Spider-Bitch (Ashley Barton)
Spider-Bitch (Ashley Barton) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, the character first appeared in Wolverine #67 (September 2008). She is the estranged daughter of Peter Parker / Spider-Man's youngest daughter Tonya and Clint Barton / Hawkeye, and the stepdaughter of Tonya's husband Ultron 8, from the alternate-future of Earth-807128/21923, in which the supervillains overthrew the superheroes three decades earlier.[1] Having no superpowers, after being saved from execution by her estranged father and Old Man Logan in 2008's Old Man Logan storyline, Spider-Bitch kills the current Kingpin of Crime, succeeding him as the Kingpin of the Wastelands, revealing her true villainous nature, before unsuccessfully attempting to kill her father and Logan.[2]
Not to be confused with Spider-Bitch (Lolth).
Ashley Barton
Spider-Bitch
- As Ashley:
- Wolverine #67 (September 2008)
- As Spider-Bitch:
- Wolverine #68 (October 2008)
- Mark Millar (writer)
- Steve McNiven (artist)
Ashley Parker Barton
The Wastelands, Earth-807128/21923
- Clint Barton / Hawkeye (father)
- Tonya Parker (mother)
- Ultron 8 (Eight) (stepfather)
- Otto Octavius / Superior Spider-Man (boss)
- Spider-Bitch
- Spider-Woman
- Spider-Girl
- Spider-Lady
- Spider-Kingpin
- Kingpin of the Wastelands
- Kingpin of Crime
- Lady Barton
- Ash Barton-Morse
- King Zemo
- Peak human strength, speed, and agility
- Use of interdimensional travel
While usually portrayed as a supervillain, Spider-Bitch has also been occasionally depicted as a conflicted antihero. In the 2014–15 "Spider-Verse" storyline, set after Old Man Logan, Spider-Bitch is among the first recruited to a resistance movement against the Inheritors' consumption of Spider-People across the Spider-Verse by the Superior Spider-Man, Otto Octavius, to devise a plan to kill them all; in the aftermath of the conflict, Spider-Bitch continues to explore the multiverse, assisting various teams of Spider-People while funnelling resources back to her home dimension until the 2018 Spider-Geddon storyline and Spider-Force miniseries, following which she returns to her reality, seven years having passed, and reclaims her throne from Taskmaster in 2019's Old Man Quill storyline, continuing her plans to take over the world.
Receiving a generally positive critical reception, the character was adapted to the 2021 radio drama podcast series Marvel's Wastelanders as Ash Morse / King Zemo, voiced by Sasha Lane, and made her cinematic debut in the 2023 feature film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, referred to as Ashley / Spider-Kingpin, a member of Miguel O'Hara's Spider-Society.[3][4]
Publication history[edit]
Created by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, Spider-Bitch first appeared in Wolverine Vol. 3 #67 (September 2008) before making full appearances the following two issues in October and November.[5] Owing to the child-oriented storylines of the character's initial appearances post-Old Man Logan, she is alternately referred to as "Spider-Woman" or "Spider-Girl" due to censorship in text box descriptions, referring to herself as "the Spider-B****" in dialogue.
She is a supporting character in the event series Spider-Verse (Nov. 2014–Feb. 2015), Spider-Geddon (Oct.–Dec. 2018), and Old Man Quill (Feb.–Dec. 2019), and a minor character in Old Man Hawkeye (Feb.–Dec. 2018).[6]
Powers and abilities[edit]
Despite her get-up, and being considered a Spider-Totem by the Inheritors and the Web of Life and Destiny, Spider-Bitch seemingly has none of the powers of her grandfather, Spider-Man (super-strength, agility, the ability to stick to surfaces, and a spider-sense that warns them of danger), although she displays strength, speed, and agility which allow her to go toe-to-toe with superhumans. She acquired these skills through vigorous training and exercise.[37][a] Expressing no interest in romantic relationships of any kind, Spider-Bitch instead seeks world domination and independence from oversight by Doctor Doom throughout Old Man Quill, oblivious to his lack of interest in her actions.[39]