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Attributes

Height: 5' 7"

Weight: 125 lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Features: Looks sweet and innocent, but she's a tiger in disguise!

Summary

Created By: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Real Name: Betty Brant

Current Aliases: None

Former Aliases: None

Dual Identity: None

Current Occupation: Investigative Journalist

Former Occupation: Personal Assistant

Citizenship: U.S.

Legal Status: No criminal record

Place of Birth: TBD

Marital Status: Widowed

Known Relatives: Mother (deceased), Bennett Brant (Brother, deceased), Ned Leeds (Husband, deceased)

Known Confidants: None

Known Allies: Spider-Man, Flash Thompson, Daily Bugle staff

Major Enemies: Dr. Octopus, Hobgoblin, Mr. Fear

Usual Bases: Daily Bugle

Former Bases: Daily Bugle

Current Groups: None

Former Groups: The Cult of Love (briefly)

Education: High School

Powers & Paraphenalia

Strength Level: Normal

Powers: None

Abilities: Journalism,martial arts

Equipment: None

Weapons: Various martial arts weapons

Limitations: Can't date a normal guy.

Knowledge Quiz

QUIZ: betty_brant_leeds.html

Background

Although attracted to Peter, she thought he was too much of a thrill seeker. Despite being quiet and shy, Peter always seemed to be around to take pictures of Spider-Man in action, a fact that made her worry about his safety. Being the anxious type, Betty couldn't handle constantly worrying about Peter and she began dating reporter Ned Leeds, whom she married in Amazing Spider-Man #156. Their marriage got off to a rocky start when the building they were getting married in was being robbed by Mirage. Things didn't get much better as the marriage went on. Betty almost left Ned in Amazing Spider-Man #195, and did leave him after starting an affair with Flash Thompson around Amazing Spider-Man #270 (like most affairs, it's hard to pinpoint when this one actually started).

Flash was believed at one point to be the Rose's enforcer, the Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley), who had framed Flash after he called Hobgoblin a coward and a creep on television. During this period, Flash escaped from prison and hid out at Betty's apartment. After tracking Flash down, the real Hobgoblin sent Ned Leeds to beat Flash senseless and pulled off his own mask right as Betty walked in. Seeing the Hobgoblin's face (Ned's, whom Kingsley had been using as a patsy), Betty screamed and fainted (Amazing Spider-Man #288). Shortly thereafter, her estranged husband was murdered (Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 and Amazing Spider-Man #289 see also Hobgoblin Revealed), an event that almost sent Betty off the deep end with grief and guilt.

Trying to find meaning in her life, Betty joined the Cult of Love, (Web of Spider-Man #40 and following), leaving her job and Flash to live in the Cult's commune. After an initial attempt by Spider-Man to retrieve her failed, Flash kidnapped her and had her deprogrammed. In Web of Spider-Man #63 Betty defeated Mister Fear, and confronted the fear of loneliness that led to her dependence on men. She faced down her husband's specter in Spectacular Spider-Man #148. In Web of Spider-man #91, the woman who once rejected Peter Parker because he was too much of a thrill seeker became an investigative reporter, tracking down the Foreigner, the man she believed murdered her husband, and battling the Foreigner's high-powered assassins to a standstill. Her transformation amazed Spider-Man himself : "Since when did Betty carry a gun and know martial arts?!" Betty remains on the Daily Bugle staff as an investigative reporter.

Flash and Betty broke up and there was a chill between them for quite a while. That changed after Flash became depressed and developed a drinking problem. Betty came to cheer him along, but quickly discovered "You're the same testosterone crazed jerk you always were!" She tried to walk away from him, but got drawn back after he called her in a drunken stupor. He begged Betty to help him and despite her concerns about the difficulty of helping an alcoholic, Betty agreed to help him.

Flash soon had a drunk driving accident and Betty began avoiding him, feeling that she wasn't ready to play Florence Nightingale yet again. She had done that with her mother, her brother and her husband and each had ended up dead. Flash reassured her he was going to go to a treatment program and she hugged him, telling him that she loved him. Flash's life seemed to turn around after he got a job as Norman Osborn's assistant at the Daily Bugle, but Betty's life wasn't getting any easier. Kingsley reappeared as the Hobgoblin after Jason Macendale announced to the world that Ned Leeds had been the original Hobgoblin. The media swarmed around Betty, who demanded to be involved in the Bugle's investigation of Macendale's claims after he had been killed in prison for talking too much. Betty worked with Spider-Man, who wanted to help her clear Ned's name.

Betty formed a plan to flush out the Hobgoblin, going on TV to say that she had found Ned's notes regarding his investigations of corporate crime, saying she believed it was linked to her husband's death. The lie worked and Hobgoblin kidnapped Betty at her apartment. He took her to his hideout and promptly destroyed the spider-tracers that Spidey had given Betty in case of trouble. Except, he didn't know about the tracer in Betty's voice recorder, which she used as Hobgoblin related the story of how he used Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson and others in his schemes. Her plan worked, and Spider-Man arrived just as Hobby was about to kill her. Playing on Hobgoblin's vanity and boasting gave Spidey enough time to track down his friend. A battle ensued, and Roderick Kingsley was finally unmasked as the Hobgoblin.

Kingsley didn't stay in prison for long, as he managed to trick Norman Osborn into breaking him out of jail. Finding Kingsley and putting him back in jail became Betty's obsession, to the point of ignoring Flash. Hobgoblin escaped to the Caribbean and Betty and Flash broke up.

While Hobgoblin has been out of her life, Betty has had more than enough experience with other super-criminals. After the Superhuman Registration Act forced Peter Parker to reveal that he was also Spider-Man, many of Peter's friends felt betrayed and angry at him for so many years of lies and deceptions. One of which was Deborah Whitman, who wrote a tell all book about how Peter betrayed and humiliated her when all she wanted was to be his girlfriend. The Vulture crashed her book signing to draw out Spider-Man, but not before Betty came to ask Deb who she thought she was to be trashing Peter. In her mind, Peter's revelation made her world make sense. Spider-Man had always seemed like some THING that followed her where ever she went. He was at the scene of her brother's death, rescued her from the Sinister Six and helped her with the Hobgoblin. She just never knew why. After Peter stopped lying, she understood that Spider-Man was her friend and that Peter was acting out of love, compassion and decency.

Betty has been a rock of support for Peter in the aftermath of the Registration Act. After Aunt May was shot by a sniper, Betty came to console Peter. She also began to see Flash Thompson again, after running into him at Deb Whitman's book signing. She was so glad to see that he was out of his coma, she instantly kissed him, which drew the ire of Miss Arrow. Arrow had her own plans for Thompson, and framed Betty for having narcotics. While having dinner with Flash, Betty stopped to use the bathroom and was attacked by thousands of spiders. The restaurant owner saw no spiders, but found a small amount of cocaine and a razor. Flash and Betty left the restaurant, but on their way home, Betty saw Arrow grin at them from the sidewalk and turn into spiders. Betty has since been helping Peter discover Miss Arrow's motives and plans for Flash Thompson.

Thanks To:

The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.

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