One of Spider-Man’s most underrated enemies is getting a long overdue shot at redemption thanks to Marvel’s newest elemental shapeshifter.

Spectacular Spider-Men #9 finds the eponymous heroes doing everything they can to help Juliet Marcos come to terms with her unexpected new powers. After learning that she can transform into a being of pure water, it only makes sense for Peter Parker to call in one of his worst enemies to try and help Juliet through the process. Thankfully, Hydro-Man is more than happy to do what he can, especially if it helps get the Wall-Crawler off his back a little while longer.

• Written by GREG WEISMAN
• Art by ANDRÉS GENOLET & EMILIO LAISO
• Colors by EDGAR DELGADO
• Letters by VC’s JOE CARAMAGNA
• Main cover art by EMILIO LAISO & EDGAR DELGADO
• Variant covers by DAVE JOHNSON and JOSEMARIA CASANOVAS

Juliet Marcos was one of the many New Yorkers who found themselves trapped within Arcade and Mentallo’s sprawling Arcadium, an artificial world where all a person’s biggest hopes and dreams could come true. Unfortunately, this was just another ploy by the villains to amass power and wealth for themselves, one which ultimately turned against them. After the artificial intelligence behind the Arcadium gained sentience, it reimagined itself as the hulking K.N.A.I.V.E., which attempted to strike out on its own before being destroyed by Peter, Miles, and their allies.

Not long after being released from the Arcaidum, Juliet joined several others in a support group for those directly affected by Arcade and Mentallo’s plot. Like so many others, Juliet was left with some truly devastating traumas because of her experiences within the Arcadium, though her troubles hardly ended with its destruction. For whatever reason, Juliet has developed the ability to transform herself entirely not just into a being made of pure water, but air, earth, and fire, as well. As astonishing as this is, the apparent lack of answers regarding how her powers work or where they came from has turned her entire life into a superpowered mystery.

Morris Bench made his Marvel Comics debut back in 1980’s Amazing Spider-Man #212, which saw him working as part of the crew tasked with overseeing the implementation of an underwater generator just off the coast of New York City. When things went awry, Spider-Man leaped into action, accidentally pushing Bench into the water in the process. Due to the strange energies produced by this generator, Bench found himself imbued with a kind of power he could never have imagined before. In the end, Bench was given the ability to transform into a being of pure living water, giving rise to his early career as the villainous Hydro-Man. In recent years, Hydro-Man had his powers stolen away by the serial killer symbiote known as Carnage, though he escaped an untimely demise when the latter failed to absorb the one molecule containing his consciousness.

Spectacular Spider-Men #9 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics

Spider-Man

Since his first appearance in 1962, Spider-Man has almost always been Marvel Comics’ most popular character. Known for his sense of humor and bad luck as well as his selflessness and super-strength, Spider-Man has helmed countless titles over the years, Spider-Man’s most prominent comics include The Amazing Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man.

Peter Parker was the original Spider-Man but the Spider-Verse has become an important part of the character’s lore in recent years. Multiversal and future Spider-Men include Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Miguel O’Hara and Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham. This provided the premise for the popular Spider-Verse film trilogy, which makes Miles its primary hero.

Spider-Man is also the basis of several live-action film franchises and numerous animated television series. He is one of the most recognizable characters in the world. While he’s changed a lot over the decades, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee gave the world an unforgettable hero when they created Spider-Man.