The Boys have introduced their version of Spider-Man, Webweaver, as a comically inept informant. Played by Dan Mousseau, Webweaver explains how Butcher obtained so much information about Vought and the Seven. As a parody of Marvel's famous hero, Webweaver fits perfectly into The Boys' twisted superhero cast.
The Boys have reimagined Spider-Man character Webweaver, incorporating him into the show's narrative while still poking fun at him. The Boys' Spider-Man parody, showcases Webweaver's role in the story and compares him to his comics counterpart, showcasing the boys' ability to create over-the-top humor and incorporate Webweaver into the show's narrative.
Who is Webweaver in The Boys?
In season 4's sixth episode, Dirty Business, Webweaver, The Boys' version of Spider-Man, is introduced as a minor yet crucial character. MM is forced to deliver and administer drugs to the Supe to ensure his assistance. Webweaver's potential is not fully explored, as Hugie impersonates him for most of the episode. His most notable power is the spinneret that allows him to shoot webs.
This seems to be something he can sometimes lose control of, given the state of his web covered apartment. It's a grosser version of the natural webbing produced by Tobey Macguire's version of Spider-Man from the Sam Raimi films, further cementing the connection between the parody and the original.
His powers also apparently make him tough enough that he needs to take the drugs MM brought for him through his rectal cavity, recalling that inherent opening being a weakspot for Supes as seen in Hughie's first kill all the way back in season 1.
Webweaver is a dead-ringer for an alternate version of Spider-Man. Both wear full body suits and masks, with a different color scheme and spider-looking elements. Webweaver's character has distinct touches that feel attuned to a brutal parody of Peter Parker, with some distinct touches that make him a standout.
Webweaver, a young street-level hero, is a talkative and frustrated version of Peter Parker, spraying web onto MM. He has his own version of Parker Luck, a bad luck in-universe. Webweaver's experience with MM leads to his costume being stolen, allowing the Boys to infiltrate a meeting between the Seven and government leaders, potentially placing blame on the Vought "hero."
Other episodes of The Boys season 4 have mentioned Webweaver, setting up his appearance in Dirty Business and was a playable character in the videogame We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here. His full appearance in Dirty Business reveals his true role in the show, as he was mentioned in Department of Dirty Tricks and played in We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here.
It turns out that Webweaver has been one of Butcher's informants from within Vought, pumping him for information on the Supes. This revelation makes Webweaver a potentially far more important character within the world of The Boys.
At various points in the series, Butcher and the group have used information they've gotten leaked by Vought to spy on the company and set up their missions. It appears that Webweaver was a crucial piece of that puzzle that Butcher kept largely a secret from the others, similar to the way he was quietly important but unseen in the source material.
Webweaver's role in The Boys' comic
The Webweaver in Prime Video's The Boys has a different role in the story than in the original comic series. He plays a minor but important role in The Boys: Dear Becky, which serves as an epilogue to the core series, expanding on Butcher's relationship with Becky and the origins of the Boys as a unit. Webweaver was revealed to be an early target of Butcher and Mallory.
His successful death at their hands convinced the government to give the go-ahead to move forward with the Boys. Even then, the character was kept off-panel. His appearances were instead limited to a variant cover, and he didn't fully appear in the comic itself. It's a testament to how The Boys has taken the original concepts and characters and in many cases remixed them into completely new forms.
Webweaver is also notably not the only Webweaver that exists in the world of comics, with a variant of the character Webweaver is parodying actually sharing the same name.