If you’ve seen the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer, then you’ll be well aware that Marvel and Sony snuck in a fair amount of cameos for the many Spider-People present in the multiversal nexus. We’ve seen a whole host of spider-themed superheroes, ranging from Spider-Woman to Spider-Man 2099, but none are quite as significant as Sun-Spider, a disabled Spider-Person created by comics editor, writer, and designer Dayn Broder (@dayn_does_comix) and greenlit by editors Kaeden McGahey and Nick Lowe (see Editor’s Note below).
But who exactly is Sun-Spider? Well, she hails from Earth-20023 and, like her creator, lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a condition that affects her joints and connective tissue. Due to her disability, Sun-Spider — also known as Charlotte Webber — uses a wheelchair and crutches as mobility aids. As Sun-Spider, her crutches are equipped with web-shooters. If that isn’t the coolest, most inventive and thought-out character design ever, we don’t know what is.
There isn’t much of a backstory for Sun-Spider, who made her debut in Black, queer, and disabled comic book writer Tee Franklin’s Edge of Spider-Verse #4, but we can assume — and this is a long shot — that she was bitten by a radioactive spider. Regardless, she’s become the first disabled Spider-Person to feature in her own comic book.
Franklin was responsible for Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour and Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: Legion of Bats! under the DC Comics label, but she also published Edge of Spider-Verse #4 for Marvel Comics. Considering her brief appearance in Edge of Spider-Verse #4, Sun-Spider was never treated with the same respect as some of her spider-peers and she was subsequently overshadowed for the likes of more consistent characters. After it was revealed that Sun-Spider would be appearing in Across the Spider-Verse, Franklin opened up on Twitter about her struggles with making Charlotte Webber known to the world and insisting that she be included.
And it looks like — apart from some naysayers — Sun-Spider has been well-received amongst fans. The audience, for one, can’t wait to see Sun-Spider in action. As for Franklin and Dayn, their hard work is clearly paying off.
It wasn’t always like that, though. When Sun-Spider was first introduced, many Marvel fans had a sour reaction to her inclusion. Thankfully, that’s only a small majority of the fans, since a lot of disabled Marvel nuts are praising Franklin for fighting to get Sun-Spider — a representation of disabled excellence — up on the big screen.
We’re not sure whether Sun-Spider will meander in the background somewhere in the nexus, interact with Miles/Gwen, or even get any lines at all. All of that remains to be seen, but it’s one small step for Marvel and one giant leap for the disabled community.
Editor’s Note: The original version of this article stated that Sun-Spider was created by writer Tee Franklin and not by Dayn Broder. This is inaccurate and has been amended in this corrected version. We Got This Covered celebrates disability representation, fully supports the creators, and has reached out to them for further comment and clarification.