Madame Web Is Bringing Spider-Man’s Worst History To Life

Madame Web’s trailer already hinted that its version of Ezekial will have a similar origin to the comic character, both gaining powers from a mystic ritual conducted in South America. Ezekial is the first character to realize that the power of the Spider-Totem is responsible for Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man. This revelation took one of Marvel’s best science-based heroes, threw him into a world of mysticism, gods, multi-dimensional hunters, and introduced the concept of the web of destiny.

“The Book of Ezekiel” story, which included the Spider-Totem bombshell, had Ezekiel act as a wall-clinging Jiminy Cricket to an incredulous Peter Parker. Ezekiel tries to explain that the Spider-Totem means Peter is the target of The Inheritors, a family of multidimensional beings that kill and eat those with the power of the Spider-Totem. In Madame Web, Ezekiel appears to be a less helpful spirit guide and more Morlun, one of The Inheritors, an unstoppable, unkillable monster.

Even worse than adapting the disastrous storylines “The Book of Ezekiel” and “The Other” for the big screen, Madame Web continues the Sony Marvel universe trend of villains that are opposites of the hero. Venom has faced two symbiotes in his movies: Morbius went fang-to-fang with another living vampire, and Ezekiel has all the powers of Spider-Man. Putting a man with Spider-based powers against a team of women with Spider-based powers doesn’t have the same appeal as, say, using Sauron and his dinosaur-making gun.

As if Ezekiel’s involvement and the potential for Spider-Totems being mentioned wasn’t enough, Madame Web might be set in the past. There are rumors that Adam Scott’s paramedic is Ben Parker, Spider-Man’s doomed uncle, while Emma Roberts plays Mary Parker, Peter’s mother. A key part of Spider-Man’s timeless appeal is his simple origin story and grounded reality, both of which are tarnished by Ezekiel Sims and, potentially, another origin story no one asked for.

Across the Spider-Verse effectively explained how all these versions of Spider-Man can exist, and the answer was not as an avatar of a Spider-God. Oscar Isaac’s Miguel O’Hara, Spider-Man 2099, detailed the science behind it, which is much more satisfying and rife with story potential than mysticism, which went so far in the comics as to include a blade that removes any Spider-Totem user from existence. Madame Web has the potential to get weird with all of the Spider-Totem nonsense, but it will likely focus on alternate futures instead.

For a movie that fans have questioned why it even exists, Madame Web is at least being set up to take some big swings. Ezekial may be a controversial character, but he’s also a deep cut from Spider-Man lore and far removed from the villains we’ve seen on the big screen. We have our doubts that the upcoming film can stick the landing, but we have to admire the attempt at doing something different.