Is That Venom In The Madame Web Trailer?

The first trailer for "Madame Web" has been released by Sony Pictures, giving fans of the company's Spider-Man universe a look at the franchise's next installment. In the footage, we see Dakota Fanning's Cassandra Webb confronting her new powers of foresight after a freak accident. She battles the dangerous villain Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) and unites with three younger women: Julia Carpenter (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor), and Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced).

If you're a fan of the comics, you'll know that all three of those characters become superheroes, and the trailer gives us a brief glimpse at all three in costume. If you're not as familiar with the source material, though, you might mistake Julia's Spider-Woman costume for a Venom symbiote suit. The black base color and giant white logo on the front certainly evoke the look of the symbiote suits, but that's actually just how Spider-Woman looks at points in the comics (and apparently here as well).

Even though Julia's outfit is alien-free, there are some interesting connections between Spider-Man's iconic black suit and her own. To fully understand that history, you have to go back to the origin of both suits in the 1980s "Secret Wars" run of comics.

Spider-Woman had already been a prominent Marvel character for years by the time "Secret Wars" kicked off in 1984. Her real name is Jessica Drew, and her costume is a bright collage of reds and yellows. "Secret Wars" introduces a brand-new Spider-Woman in the form of Julia Carpenter. When she enters the scene for the first time, she sports a stylish black-and-white outfit that instantly sets her apart from her predecessor.

Spider-Man's black suit also originates in the "Secret Wars" storyline, though it isn't until later that Peter Parker discovers the true nature of the symbiote. Peter wonders at the time why the strange goo he finds changes the colors of his costume so significantly, and he decides that he must have been subconsciously influenced by Julia's suit during the process.

So, in a way, Julia's suit is a Venom symbiote suit, in that it may (or may not?) have served as inspiration. Of course, at the time of "Secret Wars," no one at Marvel could have possibly imagined how popular Spider-Man's new look would be or the many, many new characters who would spawn from it. In "Madame Web," Julia's suit is, in all likelihood, just a regular costume.

You'd think that "Madame Web" takes place in the same universe as the "Venom" movies. After all, they share the same on-the-nose franchise title of "Sony's Spider-Man Universe." 2022's "Morbius" and 2024's "Kraven the Hunter" exist in the same continuity. However, the official synopsis for "Madame Web" casts some doubt as to how it actually fits into the rest of the franchise.

"'Meanwhile, in another universe...' In a switch from the typical genre, 'Madame Web' tells the standalone origin story of one of Marvel publishing's most enigmatic heroines," Sony's synopsis begins. It's an oddly confusing way to introduce the film — another universe from what, exactly? The first line is pulled right out of Sony's popular "Spider-Verse" animated films, so maybe it's just a quirky little reference? Or is this meant to indicate that "Madame Web" introduces, inexplicably, a fourth "Spider-Man" film continuity, separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Verse, and Venom realities?

All told, the answer might not be too important. Sony has yet to connect its spin-off Spider-Man projects in any meaningful way, and after the embarrassing bomb that was "Morbius," the studio has a lot to prove with "Madame Web" and "Kraven the Hunter." The new film has a great cast of young stars, so it has plenty going for it, but it's unlikely that Venom will show up in anything other than a post-credits scene. "Madame Web" is set to be released in theaters on February 14, 2024.