King in Black: Spider-Woman Just ANNIHILATED a Symbiote Dragon
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Spider-Woman #7 by Karla Pacheco, Pere Pérez, Frank D’Armata & VC’s Travis Lanham, on sale now.
Most of the Marvel heroes are horrified to discover that the King in Black has taken over Earth. Many of the people that were supposed to fight off Knull have been absorbed into his forces while others are struggling to find options to continue the battle. All except for Jessica Drew, also known as Spider-Woman, who is feeling overwhelming irritation.
Jessica was gathered with a group of other superheroes in the clinic of the Night Nurse, figuring out what to do next when a symbiote dragon came after them. Spider-Woman, who was supposed to be finding a cure for her terminal illness, didn’t have the same scared reaction as the rest. As someone who has had enough terrible things tossed in her way lately, Jessica simply used the Marchand Serum as a power boost and took out the dragon on her own.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Recently, the illness that almost killed Jessica as a child has returned. Her only goal has been figuring out a cure for herself, her niece and possibly her son. Anything else has fallen down her list of priorities, including saving the world. Jessica and her brother thought a cure was near with the Marchand Serum, but it proved to be more of a steroid than a remedy.
The Marchand Serum amplifies Jessica’s super spider powers and she utilized this to fight the symbiote dragon. No one else had a solid plan of attack, so Jessica took a huge syringe full of the serum straight into her neck to handle it by herself. After having Luke Cage toss her at the dragon, Jessica attacked it with all of her chemically induced rage.
Jessica knocked down the other heroes, even hurting Captain Marvel, until they were able to subdue her. They locked Spider-Woman in a Hulk Tank thinking that would keep her contained while the serum wore off. Though she was not able to break through the glass, Jessica did break the restraints that were built to hold the Hulk, showing what the limits of her powers could be.
As awesome as the display of power was, it was not without its downsides. The Marchand Serum has caused Jessica to become unstable, like a person who uses too many steroids. Previously she had warned Captain Marvel to stay away from her, that it caused her to lash out at those she loved. Jessica was proven right when she fought her friends. It didn’t end there either, she verbally attacked her best friend just to cause pain. In addition to that, the serum also shortens Jessica’s life-span. Her terminal illness has shortened her life already, so every moment lost now is another moment she could be finding a cure. In this instance, she took a much bigger dose of the serum than usual so the effects will be exponentially greater in both positive and negative ways.
D.R. Medlen is a nerd and historian. Educated in the social movements of history, she sees the nuances of what pop culture means to people. When she’s not reading comics or classic literature, she’s showing her kids the awesomeness of nerd culture. Or writing fanfiction. Whichever.