Spider-Woman Brings Baby On Board

Parenting: one of the hardest jobs on the planet. Then again, being a super hero private investigator offers plenty of challenges as well. What happens when you’re both? That’s what Dennis Hopeless and Javier Rodriguez will explore in the November-launching SPIDER-WOMAN ongoing series that finds the title character “very pregnant.”

Hopeless kicked off the last SPIDER-WOMAN series with Greg Land for four installments of Spider-Verse goodness before Rodriguez hopped on with the fifth issue. When the duo joined forces, they not only brought in a new costume, but also a fresh status quo as Drew became a private investigator backed up by Ben Urich and reformed super villain Porcupine.

Coming out of Secret Wars, Jessica now has a bun in the oven, but she insists that it will not slow her down, even though Urich and Porcupine do their best to keep her out of danger.

Hopeless and Rodriguez talk about Spider-Woman’s new role as mother, her supporting cast’s attempts to help and the father’s identity.

Marvel.com: You two are no strangers to this character and her world. How is it getting back to work chronicling Jessica’s adventures?

Dennis Hopeless: Fortunately, we never really stopped. I went straight from scripting issue #10 to plotting the new #1. SPIDER-WOMAN is an absolute joy to write and Jess’ post-Secret Wars story is my favorite yet. I’ve never had more fun making comics and I’m super proud to be a part of this team.

Javier Rodriguez: I can’t believe that we’re working on a title like this; so proud to be part of this perfect team. How Dennis builds and leads characters is a pleasure for any artist. I love stories focused on character development, [so] this is a dream. I’m happy!

Marvel.com: Like most of the Marvel Universe, Jessica is coming out of Secret Wars a bit of a different person. We’ll get to the pregnancy in a second, but how has she changed since the reality warping event?

Dennis Hopeless: I dunno. She’s pretty much the same person apart from the pregnancy.

When we catch up with Jess and her team, they’re right in the middle of their next case. The way they work these new cases has changed a bit. But this is very much the second season of street level Spider-Woman. The big new development is definitely Jess’ pending motherhood.

Spider-Woman (2015) #1 cover by Javier Rodriguez

Marvel.com: Is the father’s identity being kept as a secret for now?

Dennis Hopeless: I wouldn’t call it a secret, but yeah, the baby’s father doesn’t play into the first arc at all. Jess could tell us if she wanted to. She just doesn’t want to.

Marvel.com: Okay, on to the pregnancy; that’s a big deal for anyone, but adds several new wrinkles into a super hero’s life. How is Jessica balancing motherhood and heroics?

Dennis Hopeless: Jess is very pregnant in issue #1. She obviously has to be a lot more careful about putting herself in harm’s way. This isn’t a notion Jess is very familiar with. She normally throws herself head first into dangerous situation, expecting to badass her way through. She can’t do that right now and it’s infuriating. That struggle is a big part of our first arc. How do you save the world without endangering your unborn child?

Marvel.com: How does all this change the dynamic between Jessica, Ben, and Porcupine?

Dennis Hopeless: She has to lean on Ben and Porcupine a bit more. Roger has to take more of the punches for a while. Jess has to take a slightly less active role. These three have had eight more months to gel since we saw them last. They still butt heads from time to time but this is a team.

Marvel.com: Jessica had a big costume change last year. Is she still rocking the same duds in a modified form?

Dennis Hopeless: If by “modified form” you mean she wears the jacket open now, then yes. As we all saw in Secret Wars, Jess still has her old costume. She might even wear it sometimes when the world is about to end. But her primary day to day costume is still the jacket and boots.

SPIDER-WOMAN #1 will be delivered to fans in November, but you can monitor the progress of All-New, All-Different Marvel here on Marvel.com and via our social media channels!