Her Web Connects Us All

Madame Web hit digital this week
 

I enjoyed it.

 

I'm not going to pretend this movie is a work of art, and it absolutely isn't a particularly faithful adaptation of the Madam Web character. 

But I think we've all gotten a bit confused about what it is we want and need from comic book movies. It's unlikely we will ever really surpass the pure spectacle that we've gotten in the last decade or so of MCU and DCEU films. And yet more Batman and Superman are on the way (allegedly.) More Avengers movies are happening (allegedly.) it's doubtful either studio will produce something truly weird and surprising. Madame Web was both.

Remember when they deleted the Batgirl movie for looking “like a TV show?" I think there's something similar happening with Madam Web. This was a high budget tv movie. It is of the same genre as Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD and Generation X. But it absolutely works and it's a lot more enjoyable than the the 10 hour pieces of garbage Disney has been dropping to their own streaming service.

Somebody sat in a room and tried to build a franchise around a group of characters that includes Mattie Franklin. Do you know how absolutely insane that is? Me and the other ten Mattie Franklin fans probably haven't been this hype since she showed up in Alias.
 

 

Dakota would've made an amazing Jessica Drew. I know Jessica Drew isn't on this page.

There are thousands of characters we could never really expect to get big time film or tv appearances - but something about this format feels like the way comic book movies should be moving. This script really feels like it was written by people who had a bunch of comics sitting in their writers room and said “forget about the content, let's just adapt the vibe."

A bunch of people who'll tell you this is the worst movie ever made probably read comics of the exact same level of quality without batting an eye. It really does crib the exact flow of a middling 5-6 issue miniseries Marvel will never collect in trade. And the fact that it's actually funny carries it over the hill even more.

I think the most glaring flaw of this movie is one you'd have to be a huge nerd to really notice: it heavily recycles a plot point that Sony has been trying to put into Spider-man films since the Andrew Garfield era. Someone at that studio is either deeply committed to the idea of Peter Parker's dad being a spy or they just refuse to toss out any old drafts they have sitting around.

There are  rumors, based on leaks and some of Dakota Johnson's comments, the film originally had a much different plot. Allegedly the story was a prequel to Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, with Madam Web and her crew tasked with stopping Ezekiel from killing an unborn Peter Parker. Again, allegedly, reshoots (and maybe Andrew Garfield's refusal to shoot any material) lead to them abandoning these plans. Maybe we'll find out the truth one day.

But if the reshoots and re-editing they had to do to give us plot the film released with, it's one that feels much closer to the spirit of a superhero comic that many will admit.

In the released film, the plot is that Ezekiel wants to kill Julia, Mattie and Anya before they grow up into Spider-Women who'll beat the shit out of him and hurl him out a high-rise window.
 

Spoiler Alert!

I should add right now: all the stuff we see of these actresses in their spider-suits using their spider-powers? Besides for Araña it's all cool as hell. Sorry to Anya, her weird spider yo-yo just did not survive the transition to live action.
 

 

They just give her a spider-frisbee

 

We never actually find out why the Spider-ladies murder Ezekiel. The dude is an unrepentant murderer so it's hard to imagine he doesn't deserve it….but not murdering your enemies is a pretty big part of Spider-man mythos. And a surprisingly large part of DC and Marvel lore that generally fails to make it onto the big screen.

Cassie Web’s entire arc in this film is about learning to use her powers to take action and prevent death. But right under the surface of that plot, there is the fact that in stopping Ezekiel in the present day, she can stop these three lonely, neglected girls from growing up and using their powers to take a life. That might not really move the needle for people who like comic book movies, but for a guy who loves superhero comic books - that is 1000% my shit.

Yeah, it's the kind of saccharine nonsense that would be a season long storyline in an Arrowverse show. But I prefer it to the moralizing hypocrisy of the average MCDCEU joint.

Dakota Johnson gives an earnest and memorable performance as a Claremont dame written by Brian Bendis. And Celeste O’Connor low-key steals the show with impeccable comedic timing.

I would absolutely watch a lower budget, direct-to video sequel to this movie. And I honestly think you're tripping if you expect more from a comic book movie than that.