Should Marvel Even Try to Redeem Madame Web? Not Even the Comics Are So Sure It Can Be Done.

[[{“value”:”

Many famous characters got their start from Spider-Man from Miles Morales and Venom. However, not every side character from Spider-Man has managed to be successful. Try as Marvel might, they just can’t seem to figure out what to do with Madame Web, and after a disastrous move, some fans are beginning to question if Madame Web is a character even worth trying to salvage at all.

First appearing way back in Amazing Spider-Man #210 by Dennis O’Neil and John Romita Jr, Madame Web was a medium working in New York City and one that Spider-Man didn’t really put any stock in. He considered her nothing more than a fraud, but after a crime left him with no clues, he figured there wasn’t any harm in at least asking for her help. To his genuine surprise, Madame Web’s powers turned out to be very real, and she easily helped him locate the criminals he was after.

While her name might make a few comic fans believe that she came with spider powers herself, this surprisingly was not the case. Cassandra Web was born with a neurological condition called myasthenia gravis. This essentially robbed her of the use of her limbs. Cassandra was essentially confined to an elaborate chair, which simply allowed her to more easily use her powers. She’d also lost her sight due to this very same disorder. This condition proved to be a problem for Marvel’s writers, as they tried to undo it several times over the years.

Madame Web Is A Character With Tons Of Unexplored Potential

Amazing Spider-Man #210 by Dennis O’Neil, John Romita Jr, Joe Sinnott, Bob Sharen, and Jim Novak.

Since their first meeting, Spider-Man has continually come to Madame Web to get her help with the crimes he is trying to solve. Because Madame Web is a powerful psychic, she is able to help Peter solve crimes before they even happen. The most notable example is in Amazing Spider-Man #216 by Dennis O’Neil and John Romita Jr. Spider-Man spends most of this issue trying to stop an assassination from taking place, and Madame Web can make this incredibly easy on the web-slinger, as she simply tells him exactly where the assassins are. He then swings over and defeats them.

With all of these abilities in mind, one would think that Madame Web would be an absurdly powerful character for Spider-Man. With so many spider characters in the Marvel Universe, there’s no real reason that Madame Web wouldn’t be able to have her own spin-off. It’s not like handicapped characters don’t work. Back in the 90s and early 200s, DC’s very own Barbara Gordon was an absolute powerhouse character while she was still in a wheelchair. Babs appeared heavily in several comics, including leading her own team in Birds of Prey, and yet, Marvel just hasn’t found what to do with Madame Web.

Madame Web Was Barely Used In Comics

Marvel Missed a Big Opportunity

Despite her incredible powers and ability to be a perfect team leader, Madame Web never got the chance. Instead, Marvel continually bounced her around from plot point to plot point. This included having the Juggernaut absolutely obliterate her home in an attempt to kidnap her. However, after removing her from her specialized chair, Madame Web began to die due to the lack of life support. Seeing this, Juggernaut simply dumped her and left. While Spider-Man was able to get her to the hospital, she began suffering from amnesia, which seemed like an easy way to write her out of the comics.

Her next appearance would be in the storyline Gathering of Five, which began in Amazing Spider-Man #440 by John Byrne and Rafael Kayanan. It was here that Madam Web was one of the eponymous five, a group that gathered together ancient artifacts to try and gain a powerful gift. Madame Web received immortality and her body was rejuvenated. It seemed like Marvel was finally going in the right direction with her, as she then summoned Jessica Drew and Julia Carpenter, the two Spider-Women. It seemed like she was finally starting a team, much like Barbara Gordon before her.

By turning her younger, it’s possible Marvel was also trying to find more uses for her, as writers might’ve struggled to find something to do with a nearly seventy-year-old woman. This change didn’t last long though, as Madam Web became elderly, regained her youth, then suddenly became elderly again, and has remained such since. After that, she simply went back to being a helper for Spider-Man before eventually being killed by Sasha Kraven during the events of Grim Hunt (Amazing Spider-Man #637)

That was way back in 2017, and Cassandra Webb hasn’t appeared in comics since. The moment before she died, Cassandra passed her powers onto Julia Carpenter, who became the second Madam Web, because that’s something she can do, apparently. Cassandra then shortly comes back to life as a clone created by the Jackal, only to quickly die again. Since then, Julia has shown up here and there, but Cassandra has been completely cast aside. That is until Marvel tried to create a movie based on Madame Web, which had absolutely disastrous results.

Madame Web Did Not Increase Viewer Interest In The Character

No One Cares About the Spider-Man Side Character

The biggest attempt to explore Madame Web for modern audiences is without a doubt the movie that came out just this year. It was a massive failure though and really had nothing similar to the comics. If Marvel was trying to get people interested in the character, this was not the way to do it. Other interpretations have tried to give Madam Web more importance, such as the 90s Spider-Man cartoon, which upgraded Madame Web to a cosmic being on the level of the Beyonder. This was possibly the most powerful and interesting version of Cassandra to date, but it is one comics haven’t bothered to touch on.

While Marvel seems to love the idea of Madame Web, they’ve never been able to commit to the character. Cassandra Web was hastily tossed from plot point to plot point before being killed off and completely replaced. Marvel continually revisits the idea of the character, such as this year they revealed an evil version of Aunt May who was a Madame Web variant. Even in stories that seem like Madame Web would make the most sense, like the animated Spider-Verse movies, which are stories about the multiverse, Madame Web is nowhere to be seen. Even though her Animated Series version would fit in perfectly.

Even Aunt May Was A More Interesting Madame Web

Peter Parker’s Aunt Had A Cooler Design as Well

Ultimately, while Madame Web is a character who certainly has potential, it’s potential that Marvel simply isn’t interested in exploring. She was old, young, a cosmic being, and a frail disabled woman. She’s been killed, revived, and killed again. She’s been given a god-awful live-action movie and excluded from animated movies where her character could truly thrive. It seems that, for whatever reason, Madame Web is simply one of the Spider-Man characters who will never get their time to shine, because ultimately, Marvel just doesn’t think she’s worth redeeming.

“}]] What can Marvel do with Madame Webb?  Read More