In this FandomWire Video Essay, we explore the very weird and complex backstory of Madame Web.
Check out the video below:
THIS…… is actually more comic-accurate than you think. At first glance, Sony’s Madame Web movie might look like little more than a hodge-podge of disconnected pieces of Spider-Man lore hastily strung together by a studio desperate to create a franchise out of whatever material it has the rights to at the present moment. And while that’s not an incorrect assessment, it’s also an incomplete one.
Unlike Sony’s Venom films or the maligned into memehood Morbius. Madame Web pulls much more directly from its source material and may even be inspired by several specific comic storylines. But what makes Madame Web, both the character and the film, an exception to the rule? Sony has thus far been hesitant to commit to explicit comic book connections, particularly as they pertain to Spider-Man’s connection with the supporting characters that the studio is attempting to build a franchise out of, so why now and why with this character specifically? And is it enough to work?
To answer these questions, we’ll need to break down Madame Web’s bizarrely complicated history into four distinct categories. Her comic book origins and power set, her relationships with various well-known Spider-People, how the movie connects all of these things together, and what said movie might still be missing. So take a seat in your weirdly elaborate Spider-Throne and get comfortable as we explore the complex backstory of Madame Web.
Origins and Powers
Created by comic book legends Dennis O’Neil and John Romita Junior of Batman and Spider-Man fame respectively and debuting in 1980s The Amazing Spider-Man Issue Two-Hundred and Ten, Cassandra Webb, with two b’s, was born blind and suffers from myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular junction disease that most commonly affects the eyes and face, as well as one’s walking abilities.
Not much is known about her early life, but we know her late husband, Jonathan Webb, designed a life-support system for her before passing on that would ultimately become her now iconic Spider Throne. But Cassandra isn’t just a disabled elderly widow, and coincidentally one of the only disabled and/or elderly female characters to ever be given a major spotlight in the superhero genre. She’s also a mutant. Yes, THAT kind of mutant. Cassandra’s mutant genes gave her precognitive and telepathic powers which helped her to compensate for her disability; eventually moving from her hometown of Salem, Oregon to New York City and beginning work as a medium under the name Madame Web.
Spider-People
It was here that she first met our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and used her psychic abilities to help him solve a kidnapping, as well as deduce his secret identity as Peter Parker. She would later lose that knowledge after being separated from her life support system by the Juggernaut during the “Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut” storyline. And then gain that knowledge back sometime between that story and “Gathering of the Five.” And then lose it AGAIN after “One More Day.” Comics are weird.
Regardless, Peter Parker is far from the only Spider-Person to meet Madame Web and become tangled in the ….well, web that is her life. She served as a de facto guardian of the Spider-Verse in the 1994 Spider-Man animated series as well as the Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions video game. More specifically, Madame Web has several ties to the various Spider-Women of the Marvel Universe. In fact, her own granddaughter, Charlotte Witter is the fourth Marvel character to use the Spider-Woman title. But unlike her predecessors, Charlotte took a villainous turn under the guidance of Doctor Octopus.
In The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 Issue 5, Charlotte forcibly absorbs the abilities of Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, and Mattie Franklin. But the three Spider-Women ultimately manage to defeat her with the help of Madame Web’s guidance. Web even becomes a direct mentor to Mattie Franklin in that character’s solo Spider-Woman series. After her death in the “Grim Hunt” storyline, Cassandra would pass the Madame Web title and abilities, as well as her blindness, to Julia Carpenter, officially cementing Madame Web as a legacy hero.
Movie Connections
All of this brings us back to the Madame Web movie and how it connects to the source material to a greater degree than you might think. For example, two of the three Spider-Women featured in the film, Mattie Franklin and Julia Carpenter, have pre-existing relationships with Madame Web in the comics. Her and Mattie have the aforementioned mentor/mentee relationship and Julia Carpenter played a major role in the Charlotte Witter storyline in addition to becoming the second Madame Web after Cassandra. Moreover, Cassandra’s younger appearance in the film in comparison to her elderly look in the comics and other media is likely inspired by the Julia Carpenter incarnation. Anya Corazon is admittedly the odd one out here, but she’s also a more unique pick than Jessica Drew would be, so the change works.
There’s also the film’s villain, Ezekiel Simms. In the comics, he’s connected to the origins of the Spider-Totems; basically the idea that every universe has a special spider-based hero for grand cosmic destiny reasons. Given the Spider-Totem’s importance to the original Spider-Verse comic event, his presence here could very well be a nod to Madame Web’s role in that storyline, as well as her multiversal guardian status in previous adaptations.
Plus, Madame Web having to protect Spider-Women from an evil Spider-Person as we see in the movie is nearly identical to the events of the Charlotte Witter storyline, with the plot seemingly being a combination of that, Spider-Verse, and Madame Web’s previously unknown origin story. Despite all these comic nods, the Madame Web movie still doesn’t seem to recognize one core aspect of the character. A core aspect that arguably makes the concept of a solo movie impossible.
What’s Missing
While little is known about Madame Web’s true origin, even less is known about why Dennis O’Neil and John Romita Junior created her to begin with; beyond the fact that they were working on The Amazing Spider-Man book at the time and needed a new supporting player.
And that’s what Madame Web has always been intended to be: a supporting character within a much larger ensemble usually centered on a Spider-Man or Spider-Woman. She originally debuted in a Spider-Man book, has never had a solo comic series, and even in her most iconic storylines, generally exists to support a larger cast. Her role in “Grim Hunt” is to die and pass her title to Julia Carpenter. Her role in the Charlotte Witter storyline is to ASSEMBLE the team of Spider-Women rather than be a part of it. She exists to be a victim in “Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut” and exists more or less for the sake of being there in “Gathering of the Five” and Spider-Verse.
Interesting things happen TO her and AROUND her, but her passive abilities, age, and disabled status have largely prevented her from taking action herself. That’s not necessarily a good thing either. A general lack of diversity has been a pervasive issue in comics that has only started to be tackled more recently and an action-focused storyline about a disabled elderly woman with psychic powers would certainly be a refreshing change of pace. But that’s not what the comics have done and it’s not what the Madame Web movie is doing either.
The film focuses more on her relationship with the villain and the three Spider-Women than it does on her as a character, meaning she’s STILL a passive supporting player in the movie that’s supposed to be about her. And the decision to base her appearance on the younger Julia Carpenter version despite keeping the Cassandra Webb name robs her of many of her unique attributes. Perhaps in that way, Madame Web truly is accurate to the source material: potential greatness squandered by overly convoluted plots and a lack of diverse voices in the industry.
Madame Web and her backstory are simultaneously extremely complex and yet disappointingly simplistic. She has a unique power set and appearance, is one of the only prominent disabled older female characters in comics, and has an established connection with the most popular character in the Marvel Universe; being involved in several major Spider-Man stories. But not much has really been done with her. For over four decades, she’s existed largely as a background player, providing literal and figurative support to other heroes without getting a shot in the spotlight herself. The Madame Web movie could be that shot, but the removal of her age and disability, the lack of focus on her as a character, and Sony’s less-than-stellar track record when it comes to live-action Spider-Man spin-offs make that hard to believe. But whatever the future holds for the Creepy Clairvoyant, real nickname by the way, it will undoubtedly be informed by her weirdly complex backstory.
Now we want to hear from you, web-heads. What’s your favorite Madame Web appearance? What are your thoughts on the movie? And what other Spider-Man supporting characters should get a shot at a solo storyline? Let us know in the comments below and make sure to subscribe and hit that bell so you can be notified about future videos like this as soon as they go up. Until next time, thanks for watching.
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
