Spider-Woman #3
Spider-Woman #3 marks the debut of the Brothers Grimm — two magically animated mannequins piloted by the consciousness of Nathan Dolly, a reformed alias of the pre-existing Iron Man villain Mister Doll — making it the origin point of one of Jessica Drew's most persistent antagonist families, a duo who would recur throughout the series and later resurface in Iron Man and the Night Shift stories. The issue also introduces the entire Dolly household: Priscilla Dolly, Jacob Dolly, and William Dolly all make their first appearances here, laying out a slow-burn mystery about the nature of the Brothers Grimm that Marv Wolfman would not fully resolve until issue #12. Within the early Spider-Woman series, this issue is the first chapter of what amounts to the book's inaugural multi-part villain arc, distinguishing it from the largely self-contained adventures that opened the run. Its horror-inflected premise — fairy-tale costumed criminals, a sinister landlady, an occult identity mystery — exemplifies the macabre tone Wolfman was building for Jessica Drew's corner of the Bronze Age Marvel Universe.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Spider-Woman as a character was created primarily to lock down a trademark: Stan Lee later acknowledged the series launched quickly to prevent rival publishers from claiming the name, with the initial concept credited to Archie Goodwin and the visual design to Marie Severin. When the debut issue in Marvel Spotlight #32 sold better than expected, writer-editor Marv Wolfman was tasked with developing the character into a full ongoing series beginning in April 1978, retconning Goodwin's original 'evolved spider' origin in favor of the Jessica Drew identity. By issue #3, Wolfman was building out Jessica's Los Angeles supporting cast and villains roster, with penciler Carmine Infantino — who reportedly found Spider-Woman one of the few Marvel assignments he genuinely enjoyed — and inker Tony DeZuniga providing the art; DeZuniga's inking was widely noted for softening Infantino's characteristically angular figures. Wolfman would leave the series after issue #8, later admitting he never found a comfortable handle for the character, handing the book to a then-newcomer Mark Gruenwald.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Brothers Grimm (Nathan Dolly's pair of magically animated mannequins), who become recurring antagonists for Jessica Drew throughout the first year of the series, perishing in issue #12.
- First appearances of Priscilla Dolly (Madame Doll), Jacob Dolly, and William Dolly — all core figures in the Brothers Grimm origin backstory.
- First appearance of Congressman James T. Wyatt, the corrupt politician whose ties to Jessica's father Jonathan Drew form a key thread in the early story arc; Wyatt is later killed in Spider-Woman #7.
- Nathan Dolly is retroactively connected to the pre-existing Iron Man villain Mister Doll (first seen in Tales of Suspense #48, 1963, created by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Dick Ayers), making this issue a point of continuity integration between two Marvel villain lineages.
- Story title: 'The Peril of — Brother Grimm!' Written by Marv Wolfman; pencils by Carmine Infantino; inks by Tony DeZuniga; colors by Michele Wolfman; letters by Joe Genovese. Cover by Dave Cockrum.
- Release date: March 7, 1978; cover date: June 1978. Published under editor Marv Wolfman, with Jim Shooter as Editor-in-Chief.
- The issue establishes Jessica and Magnus relocating to Los Angeles and boarding at the Dolly household — a narrative move that seeds the entire Brothers Grimm arc across issues #3–12.
- Reprinted in Essential Spider-Woman Vol. 1 (Marvel, 2005, black and white) and Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Vol. 1 (Marvel, 2015, color).
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↩ Reprints [Marvel Hostess Ads] #26 (1978)
Reprinted in Comic Reader #154 (1978), Spider-Woman #83026-0 (1979), Nova #37 (1981), Spiderwoman #1 (1982), La Mujer Araña #3 (1982), Super Spider-Man TV Comic #522 (1983), Die Spinne Comic - Taschenbuch #23 (1984), Tarantella - Edderkoppkvinnen #1/1984 (1984), Essential Spider-Woman #1 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman #1 (2015), Spider-Woman : L'intégrale #1977-1978 (2021), Strip 81-82-83 #30, Tarantella #1/1984
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