Warning: This article contains spoilers for Madame Web.
Wasn’t it amazing when the Avengers swept in to save the day in Madame Web‘s third act?
That is something you will hear no one say about Sony’s newest entry in its Spider-Man Universe Without Spider-Man, as the first (and possibly biggest) superhero movie bomb of the year contains no MCU connections to speak of.
Heck, we’d have even taken a Venom or a Morbius crossover, but we don’t get that either.
One of the many ways in which Madame Web is failing to thrill Marvel fans, then, is its lack of connective tissue to the wider multiverse. However, one thing the Dakota Johnson vehicle does at least attempt to do is honor the legacy of Spider-Man. Whether it succeeds or not is up for debate (it doesn’t, debate over), but the film certainly features some character cameos that link into the webhead’s mythos. Here’s all the ones we spotted.
Ben Parker
Congrats to the entire internet and their dogs (or maybe pet spiders) for correctly guessing this one ahead of time. Although Sony attempted to keep the identity of Adam Scott’s character a secret in the marketing, we all knew that Cassie Webb’s paramedic buddy would turn out to be none other than Ben Parker. Although the iconic surname is never mentioned, the fact that his whole character is “I can’t wait to be an uncle,” you don’t need to be a Spider-Psychic to work it out.
Aunt May (mentioned)
At the beginning of the film, when Cassie and Ben catch up, she asks him if he’s seeing anyone, at which Ben clams up. Cassie asks the lucky lady’s name, but he elects not to tell her, leaving her to assume that it’s serious. Ben’s partner never shows up for the rest of the film, but Spider-Man lore tells us that this must surely be the one and only May, Peter’s beloved aunt. This can’t be the Marisa Tomei version, though, for reasons we’ll get to in a moment.
Mary Parker
Yes, it is slightly confusing that the name of Peter Parker’s actual mother is only one letter away from that of his adoptive mother, but if this was DC, they’d both be called Martha. Emma Roberts plays Mary, who we learn throughout the film is… a nice person and heavily pregnant? That’s about it. We’re pretty sure this version isn’t a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent like in the comics. Embeth Davidtz previously played the character in The Amazing Spider-Man films.
Richard Parker (mentioned)
While Mary probably isn’t a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in this continuity, Peter’s father Richard clearly has some kind of top-secret life going on away from Queens. When he’s MIA from her baby shower, Mary jokes that her husband is always jetting off around the world, and right now he’s either in “Mumbai or Shanghai.” Whether he’s on the run from Oscorp like the Campbell Scott version from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 remains to be seen… OK, let’s be honest, it will never be seen.
Spider-Woman (Julia Cornwall)
Sydney Sweeney’s Julia Cornwall might be one of the film’s leads, but her superhero alter ego is little more than a cameo. In a perplexing waste of potential, the three Spider-Women have a total of three minutes of screentime, with their superhero selves only appearing in flashforwards to the future. Although her name is changed from Carpenter, as in the comics, Julia’s look and powers are replicated faithfully, just all too briefly…
Araña
Anya Corazon has a much different look from her comic book counterpart, however, with Araña’s bug-eyed goggles replaced by a lenses-less domino mask (I’m sure that helps maintain her secret identity!). Just like Julia got to keep her Psi-Webs — the glowy webbing she shoots — Anya’s classic Spider powers are on display, including extra strength, agility, and stamina. It’s implied she’s connected to Las Arañas, the Peruvian Spider-People.
Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin)
Last but not least, Mattie Franklin’s Spider-Woman is likewise only featured in brief glimpses. Her look is much more colorful than her comics costume, with the red and blue clothing she wears throughout the film foreshadowing her spider-suit. It’s unclear if she has powers, but going by her very Iron Spider-like mechanical limbs Stark Industries may wish to look into a lawsuit. A more comics-accurate Mattie recently cameod in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Peter Parker
Last but certainly not least, only smallest, we come to the elephant-sized spider in the room. Spider-Man doesn’t make an appearance in Madame Web, but Peter Parker does, as you’ve never seen him before… in a diaper. Mary gives birth to Peter prematurely — he’s born four weeks early — at the film’s end. His name is never spoken out loud, but various “subtle” hints (at one point, Mary comments on how he “leaps” around in her belly) tell us all we need to know. This ain’t Tom Holland, though, as he’s too young. Are we about to get a fourth cinematic Spider-Man in Madame Web 2? No, no, we’re not.