Appearing in "Deathweb, Be Not Proud"

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Synopsis for "Deathweb, Be Not Proud"

Spider-Woman and US Agent are on the scene of a drive-by shooting and quickly act to get the situation under control before innocent people get hurt. As the car speeds away, Spider-Woman uses her psi-webs to try and restrain the car but it is too big and moving too fast. AS such, she changes her approach, shifting the webs so they only latch onto the rear end assembly of the vehicle. This causes the car to veer out of control and slam into a wall, wrecking it. The shooters begin opening fire on the crowd, but they are protected thanks to US Agent's shield. This allows Spider-Woman to round up the crooks without innocent people getting hurt. However, one of them manages to try and steal another car to make a getaway. Unfortunately for him, Spider-Woman is able to lift up the front end of the car, and the final gang member is taken down by US Agent. Spider-Woman thanks US Agent for the assist but has to take off because she is meeting her parents at the airport. As she slips away to change back into her civilian identity of Julia Carpenter so she can make her appointment on time. Along the way she thinks about how personable US Agent is getting, insisting that Julia call him by his alias of Jack Daniels. She wonders if this has anything to do with the recent death of Mockingbird at the hands of Mephisto recently, a tragedy that has shaken the West Coast Avengers to their core.[Continuity 1]

As she drives to LAX, Julia thinks about how her parents were absent for much of her life due to their research outside of the country, particularly in the Peruvian rainforest. She finds herself resenting them a little bit for it, but knew that they loved her. She contemplates revealing to them that she is secretly Spider-Woman but decides against it -- at least for now. Julia arrives at the airport just in time to meet her parents and collect her luggage. As she brings them to her home, Julia has to dodge questions about her employment, and not giving away her double-identity by using her strength to carry too many bags. However, this is all overlooked when Julia's parents, Walter and Elizabeth Cornwall, are reunited with their granddaughter Rachel. After giving Rachel a tarantula as a gift, the adults go into the house to catch up. It's then that the Cornwalls tell their daughter that their work has taken a focus on research as well as preserving the rainforest in order to prevent rare plant life from going extinct. As it begins getting late, Walter and Elizabeth are concerned that they haven't been contacted by their a colleague who was supposed to call them shortly after they arrived in Los Angeles. After such a long day, Julia's parents decide to go to bed as the same time as Rachel, leaving Julia up alone to wonder what Carter Napier wants with their parents. THat's when there is a knock at the door. When Julia goes to answer it, she discovers is shocked to find Carter Napier on the other side. He has a number of insect stings on his body and collapses dead on the floor. His sudden arrival and death comes as a shock to Julia. The racket wakes up Julia's parents, who are just as horrified by the site, as Carter Napier was the man who was supposed to contact them.

Fearing that Napier was murdered by her old foes, the Deathweb, Julia slips outside and changes into Spider-Woman to investigate the property.[Continuity 2] As she searches she is ambushed by Therak, Deathweb's six-armed arachnid powerhouse. As the two battle it out, Spider-Woman fears for the safety of her family and leads Therak out to a nearby marina. There, their battle gets between a young couple who Therak tries to take a hostage, but Spider-Woman manages to free them by using her psi-webbing to yank them free. The battle comes to an abrupt end on a boat which Julia crashes into the aside the docks. This disorientates Therak long enough for Spider-Woman to kick him into the water. Realizing that he is outmached, Therak then flees the scene. With the battle over, Spider-Woman makes her way back to her home, but is so exhausted she passes out on the floor while still wearing her costume in full view of her parents and her daughter.


Continuity Notes

  1. The alleged death of Mockingbird happened in Avengers West Coast Vol 2 #100. However, it is later revealed in Secret Invasion #8 that this was a Skrull spy that replaced Mockingbird circa Avengers West Coast Vol 2 #91.
  2. Julia last clashed with Deathweb in Avengers West Coast Vol 2 #84-86.


  • The title is a variation of John Donne's 'Holy Sonnet', number 10 in the Westmoreland manuscript, which begins "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,".

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