One page preview from Spider-Verse #1

[icon_uk]

Well, following the... let's be polite and say the furore (It's a good word, it should be used more often) over the Manara Spider-Woman cover, it's perhaps a little odd that I should be posting an interesting image of Spider woman wearing a rather visible looking, old-fashioned corset... OVER her costume...

But fret not, in this case I'm not talking about Spider-Woman... I'm talking about Lady Spider



Concept design

Spider-Verse n.1 - Steampunk Spider-Woman by DenisM79 on deviantART


And in action in the comic...

Steampunk Lady Spider - page 4 Preview by DenisM79 on deviantART

There's an interview with the creators, and another page from this story here

What else can you tell us about the world Lady Spider hails from?

It's a New York where the "Difference Engine" made a difference overseas and then made a difference here and took off. The villains that appear in this world are more Spider-Man centric. So it's not the entire Marvel Universe. It's just this one character named May Riley. She's this absolutely brilliant, capable person, and as much as there's been advancement in all this technology in 1895 New York, it's still unfortunately the same situation for women at that time as it was in our history. So this is her pressing up against that sort of historical glass ceiling and adventuring into this world for the first time as Lady Spider.
 

Comments

[randyripoff]

Eh, it's a look. I dunno, the corset doesn't seem to make much sense either from a fashion standpoint unless it's armored in some manner.

Also, I think that would be considered more of "waist nipper" than a corset. As I understand it, corsets actually cover the breasts.

[dustbunny105]

As I understand it, corsets actually cover the breasts.

Nah, corsets can be over- or underbust.

[shadowpsykie]

depends on the look the lady is going for

[minervasolo]

But in the Victorian era, they were overbust because they were the only support for the breasts - underbust corsets require a bra as well (or small breasts) and don't become readily available under after world war one. Corsets are actually better support than bras if you're large chested because the weight is moved to your hips rather than your shoulders.

What really bugs me is that she's wearing it on the outside. Steampunk does this so often, which was pretty much limited to wild west prostitutes. So often steampunk goes into great historical detail with everything else, then drops the lot in order to sex up the women's clothing.

On the other hand, she's also wearing trousers (which were in for the fashionable 'rational dresser') which imply that Lady Spider isn't overly obsessed with Victorian detail, so I can give the corset a pass :)

[icon_uk]

As other's have noted I don't think she's wearing a corset as any sort of fashion or breast support thing, she's wearing it because it's how she's styled the harness which her spider-legs emerge from, a la Doctor Octopus.

On the other hand I am always fascinated by the breadth of knowledge that SD members have, I don't think I was even aware of there being over and under bust corsets in any era! :)

[kevinroc]

Is that supposed to be Aunt May? Her maiden name was "Reilly."

[sir_razorback]

Aunt May is old, but not pushing 150. :)

[icon_uk]

I wouldn't put money on that one.... I'm pretty sure she used to babysit George Burns

[obsidianwolf]

It is also canon that across the multiverse the year someone's born can change. (For Example Mayday Parker lives in the same year as 616 Peter the MC2 Universe just got started 20 or so years earlier) So that very well could be Aunt May just born quiet a bit earlier than 616 Aunt may was.

[sir_razorback]

Possibly, but it could be more likely that it's a grand-parent that Pete's Aunt May could have been named after. Not that Marvel and Logic are commonly used in the same breath, mind you.

[obsidianwolf]

At the end of the day it probably doesn't matter since we probably will never see her again and she's an alternate universe spider. I just hope she doesn't end up on the chopping block.

[thehood]

Except it's an alternate universe, so it doesn't matter when 616 May was born compared to this one.

Just like Spider-Man Noir is a Peter that lived in the 30's.

[rainspirit]

Wearing a chest-constraining bodice doesn't seem like the wisest attire for superhero work.

[grumman]

I think it's part of the harness for the mechanical limbs, rather than being an actual corset.

[lieut_kettch]

Hmm... looks that way. Doc Ock (back when he still had his body) was sometimes portrayed with a similar setup, with the harness only reaching just below the chest.

[icon_uk]

That's how I always picture the arm-tech as it's the first one I saw... though I was pleased to discover that the Marvel Handbooks confirmed that it was lined with sheepskin so it was at least marginally more comfortable than a solid steel corset would be.

[thanekos]

Difference Engine? Hopefully this one doesn't end in a panopticon.

[silverhammerman]

Lady Spider doesn't seem quite as ambitious as the artist's previous steampunk redesigns on Project Rooftop but it's a decent enough look. The only design thing that really sticks out to me as cool is the mechanical legs, which aren't exactly a new idea for Spider-People at this point.

I am intrigued by the idea of a kind of suffragette Spider-Woman though, so Lady Spider does have a good hook at least. I think she's supposed to team up with with Spider-Man 2099 at one point, so she might get some room for characterization there.

[thehood]

Yeah, she's showing in Spider-Man 2099, among other books.

[shadowpsykie]

i like corsets, if i could pull one off i would so wear one... it might be the romantic in me, but i really want to legitinmately swoon. it would acompany my "flinging" myself onto random couches.