Madame Web and the Spider Women Across the Spider-Verse

 

Image credits to Marvel.com

The universe of Spider-Man is well-known for its variety of characters, each with their own backstory and powers. Among the most interesting figures in this universe are Madame Web and the different Spider Women who have come from across multiple universes. These characters have played vital roles in Spider-Man’s adventures, offering guidance, support, and sometimes even rivaling him as adversaries. To truly understand these characters’ significance, we must dig into their origin stories and what they’ve done within the Spider-Verse.

Madame Web: The Seer of Destiny

Before the movie came out just a few days ago, only a dozen few know of the enigmatic existence known as Madame Web.

Madame Web first showed up in 1980’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” #210. She was created by Denny O’Neil (writer) and John Romita Jr (artist). Cassandra Webb is what she’s known as outside her title of Madame Web. This character has an aura of secrecy that shrouds her existence.

All we know about her is that she had psychic abilities and was a blind elderly woman. Which is entirely different from the new movie that came out just a few days ago, where Madame Web is a young and energetic Cassandra Webb. It looks like she may get to be the Ultimate Madame Web?

Webb existed with clairvoyance and telepathy powers that allowed her to see into the future. Despite being physically limited due to blindness, she had a very high level of intellect which assisted in understanding how mystical forces operated within our universe.

A Guardian of Time Itself

When you think about it, all worlds were different before one entered at pivotal points throughout Earth-616 history. In some occasions there would be times where things were slightly worse than when another version arrived but both would need to work together to get out of it.

While all this was happening, every single other one drew strength from each other like a giant web linking them all together for eternity on end without stopping once… Or so it seemed until someone tried testing those limits only to find out that crossing boundaries can lead to consequences coming back at you full force which no one involved wanted.

The Spider Women: Guardians of the Web

Besides Madame Web, there are also other women with spider powers. These characters all have their own unique story and abilities. But they’re still connected to Spider-Man in some way or another.

For example, one of these women is Gwen Stacy who was first seen in “The Amazing Spider-Man” # 31 from 1965. In a different universe known as Earth-65, Gwen gets bit by a radioactive spider and gains similar powers to Peter Parker’s. After that she becomes known as Spider-Woman and protects her area from crime and outside danger.

There’s also Jessica Drew who made her debut in 1977’s “Marvel Spotlight” #32. Formerly an agent for HYDRA, Jessica has spider-like DNA after being genetically enhanced which grants her superhuman abilities like speed strength and wall-crawling. She then goes on to become vigilante Spider-Woman and partakes in hero teams such as The Avengers in the future.

To sum things up, both Madame Web and the Spider Women are a big part of the Spider-Man universe. They add depth and complexity to his story. Madame Web’s mystical powers make her an incredibly unique character. While the Spider Women bring diversity and strength to Spider-Man’s allies.

As the Spider-Verse keeps growing, it is obvious that both Madame Web and the Spider Women will keep playing important roles in shaping how Spidey comes out. Their stories are a testament to not only how cool this franchise is, but also the possibilities that come with a multiverse. — Brad Kern.

Originally published at https://bradkern.medium.com on February 15, 2024.