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Fridge / Madame Web (2024)

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Fridge Brilliance

  • Given that the Amazon Spiders seem to be this universe’s version of how the various Spider-people can/will get their Spider powers, it seems especially strange that Ezekiel and Cassandra only have a part of the full Spider-Man powerset (albeit different parts for both). However, it’s entirely possible that they DO have the full powerset, albeit in different ways:
    • Ezekiel still has visions of the future (in that he is killed by Mattie, Anya, and Julia), but does not appear to have the traditional Spider-Sense ubiquitous to the Spiders. It’s entirely possible that his “curse” for stealing the Spider is that instead of showing him warnings and ways to ESCAPE his fate (the traditional manifestation), it is instead showing him his destiny, with no method of dodging or escaping it.
    • Meanwhile, Cassandra apparently has no superhuman physique, and only has her ability to see the future. However, as the movie reveals, Cassandra has a genetic muscular illness that would presumably hamper her ability to move. It’s possible that the physical boost of the Spider, which would make a normal man superhuman, instead made her body able to move as a normal person, rather than be bound to a wheelchair like the illness should presumably result in.
  • In the comics, Cassandra was born unable to see or walk; here her mother's expedition to the Amazon was to find a possible treatment, her efforts ensuring that her daughter was born healthy even if she doesn't live to see the girl grow up.
  • Ezekiel's character arc in the comics looks at how he sought the power of the spider to "help" others but became distracted by building up his own power base so that he ultimately never got around to actually helping anyone. This takes a darker spin on that idea when he acquires the power out of a vaguely explained idea that he wants to avoid going back to nothing, and extends to pursuing the future Spider-Women on the chance that they will kill him in the future. In the name of his own life, Ezekiel is fundamentally incapable of considering alternative options beyond killing people, where a true hero would be willing to take the risk in the name of saving innocents.
  • Viewed the right way, each of the three Spider-Women depicted display some qualities of the three live-action Spider-Men:
    • Julia is a shy geek who can be seen as a reflecting of Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker before the spider-bite.
    • Mattie is more "in-your-face" and a bit more distant and troubled, much like how Andrew Garfield's Peter was more distant.
    • Anya's status as a technically illegal immigrant with no family reflects how the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Peter is essentially a non-person after Strange's spell erased all knowledge of Peter Parker from the world.
  • After taking refuge in Ben's home, the three Spider-Women start donning the colors of their respective uniforms with Julia and Anya wearing black and white tops and pants while Mattie wears blue shirts and red jackets.
    • Special shout out to Anya's outfit in the last scene of the movie, which is a total casual version of her superhero outfit: a dark crop top with a silver necklace, a light jacket, and darker pants. And it's especially significant for her because compared to Julia (who was already wearing a black and white outfit prior to hiding with Ben) and Mattie (who wore a blue and red jacket) Anya had only worn yellow and blue before which corresponds to the color of her green spider technology

Fridge Horror

  • Ezekiel hunting the women through the warehouse could be seen as an inverted take on Spider-Man's usual methods of dealing with a greater number of foes; where Peter would jump around and make jokes while picking off his enemies, Ezekiel strikes from the shadows and is focused on killing his targets rather than just subduing them.
  • Cassie's knowing response when Mattie remarks that Ben will have fun with his nephew Peter without having to be responsible for him implies that she's already glimpsed into the reality that Mary and Richard will both die someday in the future and Ben will be tasked with raising Peter. Imagine if she looks even further and discovers Ben is fated to die someday too, likely in the same way as every iteration of being killed during a robbery. She'll likely have to carry the information with her that her own best friend and coworker is going to die a senseless death and that she can't dare to change that fate lest she mess with Peter Parker's destiny to be emboldened by his uncle's death and become Spider-Man.

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