WATCH C2E2: Tana Ford draws Cindy Moon, aka Silk

It wasn't just Peter Parker who got bitten by a radioactive spider on that infamous field trip. Even hardcore Spider-Man fans often forget about what happened to his classmate Cindy Moon, aka Silk.

Tana Ford, who has also illustrated Avengers, New Warriors, Laguardia and her own LGBTQ series, Duck, chatted with SYFY WIRE's Katie Wilson about the web-slinger whose powers might even be more badass than Peter's. The reason she decided to draw the short-haired version of Silk is because of a scene in the comic when Black Cat only thinks she's got her claws on the human spider when she dangles her from a building by her hair — until Silk flashes her own knife-like claws and slashes that hair off.

"It's this super-baller moment in the story," Ford said.

By the way, Silk doesn't have to engineer a suit that shoots artificial webbing because her body makes its own. That's definitely one up on Peter.

So what else draws Ford to the character of Silk?

She's a strong female character, of course (check out Ford's shirt). Marvel only had eight solo female characters for just about forever until America Chavez came along, and until then, the Korean-American Silk was the only woman of color to swing through her own series. Unfortunately, since Miss America was canceled, Silk has reclaimed that honor.

"[Representation] is hugely important for kids who have never felt seen in a comic book," Ford told her audience.

Ford got a boost in comics when legendary artist Sean Murphy invited five aspiring artists to live with him and learn everything he knew. Murphy was the one who really opened her eyes to the industry, but he only ever did one apprenticeship program. Ford's advice for those who missed out? Just do the thing. If it's an epic fail, do it again!

Watch the video to see short-haired Silk come to life and be her bad self.

This article was contributed to by Elizabeth Rayne.