The Boys' Version Of Spider-Man Explained | Screen Rant
Warning! Spoilers for The Boys comic TV series below!
The Boys comic book and TV series are both built around the core question, what if superheroes were secretly terrible people? Instead of being heroic characters, the Supes in The Boys are largely depraved, violent, destructive, and selfish. That means the parodies of popular DC and Marvel characters are also terrible heroes, including their version of Spider-Man.
Both The Boys comic by Garth Ennis and Darrick Robertson and the Amazon series feature parodies of iconic superheroes. Homelander is flawed, dangerous version of Superman, Soldier Boy is a terrified Captain America, there's a whole team known as the G-Men which are the X-Men with a dark secret - the list goes on and on. The whole point of Ennis and Robertson's series was to flip how superheroes act and are perceived in comics on its head. Unlike the Marvel or DC Universe, The Boys doesn't have any boundaries or limits on how messed up the series can get.
In the comics, there is a hero named Webweaver, who's appearances in the book are very limited but their existence creates some interesting questions about where the character could potentially show up next.
Yes, there is. In The Boys miniseries, 'Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" a character named Webweaver is mentioned during a meeting between Butcher and Mallory. While Webweaver never physically appears, he's referred to in the meeting by The Legend as the "thwipster" while it's revealed he has an uncle much like Uncle Ben. Given his name is Webweaver, he's referred to as "thwipster," and has an uncle, it's pretty clear Ennis and Robertson were hinting at their own version of Spider-Man.
Webweaver actually has a pretty strong connection to the formation of The Boys team in the comic. The reason Butcher and Mallory meet with The Legend is to get information on a superhero they could take down in order to get funding from the government. Webweaver is the name that comes up, and it's later revealed that the job to take him down "went like clockwork," and helped spawn the creation of The Boys.
The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke hasn't specifically mentioned Webweaver or his eventual appearance on the Amazon series. However, given his limited backstory, the TV show could use Webweaver however they please. Much like they've done with many heroes, they can change Webweaver's backstory to better fit their version of the universe and considering how little information is out there, they can start fresh with the character. It would be an easy way to introduce a parody of Spider-Man while getting the chance to write him however they'd like.
Ultimately, it would be great to see Webweaver be more explored in future miniseries from The Boys or on the television series. Having a character that's a parody of such an iconic Marvel hero and doing pretty little with him leaves a lot to be desired. Hopefully, Webweaver physically appears in one of The Boys universes - he's too intriguing of a Supe to continue to leave dormant.