Blessing in Disguise
A fanfiction exploring the "What if..." or the For Want of a Nail category with just how much one thing that no one ever notices in the first run of Spider-Man. So the question is:
What if the spider that bit Peter was female?
This fanfic explores just how much of a change that one little detail could make in the world of Spider-Man.
It can be found here.
Tropes used in Blessing in Disguise include:
- Accidental Pervert: Locker room incident. ‘Nuff said.
- Action Girl: Spider-Man. Yes, really.
- And I Must Scream: While not exactly a ‘fate worse than death,’ Peter certainly saw his transformation into a girl as this in the beginning. As the first time he saw his face, his new female face, he screamed.
- Angst Nuke: Barely averted in which Peter states that she almost snapped when she was in the hospital.
- Attractive Bent Gender: Peter thinks this when she sees her reflection in the mirror while wearing her girl clothes, a wig and contacts. This also gives way to introducing Miss Jessica Drew. Though Peter was also told that she looked pretty in her ‘natural’ form so to speak.
- Clothing Damage: The red and blue suit gets damaged on occasion.
- Crossdresser: Peter.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: After hearing everyone else’s mocking’s about being delusional, Electro was feeling very smug when it was confirmed that Spider-Man really was, well, a woman.
- Continuity Nod: The locker room incident is usually referenced several times, all by Peter to show that she was over it; or at least until she exacted her ‘revenge’. It backfired.
- Deconstruction Fic: Deconstructs the Gender Bender trope as from Peter's flashbacks and thoughts that she clearly doesn't like what she is and is only now starting to vear into the Reconstructionterritory as she begins to realize that this might not be such a bad thing.
- Deep Sleep: Peter slips into one of these while she turns into a girl.
- Determinator/Plucky Girl: Spider-Man. She’s been shocked, nearly got her head bitten off, and still gets back up to save the day.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Subverted because Peter really is a lady now and even states that she tries not to get too close to people because they may see she looks a little too much like a girl.
- Dropped a Bridget On Him: Unfortunately this comes into play along with the Accidental Pervert trope above.
- This also happens to the Sinister Six when they see that the black-suited Spider-Man doesn’t have a man’s body anymore.
- In Spite of a Nail: The story follows canon faithfully, as the only one whose view has changed is Peter’s and the episodes and ‘breather chapters’ do little to change things. Things will start to diverge, if slightly, near the end of season one, and two, which heads into the ‘For Want’ category.
- Fridge Logic: Peter seems to be just beginning to realize the backlash her ‘girl secret’ could cause.
- Gender Bender: Peter
- Green Eyes: In Peter’s Jessica Drew disguise wears green contacts.
- Guile Hero: Peter.