for its multiverse full of spider-themed heroes - hosts a myriad of wall-crawling characters. There are Spider-Men, arachnid pigs, and even living clumps of spiders, most of them inspired by Spider-Man's look and powers. But by far the most varied heroes are those who go by the name of Spider-Woman.
In terms of costume, powers, and personality, the "Spider-Woman" label is as varied as it comes, but which version of Spider-Woman is Marvel's strongest? We'll break it down tournament-style into classic Spider-Women vs. multiversal Spider-Women, and analyze which friendly neighborhood Spider-gal is the toughest of the bunch. The heavyweight winner of the girl-powered Spider-Verse may surprise you!
Classic Spider-Women
The first group of Spider-Women to discuss are the original, classic Spider-Women of Earth-616, aka the mainstream Marvel reality. This includes: Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, Mattie Franklin, Charlotte Witter, and Madame Web. Jessica Drew was the first Spider-Woman to grace the comics in Marvel Spotlight #52. Although she started as a means for Marvel to retain copyright over a female spider character, she developed into a hyper-intelligent PI. Working with both HYDRA and SHIELD as a valuable operative, she can crawl on walls, has a spider-sense, and is super strong. Jessica Drew also has the added power of venom blasts, as well as a pheromone that helps her intimidate or influence enemies. Not to mention she's been able to whip out psychic force fields from time to time. How do the other mainstream Spider-Women compare?
The second Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter, appeared in 1984's Secret Wars #6, and readers may also know her as Arachne. Crafted from a concoction of plant toxins and spider venom, her DNA allows her to shoot psionic webs and use pre-cognitive abilities, as well as boasting the classic array of spider-powers. Her psychic additions give her a leg up, but she was later depowered by an evil Spider-Woman, Charlotte Witter, who we'll get to in a second.
Next comes the third Spider-Woman, Mattie Franklin from 1998's The Spectacular Spider-Man #263. She inherits her spider-powers from one of the five totems and has the same powers as Peter Parker, fashioning claw-like spider legs onto her costume for added agility. Unfortunately, she soon perishes in her next big battle, and she doesn't have many comic appearances afterward. However, Jessica, Julia, and Mattie all teamed-up before her death on Earth-616 to fight Charlotte Witter, who siphons powers and plots to hunt down every other Spider-Woman so that she can take on their powers and become the strongest - and only - Spider-Woman.
Charlotte Witter can't be discussed without also introducing Madame Web; she's Charlotte's grandmother, after all. Madame Web makes her first appearance in 1980's Amazing Spider-Man #210. She's the Professor X of the Spider-Verse, but immortal. She can penetrate the mind to alter memories, steal powers from others, and access visions of time through her Web of Destiny. Through her clairvoyance and psychic abilities, Madame Web often helps Peter Parker track down foes and fight crime.
Julia Carpenter took on Madame Web's powers when she was killed by the Kraven family, therefore establishing an eternal line of Madame Web figures. With her existing powers augmented by Madame Web's abilities, Julia is easily the strongest Earth-616 Spider-Woman, and her ruthlessness in the role would likely give her an edge over the other, more optimistic heroes. So, what about the alternate-universe versions of Spider-Woman? Who can take on this telepathic spider oracle?
Alternate-Universe Spider-Women
The list of alternate universe Spider-Women has to begin with Peter Parker's daughter, MayDay Parker. She joins the comics as Spider-Girl in 1998's What If? #105, then as Spider-Woman in 2015's Amazing Spider-Man #15. She has bio-magnetic wall crawling, martial arts training, and weaponized webbing assisting her super agility.
Next up is Peter Parker's clone, the Ultimate Spider-Woman. Making her debut in 2006's Ultimate Spider-Man #98, this Spider-Woman has the same DNA as Peter, just with some tweaked XY chromosomes. In addition, this Spider-Woman has spinnerets in her fingertips, allowing her to produce organic webbing. She works temporarily as a SHIELD agent and takes on the name "Jessica Drew," showing herself to be a natural leader who helps form the Young Ultimates. While she initially struggles with her clone identity, she eventually blossoms into a fully independent Spider-Woman. For now, we'll say MayDay Parker and Ultimate Spider-Woman are tied.
Two fan-favorites leap onto the page in 2014: Gwen Stacy's Spider-Gwen and Cindy Moon's Silk. Spider-Gwen hosts a dimension-hopping gadget, super agility, accelerated healing, and pre-cognitive spider-sense. This leads her into brilliant, trippy storylines in which she must use her smarts as much as her strength to solve her many Spider-Verse problems.
Cindy Moon, unlike Gwen, can produce organic webbing. She even makes a webbed suit for added armor protection. Her other powers include a photographic memory, spider-claw fingertips, extra-hardened skin, and the ability to sense Peter Parker anywhere in the universe. Cindy is introduced as inheriting her powers from the same spider that bit Peter Parker, and exists in the regular Earth-616 reality, but it's her counterpart in Gwen's alternate reality that settles this score. Gwen Stacy is revealed to have inherited her abilities from a spider engineered at the hands of Earth-65 Silk, an evil version of Cindy Moon. This AU version of Silk is quick to overpower Spider-Gwen and take away her powers. While it may therefore seem that Silk is the strongest of the new Spider-Women, it doesn't account for Gwen's next move.
Following the loss of her powers, Gwen combines with the Venom symbiote and transforms into a character nicknamed "Gwenom." With these newfound powers, Gwen seeks revenge on Matt Murdock - her longtime nemesis - and even overpowers Captain America in the process in 2015's Spider Gwen #29. Massively more powerful than Silk, Ultimate Spider-Woman, and MayDay Parker, this incarnation of Spider-Gwen beats out the rest of the alternate-universe Spider-Women, leaving her with one final opponent.
The Strongest Spider-Woman is...
Now it's time for classic vs. alternate universe Spider-Woman. Is Madame Web or Gwenom stronger? If we go with the first Madame Web, despite her psychic abilities, Gwenom can beat her in a fight. The original Madame Web is blind and may be at a disadvantage against Gwenom's enhanced speed and the shapeshifting powers imbued by the alien suit.
But if the Julia Carpenter version of Madame Web squares up against Gwenom, it's more than a fair fight. Not only does Julia have all of Madame's Web telepathic prowess, she still maintains her psychokinetic webbing, super strength, astral projection, and original spider powers. It's a tight fight, but we'll call it; Julia Carpenter's Madame Web is the strongest version of Marvel's Spider-Woman.