Spider-Woman #5

Written By: Dennis Hopeless

Art By: Javier Rodriguez 

Release Date: 3/16/16

Spider-Woman #5 was probably the comic I was looking forward to reading the most this week. I’ve always enjoyed Jessica Drew’s character, but when I first saw the “All New Alll Different” teaser showing her pregnant I knew I had to jump on to the series and I’m glad I did. I really felt like I’ve been on the journey with Jessica throughout her whole pregnancy, so I was really excited to see how Jessica will handle motherhood for real.

 

Plot

Spider-Woman #5 is the beginning of a new chapter in Jessica Drew’s life. This is something bigger than being an agent of Hydra, bigger than being an agent of S.H.I.E.LD. , even bigger than being an avenger. What could could possibly be bigger than those awesome chapter’s of Jessica’s life that I just listed you may ask? The answer is quite simple really…First time motherhood. This issue gives us a look at Jessica’s new lifestyle and how she’s adjusting to it. We also get to see just how much her character changed from the beginning of her pregnancy up to now, and we finally get the answer to the question that fans have been asking since the first picture of pregnant Jessica hit the internet. Who’s the baby’s father? And it’s probably not the answer that you expected.

 

Story 

The issue opens up with Jessica talking to the reader, telling us how having the baby has changed things for her. Or how she puts it how the baby has ruined her life. Quick side note though, Jessica refers to her son as the baby throughout the entire issue, so we don’t know the baby’s name officially but I hope it’s Gerry as a nod to the MC2 universe where Jessica also had a son. Anyway back to the story, Jessica talks about how before she had the baby time was never really a factor for her. Most of the time she did what she wanted when she wanted unless there was some kind of hero emergency. She also talks about her fears now that the baby is actually here. She even mentions looking up crazy articles online and how that made her even more paranoid. I may not be a parent yet but I helped my sister take care of her daughter for the first six months after she was born and she was going through these exact same thoughts and conversations, so naturally when I read this part of this issue I had a big smile on my face because I kept thinking about what it was like watching my sister adjust to motherhood for the first time.

Later on in the day Jessica decides to go for a walk in the park with her baby and her fellow avenger/ex boyfriend Hawkeye. I loved this scene for three reasons. The first reason is because she’s going for a walk in the park pushing a baby carriage with Hawkeye tagging along. That scene was totally meant as an inside joke to all the fans that said right off the bat that it was Clint’s baby as soon as marvel announced that Jessica was pregnant. I couldn’t help but laugh because in my head I was singing that old rhyme. Clint and Jess sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Jess with a baby carriage. The second reason why I loved this scene is that I really enjoyed Clint and Jessica’s conversation. Clint talks about how crazy it is that Jessica Drew of all people is a mom now. I’ve always thought that the reason that Clint and Jessica’s relationship worked so well when they were together was not only because they have a lot in common background wise, but they also both seemed like the type that wasn’t ready to settle down. Given their history Clint’s comments make a lot of sense, and I’ve always loved their chemistry. The third, and probably biggest reason why I love this scene, is what happens on their way to the park. A random D list bad guys shows up and tries to attack. Hawkeye uses his arrows on the guy but they’re not really working, so Jessica decides to all mama bear and the bad guy and she beats the crap out of him until he apologizes. That had me cracking up so much.

 

Of course no issue of Spider-Woman would be complete without some girl time with Jessica and her best friend Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. Carol and Jessica’s friendship has been one of the best elements of the entire series. Carol tells Jessica about her week on the job and Jessica says that now that she has the baby to think about she’s not sure if she can fully go back to work as usual like before.  Carol tries to comfort her best friend by saying that they’ve already talked about how she and her baby will be fine once she goes back to work, but Jessica says that was while she was pregnant. Things are totally different now that the baby is actually here. Carol thinks Jessica is too stressed  so she decides to get Jessica out of her apartment for a night  on the town while Rodger babysits. The funniest part is the entire time Jessica keeps imagining Rodger screwing up with the baby until she can’t take it anymore and decides to rush back home.

This leads to another great moment in the issue. Jessica sees that Rodger has things totally under control. After seeing this Jessica starts to question if she was really ready to be a parent. Rodger answers by saying of course it’s easier for him because he’s had years of experience. He assure Jessica that the first few months will be hell for her but it’ll get easier everyday. This scene was great. It once again shows just how strong Jessica’s supporting cast is. Rodger gave Jessica the perfect pep talk right when she needed it.

 

Finally near the end of the issue we get the answer to the question fans have been asking since issue 1. Who’s the baby’s father? While Jessica is getting ready to go out with Carol again she decides to tell her the daddy story. It turns out while Jessica was seeing some random guy she had a pregnancy scare and that pregnancy scare helped put things in perspective for her. That’s when she decided that she wanted a baby. So she decided to be impregnated artificially. Wow I did not see that coming at all. It was such a unique and original twist and it fits really well with Jessica’s character. She goes on to say that everything she’s done in her life has been her choice and even though it will be hard she chose to be Spider-Woman so she has to keep going because that’s who she is. The ending was beautiful. it was a nice bookend to the issue. It started with her scared and overwhelmed  but with the support of her friends Jessica ended up adjusting well and getting right back into the swing of things. That was the perfect way to end the issue.

Art 

Javier Rodriguez is one of my favorite artists at Marvel and one of my favorite artists working in comics period. He did a beautiful job with this issue. As always his facial expressions are fantastic in this comic. It really makes you feel more for Jessica and it helps to really convey what she’s thinking and going through so as readers we can relate to her more. The art also helps sell the comedy in the issue as well as the heart warming moments. I really have no major complaints when it comes to the art.

The Verdict 

I absolutely loved this issue. For all the reasons I said earlier. This issue truly shows how far Jessica’s character has come up to this point. I’m a sucker for a good family story and boy was this an amazing family story. The issue shows us the family that Jessica has built in the series, and it’s only with the support of her new family that she’s able to adjust and find a balance between her two lives. I loved this issue so much and I highly recommend that if you haven’t already you need to go and pick up Spider-Woman #5.