A secretive government group called The Commission decided to create their own superhero. Val Cooper met college friend Julia Carpenter in Denver, and convinced her to be part of an "athletic study". She was unknowingly a test subject in their experiments. During the experiment, they "accidentally" injected Julia with a mix of spider venom and exotic plant extracts, which gave Julia powers very similar to those of Spider-Man. Not long after she was given the identity of Spider-Woman, she was drawn into the first Secret Wars. After returning to Earth, Julia joined Freedom Force but, much like her predecessor, found herself on the wrong side of the law. She teamed up with Spider-Man occasionally, but eventually found herself as a freelance hero. When one of her assignments led her to California looking for a team of Asian supervillains, she met and assisted the West Coast Avengers several times. She then found her place with the West Coast Avengers and once they disbanded, joined their spin-off team Force Works. Julia's main enemies were the arachnid-based team called Death Web, which consisted of three supervillains who were created by The Commission, using a variation of the same serum which transformed Julia. When Mike Clemson, founder of Death Web, captured Spider-Woman's daughter Rachel, he blackmailed her into fighting Spider-Man. Even though she nearly killed Spider-Man, she would not commit an act of murder, and Spider-Man helped her rescue Rachel. Eventually, Julia walked away from the superhero business to concentrate on raising her daughter. Like Jessica Drew (the original Spider-Woman), Julia was also attacked by Charlotte Witter and had her powers stolen. After the loss of her superpowers, Julia returned to the life of a normal mother.
Julia has recently reappeared in a story arc of the current Ms. Marvel series, using the codename "Arachne" (which she originally intended to use). Her powers have clearly been restored. During Civil War, Julia registers under the Superhuman Registration Act, and she and Wonder Man aid Ms. Marvel in the training of novice superheroes.
However, Julia is shown to be a double agent; when she first responded to Iron Man's request, she thought it would be an opportunity to help people escape registration; she is shown to have tipped off Hobie Brown, the Prowler, moments before a SHIELD capekiller squadron arrived at his home to arrest him, and is thought to have warned many more heroes of impending arrests.[1] It is also revealed that she is romantically involved with the Shroud, an opponent of the Superhuman Registration Act.
Julia is found out when a captured Prowler reveals under interrogation that she tipped him off. The Shroud, who had been captured by Ms. Marvel,[2] reveals that Julia was paralyzed for several months after she lost her powers, even though all of her other injuries had healed. The Shroud's company had synthesized a duplicate of the serum that originally provided Julia with her powers, and these returned several days after it was administered to her. With the Shroud's help, Julia underwent intense physical therapy and was soon able to walk again. It was during this time that she and the Shroud fell in love.
A government strike team led by Ms. Marvel, including Wonder Man and Araña, attacks Julia at her home just as she was about to flee the country with her daughter. Julia is captured and summarily incarcerated. However, it is revealed in Ms. Marvel #13 that Julia escaped captivity during the Negative Zone prison break, and returned to Colorado in search of Rachel. A S.H.I.E.L.D. Psy Ops team telepathically traces her to Brooklyn, where she furiously confronts Araña, demanding to know where her daughter has been taken.
Powers and abilities
Arachne possesses superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes, and the ability to cling to vertical surfaces. Her abilities are psionically based.
Arachne has the ability to utilize psionic-based webbing (psi-webs), although this originally required considerable concentration for her to manifest it. By using psychokinetic energy, Arachne can bind ambient free-floating molecules into strands of solid force. Her psi-webs can be used to wrap enemies, or focused into narrow web-lines that she can swing from. Due to their psychic nature, her psi-webs can form from a distance, and she can mentally control the movement of her webbing.
She has heightened senses, and feels vibrations as does a spider in its web. Her senses allow her to detect a hollow area under a solid steel floor by walking over it.
In addition to her natural superhuman advantages, she has been extensively trained by the Commission on Superhuman Activities in espionage and hand-to-hand combat.
Although she lost her powers at one time, she regained them through a duplicate serum.
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