Superheroes are constantly trying to balance their heroics with more everyday challenges. For some, that means making time for school and crime fighting. For others, it means maintaining a love life with a secret identity. And for Spider-Woman, that will mean balancing her web-slinging with single motherhood.
Dennis Hopeless, a writer for the Spider-Woman comics, explained that the inspiration for having Jessica Drew (a.k.a. Spider-Woman) experience pregnancy was his own journey to fatherhood. As Hopeless told People, "Jess was a lot like I had been. She never wanted kids. Not even a little. But we had just done ten issues on Spider-Woman's pursuit of normal. Now we could hit her with a tidal wave of normal."
Both Hopeless and editor Nick Lowe seem conscious of the limits of their understanding in presenting childbearing from a woman's point of view. The scribes explained that they sought guidance from their wives while composing Drew's pregnancy story line, which was introduced in Spider-Woman #1.
As comics present more plot lines that deal with situations real women face, hopefully blockbuster films based on comics will follow their example.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT