Spider Widow + The Raven

“She weaves a web of justice to trap the insects of corruption!” He? “Mysterious, powerful and terrifying, the Raven is the symbol of fear to all the underworld.” Together the Spider Widow and Raven made for an unusual pair and a unique case among the Quality pantheon of heroes. Not only was this sort of pairing of heroes unparalleled at Quality, but their creator, Frank Borth, teamed them with the Phantom Lady when he was writing both features.

The beautiful, wealthy, and athletic Dianne Grayton could not abide the pervasive apathy she found in her well-to-do friends. In times when the newspaper headlines consistently read of murder, sabotage and injustice, Grayton resolved to do her part. Opportunity literally came knocking at her door when a pair of mobsters visited her home in need of gasoline for their getaway car. Dianne donned an old green rubber mask, gathered some of her gardener’s pet spiders, and hid inside the crooks’ trunk. Back at boss Jake Lardo’s lair the men revealed their allegiance to Hitler; they had blown up a train shipment of oil. At first, Dianne chose stealth, scaring the men with her black widow spiders. Then she pounced, revealing herself as the Spider Widow. In struggling with Lardo, more spiders swarmed over the boss. Thus incapacitated, the cops were called to round them up. They also found a note from the Spider Widow that made the next morning’s headlines. Her friend Bob Ableson (of the idle rich set) ribbed Dianne and suggested that if she’d like to hunt criminals, she could take a few lessons from the Spider Widow. (Feature #57)

Her spiders also sussed out the Japanese collaborator, Madame Largossi (#58), and a murderous circus owner J.P. Darbun. (#59)

Not long into her career, the Spider Widow answered a call for help in the newspaper—one placed by Axis spies. But the ad also drew the attention of another mystery man who was interested in meeting the Widow. Dianne fell into a trap, but she was pursued by her mystery admirer, who adopted the guise of the Raven. He freed her and together they delivered the menace into the hands of the US Navy. In the dark of the night, Spider Widow thanked him with a kiss, but later they were both left to wonder who was behind the masks. (#60)

Next the pair unwittingly found each other aboard the same train bound for the mountains, when it was hit by Nazis. Each came out in costume but they retreated together when the army arrived to clean up the mess. (#61) In their mountain vacation spot together they stopped some Japanese saboteurs. (#63)

Dianne took up acting as a hobby, doing summer theater outside New York. She uncovered one of her fellow actors as a spy and the Raven stepped in again. The two of them began wondering if they were meant to be together, yet they always stopped short of revealing their true selves. (#64) After this, they established a means of contacting one another. (#65)

Her greatest nemesis might have been the Spider Man, a villain who commanded a gigantic mechanical spider named Herman. As it happened, he terrorized a factory owned by Dianne’s uncle John. (#66) Bizarre circumstances conspired to ultimately prompt the Raven to reveal his true identity. Dianne’s uncle, John Keller, had become the executor of his friend’s considerable fortune. The will required that four “random” people would have to compete for the fortune. One of these, Miss Withington, killed one of the other four and moved to attack Dianne when she discovered that she was the Spider Widow. Another one of the four was Tony Grey, who put a stop to Withington—as the Raven! (#67) 

Their next adventure together was truly bizarre and unexplained. When the Raven summoned Dianne to a cemetery, she happened upon the lair of the Tiglon Man. This creature had the head of a tiger and he commanded the very artifacts that the Raven had meant to show her. In escaping from him, the Spider Widow had to destroy all of it. (#68) 

The Raven’s sleuthing led the pair into a series of team-ups with the Phantom Lady. Raven somehow discovered her secret identity and contacted her with information about her kidnapped father. (Police #20) At their second meeting, the Raven introduced Phantom Lady to the Spider Widow. Jealousy tainted their relationship from the start and the Raven was left to mediate. (#69)

The women were too-easily fooled into dueling one another by gangsters. During the duel, both of their identities were exposed and the crooks shot the Raven in the back. The ladies continued to argue even in the hospital about who would care for Raven. (Police #21) It was the Raven who finally made some headway in their search for the crooks who had it out for Phantom Lady’s father. He went undercover and become the “boss” of that gang. Dianne phoned Phantom Lady for help and the three of them mopped up. (Feature #70) 

In their last adventure together, the Raven attempted to mend relations between the girls. His prank, however, turned sour when mobsters intervened and captured him and Phantom Lady. After one timely rescue by the Spider Widow, they buried the hatchet. (#71) The couple said farewell to Phantom Lady, (Police #22) and the Raven was never seen again. 

The last case of the Spider Widow did not involve the Raven. Her friends Alice and Emory had succumbed to headhunters in the jungles of South America. The villain nearly killed Dianne, then leapt out a window to his death. (Feature #72) This feature seemed to end before its time, probably a victim of Borth’s entry into military service.

Notes

Dianne did not appear in costume in Feature #70 or Police #21. Her hairdresser must have been very busy. In her early adventures, she regularly sported different hair colors.

Neither hero has been used outright by DC Comics, but the Spider Widow bears striking resemblance to a Starman villain called the Prairie Witch (first appearance Starman Annual #1, 1996), which creator James Robinson said was coincidental (see interview in the Q.C.).

Not long after his debut, the Raven became co-headliner of the feature. His alter ego, Tony Grey, shares a last name with another avian Quality hero, the Black Condor (Richard Grey).

Spider Widow was also the inspiration for a character called the Widow in John Arcudi’s 2002 Elseworlds series, JLA: Destiny (see interview in the Q.C.).