Sony is in a tough spot. They technically have the rights to Marvel’s most iconic and beloved superhero, but every attempt they’ve made to use him has crashed and burned. Madame Web will introduce the titular side character, but she’ll bring three new Spider-Folk for their live-action debuts. Aña Corazón is the latest addition to Marvel’s ever-expanding web, but her complicated background and initially unique power set will help Araña stand out.
Madame Web is the first Sony Spider-Man Universe project focused on a heroic character. Their first attempt was ambitious yet predictable. Venom and its vastly inferior sequel brought a beloved icon to the screen with mixed results. Morbius may have been the funniest flop of the modern era. Kraven the Hunter still looks questionable, but Madame Web represents a new direction if nothing else.
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Who is Araña?
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Real Name |
Aña (Anya) Sofia Corazón |
|---|---|
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Creators |
Joe Quesada, Fiona Avery, and Mark Brooks |
|
First Appearance Date |
June 30th, 2004 |
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Most Recent Appearance Date |
July 5th, 2023 |
Aña Corazón, her first name sometimes anglicized as Anya, grew up in Brooklyn. Anya’s father, Gilberto, was Puerto Rican, and her mother, Sofia, was Mexican. Her mother died when she was young, prompting a brief move to Mexico before she and her dad returned to New York. Anya enjoyed gymnastics and computer science. Her first day of high school went awry when an upperclassman bullied Anya’s friend Lynn. Anya intervened, prompting a fight that the teachers had to break up. Anya met the upperclassman later that night to finish their encounter.
Their battle is interrupted when Anya spots a group of armed criminals preparing to kill a man in black. Anya jumped into the line of fire and saved Miguel Legar, the sorcerer of the Spider Society. Legar recognized Anya as a potential Hunter for the ancient order of arachnid-based paladins who serve totemic spider deities. He offers her a taste of his power to save her life and inducts her into the Spider Society’s front corporation, WebCorps. Anya takes a bullet while rescuing Legar again, but the wound quickly becomes a stylish metallic tattoo.
WebCorps informs Anya that her mom was a Hunter and that her new ink grants her the same distinction. Legar starts a rigorous training course that involves abandoning young Anya in the Mexican desert. Coyotes attack, prompting her to discover her superpowers. Anya summons a mighty blue exoskeleton that grants her immense physical powers and near invulnerability. She dubs herself Araña after her mother’s maiden name. Araña gives up the Hunter role after Legar dies, then loses her exoskeleton to Doomsday Man. She remains a hero, wielding grappling hooks like web swingers. She’s a dedicated hero who can brave any loss, and though she was always a lesser-known Spider-Girl, Araña has stayed important throughout the past 19 years.
When did Araña first appear?
Anya Corazón partially originated in the mind of Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski. The screenwriter behind aspects of Ninja Assassin, World War Z, and the first Thor movie wrote The Amazing Spider-Man from 2001 to 2007. Marvel’s editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, writer Fiona Avery, and artist Mark Brooks borrowed ideas from Straczynski’s run to resurrect Amazing Fantasy after an eight-year hiatus. The first issue of Amazing Fantasy Volume 2 explores Anya’s debut. She catches a stab wound defending Miguel Legar as the outing ends. Her story covers the first six chapters of the comic. She later appeared in a 12-issue solo series called Araña: The Heart of the Spider. Anya was later featured in Ms. Marvel, Captain America, Young Allies, and The Amazing Spider-Man. Anya gained a copy of Spider-Man’s powers in the Spider-Island cross-over event. Anya has a substantial role in the Spider-Verse series, leading to her big-screen debut in Across the Spider-Verse and a spin-off miniseries in Secret Wars. Most recently, she took the spotlight in “Charging Station,” a story in Edge of Spider-Verse Vol 3 4.
Who will play Araña in Madame Web?
Isabela Merced will portray Anya Corazon. Merced performed on a Broadway stage at ten and snagged her first starring TV performance at 13. She starred in Transformers: The Last Knight as a scavenger living with a tiny Autobot. She played Dora the Explorer in Dora and the Lost City of Gold. Araña will be Merced’s first superhero role, a fitting introduction for an unfairly ignored hero.
Araña has existed beneath the A-list for almost two decades now. She was around for Civil War, Spider-Verse, and Secret Wars. Anya Corazon could be a spectacular addition to the Sony Spider-Man Universe. Without Peter Parker or Miles Morales, the studio needs a hero worth hanging a franchise off of. Araña could be that hero, even if she has to share her live-action debut with several other Spider-People. Fans may never get the Araña movie some crave, but she’ll finally get the big-screen spotlight when Madame Web swings into theaters on February 14th, 2024.
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