Deborah Whitman
Attributes
| Eyes: | Blue |
| Features: | Eyeglasses |
| Hair: | Blond |
| Height: | Unknown |
| Weight: | Unknown |
Powers
| Abilities: | Typing and secretarial |
| Limitations: | Not very self confident |
| Strength Level: | Normal female |
Summary
| Citizenship: | U.S. |
| Created By: | Unknown |
| Current Occupation: | Unknown |
| Education: | Unknown |
| Former Bases: | Empire State University |
| Former Occupation: | Secretary, student, housewife |
| Known Allies: | Spider-Man |
| Known Confidants: | Psychiatrist |
| Known Relatives: | Ex-husband, Captain Whitman (uncle, seen in Amazing #210-#211) |
| Legal Status: | No criminal record |
| Major Enemies: | Ex-husband |
| Marital Status: | Divorced |
| Place of Birth: | Unknown |
| Real Name: | Debra Whitman |
| Usual Bases: | Unknown |
Background
"Caught in the Act..."
At the science department, Deb took a call from Betty Brant, who wanted to talk to Peter regarding her fears about an assignment that Ned Leeds was taking. Deb passed along the call but a call from the Daily Bugle boosted her suspicion of Peter. (Amazing Spider-Man #231)
"Hyde...In Plain Sight"
Peter and another scientist had just made a breakthrough in what they called the Parker-Hochberg process and the rest of the grad students wanted to give them a surprise party. Marcy Kane asked Peter to come with her to the lab but he blew her off. When Marcy told the group that he wasn't coming, it further reinforced Deb's fears about Peter being Spider-Man. (Amazing Spider-Man #232)
Deb began seeing Dr. Bailey Kuklin, a psychiatrist, regarding her fear of losing her mind. (Spectacular Spider-Man #72) Dr. Kuklin had another session with Debra, with Peter secretly listening. Dr. Kuklin asked Peter to masquerade as Spider-Man to make her realize her suspicions were false, but he refused. Peter was referred to Biff by Dr. Sloan to learn what Debra had gone through, and Biff told Peter about her abusive marriage to Mark Whitman. Peter finally went to Deb's apartment as Spider-Man and had her remove his mask. However, when she saw that he was Peter, she decided that he had pretended to help her, and was shocked out of her psychiatric problems. She thanked Peter for being a good friend. The next day, Peter saw Debra off as she set out to the Midwest to divorce Mark and finally start her life over. They shared a goodbye kiss before she got on her bus. (Spectacular Spider-Man #74)
"Taking Wing"
Years later, Peter unmasked himself on live TV as part of the Superhuman Registration Act. When Deb learned that Peter was Spider-Man, she wrote a tell all book called "Two-Faced: How Peter Parker Ruined My Life." When Deb got an advanced copy of the book, she found that changes had been made to it, saying things that she hadn't written. Her publicist said it needed "punching up." She would be leaving for New York later, to attend a book signing. Around that time, Peter found out about her book and felt betrayed. (Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #14)
Before the signing began, Deb was approached by Betty Brant who claimed that she was there for an interview. Betty instead asked her who she thought she was to betray Peter. Deb was stunned that Betty would attack her, as Peter had lied to Betty for years as well. Betty explained that she felt relived to find out that Peter was Spider-Man. Spidey had been a part of her life for years, but he scared her, as she didn't know who he was or why he always seemed to be around her. Knowing that Spider-Man was really someone that she knew and trusted was a relief to her. She told Deb that Peter did what he did out of love, compassion and decency. Then she asked Deb why she wrote the book.
During the book signing, Deb was approached by Flash Thompson who also demanded to know why she wrote the book. Flash was interrupted when Betty saw him, the first time since he was out of his coma. The group was startled when the Vulture arrived, knowing that Peter would show up. Toomes grabbed Deb but was stopped by Betty, who shot at him with her pistol. Vulture quickly disarmed her but was webbed by Spider-Man. The fight between them went outside, where Vulture suffered a heart attack and dropped an unconscious Spider-Man. (Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #15)
As Peter fell, Deb screamed at him to wake up. He did, just in the nick of time, swinging himself to safety. As the fight between Spidey and Vulture continued, Deb swore to herself that she thought they were about to see Peter die in front of them. Flash told her that she would probably have enjoyed that and she slapped him, calling him a "stupid jock." She left in a huff after Betty told her to leave him alone.
Later, Deb showed up at Betty's apartment with a medical bill. She explained that her mother was sick, that she had gone into debt paying her bills and medicare didn't help. When Peter unmasked, Jonah Jameson's people started looking into Peter's past relationships for dirt on him and when they found Deb, they offered her a lot of money to write a book. The publisher changed details of her account to make Peter look worse. Betty recorded her story and anonymously gave it to a rival newspaper of the Daily Bugle, who ran the story. When Jameson demanded she find out who reported that story, she promised him she'd get right on it. (Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #16)
Image Gallery
Appearances
Thanks To
The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.
Some of the above information is extracted from the various versions of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and the more recent Marvel Encyclopaedias.