Spider-Woman (vol. 3) #17
Bones May Crack and Flesh May Boil!
The villainous Miss Itch and Mister Scratch had sown Spider-Woman up inside the body of Flesh in order to make her whole again. Unfortunately for them, Spider-Woman manages to rip free from her trap. That’s when the ground in the warehouse suddenly splits open and from the erupting flames emerges Flesh’s sister Bones. Now that the two have been reunited, Flesh and Bones intend to destroy Spider-Woman once and for all. This whole situation confuses Mattie, who thought that Flesh and Bones had died after their last encounter.[1] However, Bones is uninterested in providing any explanation as she intends on killing everyone in the room, including her sister, as well as Miss Itch and Mister Scratch after hearing them claim to be her and Flesh’s parents. When they ask why Bones would want to kill them all, she reminds her parents how they frequently left the Bliss twins alone with their obsess sister Bonnie. This brings up a memory of how the Bliss parents were going on a trip alone. Bonnie pleaded that they stay because her sisters were always mean to her. Donna and Bess were also unhappy with the arrangements until their father scolds them and demands that they look after their sister no matter what. She reminds them how she and Donna looked after Bonnie for years, developing body dysmorphia and sought out a means of being thin forever. This all came to ahead in their adult lives when Bonnie — now morbidly obese — collapsed from a heart attack and was allowed to die. After that, they were approached by Bonnie’s former caretaker, Rosa Esteves who offered them a solution to their problem. However, this turned out to be the curse that made them into Skin and Bones.
While the members of the Bliss family argue with each other, Spider-Woman uses this distraction to try and escape.[2] Below her, Bones relives the moment that she and her sister took the potion that turned them into Skin and Bones. With Donna reduced to loose flesh and Bess into nothing but bones, the two were horrified to discover that they now had a symbiotic existence with Bess acting as Donna’s bones, and Donna acting as her sister’s flesh. That’s when Spider-Woman has heard enough and decides to leave. Evading the energy blasts of Miss Itch and Mister Scratch, Mattie makes her way for the skylight. Skin and Bones try to stop her, furious that she interfered with their previous attempts at trying to restore themselves to normal.[3] Getting outside, Spider-Woman stops long enough to witness the Warehouse burst into flame seemingly killing everyone inside. That’s when she realizes that she’s far from home and wearing nothing but her underwear and makes a hasty retreat before anybody sees her.
The following morning, Mattie wakes up in bed not remembering how she got home. After a shower, she looks in the mirror and is shocked to see that her face has been wrinkled to the point of hideousness. When Marla Madison knocks at her door inviting Mattie to dinner with her and her husband, J. Jonah Jameson, Mattie tells her that she is tired and is just going to stay in bed. This leaves her to worry about what to do about her face. Once everyone has left the apartment, Mattie decides to go out as Spider-Woman, however, in order to cover up her face she pulls out her first Spider-Woman costume which has a full face mask.[4] Deciding to go back to the warehouse to search for clues, Mattie finds it difficult to fly with so much weighing on her mind.[5] The warehouse is completely destroyed, leaving her with nowhere to start searching. That’s when Spider-Woman is approached by Rosa Esteves, the woman who pursed the Bliss sisters. Pulling off her mask and showing her emaciated face, Spider-Woman demands to know what happened. Rosa admits that the curse of flesh and bone was passed along to her because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and there is only one way she can be cured.
However, before she can make an attempt to cure Spider-Woman, Rosa says that an explanation needs to be made. First, Rosa introduces Spider-Woman to her twin sister, Marie. They explain that they were the original recipients of the curse of flesh and bones until they passed it on to Donna and Bess Bliss. Only Miss Itch and Mister Scratch — who the Esteves women reveal are not really the Bliss twin’s parents — have been able to find a way to reverse the curse. Unfortunately, this is the only time they have ever seen it manifested in a single individual as the curse has traditionally been passed along among twins. This creates a new danger, if they don’t find a cure for Spider-Woman she will eventually dissolve into nothingness.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Woman, Flesh, Bones, Miss Itch, Mister Scratch, Marla Madison, Marie Esteves, Rosa Esteves, (flashback) Bonnie Bliss
Continuity Notes
Flash and Bones were separated in Spider-Woman (vol. 3) #5 during their fight against Spider-Woman with Shadrac.
Spider-Woman thinks how this situation makes the family on the Simpsons seem like the family on Seventh Heaven. I shouldn’t have to tell you who the Simpsons are but allow me to explain the juxtaposition here: 7th Heaven was a Christian family drama that ran on the WB Network 1996 to 2006. It featured the Camden family a straight-laced religious family. The comparison between them and the Simpsons is quaint by today’s standards when you consider that in the 90s the Simpsons were considered the height of dysfunctional families on television. Ironically, the lead actor from 7th Heaven was allegedly a pedophile which is on-brand with anything Christianity based.
Skin and Bones previously teamed up with Shadrac in Spider-Woman (vol. 3) #3-4, in the hopes that he could restore them to normal. Unfortunately, their scheme to recover some mystical artifacts were interfered with by Spider-Woman.
Mattie comments that this is the costume she made for herself after she stopped imitating Spider-Man. At the beginning of her career, Peter Parker had decided to retire as Spider-Man following the events of Spider-Man #98. Mattie took up the mantle in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #1-2 and Peter Parker: Spider-Man #1 until Peter reclaimed the identity for himself. Mattie started wearing her first Spider-Woman costume in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #5.
The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted in this story, this should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding TImescale of Earth-616.
