Dakota Johnson will play Madame Web in an upcoming movie in Sony's Marvel Universe, becoming just the latest Spider-Man character from the comics to appear in live-action. Madame Web is one of the strangest Spider-Man allies from Marvel Comics, a clairvoyant who uses her power to see the future to help Peter Parker. But there are many more who might even be stranger.
Spider-Man has no lack of allies, but among them are unusual and quirky characters that are definitely products of a superhero comic book. Some of them are very familiar to fans while others are more obscure. Others walk the line between hero and villain, but all of them would be unique additions to the Sony Marvel Universe or the MCU if and when they finally appear in live-action.
Madame Web
Madame Web is one of the most unique and visually strange Spider-Man allies in the comics. She is a precognitive mutant able to see the future, but a tragic illness has left her paralyzed and completely dependent on an advanced wheelchair that keeps her alive.
She is typically portrayed as an elderly woman, but Dakota Johnson may be playing a younger version of Cassandra Webb or perhaps the Julia Carpenter version of the character. Julia Carpenter was also one of the best versions of Spider-Woman.
Agent Venom
Comic book fans know Venom is one of Spider-Man's most iconic villains, but one of his strangest - and most interesting - iterations is Agent Venom. This version is actually Flash Thompson, bonded to the symbiote, and eventually joined the Secret Avengers.
The combination of the alien symbiote and a super soldier makes for one of the most unusual allies in Spider-Man's world, especially since Flash Thompson historically was a nemesis of Peter Parker until he became a hero himself.
Morbius The Living Vampire
Morbius The Living Vampire is getting his own live-action movie in the near future and he's taken an unlikely path to the big screen. Though a vampire might seem out of place in the world of Spider-Man, Dr. Michael Morbius is a scientist and his powers derive from scientific experiments.
He started off as a villain of Spider-Man, first appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 in 1971, but eventually transitioned to an anti-hero during the horror heyday of comics in the 70s. He has since become a major element of the comics as well as animated series.
Beetle
Less well-known is Beetle. Abner Jenkins is one of the many bug-themed Spider-Man characters and wore a suit of armor that also allowed him to fly. He started off as a villain of Spider-Man and other superheroes but eventually became a hero.
He would join the Thunderbolts team in the late 90s, in the guise of Mach-X. He remained with the team until his death and the hands of Kobiak, and given his association with Hawkeye and U.S. Agent via the Thunderbolts, could appear in an MCU version of the team.
Jackpot
Jackpot is definitely a term comic book fans associate with Spider-Man thanks to Mary Jane Watson's iconic debut in The Amazing Spider-Man #42, in one of the most iconic Spider-Man panels of all time. But Jackpot is also one of the strangest Spider-Man allies in the comics.
Jackpot is Alana Jobson and got her superhuman strength, speed, and agility by taking a mutant growth hormone, a substance that has provided numerous characters with superpowers including Mattie Franklin, a version of Spider-Woman.
Cardiac
Cardiac is a strange ally of Spider-Man mostly because of how much of a vigilante he is. Spider-Man himself is technically one of the most powerful vigilantes in Marvel Comics, but Cardiac is a ruthless killer who hunted down people and carried out his own version of justice.
Cardiac is one of the more visually interesting characters among Spider-Man's allies, co-created by Erik Larsen in the early 1990s. He would make for a compelling figure in live-action if he were to appear in either the Sony Marvel Universe or MCU.
Boomerang
Clint Barton knows that boomerang arrows aren't a good idea, but that didn't stop Frederick Myers from becoming the Boomerang. He started out as a Spider-Man villain and a member of the Masters of Evil but eventually teamed up with the Wall-Crawler to fight crime.
He has no superpowers but his entire persona rests on his peak human ability to pitch. He is an expert with the boomerang and other weapons and utilizes a variety of trick boomerangs that can explore or shatter on contact.
Deadpool
Deadpool is one of the strangest allies of just about anyone in the Marvel Universe, given his mercenary ways and unusual personality, but he's formed a close bond with Spider-Man over the years. The two actually have a lot in common, including their witty personalities.
Deadpool has teamed up with Spider-Man on numerous occasions in the comics, especially in the 2016 mini-series. His fourth-wall-breaking personality could potentially allow him to meet up with Spider-Man in the movies, even if it's just in passing in a future Deadpool movie.
Nightwatch
Nightwatch has one of the strangest connections to Spider-Man in the comics. He started off as a villain in Web Of Spider-Man #97 but changed his ways after realizing that no villain was ever successful against Spider-Man. He then ret-conned his own history and became a hero.
He helped out during Maximum Carnage, a massive storyline that included some of the best Spider-Man comic issues of the 90s. The truth about his past as a supervillain was later discovered by She-Hulk.
Steel Spider
Steel Spider is one of the most obscure Spider-Man allies from the comics and one of the strangest. He was originally a fan of Doctor Octopus and designed his own set of mechanical arms to emulate his idol. He later became disillusioned with the villain and became a hero.
He first became the Spider-Kid, a hopeful sidekick of Spider-Man who really only got on Peter Parker's nerves. He eventually became a new hero, the Steel Spider. He retained his mechanical arms but used them to fight crime.