Following the events of Morbius, Sony may finally be setting up for its long-rumored Sinister Six movie, and the studio's upcoming Madame Web could explain the prospect’s biggest plot hole. First appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, Madame Web serves to connect each Spider-Man-like being across their respective universes. The upcoming project will add to Sony's Spider-Man Universe, standing alongside the Venom films and 2022 solo projects Morbius and Kraven the Hunter.
Morbius is set to be the third film in this universe and looks to continue the influence of the multiverse, which was first established in the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There be Carnage. Jared Leto stars as Doctor Michael Morbius, a man with a rare blood disease who gains vampiric abilities after attempting an unorthodox cure. Fans have speculated the multiversal-whereabouts of the film since the trailer featured a cameo from Michael Keaton’s Vulture – a villain linked not to Sony’s Spiderverse but the MCU.
Following director Daniel Espinosa’s spoiler-filled interview with CinemaBlend, it appears that Vulture’s true aim could be to recruite a team of villains to seek revenge on Spider-Man. This not only confirms that Keaton’s character is the same one that was previously seen at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, but that Sony’s Spiderverse is going to have to address the MCU’s multiverse if it is to explain how Adrian Toomes appears in the film—and how he intends to get back to his particular Spider-Man. With her ability to see across universes and provide a point of comparison between each, Madame Web could expand the Sony multiverse and be the key to understanding how the studio intends to navigate these questions.
Madame Web's Web Of Life & Destiny Explained
An elderly woman with myasthenia gravis hindering her sight and capability for movement, Cassandra Web – Madame Web – is linked to a cosmic force known as the Web of Life and Destiny. This force is established as the tissue which holds together the entire multiverse, and Web has the ability to utilize her position to see into the past, present and future of each universe as she pleases. While never explicitly shown in the comics, in the Spider-Man animated series the character could create portals between these universes and draw people from them as they were required.
The concept is used in the comics to provide a common link between each of the universes’ Spider-Totems. Be it Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Spider-Gwen or Spider-Ham, the Web of Life and Destiny is the foundation of each of these characters’ powers. Madame Web’s attachment to it allows her to possess knowledge of each Spider-variant across the multiverse and call on them to fulfill their destinies, due to her understanding of all that was and ever will be.
Madame Web Provides Potential For Multiple Spider-Men Again
The character’s attachment to the interconnective tissue between universes – and her links to each Spider-person – means that Madame Web might provide the chance to answer some of Sony’s biggest multiverse questions and introduce another multi-Spider-Man team-up in the process. This was first used in the final act of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and has quickly become one of the best moments in MCU history. The chance to do something similar would not only draw more fan attention to Sony’s Spiderverse but also provide a way to legitimize the universe’s presence outside of the MCU.
Madame Web could use the same concept as No Way Home’s multi-Spidey crossover and make it even larger. The Web of Life and Destiny is one of the character’s defining features, suggesting that its presence in the upcoming film is near certain. Since the web expands across all universes, the film has the potential to not only bring in Spider-Men that audiences have already seen on screen (Holland, Maguire and Garfield), but also introduce new characters that are yet to make their live-action debuts such as Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen and Spider-Woman.
Madame Web Is The SpiderVerse's Doctor Strange
Providing a vital link between universes, Madame Web could be to Sony's Spider-Man Universe what Doctor Strange is to the MCU. Espinosa’s discussion with CinemaBlend suggests that Adrian Toomes is now in the same universe as Morbius due to Doctor Strange’s botched spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home: “the events of No Way Home had the effect of transferring Venom and Vulture (and maybe others) back and forth between the MCU and the Venom Universe.” Now in the same universe as Morbius, Venom, and presumably Kraven, Vulture can recruit a host of Spider-Man villains to join in his quest for revenge.
Espinosa confirmed that there is a Spider-Man in Sony’s universe but could not say which variant of the web-swinger it is. With Vulture’s Spider-Man (Holland) still in the universe of the MCU, Sony’s Sinister Six will rely on the multiverse. Through Madame Web in Sony and Doctor Strange in the MCU, each cinematic universe has the means to interact with each other via unique characters—and convenient plot devices. If Kang the Conqueror is to play the sizeable role that is assumed after the season 1 finale of Loki, then having two multiverse-hopping characters could be key to the franchise’s development.
Sony’s Spiderverse Needs To Address The MCU To Thrive
Be it in defeating Kang or establishing the introduction of the Sinister Six, Sony’s Spiderverse can no longer refuse to acknowledge the presence of the MCU. The post-credits scene in Venom: Let there be Carnage was amplified by No Way Home’s mid-credits, undoubtedly interconnecting the Marvel and Sony Spiderverses. If Sony is going to continue with the multiverse theory as its central thrust, then it is vitally important that it addresses these overlaps – especially in the case of universe-hopping characters like Madame Web.
Spider-Man: No Way Home provided the first example of what the multiverse might look like for the MCU, and Morbius is set to do the same for Sony. Introducing Vulture and suggesting that he is looking to establish the Sinister Six poses a challenge for the studio whereby they either acknowledge the multiverse established by the MCU or suffer the consequences of broken continuity. There are currently very few ways that Vulture’s recruitment can extend to enact his revenge on Spider-Man, but following the release of Morbius on April 1, Madame Web might be the key to unlocking this plot hole.
