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Set to be the first Spider-Man spinoff led by a female character, Dakota Johnson is Madame Web from Sony Pictures. Also known as Cassandra Web, Johnson's character comes with psychic powers to predict other superheroes' futures.
Alongside Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney will also portray Julia Carpenter, who later becomes Spider-Woman in the comics.
In the trailer, Cassandra received mentorship from the original Madame Web. In the comic books, she's a blind elderly woman dealing with a health condition. The also movie hints that it exists in a separate universe from Venom, Morbius, and the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man series.
As for the story, the Spider-man spin-off is set to tell the origin of Marvel's mysterious heroine. The official synopsis suggests it's a standalone story, focusing on Cassandra forging a connection with three young women with powerful futures.
But based on comics, here's what we can expect from Dakota Johnson's characters.
Madame Web in Comics
Cassandra Web faced a life of blindness and neurological challenges due to myasthenia gravis. However—according to Marvel, despite these obstacles, she became Madame Web, a psychic medium with extraordinary abilities.
Dakota Johnson's character also discovered Spider-Man's secret identity when he rescued her student from a kidnapping at the Daily Globe.
She later aided Spider-Man in preventing an assassination and foresaw an attack by the Juggernaut. Unfortunately, Spider-Man couldn't prevent the Juggernaut from causing severe harm to Madame Web. In a coma with memory loss, she temporarily forgot Spider-Man's identity.
Seeking to avoid her foreseen death, Cassandra convinced Spider-Man to help her in an arcane ritual called the Gathering of the Five. Spider-Man retrieved a required artifact fragment.
But during the ceremony, Madame Web seemingly received death—only to discover she had gained immortality and rejuvenation.
Doctor Octopus later created Spider-Woman using Cassandra's granddaughter, Charlotte Witter, who absorbed powers from other female web-slingers. Madame Web gathered the Spider-Women to defeat Charlotte. Although successful, Charlotte absorbed Madame Web's telepathy, aging her.
With Spider-Man and Martha “Mattie” Franklin's help, Madame Web drained Charlotte's power, restoring her youth.
Web then performed psychic surgery to sever her link to Charlotte and erase their memories of Spider-Man's identity. She continued to assist Mattie during her time as Spider-Woman.
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But the Spider-Women team eventually disbanded. While Madame Web has appeared elderly again, she presumably retained her immortality.
Relevance to Spider-Man
Now, the Spider-man spin-off has the potential to connect with the broader multiverse, especially the Spider-Verse portrayed in Sony's animated films.
First, while it's not clear how Cassandra gets her powers, she'll likely be connected to the Great Web of Life and Destiny. This concept was first introduced in Across the Spider-Verse and focuses on Spider-themed heroes across realities.
Dakota Johnson's character also introduces four major Spider-Heroes in one movie—all could play roles in a future Spider-Verse movie, be it live-action or animated.
Evidently, the trailer hints at Ezekiel draining Mattie Franklin's life force, a power reminiscent of Morlun, a vampiric character in the comics. Morlun seeks to drain Spider-Totems across the Spider-Verse, and it's intriguing to see Sony potentially twist the narrative by making Ezekiel an Inheritor or having Sims possessed by them.
Eventually, setting up a potential future threat in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.
You can see Dakota Johnson as Madame Web in theaters in February 2024.
