LEAH MASTERS as "The Black Spider"                  JENNI-LOVE HARRIS as "The Blue Guardian"

   (aka Caroline Prentiss)                                                   (Police Lab Technician Jennifer Logan)

              (Leighton Meester)                                                 (Jennifer Love Hewitt)

The Blue Guardian was an 8-page backup character in Double-Action's comic book line, but since the studio owned the character she was inexpensive to use when they needed a costumed character for this serial. The Black Spider was the Blue Guardian's comic book nemesis so it was natural to adapt her as well. However since Leah Masters was regarded as a fast rising star, the bosses made the marketing decision to give The Spider Queen top billing. However the serial itself gives equal screen time to both and undoubtedly helped fans transition from seeing Jenni-Love Harris as the Old West heroine of The Six Gun Sisters to her backthrough role in THE FRENCH BIKINI MURDERS later in 1947.

LACEY CALVERT  (Lacey Chanbert) also appears as The Blue Guardian's non-powered assistant The Silver Shield.

(Linda Logan, Jennifer's sister. Police File Room Clerk)

("Well, sure I looked sweaty, that thing was hot especially after a fight scene." Lacey commented. "It didn't do much for my hair either.")

LAURA VANDERMERE (Laura Vandervoort) appears as The Black Spider's chief henchwoman.

Miranda Melton (cover is as Caroline Prentice's social secretary)

WITH ADDITIONAL HENCHWOMAN SUPPORT FROM TWO VETERAN D-A BAD GIRLS:

                        TAYLOR COLT                                                 LAURA PRINCE

  (Taylor Cole)                                  (Laura Prepon)

As the serial progressed more Henchwomen were added, these were newcomers to the Assistant Bad Girl ranks.

(Shown here in the body suits developed by Dr Kybar in an attempt to trick the public into believing that The Blue Guardian

had turned to crime. Fortunately, The Blue Guardian realizes the suits can be short circuited by drenching them in water and

adding a broken power line. It was tough being a D-A bad girl...)

  SIENNA MILFORD (Sienna Miller)               RACHEL NICHOLSON (Rachel Nichols)

AND OTHER BLACK SPIDER HENCHWOMEN :

KRISTA ALLENSON (Krista Allen)                  CASSIE FREEMAN (Cassidy Freeman)

   SUSAN SWAN (Serinda Swan)

More Ambigious Were These Characters:

LEIGH BLAKE appears as "Susan Evans" one of Leah's society friends who turns against her when she finds out what she is really up and becomes a double agent for The Blue Guardian. (Said Lacey Calvert: "Leigh and Leah were making the "Girl Called 'Trouble'" action comedies and D-A liked to see them in conflict and believe me there's lots of it once The Black Spider finds out Leigh's working for us."

SUMMER GRAYSON (Summer Glau) plays Dr. KYBAR's assistant, he (and The Black Spider) don't treat her well. In nthe climax she helps The Blue Guardian defeat the evil criminal masterminds. (In between she apparently poses as a pinup girl model)

HELPING (MORE OR LESS) THE BLUE GUARDIAN:

Veteran ERICA DARE (Erica Durance) as reporter Gail Graham who is determined to learn the truth about The Blue Guardian & The Black Spider

Australian-born newcomer YVONNE STRATTON (Yvonne Strahovski) as undercover Federal agent "Sarah Wallace", brought into the serial when The Black Spider commits a series of daring thefts, but makes it look like the work of The Blue Guardian. Fortunately she eventually discovers the frame up and assists our heroines break up the Web of the Black Spider.

THE STORY:

 The writers borrowed considerably from The Blue Guardian comic book battles with her arch-rival The Black Spider. In the comics, The Black Spider is formerly wealthy sportsman Winfield Prentiss, who having run through his family fortune turns to crime and using the inventions of Blue Guardian enemy Dr. Kybar. Jennifer Logan became The Blue Guardian after her Police Commissioner father was killed by The Black Spider. Posing as a mere lab techinican and secretly financed by a wealthy eccentric, Mrs, Granderson, whom Linda saved from a Black Spider plot, Linda dons the garb of The Blue Guardian to smash the Black Spider's racket and destroy Dr. Kybar's laboratory during which Winfield Prentiss is killed saving the only person he actually cares about his sister Caroline. Caroline blames The Blue Guardian for his death and after freeing Dr. Kybar while he is being taken to prison, installs him in a spare secret laboratory and becomes the new  Black Spider, though most people don't realize a change has been made. Linda's sister Linda Logan learns her sister's secret and becomes (over Jennifer's better judgement) her costumed assistant The Silver Shield, she wears an advanced flexible armored suit that deflects bullets, knives and most explosions, The pair live in a wing of Mrs. Ganderson's mansion, that has the hidden chamber where the Guardian carries out her war on crime.

This portion of the story is briskly told. Dr. Kybar is soon shown in his new lab happily creating fiendish new inventions. Caroline pretends to be running the Good Works Club for Young Women is really the front for her gang of female criminals--"Helping them get started in a new life free of crime," Caroline is quoted in a newspaper. She also lures in some adevtureous society friends like Susan Evans, who doesn't realize she's actually helping The Black Spider. However what Caroline/The Black Spider wants to do is kill The Blue Guardian after first destroying her reputation. When Dr. Kybar asks for Caroline's assistance in obtaining certain data and materials for construction of a device that will borrow under the ground like a mole and explode under the target, she sees the chance to lure The Guardian into a trap,

The serial is then off and running as The Black Spider and The Blue Guardian battle it out in move and countermove. Naturally all of this involves lots of fighting, death traps galore and thrilling last-second rescues. The Blue Guardian and the Silver Shield seem to alternate being bound and gagged, facing death from explosives, careening trucks and out of control aircraft. Despite The Blue Guardian's best efforts, the Black Spider and Dr. Kyber are able to construct the Mole Torpedo and the evil doctor is talkiing about adding an atomic bomb instead of mere TNT. It is this prospect that gets Susan Evans to defect to The blue Guardian, though she pays for her past crimes by being blown up by one of the prototype Mole Torpedos. The Black Spider finally figures out that Jennifer and Linda Logan are The Blue Guardian and The Silver Shield. She orders Dr. Kybar to launch his Mole Torpedos at the Grandeson mansion. Luckily Jennifer has figured out that the Mole Torpedos are radio controlled, she is able to create a jamming device that causes the torpedos to circle back. Too late Dr. Kyber realizes what has happened and the laboratory explodes with him in it. The Black Spider staggers outside where she sees The Blue Guardian and the Silver Shield. She attacks them, wounding the Shield, but fighting The Guardian to the edge of a cliff. The Black Spider knocks Jennifer off, but the heroine grabs the edge. Varolie tries to stomp on Jennifer's hand but Linda has staggered to her feet and smashes into the villainess from behind. The Black Spider is knocked over the side and still tries to get at The Blue Guardian. However, the tree root Caroline is holding onto snaps and she disappears into the raging waters of Thunder Falls. Her body is not recovererd and the Logan sisters assume she is as dead and gone as Dr. Kybar. (However, as any reader of The Blue Guardian comic strip knew, The Queen of Crime survived the plunge into Thunder Falls and soon would return to battle the Guardian of Justice).

Although the serial came late in the costumed comic book hero/heroine genre, it stands up as one of the best examples of the genre at D-A. Polished action with frssh faces, good cliffhangers, and interesting characters. Not re-released as quickly as earler D-A serials, WEB OF THE BLACK SPIDER has gained an appreciative number of fans and certainly ranks among the top dozen of D-A serial releases.