Warning: Spoilers for Spider-Boy #13!Spider-Man's latest variant, Spider-Girl has emerged as a villain. Her character has been shrouded in mystery since her debut, but Marvel is finally ready to unveil her origin story.
The origin story of Spider-Girl, the newest addition to Spider-Man's rogues gallery, is told in Spider-Boy #13 by Dan Slott, Paco Medina, Erick Arciniega, and VC's Joe Caramagna, as Bullseye explains to the young girl that she's actually a mutant.
The origin story is not only huge in establishing who Spider-Girl is under the mask after her initial appearance, but it attaches her to X-Men lore.
Spider-Girl's Origin Is Officially Tied to Marvel's Mutants - And the X-Men
Spider-Girl Debuted in Spider-Boy #12
As Bullseye and Spider-Girl continue to evade Spider-Man and Daredevil's sidekick, Spider-Boy, a flashback reveals more about Spider-Girl's life before villainy, revealing her name to be Makawalu Akana (or simply Maka). The flashback begins three years ago in her native Kawainui Falls, Hawaii, when eight-time cliff-diving champion Koa Iona comes to town seeking his ninth trophy. After being slighted for an autograph by the celebrity, Maka takes a crack at the trophy herself and becomes the new cliff-diving queen. Even Koa has to it (begrudgingly) that she delivered the best cliff dive that he's ever seen.
Unbeknownst to Maka, one of the spectators in attendance was Daredevil's archnemesis, Bullseye, who had been scouting Maka. In a small whisper, Bullseye calls her out as a mutant. She denies it, but Bullseye shows proof of what he's seen of her in just the last week. Over the course of one week, in addition to winning the cliff diving competition, she won a chess competition, gymnastics regionals, and a battle-of-the-bands competition.
Daredevil's Nemesis Just Became More Evil Than Ever, Thanks to Spider-Man's Sidekick
As Spider-Boy takes his rightful place in the Marvel Universe, he must immediately contend with one of the most dangerous characters in the world.
Bullseye's intentions are not to out Maka, but he promises that he only wants the young child to see the full potential of her powers and how far she can push those abilities. He launches a Spider-Boy card at her, and she catches it easily. He taps into Maka's desire to use her powers to win at everything. In turn, he wants to see if her powers will work on "a certain little spider." After succeeding and getting Bullseye the Fang, he returns the favor by nominating her to the "greatest contest ever": the Challenge of the Jade Dragon, Madripoor's two-on-two fighting tournament.
Spider-Girl and Spider-Boy Face Off Alongside Daredevil and Bullseye
Yes, Spider-Girl Is Technically a Villain
The debut of Spider-Boy revealed that, canonically, Bailey Briggs - Spider-Man's secret sidekick - had been by Spidey's side since the beginning, but because he was axed out of the Web of Life and Destiny, the entire Marvel Universe Daredevil, Spider-Boy and Matt Murdock are jumped by a Bullseye who now re their relationship. However, this rival does not come alone.
Spider-Girl singlehandedly overwhelms the duo.
Bullseye hits the scene with his protégée, Spider-Girl, who made her original debut in Spider-Boy #12 by Slott and Medina. She and Bullseye seek the Golden Fang of the Gaping Maw that Spider-Boy won in the Hellfire Club's Battle Royal years prior. When Daredevil and Spider-Boy inadvertently lead their enemies straight to the artifact, Spider-Girl singlehandedly overwhelms the duo. The master and student pairing essentially leave Daredevil and Spider-Boy for dead as they exit stage left with the Fang and book the first flight out of the country to Madripoor. Once they recover, Bailey and Matt give chase.
What Spider-Girl's Mutant Revelation Means for Her Future
As Well as Her Villain Motivations
Spider-Girl's ties to mutantkind are what separate her from most variations of Spider-Man, if not all of them. Her powers in many ways can be compared to those of Domino, a mutant whose power is being immensely lucky. The full extent of Maka's powers remains to be seen, but the fact that she always wins anything she attempts demands similar luck. If Bullseye doesn't give her the full push needed to understand her powers, perhaps an allegiance with the X-Men will. Her mutant heritage forever keeps that door open for her to the franchise down the line.
Meanwhile, the debut of her origin story opens the door for a hero turn in Maka's future. She hasn't done anything unforgivably heinous (yet), and her path to villainy is all about her eagerness to win at everything rather than pure evil. She's not exactly being manipulated by Bullseye, but he is taking advantage of that eagerness. When Bullseye promises that the winners of the Jade tournament will win "the world," she doesn't care. She only cares about winning for the sake of winning. If she decides to apply that eagerness to heroism, Spider-Girl could team-up with Spider-Man sooner rather than later.
Spider-Boy #13 is available now from Marvel Comics.
