Spider-Woman #37
Spider-Woman #37 is the debut of Siryn (Theresa Cassidy), daughter of X-Man Banshee and a character who would become a cornerstone of 1990s X-Force and later X-Factor Investigations. Her introduction as a teenage villain manipulated by her criminal guardian Black Tom Cassidy — only to be exonerated and reunited with her father — gave the X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe one of its most compelling second-generation mutant arcs. The issue also marks a pivotal status-quo reset for Jessica Drew herself: she formally pursues a private investigator's license in San Francisco, a new direction that defined her character for the remainder of the series and influenced how writers have approached her ever since.
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Chris Claremont took over Spider-Woman with issue #33 after Michael Fleisher's tenure ended at #32, bringing with him a cross-pollination strategy built on his hugely popular Uncanny X-Men work. By issue #37 — plotted to incorporate the full X-Men roster alongside Black Tom and the Juggernaut — Claremont had reshaped Jessica Drew from bounty hunter to private investigator and relocated her to San Francisco, with longtime X-Men artist Steve Leialoha handling both layouts and cover duties under editor Denny O'Neil and editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. The issue's exceptionally crowded inking credits (Terry Austin, Bob Wiacek, Alan Weiss, Al Milgrom, and Frank Springer all contribute pages) hint at the production pressures that accompanied the book's simultaneous shift to a bi-monthly schedule.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Siryn (Theresa Maeve Rourke Cassidy), daughter of Banshee (Sean Cassidy), debuting as a villain alongside Black Tom Cassidy and Juggernaut in a vibranium heist at the San Francisco Mint.
- Written by Chris Claremont, penciled (layouts) by Steve Leialoha with finished art by Terry Austin; inked by a team of five different artists across the issue's pages; lettered by Tom Orzechowski; colored by Carl Gafford.
- Edited by Denny O'Neil, with Mark Gruenwald as assistant editor and Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief; cover date April 1981, on-sale date recorded as December 1980.
- This issue marks the point at which the series shifted from monthly to bi-monthly publication.
- Jessica Drew recounts her origin (as told in Spider-Woman #1 and Marvel Spotlight #32) during a visit to Nick Fury aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, where she seeks a recommendation to obtain a private investigator's license — cementing the San Francisco P.I. status quo Claremont introduced.
- The issue contains a notable in-story error: Juggernaut (Cain Marko), a non-mutant with magic-based powers, is mistakenly referred to as a mutant — though Cerebro's alert is correctly attributable to Siryn's newly manifested mutant power.
- The story arc beginning here (issues #37–38) places events between Uncanny X-Men #143 and #148 in Marvel continuity, with the X-Men team — including Wolverine, Storm, Angel, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Sprite (Kitty Pryde), and Professor X — crossing over to assist Spider-Woman.
- The issue has been reprinted in Essential Spider-Woman Vol. 2 (black and white), Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1 (2005), and in multiple international editions including Dutch (Juniorpress, 1982), French (Editions Lug, 1983), and Swedish (Semic, 1985) publications.
Cast · 31 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Spider-Woman finds herself up against Juggernaut, Black Tom and Tom's niece, Siryn, as they try to steal a government cache of vibranium.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).