In the chill of night, at the scene of a crime, like a streak of light, she arrives just in time!
Wait, she?
Yes, that mysterious figure firing a web line to swing from buildings and capture awestruck criminals is Spider Queen, a Fox superheroine who debuted in the early 1940s.
“The Spider-Man shtick this Spidey practiced in advance of its current use was to swing from ‘webs’ produced by squirting liquid from nozzles attached to her wrists. She got the stuff when she straightened out some old records left by her husband, Dr. Harry Kane, a chemist working on the upcoming war effort for the U.S. government (who) was murdered by the country’s enemies. Harry had been unable to find a use for the fluid, which dried instantly into a sticky, string-like substance that was strong enough to hold her weight, but the widow, Shannon, did. She made small spray containers for it and went into the superhero business.”
Stronger than steel, her webbing was fired from a pair of bracelets.
“Fetching in her anachronistic mini-skirt and go-go boots, the leggy vigilante formed an alliance with straight-arrow cop Mike O’Bell in The Eagle 2 (Sept. 1941) to bring down his corrupt superiors,” wrote Kurt F. Mitchell in American Comic Book Chronicles.
The superheroine made only three appearances in the 1940s. But no matter how obscure they may be, superheroes rarely stay dead, so in 2023 the Spider Queen reappeared to star in a novel by Austin McConnell and Elizabeth McIvor.
Other spider-themed characters of the 1940s included the Spider Widow, the Web, the Tarantula, Spider Woman and that tempestuous pulp hero, the Spider.
Paul Zuckerman:
ReplyDeleteI definitely think we should see more of Spider Queen!!!! Any woman who fights crime in a miniskirt gets my vote! 🙂
I wonder if Lee & Ditko were familiar with the character to have come up with the webbing idea. It does seem pretty obvious in retrospect, of course, but all great ideas do.
I am not sure why her outfit was anachronistic--it wasn't old fashioned, for sure, and to say it was out of time seems strange. Usually that refers to something that is modern in a setting where the item wouldn't have been--like Superboy watching TV when his series was set in the 30s or 40s.
I replied:
Not anachronistic, but daring for the day (to everyone except Flash Gordon, perhaps).
ReplyDeleteDave Seidman-Joria:
Love it! Although, unless I’m mistaken, shorter skirts were common in WW2, due to rationing cloth (though not THAT short).
Jouni Pohjola:
ReplyDeleteSkirt aside, I'm also pretty sure sheer blouses weren't in vogue in 1940's -- at least not in public spaces 🙃
Gerry Saracco:
ReplyDeleteShe also appeared in Invaders, doing a villainous turn as a member of the Battle Axis in the 1990's (alongside some other PD heroes turned bad).
Michael Lew B. Gelfman:
ReplyDeleteActually sounds kind of cool.
Brad Haralson:
ReplyDeleteWe salute another great pre-SOTI costume.
Jf Mk Imm:
ReplyDeleteTo my knowledge, in terms of hero/heroine characters, 1940 Spider-Queen Shannon Kane is the second "Spider" character hero/heroine (first in comics), and The Spider Richard Wentworth (Master of Men) who began in pulp fiction in 1933 was the "first." The rest "followed" her. Star Spangled Comics Tarantula John Law was in 1941. MLJ's The Web John Raymond was in 1942. Eastern's Spider Woman Helen Goddard was in 1944. Chesler's Spider Woman Helen Goddard was in 1944. SQ was the leader in comics I believe (glad to be corrected.)
Will Shetterly:
ReplyDeleteThe short skirt was very common with athletic women -- ice skaters, dancers, etc. It's the equivalent of the superhero trunks, which were common with strongmen and acrobats.
Michael Fraley:
ReplyDeleteThe Tarantula, meanwhile, was trying to avoid copyright and trademark infringement charges from the publishers of the pulp character, though his first story described him as "the spider-man." The Quality Comics character "Alias the Spider" had no such qualms, though the hero was just another bow and arrow character.
Steven H. Bullard:
ReplyDeleteNow THAT'S obscure!