SADIE BASSSADIE BASS
Real Name: Sadie Bates
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Unrevealed
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Dr. Bernbaum, Isaac Christians (Gargoyle), Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Enemies: Unidentified
gang of young punks
Known Relatives: Jack Bass
(husband, deceased), Isaac (brother, presumably deceased), Beatrice
Bass (daughter)
Aliases: None known;
her maiden name is unrevealed
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly an apartment in Manhattan
First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up I#119 (July, 1982)
Powers/Abilities: Sadie was a very charismatic woman, although later in life she was tired, and prepared to accept her end. Her vision, strength and balance faded.
She fondly recalled the society of her
younger days, and she was disappointed in the decline of the real estate
and society around her, as well as how it was now dangerous just to
leave her home. Nonetheless, she walked city blocks and passed through a
park to pick up her own groceries.
In her younger days, she was full of energy and enjoyed dancing.
She was an experienced homemaker.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'6")
History:
(Marvel Team-Up I#119 (fb) - BTS) - Sadie grew up in on a farm. was presumably raised in the Jewish faith (see comments). She had a brother named Isaac.
(Marvel Team-Up I#119 (fb) - BTS) - Sadie eventually married Jack Bass, and they had a daughter named Beatrice. At some point, they moved to Manhattan (although it is possible she only moved into the city after Jack's death). She lived a rich and full life.
(Marvel Team-Up I#119 (fb) - BTS) - After Jack's
death, Sadie and Beatrice grieved by his grave.
(Marvel Team-Up I#119 (fb) - BTS) - Sadie
subsequently either lived in their apartment with Beatrice, or Beatrice
regularly visited her.
(Marvel Team-Up I#119 (fb) - BTS) - Sadie once saw the Hulk in action, and she found him to be frightening.
(Marvel Team-Up I#119 (fb) - BTS) <In the months
before the main story> - Sadie began to feel that it was time to move
aside, feeling that her weary body was telling her that she needed a rest.
Her family, notably including Beatrice, could not stand to hear Sadie talk
that way, and they kept sending her to doctors.
(Marvel Team-Up I#119 (fb) - BTS) - Carrying
groceries home through Central Park (presumably;
see comments), Sadie was knocked down by a group of young punks.
(Marvel Team-Up I#119) - After crying for help,
Sadie asked her attackers why they were doing this. As one of the guys
mockingly told her that they were bored, Spider-Man and the Gargoyle
arrived, drawn by her scream, arrived and quickly rounded up the punks.
Gargoyle (himself an elderly man, Isaac Christians, whose mind and spirit
had been transferred into the Gargoyle form) helped the elderly Sadie to
her feet, but he appreciated that she was startled by his monstrous form.
She asked him if he was one of those super heroes, noting that neither her
eyes nor anything else, least of all this city, was what it used to be.
She continued that things were worse than she'd ever experienced in her
life, and that a woman couldn't go out of her home without fearing for her
life.
As Isaac donned an overcoat, hat and scarf, Spider-Man
gathered the scattered groceries and gave them back to Sadie, who thanked
him but told him that he shouldn't have wasted his time helping her as at
her age, her life wasn't really worth saving. Isaac cried out for her not
to say that, and he told her that her life was worth even more because of
the years she had lived, and that she could share all she had seen with
others. Sadie told him that hearing him say that, she almost believed it,
and he urged her that she must.
After Spider-Man departed, Isaac asked Sadie's permission and escorted her home, during which time they introduced themselves. He apologized for scaring her with his appearance, but she told him that compared to the Hulk, he was cute. As they approached her apartment house, Sadie shared that it used to be a lovely neighborhood but that it was all in ruin now. Isaac told her that it looked fine, but she told him that he should have seen it 20-30 years ago when her husband Jack was still alive, "That was 'fine,' Isaac!" As they climbed the stairs, she nearly stumbled, but Isaac caught her, and she told him that she could once take those steps two at a time. When they reached her door, Isaac prepared to say goodbye, but she asked him to stay for tea, and the warmth of her "please" caressed Isaac's spirit, and so he agreed.
Inside her apartment, Isaac praised Sadie as being a tough gal, with spunk and a real spark, but he didn't understand why she seemed so defeated. She explained that she had lived a rich a full life, but that she had recently felt that life was weighing down on her.
Their discussion was interrupted when Beatrice arrived, saw the Gargoyle and screamed for her mother to run. Sadie assured Beatrice that this was her friend Isaac, "one of those super-people we always see on TV. And he's my friend."
Beatrice berated her mother for letting "just anyone" into her apartment and told her that she sometimes seemed to be more child than woman, but Sadie reminded her daughter that she was not too old for a good slap across the face. Disregarding this, Beatrice tried to take her mother to see Dr. Bernbaum, but Sadie argued that she was not going to any more doctors. As Sadie and Beatrice glared at each other, Isaac bridged the gap, helping Sadie appreciate that Beatrice was trying to help her, and helping Beatrice appreciate that there came a point in time when each person must let go...that bittersweet instant when we see that it's our turn to submit to the flow of life -- to let the river of birth and death sweep us away.
Isaac then invited both women to allow him to take
them for a flight to lift them up and away from the burden of years they
were both carrying. Sadie and Beatrice both tentatively took his hands,
and Isaac leapt out the window and flew them high above the buildings. He
took them on an aerial on a tour of Manhattan, observing some of its best
and worst locations, and around the Statue of Liberty; they both
appreciated the wondrous scope of humanity. Finally, Isaac returned to
their apartment, and Sadie noted that she was tired and needed some
sleep. 
At Sunset, it became clear that Sadie was more than tired. Having called an ambulance, Beatrice assured her mother that help was on the way, but Sadie told her that it was her time and that was all there was to it. Beatrice felt like she understood, but she still argued that it didn't seem right or fair. Sadie asked what could be fairer, sharing that she had known the innocence of youth, the warmth of a loving family and the grief of the last goodbye (referring to the death of Jack). She continued -- reaching out and holding both Beatrice and Isaac's hands -- that now was not a time for grief but for reaching out, for sharing the lifetime of love in their hearts...and...moving on...
And then Sadie died peacefully.
(Marvel Team-Up I#119 (fb) - BTS) - Isaac hugged
Beatrice and asked if she was alright, and she told him she was and
thanked him for helping her see something of what her mother saw. She told
him that he could go now, as she wanted to be alone with her mother for a
little while. Understanding, Isaac flew away.
Comments: Created by J.M. DeMatteis and Kerry Gammill.
This was a comic I read early in my
comic-reading career. I've long enjoyed the work of J.M. DeMatteis, and
this is my earliest memory of his work. Both Spider-Man and Gargoyle's
parts of the stories were touching, very personal stories, with the
supporting cast taking the center spotlight. Sadie was a very likable
character, and I remember her well, over 40 years later. The profile is
long because I didn't want to miss any characterization from JM's story.
A tough old woman from New York,
she reminds me of a friend of mine, Marietta Restivo, who passed recently
a couple weeks shy of 96-years-old. When I met her, she was a widow and a
proud mother of three adult and successful sons. She had been a
professional administrator to the Kennedy Space Center from the Mercury
program to the space shuttles, after which she volunteered with the police
department. I believe she danced, and I know she trained in the martial
arts. Even months before her passing, she was feisty, funny and larger
than life. But she was also ready for the end.
Unforgettable.
Sadie's age was unrevealed, as was
the age of her daughter, Beatrice. Sadie may have been in her late 60's or
perhaps in her 80's or 90's. Beatrice may have been 18-30 years younger
than her mother.
I ASSume her name would be pronounced Bass, like the fish, as opposed to Bass, like the guitar or other musical instrument.
It's not clear, but Sadie asked
Isaac if he was Jewish, noting she asked because her brother's name was
Isaac (which would seem to imply that her brother was Jewish, which would
likely mean that she was, too). She also said, "Oy,"
which by itself doesn't mean anything, but it is a stereotypical
exclamation for Jewish people.
Then again, it looked like there may have been a cross
on their barn or house...or maybe it was just a weather vane.
I ASSumed that park in which Isaac met Sadie was Central Park, but I asked my New York expert friend, Spider-Mike Fichera, and he said:
Looking at the issue - there's nothing that definitely says "Central Park" -- but it looks like it. It has walkways and trees and carriage rides outside - which is typical of Central Park.
However, there are several smaller parks scattered throughout the island. Central is the biggest and most obvious choice. But there are others. Bryant Park. Madison Square Park. I used to work by Union Square Park between 14th and 17th with tall buildings surrounding it.
And, yes, corporal punishment from
your parent for being disrespectful was not uncommon at the time. Now, not
so common, and, surprisingly, neither is respect...
Sadie previously had a sub-profile
under the Gargoyle, originally posted 12/21/2005.
This profile was
completed 01/14/2026, but
its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th
anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Sadie Bass should be distinguished from:
Jack Bass married Sadie, and they had a daughter, Beatrice, and a
happy life together. Jack eventually died and was buried.  --Marvel Team-Up I#119 |
First posted: 09/03/2026
Last updated: 08/12/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
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