Spider-Woman

Spider-Woman Portrayed by TBD Statistics Full Name Jessica Miriam Drew Age 27 (92) Height 5'10 Build Curvy + Lean Muscle Eyes Green Hair Dyed Black Factions SHIELD Occupation SHIELD Agent, Superhero Alignment Hero Claim to Fame Knocking off Spider-Man's name. Reputation Jessica's reputation is mostly good, both in the superhero circuit and the government agency circuit, but sometimes with a slight undercurrent of wondering if she can be trusted or not. She's known to be willing to help pretty much anyone who asks. Biography Only child of Jonathan Drew and Merriam Drew. Father was research partner to Dr. Herbert Edgar Wyndham, later the High Evolutionary. Raised in Transia, near Wundagore Mountain. Jess fell ill as a young girl, in 1931, affected by the radioactive uranium. Her father and Dr. Wyndham cooperated on an emergency treatment, injecting her with her father's experimental spider serum, subjecting her to Wyndham's evolving ray, and then placing her in extended suspended animation. Shortly after, her mother was attacked and killed by a werewolf. Her father left Wundagore. While in the genetic accelerator, she aged at an incredibly reduced rate, decades later, when she was released, she was a teenage girl. Jessica grew up on Mount Wundagore, under the care of Lady Bova, one of the High Evolutionary's New Men. She received the equivalent of a high school education, and left when she didn't seem to fit in. At first, she was confused, being around other humans. Jess became involved with a young villager, and when startled by his father while in an intimate embrace, she accidentally discharged her bioelectricity, killing her lover. Fleeing an angry mob after the incident Count Otto Vermis rescued her. HYDRA, under the control of Count Otto Vermis, recruited her as a HYDRA agent. Using brainwashing, and mental manipulation HYDRA convinced her she was not human, but actually an evolved spider. While serving HYDRA they put her through rigorous espionage and martial arts training. During this time she went by the alias Arachne and she battled S.H.I.E.L.D. and its director Nick Fury, who revealed Vermis as a cold-blooded killer, and HYDRA's true nature. She quit HYDRA, betrayed them, and fled. Wishing to prove to herself that she was human, Jess became obsessed with finding her parents, or at least what had happened to them. On the trail of Jonathan Drew, her father, she met Magnus. A ghost who had posessed her father's body decades ago. He told her he had felt Jonathan die just months before and to continue her search in America. Some measure of success is had in the City by the Bay. She started up a private investigation service and did work on the side as Spider-Woman. She would become known as the 'dark angel of San Francisco' during this time. She made friends, she made enemies, and she probably made some frenemies, too. She fought Viper, who tried to convince her that she was her mother — Jessica's still not sure what to make of that. But, all good things must come to an end and part of that end included an offer she couldn't refuse from her old pal Magnus. Insert various problems with her powers failing or being stolen which can be fleshed out with PCs if needed. Seeking a more permanent solution to her fluctuating powers, she wound up taking an offer from HYDRA toward that end. HYDRA wanted her to join SHIELD so she could garner information from them; after a chat with Nick Fury, she joins SHIELD and proceeds to play the role of double-agent. SHIELD feeds her limited information to pass to HYDRA and she passes HYDRA-related information to SHIELD. It's a win-win all around until Nick goes missing for a while. Eighteen months later and she not only has her powers, but they're better than before. Current times see her as being somewhat adrift. Stuck with grunt work at SHIELD despite her rank and with HYDRA having no immediate use for her as a result, she's taken up the role of Spider-Woman a bit more actively in the hopes that it'll keep her distracted.

Character Details Personality She's fierce and independent, the sort of person who — despite her occasional desires otherwise — will survive no matter what. She's learned, to some degree, how to survive in the wilds of the world … if not necessarily thrive. More than that, she can do it alone, without help; asking for help is only an option when all others have been exhausted. Jessica just won't quit. She really, really doesn't know her place in this world. She's restless, anxious, and always on the search for some place where she fits in. Her lack of solid social grace doesn't help matters and the fact that she's never really had a chance to strike it out on her own and find out what she wants to do hasn't helped matters, either. She's guided not by her own thoughts and whims but the needs of others who would take full advantage of her. She's so used to it by now that she probably wouldn't know the first thing about doing anything on her own without those external guides in place. She wants friends. She needs friends. She just lacks the ability to reliably acquire those friends. While she's been surprised in the past and does have two or three really close people that she trusts, she's also a victim of her own abilities. Sure, she could push her pheromones, but what quality of friend could that possibly garner her? On the other hand, her tendency to pull up her shields of caustic wit and biting commentary is just as liable to scare people off as endear them. Add to that her emotional vulnerability and it's just a recipe for disaster. Finding that happy place of friendship is hard enough, made worse by her upbringing and general life until this point. Her lack of social grace is a terrible thing and she's no doubt destined to a long life of flying it solo until she figures those nuances out. To her mind, she's worthless without her powers. Without that added edge, she just feels even worse off than she already it. Never mind that she's smart, attractive, and the girl that most guys would want — deep down, she hates herself for all the things that make her who she is and then hates herself for that hate. That nasty little voice of self-doubt is a loud one and silencing it has not been successful. She takes failure badly and successes are downplayed as being a matter of luck or timing, rather than skill. Danger? She can handle it. In fact, she thrives on the rush of adrenaline and the thrill of getting out of a bad situation by the skin of her teeth. Challenge her to do something and she'll not only do it, but take it to the level of risk. Maybe there's a twinge of a death wish worked into this recklessness, but it seems to serve her well and she hasn't died /yet/ … She's smart. She's sassy. She tells it like it is and sod off if you can't handle it, you wanker. It's a nice bit of armor she wears and she usually relies on this aspect of her personality to cover for all the nasty imperfections underneath. Unfortunately for her, her personality and history have made her quite the monkey in the middle of a lot of shenanigans. Her emotional instability makes her far more pliable than she likes. She might be forever doomed to be That Girl (tm) who winds up repeating life mistakes a few too many times before she really /gets/ it. Abilities Wall Crawl Jess has the ability to excrete an unidentified adhesive substance from her palms and soles. This allows to adhere to almost any surface effortlessly. This ability is also useful when it comes to picking up things. Like, say, a car. Immunities Jessica's enhanced physiology rapidly forms an immunity to all poisons and drugs she comes into contact with. Nullifying the effects of any poisons or toxins before they can have an ill effect on her. She has also proven totally immune to radiation, since her previous poisoning, meaning she could walk into the aftermath of a nuclear bomb going off without worrying too much. Pheromones Most days, this 'power' is about as useful (to Jess, anyway) as another hole in the head. She emits a combination of natural pheromones that function in a couple of ways, though she can't control /what/ they do. The end effect seems to be related to anyone who picks up on them. As a result, individuals who are drawn to women generally view her favorably, while those who are not may respond with fear, hostility, or a plethora of other reactions. She may seem more intimidating to those easily intimidated; she may be viewed as more of a threat. Those affected favorably by it will react according to their personality: maybe they'd be more willing to help her or perhaps they might do their best to curry her favor. While she has a chemical 'perfume' that usually nullifies the effects of her pheromones, it only really works if she's not under extremes of emotion. When she's nervous, afraid, or displaying any other strong emotion, her pheromones will flare beyond her tenuous control. Superhuman Strength A result of the combination of special serum derived from spider blood and certain radiation treatments received to save her life from the Uranium poisoning, Jess awoke from her stasis with an enhanced musculature. Her whole body has been strengthened and her lean frame is now able to lift approximately 7 tons. Superhuman Endurance Her enhanced musculature also gives Jess the ability to use it, generally for longer than needed. She can use her full strength for a full half hour without the first signs of fatigue setting in. Jess can take a punch. Or ten. Or a car hitting her, as long as she has an instant to prepare herself to move with the impact. One of the greatest benefits of her enhanced musculature, Jess usually doesn't go down too easily. Reflexes & Agility The serum and radiation didn't just make Jess stronger, her body can react to a thought, noise, scent, any trigger, practically quicker than she can process the thought. Her reflexes are far beyond anything a human could manage. Simply amazing, Jess's speed, when it comes to little movements, like punching, kicking, or getting out of the way. She can move almost too quickly for the eye to see. Paired with her incredible reflexes, this enables her to dodge most blows, or attacks, even gunfire at times, if it isn't from point-blank range. Venom Bolt Ever since waking up from her time in stasis with the serum and evolving ray, Jessica's body has been generating a lethal power, dubbed bioelectricity. Jess can focus the bioelectricity that her body generates into "blasts" sufficient to stun or kill normal humans, depending on the amount used. Spider-Woman's 'venom blast' attack is evidenced by a bit of glowing green appearing around her hand or arm and then being directed at an opponent. Espionage During her time with HYDRA, Jess underwent rigorous training as a special agent, much of this training revolving around espionage, spying, stealth, and deception, which she put to use on various missions for them. Jess is very good when it comes to this arena. Gathering information, making it disappear. Keeping secrets, and discovering them. Further training with SHIELD has only increased her ability in this field. Martial Arts One of the few good things Jess got out of her time at HYDRA, very rigorous, and advanced martial arts training, in various styles and with various weapons. Including training from the Taskmaster himself (though the usefulness of having him as a teacher is debatable). Real world experience has only increased he skill in hand to hand combat. The fact that she's stronger and quicker than most people helps too. Linguistics Jessica spent approximately 70 years in stasis, with the High Evolutionary playing educational 'tapes' for her. 70 YEARS. Jess might not be up to date on all the slang and what have, but she can speak a /lot/ of languages. Further enhanced with her training as a special agent of HYDRA, Jess seems to have a gift for tongues, and quickly picked up on the writing and reading to go with the languages she could speak. English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Mandarin. Handy for a spy. Investigation Being a spy, and then opening her own detective agency, Jess has become a pretty good P.I. She knows how to put things together, and is very good at solving puzzles, or mysteries. Working as a P.I. has made Jess pretty good at finding people too. She tends to note small details that other people might miss, or overlook as being insignificant. Advantages Suit Jess's costume does serve /some/ functional purposes, aside from hugging every curve. It's made of a relatively sturdy material, not bullet-proof, but it does provide some minor protection against impacts and some forms of energy. It also has a set of gliding wings, allowing her to leap from tall heights and glide a ways, when needed. Shield Jessica Drew is a SHIELD Agent, though one with a tenuous position, given her known, previous connections to HYDRA. Should it be needed, she likely has access to any information or resources SHIELD can offer. Disdvantages Unstable Powers On top of having a bad tendency to lose her powers or regain them, Jessica's powers, at current, are rather unstable. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. While her physical attributes seem stable, there's nothing more awkward than climbing a wall … and then falling off. Or trying to zap-fry some schmuck and getting no spark. Mental State Jess hasn't had a normal life. Her father was the research assistant to the High Evolutionary. She almost died from radiation poisoning as a young girl. She spent 70 some years locked in stasis, vastly slowing the aging of her body. Her mother got eaten by a werewolf. Seriously. When she was finally cured of the poisoning and awakened, she had no family and lived with the High Evolutionary's 'New Men' on Wundagore Mountain. She spent her first year or so being taken care of by Lady Bova the cow-woman. Literally. A human-cow hybrid. Jessica left Wundagore after a year or two, and found work in a British town, and even started a relationship with a man. Which ended when she accidentally killed him with a bio-electric discharge. HYDRA found her, took her in, and brain-washed her, then trained her as an assassin and sent her to kill Nick Fury. She managed to stop herself and get away from HYDRA. To say Jess is on the verge of having a mental breakdown at any given time could be called an understatement. Sometimes it's worse than others, sometimes she hardly thinks of it. Hydra & Viper Viper. Often known as Madame Hydra, the woman is completely insane. Viper believes that she is in fact Merriam Drew. Jessica's long dead mother. Because of this she is obviously a little obsessed with Jess. If having one of the world's most dangerous terrorists obsessed with you isn't bad enough. Throw in the fact that Viper is usually the head of HYDRA, and well, Viper could easily make Jessica's life a pain. This isn't a normal relationship by any means. Viper generally has no wish to /physically/ harm Jess (and has even helped defend her and possibly saved her life once), but would likely be more than willing to do a great deal to bring Jess back to her, and to HYDRA. Not So Secret Identity Jessica Drew is Spider-Woman (one of them). While not necessarily known to the general public, this isn't the best kept secret. HYDRA has extensive files on her, as does SHIELD. And she doesn't bother to keep it much of a secret herself. Anyone who was interested and had the resources could likely find out her identity relatively easily. While Jess has no family, and no really close friends to worry about, it is easy to see how this could spell trouble for her in the future. Bio-electricity Spider-Woman's'venom bolt' attacks are charged by bio-electricity that her own body produces. While her body is constantly producing this energy, repeated and prolonged use can quickly deplete the supply in her body and she would have to wait a moment or two for her physiology to produce enough bio-electricity for further attacks. Pheromones Some powers are more bane than boon; for Jessica, that would be her pheromones. While she has a chemical spray to control them, they often flare out of control regardless. The effects are wildly variable and that unpredictability tends to make things very difficult when dealing with people. Worse, knowing full well that the reactions people have toward her are based not on /who/ she is but by /what/ she exudes only exacerbates the problem. Thus, she finds it hard to trust her interactions with people, as she'll likely be forever wondering if it's her personality or her chemistry that's at work. Relationships Image Name Relation Information Character Name Friend Insert a description of the relationship here. Character Gallery Logs 2014 Grilled and Cheese November 18, 2014: Jessica tries to make friends with SHIELD's rescued robo-Stark. (log: 20141118-grilled-and-cheese | tags: howard_stark spider-woman | posted: 19 Nov 2014 23:46) Visitors to the Fishbowl November 17, 2014: Howard Stark draws a crowd. (log: 20141117-visitors-to-the-fishbowl | tags: fenris howard_stark simmons spider-woman the-cavalry witchblade | posted: 19 Nov 2014 23:02) Norilisk Extraction November 5, 2014: A SHIELD extraction team goes to retrieve Jessica Drew from a remote Russian mining town after her cover is compromised. (log: 20141106-norilisk-extraction | tags: antoine_triplett black_widow falcon hunter shield spider-woman the_cavalry | posted: 06 Nov 2014 08:41) Back to: Current Cast