A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of Rope

Skin and Bones have knocked out Spider-Woman and after a moment’s hesitation, they drop the young hero from a rooftop. However, instead of falling to her death, Spider-Woman’s psychic spider-legs emerge from her back and break her fall. Skittering back up to the rooftops but Skin and Bones are already gone. As she flies back home, Mattie wonders about the psychic spider-legs and wonders why it, instead of her ability to fly, broke her fall and thinks how creepy these new appendages are.

When she returns to the home she shares with J. Jonah Jameson and his wife Marla Madison she discovers that they have enrolled her in a private school. This upsets Mattie, but the Jamesons insists that she needs to go to school. She is later introduced to Able Tennison, the principal of the private school. Franklin is unimpressed and less than happy to learn that she will have to wear a uniform while attending school. As they drive back home, Marla tells Mattie that Mattie can make some new friends. Still, classes don’t start for another five weeks, leaving them with the challenge of keeping Mattie busy until then. Jonah decides to take Mattie to the Daily Bugle where he introduces her to Peter Parker hoping to offload her on Parker. Mattie is excited for once, as she knows Peter Parker for all the photos of Spider-Man he has taken.

Peter does his best to keep the fact that he knows Mattie as Spider-Man to himself as he takes her out. When they go to a nearby diner for a bite to each, Peter is amazed at how much she is packing back the food as it reminds him of how voracious his appetite was when he first got his powers. However, Mattie is only interested in hanging out with Peter because she hopes he can meet with Spider-Man. Peter bursts this bubble when he tells her that he has no way to contact the wall-crawler. Instead, he takes Mattie to the bank that Skin and Bone tried to rob. There they learn that that bank had very little money as its vault was being upgraded and figures the crooks may have been trying to break into safety deposit boxes. Suddenly, Mattie worries everyone when she suddenly passes out.

When she comes around, Mattie knows something knocked him out and insists that she is fine, demanding that she take a cab alone after Peter. However, once the car pulls away, Mattie sneaks out of the back with her flying powers and decides to pay Morris Maxwell for information. At Maxwell’s pawnshop, she learns that it is where Maxwell stores his shard that was used during the Gathering of Five ceremony.[1] When Mattie reminds him that Madame Web suggested they destroy their shards. However, Maxwell points out that Mattie didn’t destroy hers either and that they wouldn’t either since they are the source of their powers. This gives Mattie and idea for another question to ask Maxwell next. At that same moment, Madame Web is attempting to get up and walk on her own, as the magic that gave her back her youth has also healed the illness that kept her immobilized for years.[2] However, Web’s muscles are still weak and she suddenly falls down. When Jessica Drew picks her up with ease, Julia Carpenter points this out suggesting that Jessica might be getting her spider-powers back. Drew can’t be sure, but getting Cassandra to a hospital is a bigger priority.

Meanwhile, Spider-Woman — wearing a new costume — arrives at the abandoned warehouse that serves as the secret hideout for Skin and Bones. She was directed right to it thanks to the knowledge of Morris Maxwell. Inside, Skin and Bones are reporting back to their master, Grey Dolman to tell him they failed to acquire the shard. This angers Dolman who is slowly losing control of his powers after absorbing Shadrac. Suddenly, Dolamn transforms into the flaming skeletal form of Shadrac and demands that Skin to absorb the excess energies again.[3] When Skin refuses Gray literally rips her off Bones. That’s when Spider-Woman decides to interfere. Shadrac explains that he was after all of the shards that were used in the Gathering of Five ceremony. However, now things are too late and knowing that the women won’t be able to stop him, Grey Dolman uses his powers to melt through the floor. However, Skin refuses to let him get away and leaps into the molten floor after him.[4] This causes Bones to panic as she and her sister have a bond that keeps them alive. Suddenly, that bond is severed and Bones crumbles to dust. Horrified by this whole experience, Spider-Woman tries to make sense of what happened.[5]

Recurring Characters

Spider-Woman, Flesh and Bones, Grey Dolman/Shadrac, Madame Web, Jessica Drew, J. Jonah Jameson, Marla Madison, Peter Parker, Julia Carpenter, Morris Maxwell

Continuity Notes

1. The Gathering of Five ceremony was that gave Maddie her powers, made Madame Web young again, and made Morris Maxwell able to answer any question he is asked. Check out Sensational Spider-Man #32-33, Amazing Spider-Man #440, Spider-Man #96 and Spectacular Spider-Man #262.

2. As explained in Amazing Spider-Man #210, Web had been disabled due to a degenerative illness.

3. Grey Dolman absorbed the Shardac to steal his power in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #2.

4. Grey Dolman’s plot thread is dropped from here and left unresolved. There are only a few details of what happened after this story. Marvel Encyclopedia: Spider-Man ‘s entry on the character states that Dolman sank all the way to the Earth’s core to bide his time until his eventual return. For what? That’s not explained. Civil War: War Crimes #1 has a profile for Greg Herd, aka Shadrac, whom Dolman absorbed. It suggests that Herd was freed from Dolman and was somehow restored to normal.

5. Although Skin and Bones appear to die here they both survive resurfacing in Spider-Woman (vol. 3) #9 and 16 respectively.