The smash-hit animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse not only upped the standards for animation, but also brought beloved Marvel Comics characters like Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen to life on the big screen. The 2018 film adapted a series of Marvel Comics stories featuring spider-characters from all over the multiverse and—in addition to fleshing out the Marvel Multiverse—established the important fact that truly, anyone can be Spider-Man.
Following the Oscar-winning movie’s release, hundreds of people revealed their #spidersona on social media, which further expanded the possibilities of who could take on such a heroic role.
In late 2019, Marvel hosted a Spidersona contest to canonize some of these creations and paid winners to print their art in the back pages of the 2020 Spider-Verse comic book limited series. Dayn Broder won that contest with Sun-Spider, who fully entered the Marvel Universe in that series and is now an official Marvel character, alongside several new spider-characters who have appeared over the last few years.
Here’s what you need to know about the Sun-Spider.
Who is Sun-Spider, a.k.a. Charlotte Webber?
Charlotte Webber (whose name is a reference to the book Charlotte’s Web), a.k.a. Sun-Spider, has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), an inherited disorder that affects her joints and connective tissue.
Like many others with EDS, Sun-Spider has hypermobility and extreme flexibility, which can cause bruising, sores, and other injuries. Some people with EDS use mobility aids like crutches, canes, and wheelchairs for additional stability. Charlotte uses a wheelchair or crutches when she needs them, and her crutches are equipped with web-shooters.
Sun-Spider’s first appearance in the Marvel Universe is in Spider-Verse #6 (2020), written by Jed MacKay, drawn by José Carlos Silva, colored by Chris Sotomayor, and lettered by Joe Sabino. In that story, she’s part of an ensemble cast of spider-heroes. She stars in her own story in Edge of Spider-Verse #4 (2022), “Prom and Circumstance,” written by Tee Franklin (who also uses a wheelchair), drawn by Jethro Morales, colored by Sotomayor, and lettered by Joe Caramagna.
In “Prom and Circumstance,” Charlotte is left behind during an emergency situation because her friends don’t think to find a safe way out for her and her wheelchair. In a Twitter thread, Broder highlighted why this issue is so important, and how Franklin successfully approaches it in the comic.
Disabled superheroes are rare because of toxic opinions about what kind of person can be a hero. Characters like Sun-Spider dismantle those harmful norms and carve space for more disabled heroes to appear in comics and other media in the future.
(featured image: Marvel Comics)
