In a weird twist, Spider-Man once faced a villain named Corona who threatened New York City - and whose creation had unwittingly released some sort of chemical-induced illness. Superhero comics have a rich history of social commentary, and in the '90s Marvel embraced themes of public health in an unexpected way.

Marvel's attention rested on the contemporary AIDS crisis, with several Spider-Man arcs confronting the wall-crawler with the horror of the condition, and Doctor Octopus attempting to find a cure. Meanwhile, the X-Men were faced with the terrifying threat of the Legacy Virus, a heavy-handed analogy for AIDS that targeted only mutants. But in amidst all these stories, one stands out from the rest as oddly prescient given the current Coronavirus pandemic.

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In Spectacular Spider-Man #176-177, Kurt Busiek and Sal Buscema introduced readers to a new villain named - of all things - Corona. She was the manipulative sister of a wealthy scientist who cared little for ethics, and had willingly allowed herself to be subjected to dangerous experimentation. This left her transformed into an unstable, post-human state, with her cells producing energy that allowed her to transmutate matter at will. The process was degenerative, however, and was gradually killing her; Corona launched a spate of attacks upon her brother in a desperate attempt to acquire an antidote she needed.

Corona Creation

In truth, Corona's brother - a little-known character named Cedric Forrester - was the true villain of the story. He'd ignored safety rules, and as a result he'd unwittingly flooded the city's water supply with the same chemicals that had granted his sister super-powers. All over New York, people began to collapse, suffering from debilitating - and potentially fatal - fevers. Spider-Man found himself faced with an impossible situation, battling to prevent Corona taking the antidote because the city needed it as well; the fever struck particularly close to home when his wife Mary Jane collapsed with it.

The story reads rather uncomfortably in light of the current Coronavirus pandemic, but it wasn't really foreshadowing at all; Busiek chose the character's name because "Corona" is the Spanish word for "crown," and his quasi-villain considered herself crowned with glory and power. It is possible Busiek learned the double-meaning, that there is indeed such a thing as a Coronavirus, and this inspired the fever plot; but frankly, that's not necessarily the case. It's more reasonable to suppose this is just an odd coincidence. Regardless, Corona appeared one more time - in Spider-Man Unlimited #3, and Marvel asked readers to let them know if they wanted to see her return as some sort of antihero. Presumably they didn't get much interest, because the Spider-Man comics have completely forgotten her.

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