In The Boys Season 4 Episode 6, things get sordid with a first proper look at Webweaver, the show’s Spider-Man parody.
We already got our first taster of the character in Episode 4, ‘Wisdom of the Age’s, with Butcher revealing to Mother’s Milk that the bribe money he needed for dirt on Firecracker went “straight up Webweaver’s stinky spider.” Charming.
Given The Boys loves to parody the squeaky clean DCU/MCU cape-wearers, it’s only fitting that the franchise had a go at their own messed-up counterpart to the wholesome Webhead.
Homelander’s the evil Superman, Tek Knight’s a perverted Batman, and now there’s Webweaver, the unfriendly neighborhood hero. Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for The Boys Season 4 Episode 6!
Who is Webweaver?
Introduced in The Boys Season 4 Episode 6, Webweaver is a drug-addicted supe who has a number of sexual kinks and is associated with Vought and The Seven. He is played by Dan Mousseau.
Webweaver has a bit of a reputation as a burnout, and he succumbed to drug addiction at some point in his life. Following a stint at the conglomerate’s Global Wellness Center, as revealed in Episode 1, he relapsed and is now living in a rundown apartment in New York.
He’s got a solid network of contacts within Vought, and as a result knows a lot of their goings on. But he’s incredibly easy to bribe in exchange for a fix, making him Butcher and Mother’s Milk’s most “loyal” informant.
Oh, he’ll also offer up sexual favors for a hit, not that he gets many takers. Speaking of which, Webweaver has some… unique sexual tendencies.
We learn this through his partnership with Tek Knight, who wants to make Webweaver his new “sidekick” – essentially, his sex slave.
The plan is to bring him down into his Tek Cave, filled with all sorts of BDSM tools and contraptions, alongside his former “sidekick” – a man chained to a wall in a red gimp suit.
Although this plan doesn’t follow through, Tek inadvertently reveals just how extreme Webweaver’s desires are, saying he understands the dungeon may be “too vanilla” for him.
In terms of his exterior, the supe has scruffy brown hair and a beard. His suit is a scaly (and rather smelly) black and yellow one piece, with the mask featuring spider-like fangs and goggles.
Webweaver also exists in The Boys comics, although his character is a little more elusive. Known as “tricky and reserved,” he’s referred to as the “thwipster.” His real identity is mysterious due to the fact that he was never a member of any superhero team.
Although he still has the same fangs and goggles in the comics, his suit is red and blue – much like Marvel’s Spider-Man (more on this in a bit).
Webweaver powers & origin
After being injected with Compound V as a child, Webweaver developed the powers of superhuman hearing and the ability to generate organic webbing.
Given most of the supes who were given Compound V by their parents end up having super strength, endurance, and the ability to heal, it’s safe to assume Webweaver does too.
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His comic book counterpart was similarly injected with Compound V, and in addition to his web-spinning abilities, it’s said he has the proportionate physical capabilities of a spider.
This could be the case for The Boys’ Webweaver. However, he’s evidently weakened by his indulgence in heroin enemas, among other substances.
How The Boys changes Webweaver from the comics
In the comics, Webweaver is the first supe taken down by Butcher and Greg Mallory. He also shoots webs via his wrists.
Their job catching the Spidey supe is said to have gone so well, it convinced the CIA to fund The Boys, therefore making him an integral part of the group’s inception.
This is pretty different to the small-screen version of The Boys. The group has been going for some time and, as said, Webweaver is simply a useful, albeit grimy, informant.
But arguably the biggest change to the supe is his spinneret – rather than being located on his wrists, it’s just above his butt in the show.
This leads to a rather grisly encounter with Mother’s Milk. When he goes to dispense a drug enema (which is secretly rohypnol), he initially misfires, plunging it into his spinneret (aka the wrong hole).
MM pays the price when an involuntary globdule of web goop spurts onto his cheek.
Is he meant to be The Boys’ Spider-Man?
It appears neither comics writer Garth Ennis and illustrator Darick Robertson nor the show’s creator Eric Kripke have confirmed Webweaver to be The Boys’ version of Spider-Man. However, this is widely considered to be the case.
Firstly, there are the similarities between their appearances and powers, with both able to spin webs, as well as wearing similar suits. What’s more, The Boys’ comic book even has its own version of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben.
As stated by The Boys’ Wiki, “Given that his name is ‘Webweaver’, he’s referred as the ‘thwipster,’ and has an uncle much like Uncle Ben, it was obvious that the character is a parody of Spider-Man.”
Season 4 Episode 6 also threw out another Spider-Man Easter egg, one that puts a hilariously grim spin on the MCU’s version – it’s revealed that the safe word Webweaver agreed with Tek Knight is “Zendaya.”
The Boys Season 4 Episodes 1-6 are streaming on Amazon Prime Video now. You can find out when the next episode drops with our guide to The Boys Season 4’s release schedule.
We’ve also got guides on Starlight’s powers and origins, The Boys Season 4’s most shocking moments so far, whether Kimiko dies, and how the Gen V timeline fits in. And keep tabs on new releases with our guide to the TV shows coming to streaming this month.
