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There are just too manySpider-Mancharacters to keep track of these days with all the multiverse shenanigans out there. While most people are sure to know of both Peter Parker and Miles Morales’ versions of Spider-Man, there are many more. One of the more interesting and recently created spider-based heroes in the Marvel universe is none other than Cindy Moon, also known as the hero Silk.
She may not have received as much of a shine as newcomers like Miles Morales, but with the right shot in the limelight, Silk has the potential to be a fan favorite. When compared to other similar women, she may not have the same kind of history that Gwen Stacy or any of the women who’ve taken up the Spider-Woman mantle do, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have some intriguing stories under her belt.
Who Is Silk?
Originallycreated by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos back in 2014, Silk is yet another person who happened to be bitten by the same radioactive spider as Peter Parker.
The Korean-American girl stands out as the modern take on the female version of Spider-Man, though she is so much more thanjust a standard Spider-Man clone, combat and all.
Complete with a black, white, and red costume, Silk has managed to make a serious impact since her debut thanks to the prevalence of the Spider-Man multiverse stories that have been told.
Silk quicklymorphed from being a girl who had been tucked awayfrom the worldto a girl who was locked in a battle for the existence of all the Spider Totemslike her.
She wasn’t just happy to help her Peter Parker and instead turned to the multiverse to combat the threat ofthe vampire-like Inheritors.
Once that battle was finished, Silk would head to finally find out where her parents were after all her years of separation from them, thoughshe would sadly be killed during the incursions of Earth-616 and Earth-1610.
After the reestablishing of Earth-616,Silk returned to lifewith the rest of the fallen heroes and finallymanaged to find her family. From there, she would find herself working with a variety of groups and teams,and even notably The Black Cat.
Despite all the teamwork,Silk had trouble with anxietyin new situations andthe fear of being alone, with both traits being major factors that drive her character.
What Is Silk’s Origin Story?
Just like Peter Parker,Cindy Moon was bitten by a radioactive spider, causing her to develop her powers.
She was separated from her family for training with a strange man named Ezekiel Sims, but thanks to the impending hunt from the Inheritor known as Morlun,Ezekiel hid Cindy away from the world to keep Morlun from tracking her.
She would stay in that roomfor over a decade, never actually trapped, instead opting to remain in the room to avoid suffering a horrific death at Morlun’s hands. Spider-Man would eventually locate and release Cindy from the room, though she reacted with anger thanks toher belief that Morlun would come to kill them both.
With Spider-Man’s assurance thatMorlun was defeated (for the time being), Cindy Moon declared herself as the hero Silk and headed out into the city to find her parents.
The combination of the battle with the Inheritors thanks toher status as an important Spider Totemand her journey to find her parents would define the character for many years.
What Are Silk’s Powers?
While Silk was bitten by the same spider as Spider-Man,her powers are somewhat different. The main differences are thatshe has lower strength but heightened speedand Spider-Sense ability.
She also has theability to produce organic webbing from the tips of her fingers, something that can make her similar or completely different from Spider-Man depending on the era he’s in and the universe he’s from.
Her Spider-Sense is referred to as Silk-Senseand simply functions at a higher capacity than Spider-Man’s. She can detect someone about to attack before they even do, and her sense has a longer range for danger than Peter’s. Her webbing can also be manipulated to become a makeshift covering if she needs clothes and can evenfunction as dangerous claws.
Additionally, she is connected to Spider-Man thanks to being bitten by the same spider,allowing her to track and sense him with ease.
Outside of those minor tweaks, shefunctions as a hero quite similarly to Spider-Man. She can crawl on walls and swing from her webs while bashing on bad guys.
Her strength may be lower than her counterpart’s, but it is still considered to be superhuman, something that further applies to her other traits while she is fighting.
Who Has Silk Battled?
While shehasn’t been around all that longwhen compared to other titans of Marvel, Silk still has managed to come into contact with some of the most notorious villains around.
Right from her introduction,Silk is poised as a key figure in the battle against the Inheritors, andshe actively works with the Spider-Verse in order to take them down for good.
One of hermost notable villains is none other than Black Catwhom she both battles with and has tentatively alliances with from time to time. She also assisted heavily during the Goblin Nation struggles andeven came to blows with the Red Goblin, though that fight didn’t go in her favor.
Something that may surprise some people is that Silk has had a shocking amount of run-ins withenemiesof a more mystical nature, something that includes demons.
She hasn’t had too many major victories in comparison to other heroes, but as the character gets more attention,that is bound to change.
What Are Some Good Silk Stories?
Silk is a great character, in card games or otherwise, so it’s worth experiencing the beginnings of the character, which can be done in the pages ofThe Amazing Spider-Man #1 (2014).
Silk Vol. 3 is worth a readto get a full feel of how she functions as a hero and to see who Cindy Moon is as a person. It is also worth checking out the entirety of the massiveSpider-Verse event, Agents Of Atlas, and Order Of The Web.
While Silk is far from the only focus of those storylines, she plays an important role within each of them, and they all manage to tell unique stories that either flesh out the character or allow her toshow off what she can do while in the presence of other heroesof an arguably higher caliber.
