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Attributes

Height: 5' 7" (Estimated)

Weight: 160-125 lbs. (Varies with the artist.)

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Features: Has rejuvenated and her body became much thinner and sculptural. She also gained height.

Summary

Created By: J.M. DeMatteis, Sal Buscema

Real Name: Ashley Kafka

Current Aliases: None

Former Aliases: None

Dual Identity: None

Current Occupation: Unknown

Former Occupation: Director of the Ravencroft Asylum for the criminally insane

Citizenship: Presumed American.

Legal Status: Clean

Place of Birth: Unknown

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives: Mother (unnamed, deceased), Norma (sister, deceased)

Known Confidants: John Jameson, Spider-Man and Edward Whelan.

Known Allies: Spider-Man, John Jameson.

Major Enemies: Shriek, Chameleon, Vermin and Judas Traveller.

Usual Bases: Unknown

Former Bases: Ravencroft Asylum; E.S.U.

Current Groups: None

Former Groups: None

Education: Doctorate in Psychology.

Powers & Paraphenalia

Strength Level: Normal for a middle age woman/normal for a young woman.

Powers: None.

Abilities: She's a good psychologist.

Equipment: None.

Weapons: None.

Limitations: Her extreme dedication to her patients. It saved Vermin, but he was the only one.

Background

Dr. Kafka was first seen in The Child Within (Spectacular Spider-Man #178-184), J.M. DeMatteis' first story on his fabulous run on Spectacular Spider-Man. She was treating Vermin's psyche, at Reed Richard's request, in Empire State University. Vermin escaped, but he was subsequently captured. During that story she helped Peter/Spider-Man to deal with the childhood trauma of his parents' death, which surfaced with devastating results after an attack by Harry Osborn, the second Green Goblin. Her results with Vermin were extremely positive, and she managed to cure him in Spectacular Spider-Man #194-196, where she also dealt with her own childhood problems. Do not forget that she's at least 54 years old by now.

She tried to treat Harry Osborn, but with no success. The D.A. didn't help, though, since they didn't consider Harry's situation similar to Vermin's, and decided to arrest him without treatment. Eventually, a special high-security facility was created to house the demented criminals, while Dr. Kafka tried to help them. John Jameson was the chief of security and Edward Whelan (former Vermin) was the Doctor's assistant. The facility was Ravencroft Asylum, and it housed villains like Carnage (who escaped several times), Chameleon (who escaped because the Dr. took him to a warehouse to prevent the D.A. of prosecuting him before the end of his treatment), Carrion II and Shriek (who escaped because the Dr. thought it might have been good for the first to see the latter, and the latter became furious due to her relation with the first and broke out... -phew), and lots of other small loons. The Chameleon incident was the last one, which resulted in her and John Jameson being fired, with Dr. Leonard Samson assuming the leadership of Ravencroft's project. This removed Ravencroft from the Spider-Man stories, instead of bringing Samson in, as I (and lots of others) hoped it would.

As for Ashley, some more worthy notes. Approximately since Ravencroft was built, the 50-something year old Doctor became 20 years younger in appearance, and her body became one of a super-model. Ashley also started dating John Jameson during the Chameleon incident, and they have been forgotten ever since (like most of Spider-Man's supporting cast). They were victims of the Final Chapter/Reboot, as much as the readers.

Thanks To:

The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.

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These images are the copyright property of Marvel Comic Group. They are used here without permission. My sole intent in providing these images is to interest people in the works of Marvel Comics. If you like these characters then why not go out and buy the comic books, read the stories, and enjoy the real thing!