A flashback shows that she was meant to have myasthenia gravis, but a bite from a Peruvian spider upon her pregnant mother cured her. By the movie's end, however, a climactic battle leaves her blind and paralyzed, reflecting the incarnation of Madame Web from the comics.
In the comics, Madame Web is actually an elderly woman who is blind and uses a wheelchair because she has this same condition. In the movie, the spider bit Cassie's mom right before she was born, cured her of the disease, and gave her the power of foresight with its venom.
Madame Web is based on a character from the original Spiderman comics. She debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, published in 1980. According to Marvel Database, Madame Web (née Cassandra Web) suffers from the rare neurological disease myasthenia gravis.
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.
Cassandra Webb does have precognitive abilities, though they're derived from her mutant gene (the same sort that gives the X-Men their various powers) rather than an accident. She is also an elderly woman who is blind and paralyzed, as she has the neurological condition myasthenia gravis.
Why can't Madame Web walk at the end of the movie?
Back in New York, Cassie uses her powers to save Julia, Mattie, and Anya from Ezekiel — but she essentially sacrifices herself to do it. Cassie is paralyzed by Ezekiel's neurotoxins, blinded by a neon Pespi-Cola sign, and nearly drowned in the East River.
According to Madame Web's flashbacks, Cassie Webb and Ezekiel Sims get the power to predict the future from a rare kind of spider found in the Amazon. In Marvel Comics, Madame Web develops her abilities as a side effect of myasthenia gravis, a neurological condition.
Becoming a Medium. Born in Salem, Oregon, without typical sight and a neurological condition known as myasthenia gravis, Cassandra Webb grows up to learn that she possesses powerful psychic abilities, and establishes herself as a medium.
In the comics, Madame Web's name seemingly originated from her life-support machine. To manage the symptoms of her myasthenia gravis and to keep her body functioning, Cassandra's husband, Jonathan Webb, designed a life-support system for her. It became Jonathan's final gift to his wife before he passed away.
Madame Web's primary abilities are clairvoyance and precognition, which allow her to perceive future events before they take place. In Marvel Comics, she also possesses a level of telepathy, mind-reading, astral projection, psychic surgery and mind alteration.
She was born blind and suffered from a neurological condition known as myasthenia gravis. This however had a side effect: she developed powerful psychic abilities and used them to become a medium.
The superhero film starring Dakota Johnson is the origin story of Cassandra “Cassie” Webb who is later known as Madame Web. However, the film introduces Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor), and Ayna Corazón (Isabela Merced), who eventually become different iterations of Spider-Women.
Blindness wasn't the only condition Madame Web lived with. The powerful mutant was also born with myasthenia gravis, a particular neuromuscular disease that can make it difficult or impossible for people to walk.
Webb finds herself having to protect three teenagers from Ezekiel Sims, a murderous adversary with superhuman powers who is hunting them. “Madame Web” is set in 2003 and sort of pays homage to the conventions of the comic book movies of that era.
Madame Web: As Cassandra Webb died, she passed on her abilities as Madame Web to Julia. By inheriting this psychic power, Julia became physically blind but greatly increased her psionic abilities.
Tahar Rahim plays Ezekiel Sims, the villain in Madame Web. He has the power of premonition and wants to stop a group of young women from acquiring their Spider-Women powers.
When the villain proved unable to help, Spider-Woman offered a transfusion of her own blood, to extend her radiation/toxin immunity power to Foster. The procedure worked—but caused Jessica to lose the power for herself.
“Madame Web” is its own universe, with a new and unofficial origin story for Peter Parker. I found this to be a fun take on the comics, bringing a sense of youth to the idea of Madame Web, as well as a feeling of feminism. The movie focuses on the origin of Madame Web's feminist girl gang of crimefighters.
Madame Web is different because it implies that Spider-Man will indeed exist in this film's universe, as the film is set in 2003 and Peter Parker has been born.
Richard Parker was away traveling, hinting that the film is taking from the comics canon where Richard and sometimes Mary were spies. As for the infant's identity, Clarkson was quick to point out that "the baby's born, but we never actually name the baby." But the implication is obviously that it's Peter Parker.
