Spider-Woman #9
Spider-Woman (vol. 8) #9 is a pivotal chapter in the story arc that introduced the New Champions — Liberty, Hellrune, Cadet Marvel, and Moon Squire — to the main Marvel Universe, providing critical in-continuity backstory for characters who had previously existed only as non-canon variant cover concepts. The issue delivers on the slow-burn revelation that the Assembly's imposing guardian Titan is in fact the resurrected Hulk villain Gremlin (Kondrati Topolov), operating as a Hydra deep-cover operative who personally engineered the abduction and brainwashing of the young heroes. Because writer Steve Foxe went on to shepherd these same four characters into their own ongoing series (New Champions, launched January 2025), this issue functions as essential connective tissue between a throwaway cover art program and a durable ongoing franchise. It also distinguishes itself by weaponizing a forgotten Silver Age adversary — Angar the Screamer — as the unlikely catalyst that begins to shatter the Assembly's Hydra conditioning.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The 2023 Spider-Woman series was launched by writer Steve Foxe and artist Ig Guara, with Arif Prianto on colors, Joe Sabino on letters, and Ellie Pyle as editor — the same creative team that carried the book through its San Francisco-set second arc. The young heroes at the issue's center owe their existence to a 2023 Marvel variant cover program inspired by the breakout success of Spider-Boy; Marvel tasked artists across its line with imagining hypothetical 'forgotten sidekicks,' and Foxe later described reverse-engineering full characters from those purely visual conceits as 'unlike any other creative process' he had been involved in. The cover of issue #9 was painted by Leinil Francis Yu with colors by Rachelle Rosenberg, with a Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe variant by Paco Medina also available.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Released July 17, 2024 (cover-dated September 2024) as issue #9 of the Spider-Woman vol. 8 series (2023–2024), carrying legacy numbering #125.
- Written by Steve Foxe, with interior art by Ig Guara, colors by Arif Prianto, letters by VC's Joe Sabino, and editing by Ellie Pyle; main cover by Leinil Francis Yu and Rachelle Rosenberg.
- The four 'Assembly' young heroes — Liberty (Miranda Monteiro), Hellrune, Cadet Marvel (Emilio Gallardo), and Moon Squire (Jaren Johnson) — received their first full in-continuity appearances in Spider-Woman #7 (2024); this issue deepens their origin by revealing they were children kidnapped and brainwashed by Hydra under the orchestration of Gremlin.
- The issue confirms that the Assembly's towering member Titan is Kondrati Topolov, the Gremlin — a villain who first appeared in Incredible Hulk #163 (1973) — piloting a large exosuit as a Hydra sleeper agent, a dual identity that had been seeded in Spider-Woman #8.
- Angar the Screamer (David Angar) appears in a supporting role; his sonic scream is used as the story mechanism that begins to break Hydra's brainwashing hold on the Assembly members.
- Quicksand (Nguyet), Icemaster (Bradley Kroon), and Zzzax appear as imprisoned super-villains held by the Assembly on Alcatraz Island, with Liberty and Spider-Woman working to free them after Liberty begins recovering her suppressed memories of Hydra training.
- The four core Assembly members — Liberty, Hellrune, Cadet Marvel, and Moon Squire — went on to headline their own ongoing series, New Champions (January 2025), written by Foxe and drawn by Ivan Fiorelli, making this arc their definitive franchise origin.
- Hellrune's visual design originated with artist Toni Infante, who created her for the New Champions variant cover of Immortal Thor #3 (2023); Infante publicly noted she was not informed or credited when the character transitioned into ongoing continuity.
Cast · 14 characters
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Reprinted in Spider-Woman by Steve Foxe #2 (2024)
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