Issa Rae’s version of Marvel’s Spider-Woman has been revealed thanks to the recent trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Back in 2021, it was confirmed that Issa Rae was cast in the upcoming animated sequel in the role of Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman. Not only that, but the version of the character would be heavily influenced by Denis Hopeless’ run on the character, which saw her in the midst of a pregnancy.
Since then, nothing else has been revealed about her character—besides the fact that audiences would get to meet the Vulture of her universe.
Now, the time has finally come to see what the movie has done with Jessica Drew, and it’s quite interesting, to say the least.
The Debut of Issa Rae’s Spider-Woman
Sony just released a brand new trailer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and in the two-minute preview, more than a handful of Spidey Variants make their debut.
Among them is Jessica Drew's Spider-Woman, voiced by actress Issa Rae:
Not only does she make her on-screen debut in this trailer, but she also happens to be pregnant as she jumps into battle:
Her overall role in the movie isn’t clear, but this shot of her alongside Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099 seems to hint that she’ll be more involved than many of the other Spider-People glimpsed in the trailer:
The trailer also provides a great quick glimpse of Drew going up against her Vulture:
A Very Different Spider-Woman
Needless to say, this version of Jessica Drew is vastly different from her comic counterpart.
For those who know Drew, visually, the character comes with some major changes. She sports the same style of uniform, but this time around, the hero’s race has been changed and she sports a respectable Afro—all likely in an attempt to better align with the actress playing her.
One particularly interesting note is how this Spider-Woman is shooting web out of her fingertips, which happens to be the method used by Cindy Moon’s Silk, another character in Spider-Man lore.
Funny enough, in the comics, Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman (the most popular incarnation of the character) doesn’t have any real connection to Spider-Man. So, her having the ability to shoot webs at all is a new concept for the character.
The real question is: how big a role will she play? Given her shot with Spidey 2099, and Issa Rae’s casting, she’ll likely play a key role in protecting the Spider-Verse from Spot—the villain for the next two entries of the franchise.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hits theaters on June 2, 2023.
