How Spider-Woman Created The True Opposite of Marvel's SHIELD
Marvel fans know the heroic, if sometimes complicated, S.H.I.E.L.D. agency and its villainous opponent, H.Y.D.R.A. but some readers might not have heard of a third agency just as powerful, and just as deadly. Enter Spider-Woman's S.I.L.K. isn't just a terrorist organization it was created specifically to spite S.H.I.E.L.D.
As mentioned above, S.I.L.K. was founded by Cindy Moon. Instead of the fan-favorite web-slinger that was bit by the same spider as Peter Parker; this Cindy Moon hails from an alternate universe, and she's anything but a hero. Crafted by Robbi Rodriguez and Jason Lator, 2016's Spider-Gwen vol. 2 #4 shows the first appearance of Cindy's criminal organization. As Spider-Gwen faces off against the Green Goblin and his hoard of Goblin drones, flashbacks reveal the existence of S.I.L.K.
This Cindy Moon doesn't work alone. Her partner in crime, their universe's Jessica Drew, Jesse, assists her in creating S.I.L.K. Everything is a little different on their world, Earth-65. Cindy is never bitten by a spider, but Jesse Drew is, though not in the traditional sense. Jesse is infected by space spiders and subsequently subjected to Cindy's spider isotopes as they're the only 'cure'. This is just one of the many manipulative tactics Cindy uses to force Jesse to follow her every whim. Jesse is also a man in this world, instead of the usual female Jessica Drew character. Both Earth-65 Cindy and Jesse get recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. in their glory days. But eager to learn all she can about radioactive spiders, Cindy breaks from S.H.I.E.L.D., taking Jesse with her.
With Jesse Drew acting as loyal Agent 77, Cindy's terrorist agency S.I.L.K. is born. The first big solo S.I.L.K. story arrives in 2016's Spider-Women Alpha vol. #1. Agent Otto Octavius--an Earth-65 version of classic Spider-Man villain Doc Oc--also serves Cindy Moon as her lead scientist, only in this world he has a real-life obedient octopi at his disposal to do his bidding. Cindy and her cohorts don't hide the nature of their group, they brag about it. They steal tech from anyone and anywhere, craft mad science experiments, evolve radioactive isotopes in spiders, and can even take away certain superpowers. If any member dares to leave, they aren't free to go. According to Cindy, anyone who leaves S.I.L.K. is dead to her, and she means that literally.
So, what makes S.I.L.K. so different from S.H.I.E.L.D.? The first glaring contrast would be that S.H.I.E.L.D. is marketed in the Marvel universe specifically as an anti-terrorist group, fueled by espionage and battle. S.I.L.K. is a straight-up terrorist organization, willing to steal members from rival organizations, and happy to wreak havoc. S.I.L.K makes a gauntlet-like weapon that can copy the mechanics of Earth-616 master tech and favors intensive scientific research to reach their goals. And what's the heftiest research topic for S.I.L.K.? Radioactive spider isotopes, of course. These experiments even create the enhanced spider which bites Gwen Stacy, leading to her Spider-Gwen journey!
While S.H.I.E.L.D. has a fair share of grey-area tactics, they remain more often than not the heroes in Marvel's main universe. S.I.L.K never pretends to be heroic, nor does it churn out good-guy propaganda for recruiting its members; getting into a S.I.L.K is achieved either through subtle manipulations or on a who-you-know basis. 2016's Spider-Gwen vol. 2 #8 even features S.I.L.K. agents Cindy and Jesse launching an attack against S.H.I.E.L.D, pitting themselves against poster-boy Captain America. Needless to say, S.I.L.K. is far more dangerous than their heroic counterpart, S.H.I.E.L.D.