Martha "Mattie" Franklin is a troubled youth who grew up with her father after her mother died. After overhearing a phone call between her father and
Norman Osborn about
The Gathering of Five, she takes her father's place during the Gathering and is endowed with the powers that
Norman Osborn desired for himself. During one of
Spider-Man's temporary retirements, she wears a near-identical costume and fills in for him. Franklin has long been an obsessive fan of Spider-Man who inspired her career as a superhero. This obsession is coupled with repressed romantic feelings for him, which she revealed during a state of delirium after suffering a head injury in battle. She is defeated by
Shadrac, forcing Spider-Man to return to the costume and save her. After Spider-Man's return, she assumes the identity of Spider-Woman. Eventually
Charlotte Witter, a villain also going by the name of Spider-Woman, attacks her and steals her powers. Mattie manages not only to reabsorb her own powers, but also to absorb the powers of all three previous Spider-Women. Assisted by
Madame Web and
Jessica Drew, she hunts down supervillains wherever she can find them. Lonely from having only her constantly working father to live with, Franklin moves in with
J. Jonah Jameson, a close friend of her father, and his wife Marla. They have Franklin (a straight-"A" student) enrolled in a private school, where a classmate, Cheryl, spots her using her powers and becomes her friend and biggest fan. During this time, the powers Franklin absorbed from previous Spider-Women begin returning to their original owners. She is featured in the series
Contest of Champions II. Having escaped from brutal gladitorial fights that other Earth superheroes are unwittingly brainwashed into, she flees into a mysterious jungle and is almost slain by foe and naive friend alike. She ultimately teams up with all original heroes and veterans
Iron Man and
Psylocke.
Alias While on a first date, Mattie is slipped a
date rape drug. Since by this time she has lost the toxin resistance power she absorbed from Jessica Drew, she is rendered senseless. A small-time drug dealer then exploits her to produce a drug called Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH), as well as using her for prostitution. To keep her prisoner, he regularly doses her with psychoactive drugs. Private investigator
Jessica Jones, with the help of Jessica Drew, rescues Mattie and returns her to Jonah and Marla. Mattie goes through counseling to get over her dependence on the drugs with which she was sedated.
Loners After the events of
Alias, Mattie had retired from being a superhero and became a private investigator. However, she dons the costume once more to track down the dealers who were selling the MGH, and follows them to Los Angeles, where she attends
Excelsior meetings and pretends to quit using her powers. In reality, she is using the meetings to recruit a partner to help her. She is joined by
Darkhawk and
Ricochet, who keep their activities secret from the rest of the group. The trio's involvement in the MGH ring bust is revealed when Ricochet's later break-in at a Fujikawa lab results in
Lightspeed being grievously wounded by Hollow (formerly
Penance). The group is confronted by a woman leading armored guards and Delilah; they have come to reclaim Hollow. The matter is settled peacefully by
Mickey Musashi; Mattie is frustrated about allowing the bad guys to leave. However, Mickey reminds her that she is undoing the damage for which she, Darkhawk, and Ricochet are responsible. It is revealed that another reason for her joining the support group was that she was secretly researching the Slingers. While over at Johnny's house she begins searching around, looking for evidence when she is caught by Johnny whom she sleeps with in order for him not to get suspicious. Afterwards, she privately contacts the father of Dusk, in which she confirmed that the former Slinger named Ricochet has no knowledge of Cassie's whereabouts. Mattie and Johnny later arrive at Mickey's apartment, in which they learn about both Phil and Chris fighting each other in Darkhawk armor. After defeating Phil, she learns about Phil also making a deal with Fumiko Fujikawa and decides to leave the support group, no longer trusting them, pointing out that they had forgotten about how to be heroes in trying to overcome their heroic pasts. Mattie also admits that she regrets sleeping with Ricochet.
The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt In "
The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt",
Sasha Kravinoff kills Mattie Franklin as part of a ritual to resurrect
Vladimir Kravinoff.
The Clone Conspiracy She is resurrected in a cloned body in "
Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy", but eventually decays and dies. ==Powers and abilities==