Julia Carpenter is a Marvel comic book character set to make her live-action movie debut in Sony’sMadame Web, but who is she? While most of the plot details concerningMadame Webhave been kept under wraps since most of the cast was announced in 2022, a handful of comic book characters have been confirmed. Both Cassandra Webb and Julia Carpenter, who have their roots in Marvel Comic books, will appear in the movie.
Madame Webis set to hit theaters in 2024, and among the cast are Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Emma Roberts,Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor. The cast is stacked with talent, but the roles of most of the young women have been kept secret. While it hasn’t been officially confirmed by Sony, one of those actresses did mention that she’s playing Julia Carpenter in the movie.
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Who Is Julia Carpenter In Marvel Comics?
Julia Carpenter made her comic book debut in theSecret Warsevent series published in 1984. Created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, Julia made a cameo appearance inSecret Wars#6 before making her true character debut inSecret Wars#7. She first appeared as a villain that the other heroes at the center of the story weren’t familiar with, but she teamed up with the heroes against a larger threat. It wasn’t until the miniseriesDark Webthat comic book readers got to go in-depth into Julia’s comic book origin story.
Julia Carpenter didn’t gain her spider-themed powers until she was a college student. She was recruited into a supposed athletic study that actually introduced several toxins, including spider venom, into her system. The combination ended up giving her similar powers toPeter Parker’s Spider-Man. She has super agility, strength, and reflexes as most of the spider-heroes in Marvel Comics do. It’s Julia’s webbing that is very different.
While some of the spider-heroes have organic webbing, others have manufactured webbing that they create to go along with the spider-theme of their abilities and secret identity. Julia Carpenter’s webbing, however, is psionic. That means her webbing is a construct of her mind. Julia’s webs, however, are strong enough to hold ten tons, even if they do disappear after an hour.
Over the years, Julia Carpenter has been a member of several different government agencies and different superhero teams, including the Avengers. She’s taken a break from being a hero to raise her daughter, and she’s been pulled back into the superhero life repeatedly. She has also taken on three different codenames. She initially went by Spider-Woman, though that is a moniker she had given to her, not one she chooses. She’s the second Spider-Woman after Jessica Drew. She also uses the codename Arachne, which is the one she initially wants, but she passes it on to another spider-hero becauseshe becomes Madame Web.
Julia is also the second person to take on the name Madame Web, and it seems like that might be her future in theMadame Webmovie as well. As Madame Web, Julia ends up with a lot of new abilities, like being able to psychically sense other spider-heroes. She also plays a role in connecting spider-heroes across the multiverse, which is exactly what theMadame Webmovie is rumored to entail.
Who Is Playing Julia Carpenter In Madame Web?
Though Julia Carpenter has appeared in Marvel animated series before, and even in Marvel-based video games, she has never appeared in live-action. Her live-action debut is in Sony’sMadame Web. According to a recent interview,Julia Carpenter is played by Sydney SweeneyinMadame Web.
Sweeney is best known to TV audiences for her Emmy-nominated role as Cassie inEuphoriaalongside Zendaya, but Sweeney has been acting since childhood. She played a young girl who was kidnapped onCriminal Mindsearly in her career and has appeared in a mix of thrillers, dramas, and comedies ever since. Her role as a wife who is turned in for having an affair inThe Handmaid’s Talereally helped put her on the map, but her role inEuphoriadefinitely made Sweeney a household name.
Since taking on the role of Cassie inEuphoria, Sweeney has also appeared as a villain in the Netflix movieNight Teethand lent her voice to episodes ofRobot Chicken. She also starred as Reality Winner in the HBO movieReality, inspired by the real investigation into the life of an intelligence specialist after a document about Russian interference in the US presidential election of 2016 was leaked. Sweeney also earned another Emmy nomination when she appeared in the seriesWhite Lotus.
Sweeney’s ability to play characters whose lives quickly unravel in a very real well will likely come in handy as she stars asJulia Carpenter inMadame Web.
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