Mary MacPherran

Mary MacPherran was born prematurely in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Mary was often overlooked as the smallest of her siblings and would immerse herself in fantasy books. She grew little over the years, remaining short and scrawny compared to her peers; a popular girl at school named Vanessa Ashwood gave Mary the nickname "Skeeter" (a slang word for mosquito) because of this. Her only real friend was Marsha Rosenberg, who was similarly unpopular (in her case for being awkward and overweight). Consistently mocked and humiliated since childhood by the wealthy Vanessa and her social clique, Mary (and Marsha) had to take menial jobs to survive. Mary grew bitter over her hard life, and fantasized about something improbable in her favor such as winning the lottery. These fantasies soon turned to gaining superpowers to be admired, and to exact revenge on her tormentors. When the second Spider-Woman Julia Carpenter began to make appearances in Denver, Rosenberg remarked that her hair was the same color as Mary's. Mary falsely confided in her friend that she was secretly Spider-Woman, and when Rosenberg spread the rumor, Mary saw her popularity grow and was invited to a party by Vanessa and her clique.