Madame Web features the debut of Ezekiel Sims as an evil Spider-Man. A classic character from the original Marvel Comics, Ezekiel’s role in Peter Parker’s life saw him helping the Webslinger take his first steps into a larger world of destiny and totems. However, Madame Web’s version has key differences as the movie’s primary villain within Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
Starring Dakota Johnson in the titular role as the clairvoyant Cassandra Web, the Madame Web movie stars Sydney Sweeney as Julia Carpenter (Spider-Woman), Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon (Spider-Girl), and Celeste O’Connor as Mattie Franklin (Spider-Woman), all of whom are meant to become various Spider-Heroes in the future. However, Madame Web reveals that a man named Ezekiel Sims is hunting them down in a bid to change said future, presenting a markedly different Ezekiel than the one seen on the page. Here’s everything to know about Ezekiel Sims’ Evil Spider-Man, including the changes from the comics.
Who Is The Evil Spider-Man In Madame Web?
Marvel Comics’ Ezekiel Sims
Ezekiel Sims serves as a rival clairvoyant to Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web a.k.a Cassandra Webb in the movie, haunted by visions of his own death. Having the ability to see the future, Sims repeatedly sees an older version of himself being attacked by Julia Carpenter, Anya Corazon, and Mattie Franklin all dressed in their Spider-Woman/Girl costumes from the comics and possessing superpowers. This explains why the younger Ezekiel is attempting to hunt down the girls in the present, and why Cassandra has to protect them using her own abilities.
Madame Web’s Ezekiel also has his own black and red spider suit in the new trailer, complete with his own set of spider powers just like Spider-Man. Unlike Spider-Man, however, Sims is shown to have amassed some considerable wealth, providing him further resources with which to prepare and carry out his schemes.
Ezekiel Sims Comics Origin Explained
A Spiritual Mentor For Peter Parker
Ezekiel Sims’ first appearance was in 2001’s Amazing Spider-Man #30, created by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita, Jr. Much to Spider-Man’s surprise, Ezekiel introduces himself to Peter Parker while sticking to the side of a building, confirming his similar abilities while also revealing that he knows his secret identity. However, Ezekiel is not a villain. Instead, Sims becomes a spiritual mentor of sorts to Peter, revealing their shared status as cosmic “spider-totems” and the destiny that comes with it. While Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider, Ezekiel’s powers came from a violent ritual conducted in a Spider-Temple in Peru (something Madame Web draws from with its iteration).
In the comics, Ezekiel’s primary mission is focused on his attempts to protect Spider-Man and other spider-totems such as Silk from the threat of Morlun, a vampiric being known as an Inheritor seeking to consume the life forces of all Spider-heroes across the Spider-Verse. In many ways, Ezekiel is the character who initially opened the door in the comics to grander concepts such as the Spider-Verse and the multiversal Web of Life and Destiny, something that is greatly connected to Madame Web herself.
Who Plays Ezekiel Sims In Madame Web
Ezekiel is Played by Tahar Rahim
Ezekiel Sims will be played by French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim. Rahim is best known for his roles in A Prophet (2009), The Mauritanian (2021) and The Past (2013). However, he’ll also have a role in Ridley Scott’s upcoming Napoleon movie set for release at the end of November. To that end, playing Ezekiel Sims with the character’s live-action debut in Madame Web looks to be Rahim’s first big franchise movie.
Ezekiel Sims Comics Changes Explained
Madame Web’s Ezekiel Is Darker (& Has A Suit)
The biggest visual difference between Madame Web’s Ezekiel and the comics version is the new spider-suit. While there is another Ezekiel from an alternate universe who had a costume after taking over the Spider-Man role following the death of his world’s Peter Parker, this new movie spider-suit is certainly darker and more sinister. Ultimately, these changes proved controversial in the long run.
This goes some way to explain why the changes Madame Web made to Sims proved controversial in the big scheme of things. The character is central to many complicated concepts and narratives in the comics, and the alterations made to Ezekiel can be seen to overly simplify him. Similarly, the movie was forced to sever all of his existing ties to Spider-Man from the comics, which removed a lot of the richest areas of his own lore, including the interesting mentor-esque dynamic between Peter Parker and Ezekiel that appears in the comics.
Many of the most interesting aspects of Ezekiel Sims are ultimately pushed to one side in lieu of him being a more generic antagonist, and while this makes sense in terms of run time, it’s a move that was destined to be divisive. Indeed, the key theme of his story – that he sees his death every night, and it has warped him to the point of stopping at nothing to end his seeming would-be killers – is paid off with a less than cathartic conclusion, leading to one of the most criticized elements of Madame Web.
Why Ezekiel Sims Wears A Black Spider-Man Suit In Madame Web
Sims’ Suit Ties Into A Notable Spider-Group
Ezekiel Sims’ black Spider-Man suit has been one of the most discussed aspects of the character since it was unveiled in the Madame Web trailer. This led to significant speculation regarding what led to the darker suit’s creation, with a not insignificant amount of theories positing that this could be early foreshadowing of Spider-Man himself appearing in the movie. However, this was proved to not be the case when the movie itself released.
Instead, Sims’ black Spider-Man suit is inspired by the Las Arañas – also known as the Spider-People – who are the Peruvian tribe that are the original users of the spider venom that changes Ezekiel and eventually Peter Parker. What the movie shows of Las Arañas shows that Ezekiel got his costume inspiration from them, both in the muted red he uses with the suit, and in the knotted web-like ropes the Spider-People have braided around them, which the lines and mask shape mimic.
That said, there is also likely a real-world reason for the black Spider-Man suit. With Madame Web being a Spider-Man movie that is so related to the hero – but contains no actual Spider-Man – it makes sense for the story to try and get as close as possible to featuring him. Given that using Spider-Man in movies can be somewhat complicated due to the Sony-Marvel deals regarding the character, it would stand to reason that, in lieu of actually bringing the character into the fold, Madame Web sought to at least have a character with some impossible-to-ignore visual resemblances.
Though this may have come back to bite Madame Web when the movie releases and audiences who’d hoped for the black Spider-Man suit to be tied to the hero himself found he was nowhere to be seen, if the intention was to use it to draw intrigue, it did succeed to no small degree. Unfortunately, though, this ultimately only placed the divisive changes regarding Ezekiel Sims into high definition.
How Powerful Is Ezekiel Sims?
Ezekiel’s Very Similar To The Original Spider-Man
In the comics, Ezekiel Sims has the equivalent spider powers as Spider-Man despite his abilities coming from the aforementioned ritual in the jungles of Peru. This includes Spider-Man’s strength, agility, spider-senses, and the ability to stick to walls. However, he’s also immune to Spider-Man’s spider-sense and vice versa. It’s also worth noting that Ezekiel has a vast fortune at his disposal, allowing him to construct high-tech bunkers and more in his mission to protect both himself and his fellow Spider-Totems from Inheritors like Morlun (at least on the page).
However, it also looks as though some new powers are being given to this darker Ezekiel in the upcoming Madame Web movie as well. This may include a level of clairvoyance that is seemingly on par with Cassandra Webb herself, though at the very least he has knowledge of his own future and those of the future Spider-Women. It also looks as though he may have the ability to drain life forces seen when he grabs Mattie Franklin on a train. This is further proof that Ezekiel Sim’s powers and origins in Madame Web may be mixed with Morlun in the new Sony Spider-Man Universe movie.
