Every Spider Costume In The Madame Web Trailer Explained
Though this year's Sony-Marvel project was delayed after Sony changed the release date for "Kraven the Hunter," fans of this universe finally got a trailer for the long-awaited "Madame Web" film. Yet another adaptation of a classic "Spider-Man" character from the studio, the 2024 feature will star Dakota Johnson ("50 Shades of Grey") as the titular clairvoyant superhero. Based on the footage seen in the trailer, it seems as though she will find herself protecting a new generation of Spider-heroes in three young women: Julia Carpenter (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor), and Anya Corazon (Isabella Merced).
Perhaps due to their connection to one another (as well as the wider web of Spider-people), these soon-to-be Spider-Women must survive being hunted by Ezekiel Sims (Tahir Rahim), a deadly operator with as-of-yet unknown motivations. Somewhat surprisingly, Sims appears in the trailer wearing a sleek suit that mostly resembles the basic version worn by various iterations of Peter Parker (save for its black-and-red color scheme and sinewy webbing). In fact, all but Madame Web herself are seen in eye-catching costumes, displaying varying levels of fidelity to the original Marvel Comics designs.
Ezekiel Sims gets a brand new Spidey-Suit
Ezekiel Sims is the odd-spider-out in this trailer — and that's not just because he's trying to kill everyone else. The character wears a chilling black-and-red suit that is a far, far cry from what the character has ever worn in the comics.
The original Sims has powers almost identical to those of Peter Parker but had received them long before as part of an ancient ritual. Instead of becoming a superhero, he becomes an immensely powerful businessman who would use his powers sparingly. Because of this, he doesn't really have a costume in the traditional sense, at least in the main Marvel Comics Universe.
In one alternate universe, Sims steals a costume from a variant of Spider-Man that was killed by Morlun — the costume is essentially identical to the Last Stand suit. That doesn't appear to have influenced his "Madame Web" look, so it's likely Sims received an original makeover for the film, probably at least in part due to a casually dressed villain cutting in on action figure sales.
Julia Carpenter stays true to her comics roots
"Euphoria" star and "White Lotus" alum Sydney Sweeney will make her Marvel superhero debut with "Madame Web," playing the seemingly bookish Julia Carpenter. In the comics, she's adopted the monikers Spider-Woman, Arachne, and even Madame Web.
Though we don't see too much of it in this teaser trailer, it appears as though Sweeney will be sporting the classical black-and-white bodysuit Carpenter wore when she first debuted in the first "Secret Wars" series back in 1984. The design of this costume — especially its sprawling, white insignia — will likely remind moviegoers of another Sony-Marvel character: Venom.
However, despite the fact that Carpenter's comic book costume is almost identical to Peter Parker's first symbiote suit, the former's is entirely synthetic and terrestrial. Arguably even more interesting is that Carpenter's suit debuted the issue before Parker's did, and it's stated through a line of dialogue that the now iconic white symbiote spider was subconsciously inspired by her design. It would be a clever twist if Sony adapted this story beat, and allowed Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) to finally adopt the emblem after seeing Sweeney's Carpenter in action.
Anya Corazon wears one of her two costumes
Anya Corazon is the newest Spider-person to be making their debut in "Madame Web." She is first introduced in a 2004 issue of "Amazing Fantasy." Corazon — or Araña, as she is known to the Marvel Universe — has two main costume styles, both of which include the large, bug-eyed goggles seen for a brief moment in the trailer. Her first costume is a relatively casual/tactical outfit that consists of a vest, tank top, and jeans, all of which fit a red, black, and yellow color motif. However, after meeting Julia Carpenter, Corazon is given a black bodysuit with white accents very similar to her new friend's.
Under the new alias "Spider-Girl," Corazon wears this black-and-white suit through several minor alterations until it is destroyed by the supervillain Vermin (at which point she returns to her original look). Based on the very brief look we got at Corazon's costume in the new "Madame Web" trailer, it appears as though she'll be wearing something closer to her second costume.
Mattie Franklin's costume has the most visible color -- and for good reason
Though Julia Carpenter and Anya Corazon are seen wearing what appear to be black costumes, Mattie Franklin wears the traditional blue-and-red colors of Peter Parker's Spider-Man. In addition to looking very similar to her first real costume in the comics (which is black or dark blue and red, depending on the story), it may be a nod to her uniquely close connection to the original Spider-Man.
During a period of retirement for Parker, Franklin begins operating under the alias Spider-Woman while wearing an almost identical costume to his — largely because she happens to be a massive fan of the superhero. This obsession eventually develops into a serious infatuation that creates some bizarre friction between them, though we don't expect that to play into her role in "Madame Web."
On one hand, it wouldn't be entirely surprising for O'Connor's character to be a fan of "Spider-Man" in the film — assuming this takes place in the same universe as "Morbius," he apparently exists in some fashion. On the other hand, a popular theory online speculates that Adam Scott's suspiciously unnamed character is actually a young Ben Parker — Peter's uncle, who dies in most versions of his origin story (see: "canon event"). If true, that would make "Madame Web" a prequel to all other "Spider-Man" films and stories, which would also likely mean Franklin couldn't have any connection to the most famous wallcrawler around. Fans will have to wait and see until "Madame Web" debuts on February 14, 2024.