Marvel gives Spider-Woman a modern makeover

Take note, superhero fashionistas: Spider-Woman's spinning her hippest look ever.

After nearly 40 years of the same red-and-yellow curve-hugging tights, Marvel Comics superheroine Jessica Drew is getting a modern makeover. A new costume designed by artist Kris Anka can be seen beginning today when Spider-Woman debuts as a playable character in the Spider-Man Unlimited mobile game, and the fresh threads will be seen on comic-book pages in March when the character begins a new direction in her life in the recently launched Spider-Woman solo series.

"As much as I'm a fan of spandex and it has its time and place, I felt Jess as a character could move away from that for a good long while," says Spider-Woman editor Nick Lowe.

And series writer Dennis Hopeless hopes both changes cement her as one of Marvel's A-list personalities. "You've seen her as a superspy and Avenger and soldier. Now let's see this person as an old-school hero."

Spider-Woman, Spider-Man and other various Spider-centric characters are currently embroiled in dimension-hopping battles in Marvel's Spider-Verse crossover, and in a bit of synergy between the publishing and game sides, the expansive story is a part of Spider-Man Unlimited, an "endless runner" game published by Gameloft for iOS, Android and Windows platforms with more than 30 million downloads since its September launch.

Spider-Woman's appearance also arrives with an in-game event that features her new wardrobe in action for the first time.

Instead of head-to-toe spandex, Jessica Drew's do-gooder couture now includes a lot more leather, black pants, two-toned gloves and a jacket that goes from streetwear to spider-bedecked superhero gear in just a few snaps.

"As a woman myself who loves games and comics, I love to see that functional, cool stylish look. It's like a jacket I would want to wear daily," says Tatiana Nahai, product manager for Gameloft.

"She's sexy but not in a spandex way — in a modern, unique way."

There are a few throwbacks to the old costume she first wore in 1977 — the familiar triangles are there as well as large spider-eyes, though now they're yellow-lens glasses that become a facemask when one click. Spider-Woman also has the same type of web gliders that spread out under her arms — to slow a fall or swoop in on a bad guy — though the new ones are engaged from the back of her jacket.

Since Lowe took over the Spider-Man titles as group editor in February, he says he had been planning a new Spider-Woman solo series — her first was in 1978 and ran 50 issues — and also a more contemporary outfit since "frankly I don't love the classic one." (The new design was already well underway when Marvel came under fire in August for a variant Spider-Woman cover by artist Milo Manara that was deemed too hyper-sexualized by many in the comic community.)

Working with Hopeless and Anka, Lowe wanted a costume that walked the line between superhero-ready and something a woman would wear in the real world. "But for the most part," he says, "they're clothes to kick ass in."

They also make sense for Hopeless' plans for Jessica Drew in the comic, according to the writer.

In recent years, she's led a notably insane life, even for a Marvel superhero — Secret Invasion revealed that she'd been replaced for years by a shape-shifting alien Skrull, she's gone through a number of crazy superspy missions, Infinity threw her and the rest of the Avengers into an intergalactic battle to save Earth, and in Spider-Verse, the character's been tasked with keeping various newbies safe in the middle of a conflict involving several parallel universes.

However, Hopeless says, "she's just fed up with it: 'I have nothing normal and I'm risking my life all the time to do stuff that's so crazy I can't even explain it to people.' "

A new story arc kicking off in Spider-Woman No. 5 and illustrated by Javier Rodriguez will find Jessica Drew focusing on helping folks in New York City in a more street-level way rather than dealing with the planet-threatening likes of, say, the Red Skull. Hopeless feels it goes back to her roots in the '70s when Spider-Woman started out simply wanting to solve one problem at a time and had a stint as a private detective.

Reporter Ben Urich, a staple in Spider-Man and Daredevil comics over the years, plays a big role in the series, and Hopeless plans on adding to Spider-Woman's rogues gallery and supporting cast: "I definitely have a mind-set of building something big."

Lowe feels fans will fall in love with her again just as he has because she is both relatable and grounded, and her tweaked costume is perfect for a heroine who needs to dig into the criminal underworld in a subtle way.

"Spider-Man isn't really a detective — he swings around looking for trouble, whereas Jess needs to go and figure stuff out and dig things up, and you can't really do that head to toe in spandex very well," Lowe says.

"To operate on the level she wants to, she needs something that can pass for semi-normal and she can turn it on to crazy if she needs to."

Freshening up superhero costumes is needed for characters who have been around for decades — earlier this year, DC Comics' Batgirl was gifted with a more modern look and a new direction as well.

Lowe likens Spider-Woman's fashion evolution to Daredevil, who started out in a garish yellow-and-brown number before finding his signature red super-suit.

"I don't think we've landed on the iconic Spider-Woman yet," he says, "and this is our entry into that."