Who Is Spider-Man In Madame Web's Universe?
Madame Web finally introduces Peter Parker to the Sony Spider-verse movie timeline, but in doing so creates more timeline questions than it answers. Madame Web was initially presumed to be a multiverse project, given Cassandra Webb's original Marvel Comics powers, potentially setting up a legitimate crossover with the MCU's multiverse, but that's not the case. The Dakota Johnson vehicle is, in contrast, a far more self-contained movie, establishing another timeline within Sony's multiverse web, set in 2003.
One of the immutable truths that the Sony Universe has to abide by, at least according to one of its key creatives, is that Spider-Man is a constant. As Morbius director Daniel Espinosa confirmed when asked about Spider-Man's existence in Sony's universe after Vulture (Michael Keaton) appeared to set up the Sinister Six:
Peter Parker Exists, But Which One?
Throughout Madame Web, there's a secondary storyline around Ben Parker (Adam Scott) becoming Uncle Ben, thanks to the birth of his unnamed nephew to his sister-in-law Mary (Emma Roberts). Early on, Dakota Johnson's Cassie attends her baby shower, and by the end of the movie, Mary goes into labor, and Peter is born off-screen. Interestingly, he's never actually named, as something of a gag for the baby shower sequence.
Tom Holland's Spider-man debuted at age 15 in 2016 in the MCU (despite Homecoming's infamous "8 years later" mistake, which has now been undone). That means he couldn't have been born in 2003, when Madame Web is set. There was limited suggestion that Madame Web was actually set in the MCU's Sacred Timeline, but the date offers even firmer confirmation.
Madame Web Is Too Early For Tom Holland
Madame Web's established setting of 2003 might seem like a long time ago, given it's 21 years since Cassie Web gained her powers in-universe, but horrifically, we are now at the point where a nostalgic look at 21 years in the past is still not as long ago as the release of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. Raimi's Spider-Man was born around the early 1980s, so is ruled out very definitively here. Even Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man was 17 in 2012, making him too old to fit the 2003 birth year. Unfortunately, that ruins the chance for Madame Web and either of the first two Spider-Men to crossover in any future Madame Web sequel.
That doesn't fully rule out either Maguire or Garfield still being the Spider-Man of the VenomVerse, though, because Madame Web cannot be set in the same universe as Venom, Let There Be Carnage, or Morbius. Not unless we're all supposed to accept a fairly huge plot hole...
Madame Web Concept Art Shows Tom Holland's Spider-Man Was At Least Considered For The Sony Movie
Madame Web concept artist Sebastian Meyer revealed that the Sony movie almost went down a very different line by showing off what appears to be the MCU Spider-Man within some of his concept art. The images appear show Holland's Spider-Man fighting against Ezekiel Sims, first in the sky and then on top of a building, suggesting the climax of the movie was at some point planned to contain the Marvel hero himself, rather than just alluding to his impending origin story by showing Peter Parker's parents when they were younger.
Ultimately, however, this did not come to fruition in the final film, meaning the art only raises further questions as to what previous plans for the movie's story actually looked like. While the full picture may never be entirely clear, it does solidify the idea that an MCU crossover of some sorts was considered, even if it may have only be an idea that was being considered as one of many possible approaches.
What Universe Is Madame Web Even In?!
Despite the apparent simplicity of setting Madame Web in the same universe as Tom Hardy's Venom movies, Sony instead seem to have chosen to go in a different direction. The official synopsis quickly establishes it as a stand-alone, and Lorenzo di Bonaventura explained to ComicBook why the decision was made:
If that wasn't clear enough, Madame Web's events establish the movie as a separate concern. The introduction of the three female Spider-People establishes a major hint that this is not Venom's universe. Otherwise, where did the cabal of superheroes go? Or why weren't they concerned by the arrival of several symbiotes? And where is the Peter Parker who is born at the end of Madame Web? Morbius' director has also since confirmed that the Spider-Man of Sony's universe is set behind-the-scenes, which all predates Madame Web.
Madame Web Dropped The Ball On Spider-Man
Madame Web could have been the perfect opportunity to bring Spider-Man into the Sony universe: the 2003 setting always seemed like a conscious decision to add in the necessary prequel stage for that very purpose. Without the justification of establishing Peter Parker's family backstory, setting back in 2003 feels less logical. Yes, we get the Uncle Ben/Mary Parker storyline, but if removed, it has literally no impact on the rest of the movie: worse, without the anchor to another future Spider-Man, it looks like fan-baiting.
Even though Sony's Spider-Verse was always set up as an annex where Spider-Man may never appear, Peter Parker (or Miles Morales, come to that) is painfully conspicuous by his absence. Villains miss their context and their definition without their greatest nemesis, and what's left is a procession of underwhelming villains for them to fight instead. It should all have been pointing towards a real Spider-Man reveal (and it might still), and it's hard not to think that Madame Web's missed opportunity to reveal which Spider-Man rules the Sony Spider-Verse is a huge oversight.
