CHERYL LANSING

Real Name: Cheryl "Cher" Lansing

Identity/Class: Human werewolf

Occupation: Student

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: J. Jonah Jameson, Marla Madison Jameson, Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin)

Enemies: Flesh (Donna Bliss), Shadowcaster, Sister Ursula (Ursula Beers)

Known Relatives: Unidentified parents

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New York City, New York, USA

First Appearance: Spider-Woman III#5 (November, 1999)

Powers/Abilities: As a werewolf, Cheryl Lansing presumably transformed into a superhumanly strong, durable, and fast lupine creature beneath the light of a full moon.

Height: 5'3" (by approximation)
Weight: 112 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde

History: (Spider-Woman III#5 (fb)) - As the new girl at her private school, timid, introverted Cheryl Lansing was relentlessly bullied by a group of mean girls.

(Spider-Woman III#5) - On the first day of the next school year, Cheryl saw new student Martha "Mattie" Franklin knock over a circle of bullies with her psionic spider-legs. She instantly attached herself to the new girl, who tried to get Cheryl to assert herself more as they embarked on a field trip to the Manhattan Museum of Antiquities. At the museum, the "mean girls" took her aside to threaten her but they were all distracted by the arrival of the spectral villain Shadowcaster.

(Spider-Woman III#12 (fb)) - While she was on a break from school, Cheryl's parents went out of town. She visited Mattie, who was staying with her father's friends J. Jonah and Marla Jameson, intending to stay with her for the weekend. When Jonah mentioned taking Marla and Mattie down to New Orleans with him for a publisher's conference, Cheryl started to slink out but Marla suggested that she should go with them, as well. Arriving in New Orleans later that day, they were informed that there had been a spate of werewolf attacks lately. Warned to get home by dark, Marla, Mattie and Cheryl ventured out to see the cemetery near the St. Agnes Convent, where Cheryl admitted to Mattie that she admired Jonah's accomplishments. During the tour, Mattie disappeared, much to Cheryl and Marla's consternation.

(Spider-Woman III#13 (fb)) - Marla and Cheryl were arrested by the local police during a routine sweep of the cemetery. The cops assumed they'd destroyed a crypt door which had actually been smashed by Mattie.

(Spider-Woman III#13) - Jonah bailed Marla and Cheryl out of jail then took them back to the cemetery to look for Mattie. When they got there, they were warned to flee by a habit-clad Mattie, just in time to be attacked by the werewolf Sister Ursula. While Mattie shoved Marla and Jonah aside, Ursula grabbed Cheryl and ran. Taking her to the other side of the cemetery, she clawed Cheryl's jacket off, revealing the cross she wore around her neck. Ursula grabbed for it, scratching Cheryl on the chest in the process. Before the creature could do anything else, the police moved in and opened fire. Shrugging off their bullets, Ursula tossed a police car aside - sending it hurtling towards Cheryl. Spider-Woman (who Cheryl had by that time largely figured out was Mattie) grabbed her and flew her to safety then battled Ursula until Jonah shot and killed the beast. Later, on the flight back to New York, Cheryl couldn't help but itch the scratch she'd received...

(Spider-Woman III#15) - En route to school, Cheryl stuck up for Mattie when the "mean girls" started picking on her. They turned their attention to Cheryl instead, and their leader was about to pummel her when Mattie tossed the bully the length of the bus. When they arrived at school, they were summoned to the headmistress' office and they were both suspended indefinitely. On the way home, as Cheryl wondered how she was going to tell her parents about all this, she and Mattie were attacked by the gruesome Flesh, who identified Mattie as Spider-Woman. Mattie told Cheryl to run and get help.

(Spider-Woman III#18) - Late one night, Cheryl came to see the Jamesons. Remembering that Jameson had some experience with werewolves, she asked him if he could explain the pentagram that had formed on her hand...

Comments: Created by John Byrne, Bart Sears, Randy Elliot and Andy Smith.

Well, that's quite the dangler. With Spider-Woman canceled and its lead character dead and largely forgotten, we're probably not going to get an update on Cheryl here but we can assume she's mutilating little old ladies and eating big dishes of beef chow mein off-panel.

The book hinted a couple of times that Cheryl's interest in Mattie was maybe a little more than platonic. Who knows if that would have flown in the almost-entirely-heterosexual Marvel comics of the early 2000s.  

Profile by Minor Irritant.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Cheryl Lansing, teenage werewolf, has no known connections to

images: (without ads)
Spider-Woman III#12, p17, pan2 (main image)
Spider-Woman III#18, p8, pan6 (pentagram)

Other Appearances:
Spider-Woman III#5 (November, 1999) - John Byrne (writer), Bart Sears (pencils), Randy Elliot & Andy Smith (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spider-Woman III#12 (June, 2000) - John Byrne (writer), Bart Sears (pencils), Randy Elliot, Andy Smith, & John Beatty (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spider-Woman III#13 (July, 2000) - John Byrne (writer), Bart Sears (pencils), Randy Elliot (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spider-Woman III#15 (September, 2000) - John Byrne (writer), Bart Sears (pencils), Randy Elliot (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spider-Woman III#18 (December, 2000) - John Byrne (writer), Bart Sears (pencils), Randy Elliot (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)

First Posted: 07/03/2015
Last updated: 06/14/2015

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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