Spider-Girl (vol. 2) #8
Learning to Fly
Spider-Girl has returned to her apartment to learn that the Raven Society has kidnapped her roommate, Rocky Flint, and her father. The Raven Society’s Emeline Foster now holds out a new costume with the society’s logo on it. She tells Spider-Girl that if she wants to see her friend alive again, she will join the Raven Society.
Anya is so upset that she suddenly starts feeling the familiar burning sensation in her body, signaling the return of her powers. She strikes one of the American Ninjas protecting Emeline so hard that he ends up smashing through the wall. Foster is horrified by this unexpected revelation. As she makes her way toward Emeline, Spider-Girl is suddenly distracted by the fact she can now shoot webbing from her wrists.[1] This allows Emeline time to put a gun to Spider-Girl’s head, but Anya is faster than her and quickly disarms Foster and webs her to the floor. Spider-Girl then threatens to call the Red Hulk to deal with her if she doesn’t talk. Emeline deeply frightened by this, but Spider-Girl has one last threat: If she finds out that Rocky and her father are dead, not even the Red Hulk will be able to protect Emeline from the wrath of Spider-Girl.
With the location of the Raven Society’s headquarters, Spider-Girl web-slings across the city to its location. As she arrives, she quickly has to hide as Kurt Godwin — who has been posing as her neighbor across the hall for months — enters the building. Anya debates storm in right away but decides against going in alone and calls Spider-Man for help. She then comes barging in, using her new spider-powers to smash the lights. This allows her to take out more of the American Ninjas under the cover of darkness. Fearing for his own safety, Kurt Godwin makes a run for it, but Spider-Girl is fast on his trail. Along the way, she calls the Red Hulk and gives him the location of the Raven Society’s base, telling him that there is plenty of information connecting the organization to the military.
Spider-Girl then continues after Kurt Godwin and chases him into a room with no way out but a single door. From the cover of darkness, she begins taking out the American Ninjas protecting their master. Godwin tries to appeal to Spider-Girl, offering her undreamed-of power. However, Anya flatly refuses this offer. She then snares him with a web-line from behind, causing Godwin to fire his gun wildly. One of the bullets strikes and destroys a neural inhibitors device that kept the American Ninjas in line. Finally having their free will back, these soldiers swarm Godwin to get revenge on him for what the Raven Society did to them. As he pleads for his life, Godwin reveals that he was the one that poisoned the coffee that killed Anya’s father.
Realizing that he was the man that killed her father, Spider-Girl begins trying to fight her way through the ninjas to get to him. That’s when Spider-Man and the Red Hulk arrive to lend a hand. Spider-Man tells Anya to go find her friends while they deal with the riff-raff. Remembering that Rocky and her father were taken prisoner, Spider-Girl quickly finds them tied up in another room and is relieved to see that they are still alive. As she unties her friend, Anya takes off her mask to prove to Rocky that she is no threat. However, it turns out that Rocky already knew that she was Spider-Girl. This is because Rocky is a big fan of the hero and followed her social media feed and was able to put two-and-two together.
With the battle over, Spider-Girl is surprised when she is applauded for a job well done. Now that the danger is over, Spider-Girl wonders what caused her powers to come back. However, this concern takes a back seat because she now, for the first time since her father died, no longer feels alone.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Girl, the Raven Society (Kurt Godwin, Emeline Foster), Spider-Man, Red Hulk, Rocky Flint
Continuity Notes
This is not the return of Anya’s original powers, which she lost in Spider-Man/Arña: The Hunter Revealed #1. These new powers are due to the spider-plague that the Jackal has spread across New York. See Amazing Spider-Man #659-673.
