A Tribute to Madame Web’s Unique Charm

As the season of love is once again upon us, it’s hard not to think of a different kind of anniversary – the one-year mark since Madame Web’s web first connected us all, often in spite of itself. Over the past 12 months, I’ve found myself embracing the campy, period-movie vibe that Madame Web managed to capture, despite its clear production issues. This has made it a comfort watch that I’d happily settle for over many of its contemporaries in the waning cycle of the superhero genre. To celebrate this love on this most loving of days, I want to talk about the thing that Madame Web itself loves the most: cars.

Cars, Stealing Cars, and Hitting People with Cars

Madame Web’s obsession with cars is evident from the start. The movie begins with Cassie Web nearly hitting Mattie Franklin with her ambulance, setting the tone for the rest of the film. Her powers emerge at the site of a car accident, and her first attempt to save someone with those abilities results in them dying from another. The closest thing to a hero that Madame Web really has is the New York Taxicab that Cassie swipes to escort her young wards to safety from the wrath of Ezekiel Sims. This taxi becomes a sort of Chekov’s Stolen Vehicle for the rest of the film, especially after Cassie uses it to smash into Sims at a diner.

The Symbolism of Cars in Madame Web

The final act of Madame Web brings together the themes of stolen cars and vehicle-based aggression in a traditional superhero moment. Cassie manages to plunge an ambulance (that she stole) through a Calvin Klein ad and into Sims, symbolizing her growth as a character. The ambulance represents Cassie’s transport of choice in her day job as an EMT, and the fact that she steals it is a testament to her resourcefulness. This scene is also notable for being her second time smashing a vehicle into Sims in the movie, like the vehicular equivalent of a hero perfecting their ultimate attack.

The Charm of Madame Web’s Absurdity

What makes Madame Web’s love of stolen-cars-as-projectile-weapons so endearing is that it acquiesces to two things. Firstly, it acknowledges that the movie is about a character with mental powers, rather than physical ones. This means that traditional fight scenes have to be replaced with something more grounded in reality. The ability to drive a car into someone else is a bizarre grounding point, but it’s a grounding point nonetheless. Secondly, Madame Web is a love letter to the early 2000s era of superhero movies, where capturing superheroic action on screen was a challenge. The movie plays within the limitations imposed by comic book movies of that time, hesitating to fully embrace the source material and instead couching superhuman elements in reality.

A Tribute to the Early 2000s Superhero Era

Madame Web’s success and failure both play within the limitations of early 2000s comic book movies. It’s a film that, in both its successes and failures, is more in line with movies like Daredevil and Catwoman than with modern superhero films. The movie’s true superpower is the ability to locate a car, steal it, and then plow it into someone else. While Madame Web may not have entirely emulated the "good movie" part of that formula for everyone, it does make me laugh every time it becomes a movie about cars more than it does a movie about the Spider-Verse or superheroes at large.

Conclusion

A year after its release, and in the shadows of another big superhero release that struggles to escape the fatigue and malaise of a genre in seeming decline, I’ll always love Madame Web for its unique charm. Its absurdity and willingness to play within the limitations of early 2000s superhero movies make it a standout film in the genre.

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