Screwball is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Dan Slott and artist Marcos Martín, the character first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #559. Screwball is described as the world's first "live streaming super-villain" and commits crimes to get more hits on her web page.[1] She is a recurring antagonist of the superhero Spider-Man.[2][3]

Screwball
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceAmazing Spider-Man #559 (July 2008)
Created byDan Slott (writer)
Marcos Martín (artist)
In-story information
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliationsDeadpool Inc.
Notable aliasesScrewball
AbilitiesExpert gymnast

Publication history

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Screwball debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #559, and was created by writer Dan Slott and artist Marcos Martín.[4] She appeared in the 2021 Marvel Action: Spider-Man series.[5]

Fictional character biography

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Not much is known about Screwball's past. She is an Internet personality who seeks attention, to the point that she commits infractions to gain followers and fame. Screwball commits crimes while a film crew filmed her so that she can get more hits on her videos by having Spider-Man appear on it. She first encounters Spider-Man while he is tracing the "Spider-Tracer Killer".[6]

Screwball later poses as Spider-Man to help Bookie, with the two filming Spider-Man fighting the villain Basher. The fight is uploaded on YouTube and watched by the patrons of the "Bar with No Name". The Enforcers recognize what is happening and attack Bookie, only for him to be rescued when the real Spider-Man showed up.[7]

When Spider-Man and Daredevil arrive at the Bar With No Name, Screwball is among the patrons that attack them.[8]

Because of Spider-Man's humiliating fight with Screwball, Ben Reilly refuses to buy Peter Parker's photos.[9]

During the "Origin of the Species" storyline, Spider-Man apprehends Screwball and Looter in Midtown after Doctor Octopus kidnaps Lily Hollister's newborn child Stanley.[10]

Spider-Girl later chases Screwball and confiscates her camera before handing her over to the police.[11]

Screwball later collaborates with Jester in pranking Mayor J. Jonah Jameson before being defeated by the Superior Spider-Man.[12] Screwball later appears in Las Vegas where she collaborates with Arcade. She later fights Elektra under Arcade's orders, but is defeated.[13]

During the "Hunted" storyline, Screwball appears as a patron at the Pop-Up with No Name.[14]

In the "Gang War" storyline, Screwball uses drones to pull off a pique to gain more followers. They combine into a giant robot and battle Spider-Woman and Spider-Boy before being defeated.[15]

Powers and abilities

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Screwball is an expert gymnast. She relies on her skills to evade Spider-Man.

Reception

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Critical response

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Joshua Kristian McCoy of Game Rant included Screwball in their "5 Spider-Man Villains Who Actually Could Carry A Solo Project" list, calling her "perfect" for a "meta-comedy film about making movies or social media."[16] Screen Rant included Screwball in their "Spider-Man: 10 Best Female Villains" list,[17] and in their "10 Spider-Man Villains That Are Smarter Than They Seem" list.[3] Comic Book Resources ranked Screwball 10th in their "Spider-Man's 10 Funniest Villains" list.[18]

In other media

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References

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  1. ^ Pantoja, Kevin (June 22, 2019). "5 Spider-Man Villains We Want In The MCU (& 5 We Don't)". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  2. ^ Lapitan, Emilio Gabriel (April 2, 2022). "MCU: 10 Weirdest Spider-Man Villains That Marvel Will Never Adapt To Screen". Collider. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Chrysostomou, George (October 3, 2022). "10 Spider-Man Villains That Are Smarter Than They Seem". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Serrano, Ryan (January 3, 2021). "Spider-Man PS4: Who Is Screwball?". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  5. ^ Johnston, Rich (November 20, 2020). "Transformers Beast Wars in IDW February 2021 Solicits". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  6. ^ Amazing Spider-Man #559. Marvel Comics.
  7. ^ Amazing Spider-Man #562. Marvel Comics.
  8. ^ Amazing Spider-Man #600. Marvel Comics.
  9. ^ Amazing Spider-Man #608. Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ Amazing Spider-Man #645. Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #1. Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ Superior Spider-Man #6. Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ Elektra Vol. 4 #1-4. Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #19.HU. Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Spider-Woman Vol. 8 #5. Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ McCoy, Joshua Kristian (May 13, 2022). "5 Spider-Man Villains Who Could Carry A Solo Project". Game Rant. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  17. ^ Hernandez, Brenda (September 29, 2021). "Spider-Man: 10 Best Female Villains". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  18. ^ Sparkle, Billie (August 19, 2022). "Spider-Man's 10 Funniest Villains". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  19. ^ "Screwball Live". ComicBook.com. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  20. ^ "Liz Allan Voice - Spider-Man (2017) (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 27, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  21. ^ Radulovic, Petrana (September 12, 2018). "A guide to the Spider-Man PS4 villains". Polygon. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  22. ^ Baker, Ben (September 21, 2021). "Every Boss In Marvel's Spider-Man, Ranked". Game Rant. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  23. ^ Pantoja, Kevin (September 2, 2020). "Every Villain In Marvel's Spider-Man, Ranked". Game Rant. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  24. ^ Bunn, Glenn (September 17, 2022). "Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered's Most Annoying Enemies". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  25. ^ "Screwball Voice - Spider-Man (2018) (Video Game)". Behind The Voice Actors. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  26. ^ Miranda, Felicia (December 23, 2018). "These voice actors put the 'Oomph!' in Marvel's Spider-Man". Digital Trends. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  27. ^ Goldman, Eric (April 2, 2018). "Marvel Animated Minimates Series 9 Revealed, Including Symbiote Spider-Man, Star-Lord and More". Marvel.com. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  28. ^ "#Marvel Animated #Minimates Series 8 Revealed; Series 7 Now Available at @Walgreens !". Action Figure Insider. December 13, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
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