The first Marvel Comics inspired movie of 2024 has arrived – and it’s a swing and a miss.
The film, “Madame Web,” released on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, follows Cassandra Webb, played by Dakota Johnson, as she discovers her clairvoyant powers and rescues three teenage girls from a scientist with Spider-Man-like abilities.
So first, let’s explain the story of Madame Web, and then we can dive into why it was so poorly reviewed by audiences as well as what I think of the movie.
In the Marvel Comics, Cassandra Webb is born blind and with myasthenia gravis, a neurological condition leaving her bound to a wheelchair, according to Marvel.com. Webb later finds out that she has psychic powers, and it is through this that she meets Peter Parker – Spider-Man.
In the comics, Madame Web is then an aid to Spider-Man and others with spider-powers. She uses her abilities of telepathy, clairvoyance and another ability to appear in multiple places at once to help these heroes.
The 2024 movie did not tell the same story – it actually changed quite a bit. In the movie, Webb gets her powers when she is born in the Amazon Rainforest as her mother, Constance Webb, dies.
Her mother was a scientist, searching for a type of spider that she believes can help cure a neurological condition that her unborn baby is diagnosed with. After finding one of these spiders, Constance’s partner, Ezekiel Sims, shoots her and takes the spider, for his own selfish pursuits of gaining the powers from the spider.
Constance is then rescued by an Amazonian tribe that possesses powers from living among the spiders. They fail to save Constance, but birth Cassandra, hoping she will return looking for answers one day.
Right off the bat, this is a big change from the comics. This could probably be attributed to this movie being produced by Sony, making it not a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This bothers me a little bit, as a big fan of Marvel Comics, but I thought the new story was fun and interesting.
The rest of the story is not entirely off. Madame Web, when she discovers her powers, uses them to save three teenage girls (played by Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor), as she has visions of them being murdered by Sims, the man who killed her mother.
Sims is also in the comics as a part of Spider-Man, however he is not connected to Constance Webb like he is in the movie. In the movie, Sims is out to kill the girls because he is haunted by nightmares of them killing him someday using their spider-like powers.
When Madame Web saves them, they are shocked, as they don’t yet have any powers, and have no idea what is going on. The movie continues and ends with a big fight between Madame Web, the three girls and Sims. The Spider-Women win, but here Madame Web goes blind and is injured.
The movie ends with Madame Web portrayed as she is in the comics: in a wheelchair and blind, with stylish sunglasses on. She is now the guardian of each of the girls, guiding them in their journey to fight crime.
Another fun piece that Sony added to the movie is the inclusion of Ben Parker as a character, played by Adam Scott. For those who aren’t familiar with Spider-Man, Ben Parker is his uncle who dies at the beginning of the story. This movie takes place presumably before Peter Parker is born, which is a surprise.
If you watch closely, you might notice that the unborn Peter Parker is actually in the movie, as a young Ben Parker spends time taking care of his sister in law, who is pregnant with a baby, according to Forbes. This is rumored to be Peter’s mother.
While there were a few parts of the movie that really deviated from the comics, the story was still decent. These seemingly unnecessary changes along with the cheesy dialogue were a big cause for concern with the audience, according to Forbes.
I think that this was a great idea to give attention to a really cool Marvel character, who doesn’t get a lot of attention. However, because of the super simple, predictable plot and deviations from the comics, I am not a huge fan.
But who knows, you may like it. So don’t take my word for it – watch it yourself!