Madame Web's Surprising Origin Story!
There's a lot you probably don't know about this superhero! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re diving into the origins of Madame Web.
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00:00 "No spider sense, no danger. So this has got to be... Madam Web."
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're diving into the origins of Madam Web.
00:09 Beware of minor spoilers ahead.
00:12 "He's trying to change what happens. Julia, get down!"
00:15 Cassandra Web, aka Madam Web, is one of the most mysterious members in Spider-Man's web of allies.
00:23 "My life is complete."
00:25 "Complete, is it? Have it your way, Spider-Man."
00:29 "One day you will yearn for the wisdom of Madam Web."
00:34 She's such an enigma that her early life has rarely been explored in detail in the comics.
00:39 Fortunately, we know just a few key details about her life before she met the Web-head.
00:43 As it turns out, Madam Web has a couple of things in common with the famous X-Men member Jean Grey.
00:49 Both women discovered that they had powerful psychic abilities at a very young age.
00:53 "You see, I have a school that is for young people who are like you. Special."
00:59 "Special's just a nice word for..."
01:01 "Weird or crazy. Yep."
01:05 This was due to the fact that the two heroines are also mutants.
01:09 However, this is where their similarities end for now.
01:12 At a young age, Jean Grey was invited to join the famous and public mutant team.
01:16 But it would be a much longer time before Cassandra Web spent time with people just like her.
01:21 Since she was born without the ability to see,
01:24 she learned how to foresee events clearly in her mind's eye.
01:27 "Someone's got to keep score, and I'm not sure you can count."
01:34 Cassandra was improving her ability to peer into the future when she learned that she had
01:38 a condition known as Myasthenia Gravis. This autoimmune ailment weakened her to the point
01:42 that she needed constant medical care just to survive. Fortunately, Cassandra's husband
01:47 designed a special chair for her with many wires that coincidentally resembled a spider's web.
01:53 "You must rest and let my life support system rejuvenate you as much as it can."
01:58 After she spent decades growing accustomed to her new circumstances,
02:02 an elderly Madame Web sensed that it was time for her to assist a hero.
02:05 All Cassandra had to do was wait for Spider-Man to swing towards her.
02:10 Hours before their fateful meeting, Spider-Man saw Madame Web's face on an ad.
02:14 He was quick to dismiss her as an unreliable fake.
02:17 "What's this? Some phony fortune teller?"
02:20 "Phony? Moi? Ha! You are the phony."
02:23 "How did you know what I was thinking?"
02:25 But Spider-Man's tune would change after a brazen cry.
02:28 Minutes before Peter was about to interview for a job at a local paper,
02:32 he saw a group of men capture an innocent woman named Ms. Clayton. Although he wasn't able to
02:37 catch them in time, the web head noticed that the villains left behind another ad for Madame
02:41 Web's business in the scuffle. A skeptical Spider-Man decided the best chance of saving
02:46 Ms. Clayton was to pay the psychic a visit. To his surprise, she knew he was coming from a mile away.
02:52 "I know much more than your trivial thoughts, Spider-Man."
02:56 "I'm not Spider-Man."
02:58 "You are a terrible liar. Please, don't waste my time."
03:01 By just touching the ad Spider-Man brought, Madame Web was able to sense that one of her
03:06 psychic students was in danger. While she wasn't able to pinpoint where the distressed woman was,
03:11 Cassandra was able to give the wall-crawler a few cryptic clues about the kidnappers.
03:15 "It is telling you that you must believe in me, and you must have the faith of a child."
03:23 "What's that supposed to mean?"
03:24 The intelligent Peter was able to use his smarts to deduce where the captured woman was.
03:29 Furthermore, he learned that his would-be employer was behind the entire scheme.
03:33 This unfortunately meant that Peter wouldn't be getting a shot at a lucrative interview.
03:37 Before he could start sulking, Madame Web suddenly called and predicted a job opportunity was coming.
03:43 However, she did warn that he might not be fond of his new boss.
03:47 "Catch him in the act. Spider-Man with his hand in a cookie jar.
03:51 Whoever brings me that photo gets a job."
03:53 Outside of foretelling where Peter would be employed, Madame Web would go on to predict
03:57 a number of catastrophes and potentially bad outcomes. Since she could see multiple
04:02 versions of the future, she wasn't always 100% sure about what would happen next.
04:06 "Every reality, every possible future. I see them all, judging which is most likely to come to pass."
04:13 Madame Web's inability to home in on a clear timeline put her in jeopardy multiple times.
04:18 On one occasion, she was nearly killed when the Juggernaut tried to kidnap her.
04:22 Although Spider-Man saved her just in time, she was severely weakened by the encounter.
04:27 Madame Web also appeared to die when a ritual she was conducting with Norman Osborn went terribly wrong.
04:33 Fortunately, it was later revealed the traumatic event cured her condition and extended her life.
04:38 Madame Web used this stroke of luck to become a much more active participant in the battle of good and evil.
04:43 "Behold, I am sending him to a jail. The authorities will find him under lock and key."
04:50 For a period of time, she was largely focused on mentoring several women with spider-like powers.
04:56 Despite being as cryptic as ever, Cassandra was able to make a difference in the lives of several heroines.
05:01 Madame Web's crime-fighting career seemed to come to a permanent end when she was slayed by Sasha Kravinoff.
05:07 In her dying moments, Cassandra gave all her psychic abilities to Julia Carpenter, aka Spider-Woman.
05:13 "They call me Web, Madame Web. Thank you for rescuing me, the Guardian Vines are formidable."
05:20 The heroine honored the deceased crime-fighter by becoming the next Madame Web.
05:23 As Julia continued to rise in prominence in comic storylines,
05:27 Cassandra continued to cement her legacy in various mediums.
05:31 "I see all possible futures, all the probabilities."
05:34 "This is very bad."
05:35 Back when the original Madame Web was popping up on the page,
05:38 TV fans were getting to know her on the 1990's Spider-Man show.
05:42 She arrived on the scene to give Spider-Man advice and helpful yet cryptic hints on numerous occasions.
05:48 Madame Web became such a major character that she played a significant role in the final episodes.
05:53 When a villain threatened to destroy multiple realities,
05:56 she gathered various Spider-Men from across the multiverse to save the day.
05:59 "You must help yourself, but that does not mean you will be alone. Look."
06:04 "Am I going mad?"
06:08 Thanks to Madame Web's intervention,
06:11 the Peter Parker we grew to know and love was able to stop the sinister big bad.
06:16 Cassandra would continue her habit of gathering web crawlers in the 2010 game Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions.
06:21 "Focus. I require your help."
06:24 "Yours and the help of these three other Spider-Men."
06:28 "The heroes into whose realities the tablet fragments fell."
06:31 "Whoa, whoa, slow down."
06:32 During that story, her guidance enabled four heroes to come together to stop a multiverse-breaking mysterio.
06:39 After appearing in that game, Marvel fans learned they would see Cassandra in a full live-action film.
06:44 It was clear from the first preview that Sony would be completely rewriting Madame Web's origins.
06:49 During the early footage, it was revealed that this version of Cassandra
06:53 wouldn't start harnessing her powers until she was an adult.
06:56 "I don't understand what's happening. I've been having visions.
06:59 I knew he was gonna die. I think I'm seeing the future."
07:06 Instead of intervening from afar, she would be thrust right in the middle of the action.
07:10 Cassandra would also be tasked with mentoring a group of young Spider-Women
07:14 early in her career instead of near the end of her tenure.
07:17 "Who are you? What is going on?"
07:19 "I can see the future."
07:22 "Oh."
07:24 It's ultimately up to the fans to decide if all those plot changes make her a more
07:28 intriguing character or not. Either way, the Sony film put a bright spotlight on one of the
07:33 more obscure Spider-Man-supporting characters.
07:35 "Honestly, like the least weird thing that's happened all day."
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07:54 Unlike Madam Web, we can't tell exactly what the future will hold for this character.
07:58 The psychic has proved time and time again that her intervention could be the difference between
08:03 life and death. It's also heartwarming to see how much she inspired other heroines to embrace
08:08 their unique abilities to help others. Although Madam Web might not appear in the next Spider-Person
08:13 film, she's undeniably left a huge impression on many web heads from across the multiverse.
08:18 "I am proud of you."
08:20 What Madam Web facts surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments below.
08:26 "I should leave you for now, but you are still the chosen one."
08:30 Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
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08:39 [Music]