In a truly dark moment ofSpider-Manlore, the Sinister Squadron assemble to destroy the Spider-Society, following the lead of anevil version of Madame Web whose true identity is a stunning reveal. With Spider-Man 2099, the original Madame Web, and Prime Spider-Man captured, the Spider-Society struggle to hold their own. WhenAcross the Spider-Verse’s Spider-Womancalls the evil Madame Web a monster, the villain reveals her own origin and the origin of her Squadron.
InSpider-Society #4by creative team Alex Segura, Scott Godlewski, Matt Milla, and Joe Caramagna, the Spider-Society face the evil Madame Web and her Sinister Squadron in a final showdown.This Madame Web is a twisted variant of none other than Aunt May.
This May began her own quest for power after she suffered the death ofher husband Ben Parkerand also discovered that her nephew was Spider-Man. Sick of the torture of seeing her loved ones hurt, she sought out Norman Osborn, who helped her gain omniscience. Discovering the multiverse,May realized that infinite innocents like her were being put through emotional hell by the Spider-Heroes.
After 60 Years, Spider-Man Lore Changes Forever, As Marvel Introduces the Secret SEVENTH Member of the Sinister Six
In a genius twist, Marvel has revealed that Spider-Man’s Sinister Six always had a secret seventh member - one who’s likely to make a grand return.
Evil Aunt May Becomes the Supervillain Madame Web
This Variant of Spider-Man’s Aunt Assembled the Ultimate Sinister Six
Like an evil Professor X, the newMadame Web recruited a Sinister Squadron that could neutralize the Spider-Society without killing them, erasing the multiverse’s Spider-Heroes without giving their realities the cue to create replacements. May is explicit that she assembled the perfect team to neutralize the multiverse’s spider-heroes, summoning them with the phrase,“To me, my Squadron.”
This is an obvious play on Professor X’s signature line,“To me, my X-Men.“Web uses the powers of the Prime Madame Web to sense villains, the same way Charles Xavier uses Cerebro to find mutants across the Earth. Tragically, however, this evil Aunt May goes even further…
10 Best Versions of Spider-Man’s Aunt May (With Superpowers)
One of the most important characters in Spider-Man’s lore has always been Aunt May, which has allowed writers to put her into absurd positions.
May Parker’s Madame Web Is More Powerful than the Original
May Doesn’t Just See the Future - She Changes It to Create Villains
One key difference between May Parker’s Madame Web and Professor X or the Prime Madame Web is thatshe doesn’t just find her villains for her squadron - she creates them. Once evil Madame Web found the candidates that she knew would make the perfect spider-squashing army, she went through the process of instigating the origin of each individual villain.
This makes this Madame Web variant even more powerful than the one from the prime Marvel Universe, playing games with causality to change the timeline of multiple realities. She used omniscience to mass-produce her own spider-beating army, ruining the lives of innocent people to turn them into the ideal villains to be her army. Thankfully, her arrogance leads to her downfall - once theSinister Squadron’s Gwen Stacy Green Goblinlearns she’s been manipulated into becoming a monster, she sacrifices herself to defeat Web.
Spider-Man Lore Now Has an Evil Aunt May
The Franchise’s Most Caring Character Gets Her Own Villain Debut
While the evil Madame Web’s powers and her cross-world Sinister Six are fascinating,the villain is most interesting as a commentary on May Parker. Since 1962,May has been Peter Parker’s aging aunt- the person who raised him after the death of his parents and uncle. May has suffered endless times because of her link to Spider-Man, from being kidnapped (and even killed) to having her workplace destroyed, to sensing that her beloved nephew is keeping a dangerous secret.
Madame Web pushes that idea to its limit, showinga version of Aunt May who can’t take the uncertainty and heartache that Spider-Man brings into her life. This is a May Parker whose moral outlook was destroyed by experiences that Spider-Man brought into her life, and who has become a threat toeverySpider-Hero because of her desire to save those like her from the same fate.
Spider-Manlore is usually careful toonly push Aunt May so far, ultimately turning her suffering into an expression of her stoicism, kindness and dedication to Peter Parker. However,Spider-Societyuses the advantage of multiversal variants to go further, focusing on just how much the character goes through because of Peter’s secret - a secret he claims he keeps in order to ‘protect’ her.
It will be interesting to see how Marvel uses the evil Aunt May in future stories, as while she may be a misguided villain, the idea of an enemy who genuinely thinks Spider-Heroes make the lives of those around them worse is one with a lot of potential - especially because it’s often howSpider-Manhimself feels about his heroic persona.
Spider-Society #4isavailable now from Marvel Comics.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is the name given to several individuals who have employed a spider-moniker throughout Marvel Comics. Typically gaining their powers through a bite from a radioactive spider, the different Spider-Man heroes employ super-strength, agility, and intellect while utilizing webbing to swing and tangle up their foes. The most notable of these Spider-Men is Peter Parker, who remains one of the most popular superheroes throughout the world.
