Just before Jean graduates from the academy, witnesses see Brian shot in the line of duty, but the body disappears before police or rescue services arrive.

[9] Driven by resentment towards her disapproving parents and fueled by anger and grief over Brian's apparent death, DeWolff grows into a tough, unrelenting police officer.

While many in the NYPD don't care for super-powered vigilantes, Jean sees value in the web-slinger and the armored Avenger and openly asks them for assistance, going so far as to allow the two access to precinct files.

The two heroes, along with Doctor Strange, help DeWolff discover that the Wraith is her psionically-powered brother who is alive but in a coma, his actions the result of her corrupt father's machinations.

[10] The DeWolff siblings continue to aid superheroes on different occasions, with Jean developing a regular working relationship and friendship with Spider-Man, despite her acerbic attitude and the web-slinger's need to keep his identity and full life separate.

[11] When the Black Cat is later seriously injured and hospitalized, DeWolff personally assigns her a protection detail in case any enemies try to take advantage of the situation.

Driven mad with grief over Sin-Eater's murder of his sister, Brian declares vengeance against the entire NYPD before being shot and killed with an explosive bullet by a lethal vigilante.

[16] Years after Jean's death, her close friend Yuri Watanabe, who had also risen to the rank of Captain and used her position to assist Spider-Man, adopts the Wraith identity after losing faith in the law's ability to punish criminals.

A machine connected to Haven is later activated that destabilizes the bodies of the reanimates, making them vulnerable to infection by the deadly Carrion virus dormant in their clone cells.

"[20] Jason Wiese of CinemaBlend called Jean DeWolff the "James Gordon to Peter Parker’s Bruce Wayne" and a "sharp cop," hoping to see the character in a feature film.

[21] Comics journalist Jonathan Miller described Jean DeWolff as a "secondary character that could facilitate a sense of continuity [in Marvel Team-Up], someone who knew only the costumed side of Peter's personality, and yet had a genuine relationship with him.

Hard-edged and no-nonsense, DeWolff usually made her entrance in her vintage roadster, cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth, a modern, post-feminist take on the classic tough-guy heroes of Dashiell Hammett and Mickey Spillane".