The Amazing Spider-Man #5
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #5 (May 1999) carries two distinct first appearances that matter to the wider Spider-Woman legacy: it marks the debut of Charlotte Witter, the fourth character to bear the Spider-Woman name in Marvel's main continuity, and it is the first time Mattie Franklin operates as Spider-Woman rather than as a Spider-Man stand-in. By placing all four Spider-Women in play simultaneously — Witter, Franklin, Jessica Drew, and Julia Carpenter — the issue staged an unprecedented 'Spider-Woman summit' that fed directly into Mattie Franklin's own solo series and shaped the power dynamics of every Spider-Woman character for years afterward. Witter's unique ability to drain and absorb the powers of other Spider-Women gave the story an unusually high narrative stakes: Julia Carpenter was left unable to walk as a direct result of events set in motion here, a consequence that lingered long after the arc concluded.
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The issue was produced under the Howard Mackie/John Byrne creative team that relaunched Amazing Spider-Man as a second volume in January 1999, a move Marvel made to consolidate the Spider-Man line from four titles down to two after the commercial and critical fallout of the Clone Saga. Byrne served as penciler and plotter while Mackie scripted; Scott Hanna inked, Gregory Wright colored, and Ralph Macchio edited — the same core unit that had been in place since the relaunch. The story was shipped to retailers on March 10, 1999, carrying a May 1999 cover date. Byrne also drew the cover, which is a deliberate homage to the Steve Ditko/Jack Kirby cover of Amazing Fantasy #15, with Mattie Franklin's Spider-Woman substituted into the swinging hero role.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Charlotte Witter (Spider-Woman IV), the fourth character to use the Spider-Woman name in Marvel's Earth-616 continuity, created by Howard Mackie, John Byrne, and Scott Hanna.
- First appearance of Mattie Franklin in the Spider-Woman identity — she had appeared in earlier issues but had not yet adopted the Spider-Woman name until this issue.
- First appearance of the Y2K Gang, a minor villain group introduced as Mattie's opening-pages adversaries.
- Charlotte Witter is established as the granddaughter of Cassandra Webb (Madame Web), adding a new branch to Madame Web's family tree within the Marvel Universe.
- The issue's story — titled '...And Then There Was One!' — directly bridges into a three-part crossover that launched the 1999 Spider-Woman solo series (Vol. 3) with Mattie Franklin as the lead.
- Witter's power-set as depicted in this issue includes the ability to drain the superhuman abilities of other Spider-Women, manifesting giant psionic spider legs from her back following Doctor Octopus's genetic experiments on her.
- Julia Carpenter appears in this issue having already been attacked by Witter off-panel; the injuries she sustains here leave her temporarily paralyzed, a lasting consequence referenced in subsequent Spider-Woman issues.
- The cover is a John Byrne-drawn homage to the classic Amazing Fantasy #15 cover, featuring Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin) in the swinging hero pose — one of many such tributes across Spider-Man publishing history.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Spider-Man #3/2000 (2000), Spider-Man: The Next Chapter #1 (2011), Spider-Man by John Byrne Omnibus #[nn] (2019), Spider-Man #3/2000
Key issues in The Amazing Spider-Man
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