SpiderGirl

Real Name: May "Mayday" Parker

Powers: Spider-Girl possesses superhuman strength, agility and dexterity, as well as a sixth sense that warns her of impending danger. Her original ability to stick to walls has evolved into a kind of bio-magnetic control that enables her to adhere to most surfaces and cause objects she has touched to cling together.

History: In a not-too-distant possible future, Peter Parker retired from his career as the wisecracking, web-slinging super hero called Spider-Man to live a normal life with his wife, Mary Jane, and daughter, May. Watching May during a varsity basketball game, Peter and Mary Jane noticed the teenager exhibiting what they considered to be superhuman agility and skills. Dismissing the incident as a fluke, they thought it best to keep the situation under wraps.

When the wraith-like Green Goblin -- Spider-Man's greatest, most lethal adversary -- seemingly returned from the grave and cornered May, the terrified teenager reported the development to her parents. Peter took off for a final showdown with his hated foe, vowing to meet the Green Goblin at midnight atop the Brooklyn Bridge -- where Spider-Man had watched him die years earlier, impaled on his own Goblin Glider. Fearing for her husband's life, Mary Jane revealed to May that Peter was Spider-Man ... and that she had inherited his amazing abilities. Donning a spare spider-suit, May entered the fracas as Spider-Girl and saved her father's life.

May leapt eagerly into the role of super hero with spider-spawned agility, though a crimefighting career was against her parents' wishes. Ever after they forbade her to be Spider-Girl, she continued to sneak out on nightly patrols. Like her father before her, May felt that it was her responsibility to use her great powers in the service of her fellow man.

During one of her early adventures, Spider-Girl encountered the maniacal Crazy Eight. Her inexperience forced her to beat a hasty retreat under a barrage of explosive eight balls. Holed up on a nearby rooftop, an ashamed May encountered the mysterious Darkdevil. The hellfire hero expressed his disgust over Spider-Girl's performance against Crazy Eight. After trouncing her himself, he strongly suggested she find a new line of work. May returned home to heal her wounded backside and ego. Undeterred by the demon-garbed vigilante, Spider-Girl sought out and defeated Crazy Eight's gang -- proving, at least to herself, that she could carry on her father's legacy.

Swayed by his daughter's show of determination, Peter finally relented and began to school May in the use of her arachnid-like abilities. Though Peter pushed her hard, May's rigorous training paid off. Gradually, she became a more effective hero.

Following in her father's footsteps, May found herself facing a colorful gallery of rogues -- including the crazed clown Funny Face, the air-raiding Raptor, the supercharged Killerwatt, the mammoth Dragon King, the elastic Mr. Abnormal and the savage Sabreclaw. Seeking strength in numbers, these villains joined forces and relentlessly attacked Spider-Girl as the Savage Six. One by one, May managed to defeat them all. In delivering a knockout punch to Killerwatt, however, her powers were somehow negated. May continued to act as Spider-Girl sans her awesome attributes, holding out hope that they would return. To compensate for her lack of superhuman abilities, she borrowed the Goblin Glider and Pumpkin Bombs of Normie Osborn, the former Green Goblin.

May's parents again forbade her to act as a super hero, feeling justified by the loss of her powers. Undaunted, she stubbornly continued her adventures. During this time, a wannabe wall-crawler emerged, claiming to be the real Spider-Man. May's relentless pursuit of the imposter built to a climax when he accidentally slammed her into an electrical generator. The shock somehow kick-started her dormant powers, along with a few new wrinkles, which she used to chase off the charlatan Spider-Man.

The experience forced Spider-Girl to consider her motivations. To her, responsibility is more than just a sound bite. It isn't an excuse to don a costume or bash bad guys. It's like an angry snake that twists in your mind and forces you out into the cold when your only desire is to cower in bed. It makes you leave your friends when you'd rather be partying and sends you against living nightmares that sincerely want you dead. It pushes you to make hard choices and do the right thing, simply because you should. Spider-Girl now knows what it means to be a hero. She learned from the best.