Spider-Woman #1 Brings a Little Gotham to the Marvel Universe

AdamNovember 4, 2026

Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Andrea Broccardo
Colors: Mattia Iacono
Letters: VC’s Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Released: 11/04/2026
Cover: Ito
Price: $4.99

My first thought reading Spider-Woman #1 was “is Jessica Drew becoming Batman?”, and when the story is from the writer of one of the best Batman books of the decade, that’s a good thing. That’s not to say it’s a good thing in-universe of course, it’s never really a good sign when a character starts acting like Batman, but to be fair Jessica Drew has been through a lot. Picking up from the status quo established in Dan Watters and Andrea Broccardo’s story in the Spider-Woman 50th Anniversary Special (which, while a good taster of the vibe of this book is not an essential read plot-wise), and earlier this year in the Spider-Versity mini-series, we see Jessica as yet another hero getting gooped up as the latest host to the Carnage symbiote. She’s balancing that with a return to her P.I. roots and her partnership with Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich, a taste of superhero normality to balance out the dark influence of Carnage.

While it may not be quite as prevalent in this issue as it was in the 50th Anniversary Special, this series sees a clear noir influence on the life of the original Spider-P.I. A big part of that is Watters’ portrayal of New York, which immediately feels a little darker than the typical view in a Spider-Man book, the gang territory is something solid and respected compared to your typical robbery scene. Watters makes great use of the current spotlight on Tombstone as the big gangster of NYC as Jessica goes busting heads to track down the only gang leader not yet attacked in her current case, serving as both a great way for Broccardo to flex those action skills while giving a great moment of interiority for Jess, showing the darker direction Carnage has been leading her and also the detective skills that earned that P.I. reputation, fighting her way to Tombstone just to realise she didn’t need to on arrival. Watters and Broccardo nail the interesting status quo set up by Zeb Wells for Tombstone instantly, just a few brief panels showing how intimidating he can be, but also his somewhat friendly relationship with the superheroes when they’re not a threat to him. It’s one of my favorite developments of a Spider-Man villain in recent years, and it’s great to see it bleed into the wider line.

*Spider-Woman* #1 / Watters, Broccardo, Iacono, Sabino / Marvel Comics

One aspect of this book that really grabbed me was the focus on motherhood, shown here through the villain Hangman’s ex and his daughter. It’s not long ago that this was such a key part of Jessica’s own story before her kid became an adult Nazi or something stupid. It definitely feels like Watters is planting a few seeds to dive into the trauma of that in this arc as Jessica finds herself protecting a loving mother desperate to protect her daughter. The fact Jessica even shows up to her door in the incredible Rodriguez costume seems like a strong hint that Watters will explore how this affects Jessica as a mother, and I really hope it does.

The idea of Carnage as a dark influence is nothing new, it’s been passed around quite a lot recently, most notably to Eddie Brock. Spider-Woman‘s take is a little different though, with Carnage so weak as to not even have a voice, allowing his influence to be weaker too, but also more subtle. We see it in Jessica’s increased violent tendencies, her more abrasive conversations with Ben Urich, and most notably in one of my favourite scenes of the issue, as we see Jess “commune” with Carnage. Broccardo beautifully illustrates the bond between them here in a candlelit scene as Jessica faces her darker self in a mirror, beautifully reminiscent of a horror movie as Jessica tries to enforce boundaries between her and Carnage we all know aren’t really there.

I’ve been a fan of Andrea Broccardo for a while now, and it’s great to see them get a more prominent role now with this book, and they really nail it, especially in showing the interior of Jess under the surface through her expressions. There’s some really fun panelling too, especially in the Tombstone scenes which gives the action a great flow, and Watters and Broccardo work together really well, knowing when to let the art speak for itself instead of burying it under narration. One problem I have with this book is Mattia Iacono’s colours, which are really great in a vacuum but don’t really fit the darker, more noir tone of the book. There are a few scenes it works on, the title page most notably as we see a darker, nighttime NYC with the bright Spider-Woman gliding through and contrasting the darker skyline, but the issue largely feels like it’s just too bright.

I mentioned the Batman influence earlier, and it’s hard not to see them throughout, Jessica struggling with darker impulses in a darker view of Marvel’s NYC, her sole confidant a trenchcoat wearing friend she meets on rooftops, storming through enemy strongholds to shake down mob bosses. Watters and Broccardo are clearly evoking these comparisons to show just how much trouble Jessica Drew is in, and I look forward to seeing just how deep she falls into this hole before pulling herself out of it. This series sets up plenty of interesting threads to really dive deep in Jessica Drew and I have complete faith in the team to bring them to fruition.