Scarlet Spider

Felicity Hardy grew up as the daughter of Felicia Hardy (Earth-982) and Flash Thompson (Earth-982), receiving gymnastics and martial-arts training from her mother while becoming increasingly resentful after her parents separated. After discovering that May Parker was Spider-Girl, Felicity decided she wanted a costumed career of her own and initially tried to convince May to accept her as a sidekick. When Spider-Girl refused to take an unpowered teenager into dangerous fights, Felicity researched Spider-Man’s history, found records of the original Scarlet Spider, and created a new version of that identity for herself.

Felicity repeatedly entered the field despite Spider-Girl’s objections, eventually encountering Kaine (Earth-982) and learning firsthand how badly an inexperienced vigilante could be hurt. She briefly abandoned the Scarlet Spider identity, but returned when the Cult of the Scriers targeted Spider-Girl, putting herself in danger once again while trying to protect her. Another near-fatal encounter convinced her to step away from the costume for a longer period.

Her retirement did not remain permanent. Felicity later reclaimed the Scarlet Spider name and joined the Spider-Men, a group of spider-themed heroes gathered against the Multiversal Sinister Six. By then, her career had moved beyond simply trying to become Spider-Girl’s partner, and Scarlet Spider had become an identity she continued using on her own terms.

Appearance: Scarlet Spider has a red full-body costume over a slim, athletic, curvy build. She is completely covered from head to toe in a fitted crimson bodysuit that closely follows her torso, hips, thighs, arms, and legs. Her head is enclosed by a smooth red mask with two large white almond-shaped lenses bordered by darker outlines. No hair or skin is visible. The red material continues seamlessly across her neck, shoulders, hands, and feet.

Over the bodysuit she wears a loose sleeveless blue hoodie with a wide draped collar and a short hem. The fabric is visibly distressed, with torn sections, frayed edges, and irregular openings. A large black spider emblem spreads across the front of the hoodie, with a narrow central body and long angular legs extending across the chest and abdomen. Chunky silver web-shooter units encircle her wrists, built from multiple cylindrical metallic sections. Matching silver bands wrap around her upper thighs, with a small cylindrical device attached along each leg.

Personality: Felicity is headstrong, competitive, impulsive, and extremely resistant to being told that she is incapable of something. Her earliest attempts at heroism are driven partly by admiration for Spider-Girl and partly by resentment toward her mother, particularly because she deliberately chooses a non-cat-themed identity rather than following Felicia’s example. Experience eventually makes her more conscious of the consequences of entering battles without superhuman protection, though caution never completely replaces her instinct to act when someone she cares about is threatened.

Felicia Hardy (Earth-982) is Felicity’s mother and first combat instructor, with their relationship becoming strained after Felicia leaves Flash Thompson (Earth-982) and Felicity reacts badly to the breakup of her family. Flash remains her father and later becomes another reason for Felicity to approach Spider-Girl when his coaching career is threatened. May Parker / Spider-Girl is Felicity’s hero, reluctant mentor, and closest connection to costumed life, while Kaine (Earth-982) becomes one of the first experienced vigilantes to demonstrate just how dangerous that life can be. Felicity also has a brother, Gene Thompson, as part of the Hardy-Thompson family.

Scarlet Spider is highly trained in gymnastics, acrobatics, and martial arts, with much of that foundation coming from Felicia. Those skills give Felicity considerable agility, balance, coordination, and close-quarters ability despite relying primarily on training rather than innate spider abilities.

Her Scarlet Spider suit is accompanied by specialized equipment intended to compensate for the dangers she faces in the field. Felicity uses web-shooters equipped with additional functions, including smoke-based weapons and the sonic Scarlet Screamer, giving her ways to restrain, distract, and disrupt opponents at range.

Her distinctive Scarlet O’Nine Tails is a technologically enhanced whip with multiple extending tendrils that can ensnare opponents. Combined with the athletic fighting style Felicia taught her, the weapon gives Felicity a means of controlling distance and restraining enemies without depending entirely on direct hand-to-hand combat.