Here's How Madame Web Connects To Sony's Spider-Man Movie Universe (Or Does It?)
Let's just say your Spidey-Sense better be tingling, because this article contains spoilers for "Madame Web."
It's not really on the same level as Nick Fury welcoming Tony Stark into a much wider world than he ever imagined, but "Madame Web" has now officially entered Sony's Spider-Man Universe. (Rest in pieces, "SPUMC.") The live-action shared universe may be built entirely around Spider-Man's rogues gallery and assorted supporting characters ... but it doesn't actually feature the famous Web-Crawler himself. Yeah, we're still trying to figure that one out. Whatever the case may be, this oddly cobbled-together franchise made up of both "Venom" movies and the disaster known as "Morbius" now has another ignominious addition to its ranks, and, well, it went about as badly as everyone expected. (For a more generous take on that, read /Film's review by Witney Seibold here.)
But with great power comes great responsibility, as some fictional dead guy you might've heard of once said, and the same certainly applies to how "Madame Web" teases its connections to the Spidey-shaped hole at the center of this universe. The movie, directed by S.J. Clarkson from a script credited to Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (aka the team behind "Morbius") along with Claire Parker and Clarkson, packs in all sorts of Easter eggs, references, and even a direct connection or two that makes "Madame Web" much more indebted to Spider-Man than any of the previous standalone films before it. Do these actually work effectively? That's up for debate, but the bigger question probably ought to be: Wait, which Spidey is this meant to connect with in the first place? That's a bit trickier to unpack, but that's exactly what we're going to try to do.
Ben there, done that
"Madame Web," in case the film's unending avalanche of unsubtle "Look, don't you remember this pop culture reference from 2003???" gags didn't give it away, takes place primarily in the year 2003. Dakota Johnson's Cassandra Webb (yes, her last name is actually Webb) is mostly an awkward loner who hangs out with best bud and paramedic co-worker Ben Parker (Adam Scott), the first and most blatant of the film's many allusions to Spider-Man. The period setting detail is important because we're subsequently introduced to Ben's sister Mary (Emma Roberts), who is pregnant with her first child. Though the script plays coy with us about what she'll name her son before ultimately never actually paying that off, it's heavily implied that this is, in fact, Peter Parker who we see born at the very end of the movie.
But hang on! Peter being born in 2003 means this can't possibly by the same Peter played by Tom Holland in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to say nothing of either Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield's older versions of the superhero. So did "Madame Web" just introduce a wholly separate, alternate-universe version of Spidey that we haven't even met yet? Well, technically no, since one can all but see the fingerprints left by studio notes that, in all likelihood, excised any direct mention of Peter Parker in the final film. I suppose a hypothetical sequel could walk this back entirely by revealing a different name altogether (Peter Parker's clone/"brother" Ben Reilly, perhaps?) or, daringly enough, double down on this. But that's precisely the point here. "Madame Web" holds back from actually committing one way or another, easily making this mystery baby the biggest — and most bizarre — of the film's connections to Spider-Man.
What a tangled web we weave
If you thought that was a head-scratcher, then what about all that backstory and lore about mythical Spider-People hanging out in the Amazon jungle? We first meet them through their mysterious leader, played by José María Yazpik, who appears in the opening flashback to save Cassie's adventurous mom Constance (Kerry Bishé) in the wilds of Peru. Shot and left for dead by the villainous Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) in order to steal the powerful spider she discovers, Constance is saved by the Spider People (referred to as Las Arañas) dressed up in jungle-themed Spidey outfits. Despite never actually seeing them himself, Ezekial seems to take direct inspiration from their appearances when he (inexplicably and entirely off-screen) designs his own Spidey-adjacent supervillain look.
So, in this universe, does Peter Parker eventually look at these Spider-People as an influence for his own suit, making his core identity a sort of homage to an entire society of (again, completely unexplained) super-powered individuals obsessed with spiders? It's almost a shame that "Madame Web" doesn't provide answers to any of these questions, particularly since its box-office prospects don't appear particularly promising and plans for a sequel seem ... difficult to imagine, at best. Despite attaching itself to so many recognizable aspects of Spider-Man's world, none of it actually leads anywhere meaningful. On one hand, maybe it's a point in the movie's favor that it tries to stay focused on the characters at its center — primarily Cassie, of course, but also the trio of Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor), and Aña Corazón (Isabela Merced). On the other, why even allude to Spider-Man if all the references amount to nothing?
"Madame Web" is currently playing in theaters.