Peter Parker’s alter ego is Spiderman. Dr. Jeckyl has Mr. Hyde.

Likewise, Coupeville resident Alice Martin has her own alter ego. Her name is Aquanetta.

If you see Aquanetta, you won’t soon forget. Tourists flocked to her, like girls to sideburns, when she recently stopped in downtown Coupeville for a photo shoot.

She’s a sight to see. She sports a giant beehive hairdo and dresses head-to-toe (with some flesh strategically exposed) in 1950’s-style garishness. She’s a middle-aged bad girl who drives around in an equally bad car, the deuce coupe.

“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap,” she said, striking a provocative pose.

Many Whidbey Island residents who know Martin may not be aware of Aquanetta’s existence, but she’s becoming well known among West Coast car nuts. She usually comes out at car shows, where she flirts and teases and struts her stuff. She has her own Web site with her life story, at www.hotrodbadgirl.com, and sells Aquanetta posters.

“She’s making quite a name for herself,” said Lance Lambert, host of the Vintage Vehicle Show on Seattle’s KWPX channels 3 and 33. “She’s trying to create something, but she’s not sure what. She’s just going along for the ride.”

Lambert met Aquanetta at a car show. They both apparently have a weird sense of humor, so they immediately hit it off. He helped her and her boyfriend, Marko, get a job in a commercial for Johnny’s Rod Shop in Bellevue. The commercial runs during Lambert’s show, Fridays at 7:30 a.m.

“She’s nuts,” he said. “I mean that in a good way.”

The majority of people at car shows play along with Aquanetta, though there are a few curmudgeons who don’t understand. Many older men tell her “you remind me of my first wife” or ask her “didn’t we date?” Marriage proposals flow freely.

Aquanetta first started to appear about three years ago. Martin, a former ceramics instructor and celebrated ceramics artist, moved to Coupeville in 1992. About six years ago, she had a small part in the movie, “Practical Magic,” when it was being filmed in Coupeville.

Martin said she was shocked when she saw herself in the movie. She dedicated herself to losing weight; she’s lost about 130 pound so far.

While Martin was transforming herself, Aquanetta started to evolve. Martin always had a perverse interest in 1950s B movies, especially those about fast cars. “Drag Strip Girls” and “Hot Rod Girl” are among her favorites.

“I just love nostalgia,” she said.

Then she bought a deuce coupe and joined up with the Rumblers Car Club of Whidbey Island.

Finally, a friend of hers mentioned that she was related to Acquanetta, a beautiful B-movie star from such films as “Jungle Woman,” “Captive Wild Woman,” and of course, “Tarzan and the Leopard Woman.”

Martin borrowed the name, changing the spelling slightly, to create her own character — a naughty, gaudy, over-the-top, retro chick with attitude. Aquanetta was born.

“Aquanetta is supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek, ‘50s and early ‘60s character,” Martin explained.

Martin describes herself as someone who throws herself “into everything with 110 percent.” With her new alter ego, that has meant burning through big hunks of time and money. Aquanetta has an insatiable appetite for fashion and jewelry.

Martin searches eBay to find vintage fabric, vintage patterns, vintage clothing and vintage accessories for Aquanetta to wear. She also buys literally pounds of 1950’s-era jewelry. Aquanetta’s favorite is lucite jewelry, which she wears in bulk.

Aquanetta even has her own back story, which is detailed on her Web site. Born with a beehive, the incorrigible child grew up in a trailer park on the wrong side of town. She was a troublemaker with questionable taste who learned how to manipulate boys at an early age.

From the very beginning, hot rods played an important role in her life.

“Like Aquanetta herself, her deuce coupe rides fast and loose and has more than enough horsepower to get the job done,” her biography states.