Earlier today, Sony Pictures released the first trailer for Madame Web. The movie doesn't quite look as we expected and, with the Morbius writers no longer involved, there's a chance it will exceed expectations.
Well, not a strong chance.
We've already explained why getting excited about those comic-accurate costumes could be a mistake, but in this trailer breakdown, we're setting out to make sense of this female-led team-up. All of these characters appearing in live-action is long overdue; however, this is another Sony movie which looks to be taking major liberties with the source material to tell an "original" story.
So, to dive into the biggest reveals and comic book references, along with an in-depth guide for who everyone is and what's going on, simply click on the "Next" button below...
7. Madame Web's Unique Powers
In the comics, Cassandra Webb is a paralyzed, blind, telepathic, clairvoyant, and precognitive mutant. She uses those abilities to become a media and spends her days hooked up to a life support system which includes a series of tubes shaped like a spider-web.
Needless to say, Dakota Johnson's version is none of those things, though this is her origin story. Sony is taking some big leaps here, veering away from the source material and combining Cassandra with Julia Carpenter, the second Madame Web.
This Madame Web can see future events and, with that knowledge, change what happens. It's an approach which makes her a little more proactive than her comic book counterpart, though a later scene suggests she may have spider-like powers to go with those psychic abilities based on how she catches that piece of debris.
6. Uncle Ben, Is That You?
Rumour has it Adam Scott is playing Ben Parker, with Emma Roberts set to play his sister-in-law, Mary. There's absolutely nothing in this trailer to suggest this is a young Uncle Ben, though, and Roberts simply doesn't appear (she's on the cast list so hasn't been cut).
Robert was previously spotted on set looking pregnant. As a result, it's possible Cassandra knowing Ben initially appears to be a coincidence, only for the fact her life is intertwined with the Parker family to become a big part of whatever comes next. After all, it looks like he saves her life in the accident which unlocks her powers!
If Madame Web did have any significant ties to Spider-Man, they'd have no doubt been all over the trailer. However, Avi Arad is keen to get his hands back on the wall-crawler, and with Tom Holland off limits to him thanks to Marvel Studios, perhaps this universe is about to get its own Peter Parker Variant
5. Evil Spider-Man
No, that's not the Spider-Man and it certainly isn't Venom. Instead, Sony has taken Ezekiel Sims and made him a full-blown villain. We'll get to his mission a little later (and what that means for the Spider-Verse moving forward), but he appears to have all of Spider-Man's powers and, coincidentally, a very similar suit.
In the comics, a young Ezekiel took part in a ritual which granted him the powers of a Spider-Totem. Rather than become a superhero, he amassed a fortune and only tracked Peter down when his life was in danger. A mentor to Spidey for a time, his true nature was later revealed when he tried to sacrifice Peter in his place.
Despite being a big part of JMS' Amazing Spider-Man run, Ezekiel is arguably obscure enough for Sony to get away with a pretty drastic reinvention. The costume is new, but the fact he's barefoot and that suit are both comic-accurate.
4. An Unexpected Setting
We suspected this might be the case after seeing set photos, but the events of Madame Web are indeed playing out in the mid-to-late 2000s. There's a guy on the subway with a PSP and both the fashion and signage point to this story taking place in the past. The question is, why?
Well, as Ezekiel is attempting to avoid being killed in the future (which appears to be the present day), it makes sense for Sony to use this movie as a prequel, of sorts, to its other live-action Spider-Verse offerings. Plus, if a baby Peter does come into play, then it allows him to be a teen in future projects.
It may also be a way to make it so that the next time we see Madame Web, she's quite a bit older and more in line with her comic book counterpart. It's all a bit strange, though oddly fitting that a movie set in the mid-2000s looks like it was also made around that time. Avi gonna Avi...
3. Spider-Women
So, let's get to the exciting part of this sneak peek. The three young women Cassandra Web sets out to save are Julia Carpenter (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor), and Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced). In the comics, they're typically known as Spider-Woman, Spider-Girl, and Araña, respectively.
They've all crossed paths with Cassandra but don't have powers at this stage and, if this trailer is any indication, Ezekiel's intervention may have closed the door on them ever getting them. It seems they attack and kill him in the future, suggesting the villain believes he must kill the trio to save himself and the world.
That makes him a suitably deluded big bad, but what about those costumes? They're all shockingly comic-accurate, but we only expect to see them in brief flash-forwards. Set photos have shown the Spider-Women in their regular street clothes during the final battle, so if they do suit up, it likely won't be until the final scene.
2. "He Was In The Amazon With My Mom When She Was Researching Spiders"
This might be among the worst lines of dialogue in comic book movie history, but it does at least shed some light on Ezekiel's origin story. Like the version on the page, it seems he'll stumble on something which grants him Spider-Man's powers and, for some reason, precognitive abilities.
However, as Cassandra's mom was pregnant around this time, we're guessing the ritual inadvertently gave her child psychic abilities which weren't unlocked until the paramedic almost drowned. However, that connection with Ezekiel seems to awaken something in him as well, hence why it's now he targets Julia, Mattie, and Anya.
We're not surprised to see Sony dream up a suitably convoluted origin story for Madame Web. The same thing happened in Morbius, though we do think this could be leading to an exploration of the Spider-Verse which sets the stage for...well, we don't want to say exciting stories, but definitely, uh, stories.
1. Ezekiel's Mission
So, by now, we've established that Ezekiel wants to kill the future Spider-Woman because, ultimately, they kill him. Chances are the big "twist" will be that they're trying to save the villain or only attacking him because he's done something terrible and just doesn't know it yet.
In Madame Web, they don't have their powers and that's going to leave Cassandra to use her newfound psychic - and spider - abilities to stop him. Will she be blinded in the fight? Are Ezekiel's actions why Sony's live-action Spider-Verse doesn't have a Spider-Man or will it be here he's first introduced?
We don't know the answers to those questions quite yet, though it's apparent the movie will have major ramifications for this non-MCU franchise moving forward. Maybe the rumours of Venom 3 featuring a 5-year-old Peter are true. Alternatively, we may see the baby Peter sent to Earth-616!
Honestly, we don't think any of this going to end well...