Spider-Woman #14
Spider-Woman #14 delivers the first appearance of Lindsay McCabe, the aspiring actress who would go on to become Jessica Drew's closest friend and a fixture of her supporting cast across multiple series and even her later co-starring role in the Wolverine ongoing — making her one of the most enduring civilian characters to emerge from the Bronze Age Spider-Woman run. The issue sits at the beating heart of writer Mark Gruenwald's four-part Cult of Kali story, which gave the series its sharpest focus to date by weaving together Jessica's civilian therapy sessions at the Hatros Institute (secretly run by the disguised Nekra), her uneasy alliance with the Shroud, and the sinister street-level menace of Los Angeles's criminal underworld. Gruenwald used this arc to cement the thematic throughline of his entire tenure: Jessica Drew's struggle to function among ordinary people while extraordinary forces conspire around her.
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Mark Gruenwald had taken over as writer with issue #9 after Marv Wolfman's departure, inheriting penciler Carmine Infantino and editor Roger Stern, and deliberately deepening the series' macabre, character-driven tone. Issue #14 — titled 'Cults and Robbers,' released January 30, 1979, with a cover-date of May 1979 — was part of a tightly plotted multi-issue arc that Gruenwald used to introduce Lindsay McCabe as a deliberate social foil to the introverted Jessica Drew, while also escalating the hidden-identity scheme of Nekra, who had been quietly operating as the reclusive Dr. Adrienne Hatros since issue #13. The cover was painted by Bill Sienkiewicz with inks by Tom Palmer, a pairing that gave the arc a distinctively atmospheric look, while interior art remained in Infantino's hands with Al Gordon on inks.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Lindsay McCabe (Earth-616), the aspiring actress who becomes Jessica Drew's best friend and a long-running supporting character across Spider-Woman, Wolverine, and subsequent series.
- Written by Mark Gruenwald (his sixth issue on the title, having taken over from Marv Wolfman with #9); penciled by Carmine Infantino; inked by Al Gordon; cover by Bill Sienkiewicz and Tom Palmer; edited by Roger Stern under Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter.
- Released January 30, 1979; cover-dated May 1979; titled 'Cults and Robbers.'
- The Shroud (Maximillian Coleridge) appears as a supporting character — his presence here carries an ironic resonance, as his own origin involves training within a real Cult of Kali, the same organization currently threatening Spider-Woman and Los Angeles.
- Nekra Sinclair appears in her ongoing disguise as Dr. Adrienne Hatros, director of the Hatros Institute; her true identity is not unmasked until issue #16. Nekra first appeared (as herself) in Shanna the She-Devil #5 (1973), created by Steve Gerber and Ross Andru.
- The story advances Jessica Drew's civilian life: she is working as a receptionist at the Hatros Institute and participating in group therapy there — a grounded, street-level character context that Gruenwald used to distinguish the series from standard superhero fare.
- SHIELD agents Jerry Hunt and Laura Brown play supporting roles as Jessica's S.H.I.E.L.D. contact and his partner, deepening the espionage-flavored texture Gruenwald built around Drew's world.
- Issue #14 is part of a four-part arc (issues #13–16) that collectively represents Gruenwald's most sustained and thematically unified storyline on the series, culminating in Nekra's unmasking and defeat in issue #16.
Cast · 18 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
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Spider-Woman stops the Kali Cult from killing Shroud and captures some museum robbers.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).