Madame Web: Who is Ezekiel Sims?

Nov. 20, 2023

Understanding the comic history of Ezekiel Sims, the apparent villain of Sony’s Madame Web

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Sony’s Madame Web movie is shaping up to be the most Spider-y of the studio’s Spider-Man spin-off films withthree Spider-Women appearing in the first trailer, and even an evil Spider-Man as itsapparent villain who is seemingly identified as Ezekiel Sims, an important figure from Spider-Man comics with a connection to the Spider-Verse.

But is all as it seems with Ezekiel Sims in theMadame Webmovie? And is that him in the dark spider-suit?

InMarvel Comics, Ezekiel plays a very different role as more of a mentor and ally to Peter Parker, with secret, mystical knowledge about the nature of Spider-Man that calls into question everything Peter knows about his place in the Marvel Universe - and even the so-called Spider-Verse.

Unlike Peter, however, Ezekiel gained his powers on purpose through a magical ritual, tying himself into the power of the so-called Spider-Totem, a mystical spider-entity who, according to Ezekiel, empowers all Spider-heroes across the Multiverse.

Ezekiel reveals this connection to Peter Parker, raising the question of whether the spider that bit Peter gave him powers because it was irradiated, or if it was attempting to pass spider-powers on to Peter before it died of radiation.

Whichever it is, the result is the same: Peter is now tied into all the other Spider-Totems, and with this new awareness also comes the danger of those who hunt Totems, specifically a particularly malevolent energy vampire named Morlun.

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With Morlun hunting Peter, he must turn to Ezekiel for help. Ezekiel eventually gives his life to defeat the villain - although both Ezekiel and Morlun would eventually return, though Ezekiel would also die again (apparently permanently this time). And in between, Peter would discover one of Ezekiel’s darkest secrets.

The thing is, Peter Parker is not the kind of guy to leave a young woman locked up alone for his benefit, so he frees her. This leads to Cindy coming into her own as the heroSilk- but also to Peter and Cindy pursuing an instantly intense romantic relationship spurred on by their mystical connection as Spider-Totems.

So what might this mean for Madame Web? It’s hard not to imagine there will be some connection to the concept of the Spider-Verse, or at least the idea of Spider-Totems, especially since the movie’s concept bears a strong resemblance to the comic Web-Warriors, in which several Spider-Women and Spider-Girls teamed up for adventures across the Spider-Verse.

And this also raises the question of whether Ezekiel is actually the villain of the movie, given the role he plays in comic books as more of a hero (albeit with sometimes complicated and questionable methods). Will the true villain wind up being Morlun? And if so, are we on the verge of a full-on live action cinematic Spider-Verse to go with the animated franchise?

We’ll find out when Madame Web releases in February.

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