Class Warfare

Spider-Island continues from Spider-Island: Deadly Foes #1…

Classes at Milton Summers High School have been canceled for the day due to a bed bug infestation. As Anya Corazon and Rocky Flint leave for the day there are also rumors of strange characters who have been seen lurking around the school. Anya hopes this is a job for Spider-Girl, particularly since she recently got her powers back.[1] That’s when they are ambushed by members of the Society of Wasps who have come to destroy her.

With Rocky in danger, Anya decides to retreat by web-slinging away. She is not concerned about her identity being exposed because people all over New York have started developing spider-powers as well. Once they are safely on a nearby rooftop, Anya explains how she also used to be Araña and fought the Sisterhood of the Wasps in the past. As she changes into her Spider-Girl costume, Anya tells Rocky about the age-old war between the Spider Society and the Sisterhood of the Wasp. She also theorizes that the Wasps have come out of hiding due to the spider-plague affecting the city. However, she doesn’t think that the Spider-Society has anything to do with this sudden manifestation of spider-powers. She then ushers Rocky into the building and tells her to get to cover why she deals with the wasps.

Confident of her new powers, Spider-Girl then goes looking for the Society of Wasps but finds a small army of Hand ninjas instead. They try to get her to stand down, but she refuses to listen. After trouncing the ninjas she takes off only to be knocked down to the street by one of the wasps. Soon an army forms on one side of the street, but the Hand ninjas stand in their way, announcing that Spider-Girl is under their protection. One of the ninjas tells Spider-Girl to run for it, but she stops to protect an infant child who has developed spider-powers from some wasps try and kill it. Saving the baby boy, Spider-Girl hands the kid over to his terrified mother and tells her to run for it while she tries to deal with the war between the Societ of Wasps and the Hand.

Spider-Girl leaps into the battle and helps people caught in the crossfire. Suddenly, the Hobgoblin appears and slams some headphones over her head before unleashing his sonic laugh. This sonic attack appears to be even more effective against the Wasps as they operate on a hive mind. With the Wasps down, Spider-Girl asks the Hobgoblin why he’s protecting her. He tells her he doesn’t care if she lives or dies and is just following orders. He then knocks Spider-Girl out with a sucker punch and carries her away. He takes her to the Kingpin’s penthouse where Spider-Girl is shocked to learn that the Kingpin wants to hire her to fight off the Society of Wasps. When she asks why she would do such a thing, the Kingpin reminds her that the Wasps are going after spiders. He then begins climbing the walls to show that he has gained spider-powers as well.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Girl, Sisterhood of the Wasp, Kingpin, Hobgoblin, the Hand, Rocky Flint

Continuity Notes

1. Anya’s powers are not the same powers she originally had. She was given quasi-mystical spider-powers from the Spider-Society in Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #1 when she was mistaken for their chosen one. However, it turned out she wasn’t and she gave up those powers in Spider-Man/Araña: The Hunter Revealed #1. She recently gained new spider-powers in Spider-Girl (vol. 2) #8.

Errors

• When Anya explains how she was given a mystical tattoo by the Spider Society, it is depicted as being on her back. This is not correct as per Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #1-6 and Araña: The Heart of the Spider #1-12 always depicted the tattoo as being on her upper right arm.