| “ | Yo. I'm-I'm, I'm pretty fucked up, no cap.
―Webweaver to Mother's Milk.[src]
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” |
Patrick Whitehall, better known as Webweaver, is a minor character in Season Four of the Amazon series The Boys. He was a spider-themed superhero and a confidential informant for The Boys.
Background[]
Shortly after Patrick Whitehall's birth, his parents accepted Vought International's offer to inject him with Compound V, subsequently transforming him into a Supe and granting him superhuman powers and abilities.
Adopting the moniker “Webweaver,” Patrick quickly ascended to fame as one of Vought’s most popular and marketable supes. Notably, Webweaver made an appearance as a playable character in the popular video game Tournament of Heroes, and he solidified his status with leading roles in films such as Webweaver: Tangled in Time.
However, despite his professional success, Webweaver's personal life took a dark turn. He developed a severe addiction to heroin enemas, a struggle likely fueled by broken dreams and deep-seated personal issues. His substance abuse led to frequent legal troubles and his eventual arrest by the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs. During this time, Billy Butcher from The Boys exploited his addiction, using him to gather compromising information on other supes in exchange for more drugs.
To address his addiction, Webweaver was admitted to Vought’s exclusive Global Wellness Center in Malibu, California. After completing his treatment and being released, he publicly stated, "This time, it's different." Unfortunately, his commitment to recovery failed, and he relapsed, continuing to struggle with drug abuse.
In addition to his personal and legal woes, Webweaver had a private arrangement with Tek Knight to become his potential sidekick, which involved BDSM-themed performances in the Tek Cave.
The Boys Series[]
The Boys: Season 4[]
"Department of Dirty Tricks"[]
While Homelander watches Annie January's interview on television, a news headline mentions Webweaver's discharge from the Global Wellness Center in Malibu, including his statement to the public.
"We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here"[]
While Ryan chooses a character to play in the video game Tournament of Heroes, Webweaver is seen as a playable character.
"Wisdom of the Ages"[]
In a conversation, it's revealed that Billy Butcher and Mother's Milk spent $50,000 on heroin enemas to give to Webweaver in exchange for dirt on Firecracker. Much to MM's disgust, he had to watch Billy inject the enemas into his rectum.
"Dirty Business"[]
Webweaver makes his first official appearance in this episode. To infiltrate Tek Knight's manor, Mother's Milk drugs Webweaver with a spiked heroin enema and steals his suit, so Hughie Campbell can sneak in and plant bugs to find out Homelander's plan. However, once Hughie arrives in disguise, it is soon revealed that Webweaver was not there for the Federalist Society party and instead is "auditioning" to be Tek-Knights new sidekick, through a night of sadomasochism in the Tek Cave.
"The Insider"[]
Webweaver is interrogated by Homelander after Firecracker tells him that Webweaver is the leak. Webweaver tells Homelander that he gave information to Billy Butcher. Firecracker tells him that his suit was used by Hughie Campbell to enter Tek Knight's party. Homelander asks him how he knew about his meeting with Victoria Neuman. Webweaver profusely apologizes and tells Homelander that he will "make him proud". Homelander is angered by his betrayal and grabs Webweaver by the neck. Webweaver tells him that he isn't the leak, but Homelander dismisses this and rips him apart, killing him.
Personality[]
Despite his often bumbling and feeble nature, Webweaver proved to be an unexpectedly skilled investigator. He managed to uncover sensitive information about other supes, even when Vought sought to keep such details hidden.
Outwardly, he projected a relaxed, almost stereotypical stoner persona, masking his inner chaos and addiction. Beneath this facade, he was deeply miserable.
Webweaver's desperation for drugs made him susceptible to manipulation, leading him to make poor decisions. He admitted to frequently trading information with Billy Butcher and falsely confessed to leaking information that he hadn’t leaked to Homelander, not realizing that this false confession would ultimately seal his fate.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Spider Physiology: Webweaver possesses the ability to have the proportionate physical capabilities of a spider.
- Organic Web Generation: Webweaver possesses powers that allow him to generate organic webbing. Webweaver generates his organic web from a small aperture spinneret just above the buttocks.
- Superhuman Durability: As a supe, Webweaver possesses above-average human durability. Even though he understandably screams in agony when Homelander tears him in half, his reaction is less intense than one might anticipate. This might be attributed to his slightly impaired state from being under the influence and his high pain tolerance, which stems from both his superhuman toughness and his BDSM interests.
- Superhuman Hearing: Webweaver possesses superhuman hearing, allowing him to hear better than humans. Like all Supes, he can hear higher frequencies that humans cannot.[1]
Abilities[]
- Master Investigator: Webweaver had an adept ability to uncover sensitive information from Vought International, including details the company would otherwise keep hidden from the public. This talent allowed Webweaver to expose Firecracker's statutory rape charges involving a minor.
Weaknesses[]
Biological[]
- Brute Force/Limited Durability: The extent of Webweaver's durability is unknown, but he was easily ripped apart by Homelander, who is the strongest Supe alive even though it took some effort by Homelander to do so.
- High Frequencies: Due to being a Supe, Webweaver is susceptible to high frequencies. When a high frequency is playing, it can induce immense pain and temporarily neutralize him.
- Involuntary Web Generation: When under heavy psychological pressure, Webweaver involuntarily generates a web-like substance from his spinneret, often to the dismay of those around him. This eventually led to his demise, as when he was interrogated by Homelander and Firecracker, it is implied that Homelander didn't kill Webweaver for his actions, but rather because of disgust at his power.
Psychological[]
| “ | He was a junkie who'd confess to nailing Christ on the cross if it got him home for his next fix.
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” |
- Drug Addiction: Webweaver is addicted to heroin enemas.
Equipment[]
- Super Suit: Webweaver's suit bears a resemblance to the suit worn by his comic book counterpart. However, it's notable that said suit is black with black sunglass-like lenses and green parts, two of which resemble the fangs of a spider. It has a small hole near the base of the spine that allows him to use his web hole while in costume.
Relationships[]
Allies[] |
Enemies[]
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Trivia[]
- Webweaver is a parody of Marvel's Spider-Man.
- Webweaver's portrayal as a drug-addicted mess exploited for the amusement of Tek Knight and Ashley Barrett serves as a critique of the "Parker Luck"—the concept of Spider-Man's perpetual personal misfortunes—by exaggerating it to extreme levels.
- Coincidentally, Webweaver shares his name with Marvel's Web-Weaver, the first gay Spider-Man.
- His safeword is "Zendaya", which is a blatant reference to real-life actress Zendaya, who portrayed MJ/Michelle Jones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She is also the girlfriend of Tom Holland, the actor of the MCU's Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
- Having Webweaver trying to be the sidekick of a sex-crazed billionaire resembles a twisted take on MCU Spider-Man's relationship with Iron Man.
- Interestingly, Jack Quaid voiced Peter Parker of Gwen Stacy's universe in Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse.
- There is also a nod to the Tobey Maguire live-action version of the character, with the track that plays when Hughie first shows up with his outfit being similar to Danny Elfman's score, and the fact that much like that version, his webs are organic instead of artificial (although they come out of his butt instead his wrists, like an actual spider.) Also, Webweaver ends up being killed by Homelander, who much like the Green Goblin, also speaks in the mirror with a psychotic split personality.
- In Welcome to the Monster Club, there is a female Supe with the similar ability as Webweaver; shooting web-like fluids out of the body, with the only difference being the hole where the fluids came out. Webweaver's hole is on his waist, on top of his butt, while this Supe's hole is on her back.
- Webweaver has a few similarities with "The Brown Widow", another parody of Spider-Man. The Brown Widow (voiced by Nathan Fillion) appeared in the cartoon The Venture Bros. in four episodes. They are both fairly comedic takes on the wall-crawler who don't seem to take their crime-fighting too seriously.
- Ironically, while both "Webweaver" and "The Brown Widow" produce organic webbing (unlike most incarnations of Spider-Man), they also produce it from spinnerets in their lower back. Low enough that both had experiences where one could mistake it for an anus! Brown Widow accidentally launched webbing while wearing pants, resulting in someone accusing him of crapping himself, and when Webweaver asked M.M. to give him his drug enema, M.M. accidentally jammed the device into his spinneret, causing him pain.
Gallery[]
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