Avengers #240
The Ghost of Jessica Drew!
The Avengers have been called the Los Angeles to help their former teammate, Tigra, with a ghost problem.[1] They arrive at the hospital room where Jessica Drew, who is being kept alive on life support. At first, the Avengers don’t remember who she is, until they are reminded that Jessica was once Spider-Woman. Suddenly, all the memories start flooding back.[2] Tigra says the same thing happened to her too and explains Jessica’s bizarre circumstances.
She recounts how she and Spider-Woman were among a menagerie of superhumans that were captured by two villains named Locksmith and Ticktock. Spider-Woman eventually defeated these foes and freed the others. After the battle, they had all went back to the apartment that Jessica shared with Lindsay McCabe to celebrate.[3] It was during the party that Jessica’s boyfriend and landlord, David Ishima, pulled Jessica aside and told her that they should break up because he couldn’t handle her life as a superhero and returned to the party while she stayed out in the back to collect her thought. When David returned to the party he suddenly felt dizzy and no longer remembered. Suddenly, everyone forgot everything about Spider-Woman, including why they were all gathered in celebration. Some, such as Daddy Long-Legs and Gypsy Moth, got freaked out and took off. However, the Shroud, however, felt some strange sensation pulling them out to private courtyard where they saw Spider-Woman laying on the ground clinging to life in a coma.
Remembering who Jessica was again, both Tigra and the Shroud performed CPR until paramedics could arrive. Jessica has been on life support in the hospital ever since. Since then, Jessica’s former allies have been haunted by ghostly visions of Spider-Woman. It started with Micky Silk, and then the Shroud. When it was Tigra’s turn to see the phantom it was as she was watching over Jessica in the hospital. She witnessed as the ghost of Spider-Woman tried to return to her body but was pushed back by a powerful jolt of energy. Not sure where to turn, Tigra decided to call the Avengers for help. Both the Wasp and the Scarlet Witch have an idea on who they can bring in on this bizarre case and the team heads out to the Quinjet to make some calls, leaving She-Hulk to stand guard while they are gone. None of them notice as the ghost of Spider-Woman makes a brief appearance in the hospital room before disappearing again.[4]
Connected with the Vision back at Avengers Mansion, the Wasp tries to place a call to Don Blake, Thor’s alter-ego. Unfortunately, the thunder god is away from his Chicago home on a mission.[5] This forces Janet to call on the only other person she knows who can help. After the Vision ends the call, he turns his attention to a strange energy flux that his sensors picked up and vanished the moment he became aware of it.[6] Meanwhile, the Scarlet Witch puts a call out to Doctor Strange to get his aid. The Sorcerer Supreme agrees to do what he can and so Captain Marvel is dispatched back to New York so she can fly Strange to California in another Quinjet. As they make their way back to the west coast, Captain Marvel is asked to make a stop at a small mid-western airport where she picks up Henry Pym. When Stephen and Hank arrive at the hospital, Tigra can’t help but notice how impersonal the Wasp is being with Pym, since it is so soon after their recent divorce.[7] After sending the two specialists to examine Jessica, the Wasp decides to go up to the roof to have some time to alone to sort out her feelings.
While they wait, Tigra and She-Hulk talk about Janet’s recent loss and the two women bond over their own personal losses and how they found the strength to move on with their lives.[8] On the rooftop, Janet Van Dyne discovers that she is not alone as the Shroud is standing guard from the shadows.[9] The pair also find that they can relate to one another due to their personal losses.[10] By this time, both Hank Pym and Doctor Strange have finished their examinations. Pym has concluded that there is nothing physically wrong with Jessica Drew, while the Sorcerer Supreme makes a shocking revelation: Somehow Jessica’s mind has fled her body entirely. This leaves everyone to wonder where her mind could have gone.
Little do they know that Jessica Drew’s spirit now exists in the Astral Plane along with her onetime ally the sorcerer known only as Magnus.[11] Magnus explains that he had no choice but to pull Jessica’s spirit in the astral plane as it was the only way to stop their foe, Morgan le Fay. Although they succeeded in going back to her era and slay the evil sorceress, Jessica Drew was unable to return her spirit to her body. At Jessica’s behest, Magnus cast a spell to make everyone forget Spider-Woman existed to ease their suffering. Now, however, Magnus admits that the spell was not strong enough and could easily be broken. He also admits that he acted selfishly by asking her to travel to the Astral Plane as living here for centuries, Magnus has grown incredibly lonely and grew to love Jessica in their adventures together. He tells her that he has been trapped there for 14 centuries and was only able to interact with the outside world when the proper mystical alignments were in its place. While Jessica isn’t sure how she’ll get used to life in the Astral Plane, the pair are observed by a mysterious woman lurking in the shadows.
Jessica, however, doesn’t want to exist in this limbo for all eternity and tells Magnus that she has been trying to reunite her soul with her body but some mystical force is preventing her from doing so. Realizing that he can’t keep Jessica here against her will, Magnus tries to use the last of his magical power to send her back. Simultaneously, in the world of the living, Doctor Strange uses the Eye of Agamotto to draw Jessica’s spirit back to her body. The process begins to work at first until the force keeping Spider-Woman’s spirit out of her body ensnares her essence, turning it into a negative image. Doctor Strange warns the others that if they don’t find a way to break Jessica free her spirit will fade to nothingness.
Back in the Astral Plane, Magnus has been struck down by a mystical bolt from Morgan le Fay. Although her physical body died, her own spirit escaped to the Astral Plane as well. Now with her eternal enemy defeated, Morgan intends to take possession of Spider-Woman’s body and conquer the present day.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Starfox, Captain Marvel), Spider-Woman, Morgan le Fay, Tigra, Shroud, Hank Pym, Doctor Strange, Magnus, Thor, (flashback) David Ishima, Lindsay McCabe, Gypsy Moth, Daddy Long-Legs, Poltergeist
Continuity Notes
Tigra had a brief stint on the Avengers from issue #211 to 216.
The Wasp remembers how she attempted to recruit Spider-Woman into the Avengers in Avengers #221, while the Scarlet Witch recalls the time that Jessica saved Ms. Marvel from drowning in Avengers Annual #10.
This is a recounting of the events of Spider-Woman #50.
The Wasp knows that Tigra is talking about getting help from Don Blake, Thor’s mortal alter-ego. Both women know Thor’s secret, with Tigra finding out in Avengers #216 and the Wasp in issue #220.
A footnote here tells readers to see “recent” issues of Thor to find out what’s going on but doesn’t go into detail here. The image of Thor from this story shows him fighting the demonic hordes of Surtur, placing this story as happening concurrently with the events of Thor #340.
The Vision is detecting one of the Beyonder’s probes of Earth, leading into the events of Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #1-12.
Hank Pym had just suffered a downward spiral that started with being kicked out of the Avengers for misconduct and striking Janet in Avengers #213. He turned his life around by issue #230, but ultimately decided to retire from super-heroics.
For Tigra, it was the death of her husband, Bill Nelson, a cop who was killed in the line of duty in The Cat #1. She-Hulk talks about the friction between her and her father, Morris Walters, who as an LA sheriff hunted her during a period when her true identity was a secret. He hounded the She-Hulk from Savage She-Hulk #2 through 25, when he ultimately learned the truth about his daughter and reconciled with her.
Janet mentions how Captain America spoke positively of the Shroud in a case report. Captain America and the Shroud worked together against the Red Skull in Super-Villain Team-Up #10-12.
In the case of the Shroud, it was the death of his parents who were murdered right before his eyes as explained in Super-Villain Team-Up #7. If it sounds exactly like Batman’s origins, that’s because it totally is.
Magnus assisted Spider-Woman on her quest to find her father which ran from Spider-Woman #2 through 13 when he departed her company. It’s explained next issue that Magnus’ physical body was murdered by Morgan le Fay when he tried to stop her from using the Book of Darkhold. These events are also expanded upon in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22.
