“Madame Web” is the newest film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe that is loosely connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film has only made $25.8 million since its debut and is looking to be a major failure for Sony.
The independent studio Cannon Films bought the rights to Spider-Man, tried and failed to make a Spider-Man movie, then went bankrupt; in 1996, so did Marvel. The rights to Spidey were lost in litigation until 1999, when Marvel recovered them and sold them to Sony.
Peter Parker's rejection of joining the Avengers in Spider-Man: Homecoming allowed him to stay true to himself and his role as Spider-Man, showcasing the importance of young heroes staying grounded.
Spider-Man in film dates back to 1977, the rights belonging to Marvel until 1999, when Sony bought them for $7 million. He has been Marvel's most successful character in the cinema industry ever since.
Madame Web never truly fleshed out the morally ambiguous aspects of Ezekiel Sims, a villain who not only went head-to-head against Spider-Man, but also proved to be an unlikely ally and mentor to him.
Maguire reprised his role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), alongside successors Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield.
In addition from Spider-Man and his rouge gallery this universe is also the home of other superheroes that also protect New York City such as the Avengers with one of their notable members being the Hulk, as well as other villains the other heroes have fought on their own.
While he juggled his hero duties with the demands of his high-school life, he was recruited by Tony Stark to join the Avengers Civil War, putting Spider-Man into a brief conflict with Captain America.
Even though Madame Web is tangentially tied to Peter Parker by knowing Ben and Mary, there's no real narrative setup for a connection between Madame Web and Spider-Man.
Created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, the character first appeared in Secret Wars #6 (October 1984). Julia Carpenter was known as the second Spider-Woman, later as the second Arachne, and then as the second Madame Web. Julia Carpenter as Spider-Woman in Secret Wars #7 (November 1984). Art by Mike Zeck.
Tahar Rahim plays Ezekiel Sims in Madame Web, and the character possesses similar spider powers to Spider-Man, along with clairvoyance and potentially life-draining abilities.
Perhaps the most notable evil Spider-Man is Venom (a.k.a. Eddie Brock). Originally a reporter, Brock becomes taken over by a symbiote discarded from Spider-Man's black suit.
Kwaku Anansi is a revered figure among the Vodū, an otherworldly race esteemed as deities by various African tribes and adherents of the Alton tradition in modern times. He holds a unique place as the original Spider-Man, utilizing his arachnid abilities to traverse Africa and explore its vast expanses.
And in Madame Web, it's everything around the bad guy being barefoot. Comic book devotees know the depiction of Ezekiel Sims in a dapper suit paired with no socks; no shoes is true to the source material. You see, his ability to scale walls like a spider is dependent on bare feet.
The film was panned by critics upon its release in February, and didn't fare much better with audiences as it only grossed $100 million worldwide against a rumoured production budget of $80 million, leaving the future of the franchise unclear.
Madame Web was a victim of myasthenia gravis, a disorder of neuromuscular junction transmission. As a result, she became entirely dependent on external life support for survival. This is no longer the case as she was cured of the condition some time ago. She is also blind and relies on her powers to compensate.
Dr. Michael Morbius, Ph. D., M.D., better known as simply Morbius, is an anti-heroic antagonist from Marvel Comics, serving as an enemy to Spider-Man, Blade, and Ghost Rider. He was a biogenetic scientist who was dying of a blood-destroying disease.
After the mixed reception to Universal's 2003 film Hulk, Marvel Studios reacquired the rights to the character, though Universal retained distribution rights.
In March 2019, Disney officially acquired Fox and gained the film rights to several Marvel Comics characters for Marvel Studios, including Deadpool and the X-Men.
Better yet, since Sony owns Spider-Man and Venom, they could finally be united in a sequel to both Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man does not appear in any way in Madame Web. The other live-action Spider-Men, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland also do not appear. Instead, Madame Web focuses on the adventures of Dakota Johnson's clairvoyant Cassandra Webb and Spider-Women Julia Cornwall, Mattie Franklin, and Anya Corazon.
