Spider-Woman (2015) #7

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Previously in Spider-Woman #6

One good home invasion deserves another so Jessica Drew finds her Earth-65 doppelgänger, Jesse Drew, chilling on her couch and holding her baby, Gerry, when she finally returns home. Jesse has convinced Roger that he’s Jessica’s long-lost twin brother - a ruse Jessica is forced to play along with when Jesse secretly points a gun at Roger’s head.

Once they’re alone though, it’s spider versus spider as neither appreciates the intrusion into their private lives. The only thing that causes them to pump the brakes is little Gerry’s cries. Seriously, poor dude hasn’t seen his mommy in two days! And we finally get the little dude’s name!

Not punching each other in the face allows the two to talk, and Jessica learns that Jesse truly is a family man, doing what he feels he must to provide for them - even if that means working for an evil billionaire and stealing teleporters. We don’t learn how complex his relationship with Cindy-65 is until Gwen does some after-hours digging at The Fact Channel.

Jesse was bitten by radioactive spiders… in space, and the effects were killing him until Cindy discovered a temporary cure, one that she needs to administer periodically. In turn, it gives him his spider powers. This is what keeps him doing her bidding.

That is until Gwen arrives and reveals he’s been permanently cured for ten years now. Shady Cindy has been injecting Jesse with radioactive isotopes he doesn’t need it. If he were to stop taking them, he wouldn’t die, but he would lose his powers. He could be free to live a normal life.

While Jesse may give that a shot (no pun intended), Gwen isn’t willing to. She can regain her powers by taking Jesse’s doses, and she does this despite Jessica’s advice to think about it.

Re-powered, Gwen is ready to stop the Cindy from her Earth once and for all. But first Jessica needs to call her babysitter back.

Confession: It wasn’t until partway through their fight did I realize who Jesse truly was. Somehow, I’d completely forgotten her doppelgänger was male and probably looking for a bit of payback. Once it clicked, I started the issue over with a new appreciation for the innuendos and just how creepy it was to have this guy in her living room and holding Jessica’s baby.

Their back and forth was a lot of fun to witness and even though Joëlle Jones’ style is different than Javier Rodriguez’s (and you guys know I adore his work), she brought the elements I’ve come to enjoy when reading this series - like the realistic facial expressions. P.S. Jesse is a bit of a hottie, huh? Rachelle Rosenberg’s vibrant colors really popped as well. And hat tip to Yasmine Putri for a gorgeous cover.

This review is two weeks late (I took a brain vacation), so I have the conclusion, “Spider-Women Omega #1,” ready to read and Shanna has the review right here. “Spider-Woman #8” also just came out yesterday, and as much as I enjoyed this crossover event, I’m anxious to get back to Jessica Drew’s own story and more of Rodriguez’s work. That will review will be up this weekend.