This is where things get properly weird with Madame Web. The version of Ezekiel we see in the movie—almost a serial killer Spider-Man with the costume to match—is radically different to the Sims introduced in the comics. We first meet Sims as an old man and wealthy businessman, with startlingly similar powers to Peter Parker. Revealing himself to Spider-Man after hiring several private detectives to help uncover his identity, Sims reveals that he gained his powers in a mysterious ritual—and that Peter’s abilities were not from the radioactive nature of the spider that bit him, but the supernatural manifestation of the Spider-Totems, ancient multiversal godlike beings largely meant to be behind the various animal-based superhumans of the cosmos. Instead of being a hero, Sims used his powers to become rich.
After helping Peter defeat the villainous Morlun—a vampiric creature who, alongside his family, traveled the multiverse feasting off spider-totems—Ezekiel eventually reveals that his own powers were “stolen” and that he was not the intended avatar of the spider gods, but Peter is, and was intending to sacrifice Peter to the entity known as the Gatekeeper so he could live on. After Peter almost perishes at the hands of the Gatekeeper, Ezekiel had a change of heart upon being shown visions of Peter’s life as a hero, connected by their spider-senses in a moment of panic as Peter prepared to die. Realizing his selfishness, Sims sacrificed himself in Peter’s place, being devoured by the Gatekeeper to restore the totemic balance.
Posthumously Sims was also revealed to be responsible for hiding away Cindy Moon—the other person bitten by the same spider that bit Peter on that fateful day—for most of her life to safeguard her from Morlun’s attacks on totems. With her existence revealed to Peter in Original Sin, Cindy’s “release” and debut as the Spider-hero Silk sets the stage for the first Spider-Verse crossover. Considering Sony has cinematic plans for her in store, it wouldn’t be too out of place to see if Madame Web drops some hints that could lead to her eventual arrival.