Spider-Woman (vol. 5) #8

Dec 23

Dec 23 Spider-Woman (vol. 5) #8

Moon’s Hollow, Now

Spider-Woman’s investigation into the disappearance of women and children connected with various super-villains had led her to the small town of Moon’s Hollow. Her allies, Ben Urich and Porcupine, have been tied up by Cat, the founder of the town. Now, Spider-Woman finds herself fighting for her life against Cat, who is attacking her in a construction mech-suit. As she gets knocked around by Cat, Spider-Women bemusedly thinks about how this is the first time she has gotten into a fight with construction machinery.

Hoboken, 18 Months Ago

Cat was in an abusive relationship with a guy named Derek a would-be super-villain. One day she came home to find her husband working on the very mech-suit she would later use against Spider-Woman. Derek demands to know why Cat was so late coming home and is put in a better mood when he learns that she bought him beer while out shopping for groceries. Still, Derek is annoyed that dinner wasn’t on the table when he got home. When she sarcastically asks him if his new machine can send their groceries back in time so she could have dinner ready for him he gets angry that she is speaking back to him.

Derek decides to give her a demonstration of his new invention and uses the mech-suit to pick up Cat’s station wagon and smash it to bits. Afraid for her life, Cat collapsed to the ground and tearfully apologizes to him. Derek is satisfied and goes into the house, telling her that he’s going to order pizza, acting like he didn’t just threaten her life. When Cat finally looks up she sees Derek’s mech suit looming over her.

Moon’s Hollow, Now

Remembering her abusive past, Cat pummels Spider-Woman demanding to know what gives Jessica the right to come to Moon’s Hollow and ruin everything she has worked for.

Meanwhile, Olivia — Porcupine’s ex who also fled to Moon’s Hollow — thinks Cat has finally lost it and asks Roger what she should do. Roger suggests that she cut him and Ben Urich loose so they can help Spider-Woman. Needing bolt cutters to cut through the chains, Olivia runs to the tool shed to find a pair.

By this time, Spider-Woman is still trying to stand her ground but Cat’s mech is much more powerful than she thought. However, before Cat can land the killing blow, Rebecca Clyde — the local mechanic — shuts the suit down before Cat takes things too far. The other women in town begin trying to restrain Cat. Unfortunately, their pleas fall on deaf ears and Cat removes them by electrifying her mech suit. She then tries to land the killing blow, but Spider-Woman has recovered enough to leap out of harm’s way and onto the mech’s wrecking ball arm. She then rips apart the mech with her bare hands. Spider-Woman is shocked when Cat suddenly crawls away from the ruined suit and curls up in a ball.

This makes Jessica realize that Cat isn’t a villain, but a survivor of abuse. She also finally figures out the purpose of Moon’s Hollow. By this time, everyone in town (including Ben and Roger) have gathered. Jessica addresses them all and tells them what she has discovered about this sleepy town is remarkable. However, she tells the gathered women that they need to stop blackmailing their ex’s to support the town because it is still theft and she doesn’t want to see what they have created taken away from them. Jessica promises to keep quiet about the existence of their town as long as they remain on the straight and narrow from now on.

In the aftermath of everything, Roger asks Olivia why she came here as he never raised a hand to her. She explains that raising their daughter by herself while Roger was in jail or running off to be one of Baron Zemo’s henchmen was hard on her.[1] That’s when their daughter, Kalie, arrives and hugs her father. Happy to hold Kalie again, Roger asks Olivia what he can do to make things right. That’s when Jessica realizes that Ben Urich slipped away in the middle of this heartwarming reunion. Realizing where he has gone, Jessica asks Rebecca to loan her a motorcycle.

She races back to New York where she finds Ben Urich frantically wiring a story about Moon’s Hollow. She has come to tell him not to publish the story. However, although Ben wrote it up he tells her that he has no intention of publishing it because he was inspired by her ability to give these women a second chance, particularly after one of them beat Jessica within an inch of her life. When she asks why he had her investigate Moon’s Hollow if it wasn’t to sell newspapers. Ben explains that he is getting older and wanted to go after the “scary stuff” a few more times before he becomes obsolete he also wants to help people. He then pulls another file out of his cabinet and asks Jessica if she’s interested in helping some more. As Jessica looks over the file, she tells Ben to stop smiling at the back of her head.