Jean DeWolff

Jean DeWolff is a fictional police detective appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She functions as a supporting character in particular titles featuring Spider-Man.

Jean DeWolff
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceMarvel Team-Up #48 (August 1976)
Created byBill Mantlo and Sal Buscema
In-story information
Full nameCaptain Jean DeWolff
Team affiliationsNew York City Police Department
Supporting character ofSpider-Man

Publication history

Jean DeWolff first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #48-51 (August–November 1976), and was created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema.[1] She was one of the few supporting cast members in Marvel Team-Up.[2]

Comics journalist Jonathan Miller described Jean DeWolff as "a secondary character that could facilitate a sense of continuity [in Marvel Team-Up], someone who knew only the costumed side of Peter's personality, and yet had a genuine relationship with him. Hard-edged and no-nonsense, DeWolff usually made her entrance in her vintage roadster, cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth, a modern, post-feminist take on the classic tough-guy heroes of Dashiell Hammett and Mickey Spillane".[2]

The character subsequently appeared in Marvel Team-Up #60-62 (August–October 1977), #65-66 (January–February 1978), #72 (August 1978), #88 (December 1979), Ms. Marvel #6-7 (June–July 1977), The Amazing Spider-Man #226 (March–April 1982), #239 (April 1983), The Spectacular Spider-Man #103 (June 1985), and #107 (October 1985). The character made posthumous appearances in The Sensational She-Hulk #53 (July 1993), Venom Super Special #1 (August 1995), and Spider-Man/Human Torch #4 (June 2005).

Jean DeWolff received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #17, and The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man #1 (2005) and The Official Handbook of the Ultimate Marvel Universe: Fantastic Four and Spider-Man #1 (2005).

Fictional character biography

Jean DeWolff experienced a problematic childhood, with the rejection she suffered from her father Phillip DeWolff, her mother's disapproval of Jean following in her father's and later her beloved stepfather Carl's footsteps as a cop,[3] and the loss of her brother Brian DeWolff in the line of police duty. Still determined to make her living with the police force, she became a tough, unrelenting captain for the NYPD in order to prove to her father that she could survive as a woman in a man's world. She notably preferred clothing and cars from the 1930s era.[4]

In the course of her work, Jean became acquainted with and befriended Spider-Man when the web-slinger and Iron Man were involved in investigating a serial bombing, which was committed by her still-living brother as the Wraith under their father's mental control. With the two heroes and Doctor Strange's aid, Brian was restored and reunited with Jean while Phillip went to prison.[5] In time, Jean became one of Spider-Man's staunchest admirers and allies in the NYPD force, who had previously been hostile to Spider-Man thanks to J. Jonah Jameson's antagonistic editorials.

Jean was killed by her lover Stan Carter,[6] aka Sin-Eater.[3] After her death, Spider-Man discovered that she had kept a collection of Spider-Man news clippings (a photo of Spider-Man with the Black Cat was cut to remove the latter from the image) which implied that her feelings were warmer than she generally indicated, leaving Spider-Man even more dejected.[7]

Her close friend Yuri Watanabe later uses a mask fabricated by Mysterio to pose as Jean as a new Wraith targeting Mister Negative's criminal syndicate.[8]

A clone of Jean DeWolff was one of the deceased cloned during the Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy event. During the final fight, she assists Spider-Man and the Prowler in stopping the cloned villains from escaping the facility as her body decayed from the Carrion Virus, presumably killing her in the process.[9]

Other versions

Spider-Gwen

In the Spider-Gwen reality, Jean DeWolff is partnered with Captain Frank Castle on the NYPD's Special Crimes Task Force.[10][11]

Spider-Man Noir

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without A Face features Federal Agent Jean De Wolfe, who is trying to track down The Crime Master, and is skeptical of Spider-Man's motives in crimefighting. In keeping with the 1930s setting, this version of De Wolfe is male, as a woman could never have joined the police force.[12]

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Marvel depiction is a tough and unrelenting character. Writer Brian Michael Bendis changed her name to Jeanne De Wolfe as her morality is in question. In her first appearance (where her name was written akin to the regular Marvel Universe), she is shown outside a bank being robbed by an impersonator of Spider-Man who killed Captain John Stacy until the real Spider-Man arrives and nearly killed the imposter in a rage but instead webs up the imposter for the police.[13] Her next appearance (where this version's spelling is introduced) is following a fight between Spider-Man and Gladiator. She is the first police officer not to shoot Spider-Man on sight, and orders others in her squad not to arrest.[14] Spider-Man is pleased to have an ally in official law enforcement, and she continues to help during the "Hobgoblin" and "Warriors" storylines.[15] However, it is later revealed that Jeanne is employed by Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin as a spy to obtain insider information about police actions, Spider-Man and other superheroes.[16] Jeanne is shot and killed by the Punisher. Afterwards Spider-Man learns she was in the Kingpin's employ, and a rumor that she was the Kingpin's lover. The Kingpin was later seen mourning her death, indicating this may definitely be true.[17] Her position is succeeded by Frank Quaid.[18]

In other media

Television

  • Jean DeWolff appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man animated series, voiced by Irene Bedard.[19] This depiction is Native American and shown to be partnered with Stan Carter - they are uniformed patrol officers sharing a squad car. Unlike Carter, DeWolff doesn't share enthusiasm for Spider-Man.

Video games

  • The character renamed Jean DeWolfe appears in Spider-Man 3 video game (on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC), voiced by Vanessa Marshall. This iteration is an African-American and (in the Nintendo DS version) has long blonde hair. She appears as a detective who enlists Spider-Man to help crack down on gun running and crooked cops, although she also shares information about the Mad Bomber case. The nature of these missions tend to include Spidey taking evidence photos for DeWolfe before fighting. The climax of the DeWolfe arc hints at the building friendship between the two, although she gruffly makes it clear that they're not friends. In the Nintendo DS version, she tells Spider-Man about events involving gangs, including the Apocalypse Gang and the Dragon-tail Brotherhood.
  • Jean DeWolff appears in Marvel Heroes voiced by Mary Faber. While investigating, she witnesses the Enforcers almost killing the hero Speedball. Without thinking or hesitating, Jean kills the Enforcers in self-defense and rescues Speedball. However, the Kingpin caught this on camera and bribed Jean to work otherwise images of her actions would released and it would mean the end of her career as a police officer. Her double life was discovered by befriended reporter Ben Urich (who mentioned it to the other heroes). After helping defeat Bullseye, Jean had a change of heart and decided to turn herself in.
  • Jean DeWolff's murder is referenced in a newspaper in Spider-Man: Edge of Time.
  • Jean DeWolff appears in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, voiced by Misty Lee. Photographs taken of police computers provide Spider-Man with access to her files on various criminal gang leaders active in New York at this time, including Mister Negative, Hammerhead, and Hood.

References

  1. Cowsill, Alan; Manning, Matthew K. (2012). Spider-Man Chronicle: Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. DK Publishing. p. 89. ISBN 978-0756692360.
  2. Miller, Jonathan (October 2010). "Spider-Man and Company: The Wide World of Marvel Team-Up". Back Issue!. TwoMorrows Publishing (44): 39.
  3. The Spectacular Spider-Man #107
  4. Marvel Team-Up #49
  5. Marvel Team-Up #48-51
  6. The Spectacular Spider-Man #135
  7. The Spectacular Spider-Man #108
  8. The Amazing Spider-Man #663-664
  9. The Clone Conspiracy #5
  10. Jason Latour (w), Robbi Rodriguez (p), Robbi Rodriguez (i), Rico Renzi (col), VC's Clayton Cowles (let), Nick Lowe (ed). "Most Wanted? Part One" Spider-Gwen #1 (25 February 2015), United States: Marvel Comics
  11. Jason Latour (w), Robbi Rodriguez (p), Robbi Rodriguez (i), Rico Renzi (col), VC's Clayton Cowles (let), Nick Lowe (ed). "Most Wanted? Part Two" Spider-Gwen #2 (11 March 2015), United States: Marvel Comics
  12. Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without A Face #1-4
  13. Ultimate Spider-Man #31-32
  14. Ultimate Spider-Man #60
  15. Ultimate Spider-Man #72-85
  16. Ultimate Spider-Man #85
  17. Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2
  18. Ultimate Spider-Man #110
  19. Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: Tuesday, January 29, 2008
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.