History: Cassandra Webb became aware of her clairvoyant abilities while still a child, and strengthened them through constant practice. Blind since birth, Webb found that her psychic abilities more than compensated for her sightlessness. She became a professional medium, utilizing her gifts to help others as well as to support herself. Decades after the beginning of her career, Webb was stricken with myasthenia gravis, a baffling disease that gradually erodes the central nervous system, slowly incapacitating me entire body. She is now completely dependent upon her immobile life-support system, designed by her late husband, an electronics engineer, to provide vital life functions.

A murderous plot to take over the Daily Globe newspaper first brought Madame Web and the hero Spider-Man together. A businessman named Rupert Dockery had hired five masked hoodlums to kidnap Belinda Bell, an actress and model he had hired to impersonate Ms. K.J. Clayton, the newspaper's publisher. In the Globe's conference room, Dockery introduced Belinda as the real Ms. Clayton. (The Globe staff had never met Ms. Clayton.) After apologizing for being so secretive about herself, Belinda/Ms. Clayton explained that she had come forward to turn control of the newspaper over to Rupert Dockery.

Dockery's hoods then burst into the conference room and grabbed the phony Ms. Clayton. Spider-Man crashed through the window and pursued the kidnappers, but Dockery blocked his way just long enough for them to escape. Disappointed, Spider-Man discovered a scrap of paper that had been dropped by the victim. On it was a picture of Madame Web.

After web-swinging across town, Spider-Man confronted Madame Web. From the bizarre psychic, Spider-Man learned that the card belonged not to Ms. Clayton, but to an actress and model named Belinda Bell, who was in grave danger. Following Madame Web's cryptic clue about jumbled railroad trains, Spider-Man arrived at the Hickory Dockery Toy Store in Lower Manhattan, realizing that Madame Web had seen a toy train in her vision. The hero saved Belinda, who was about to be killed by one of Dockery's henchmen. From Belinda, Spider-Man learned that the real Ms. Clayton was also in danger.

Even though the Globe staff had witnessed the phony Ms. Clayton give control to Dockery, his nefarious plan would only be complete when both women were dead. Spider-Man arrived at the penthouse office of the Daily Globe to find it ablaze. After smashing through a window into a smoke-filled room, he saved Ms. Clayton. On the street below, Spider-Man found Rupert Dockery and subdued him by turning over his limousine, tearing off a door, and pulling the terrified man out. Dockery quickly confessed.

Shortly after setting things right at the Daily Globe, Spider-Man received a startling phone call: Madame Web's powers had revealed to her Spider-Man's true identity as Peter Parker. Much to Peter's relief, Madame Web promised to keep this information secret, and has apparently done so to this day.

Not long after their first encounter, Spider-Man and Madame Web met once again. After being roughed up by the villain team Frightful Four, Peter Parker checked into Greenwich Hospital for x-rays and treatment. While there, Peter overheard a trio of goons talking about killing someone in a race. Although he hobbled after them, Peter was too injured to catch the suspects. Also in the hospital, however, was a man who had received a running injury preparing for the upcoming marathon. Peter realized that the three gunmen were planning to kill someone running in the race, but he had no idea who the target might be. Since there would be 16,000 runners stretched over 26 miles of streets, Peter realized he needed help.

Madame Web was expecting his call, but she had bad news: the "psychic vectors" were not in proper alignment for her to peer into the future. She could not say who would be shot or where. However, she promised to contact Peter if she found out.

Although he was injured and had no idea where to start, Peter Parker realized he had to try anyway. As Spider-Man, he went to the starting line of the race. While web-swinging past a pay phone, a young man holding the receiver called out to him, "It's for you, Spider-Man, Sir." At first Spider-Man thought the guy was joking, but when he took the phone, he found Madame Web on the other end of the line. The psychic vectors had realigned. Madame Web knew that two men armed with automatic rifles were waiting on a water tower 50 yards from the finish line. Their intended victim was named Barney Wicker, a congressional candidate scheduled to greet the winner of the marathon. Spider-Man suddenly realized that the race the hitmen were referring to was not the marathon but a political race. He arrived at the water tower just in time to stop the assassins.

Later, Madame Web had a vision of her own youth returning by means of an arcane ritual. She was then approached by the villain Norman Osborn who promised her the outcome of her vision and more, if only she would help procure one of the objects necessary for the ritual, the so-called "Gathering of the Five." Madame Web then contacted Spider-Man, convincing him to procure the object for her by misleading him about the truth of the ritual. Along with Osborn, the future Spider-Woman, and others, Madame Web participated in the ritual and ended up receiving the gift of youth.

Later, Madame Web joined Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, and the new Spider-Woman, Mattie Franklin, to track down a villain also calling herself Spider-Woman, who was stealing the powers from these women. Ultimately, the Mattie Franklin was able to steal her powers back from the villain, although the others seemed to remain powerless.

Madame Web began a mentor relationship with the young Spider-Woman, who was also helped by Jessica Drew. However, at times, Madame Web would experience a relapse in her age, reverting to her elderly state. Later, the villainous Spider-Woman, Charlotte Witter, attacked Spider-Man, knowing of his secret identity as Peter Parker, only to be forced to escape by Mattie Franklin. Spider-Man and Mattie confronted Charlotte, who forced them to flee, claiming she grows stronger the more she fights. Due to advice from Mattie's friend, Maxwell, the heroes' next battle with Charlotte reveals a telepathic link between Charlotte and members of the "Gathering of the Five," an arcane ritual that affected Peter Parker, Madame Web and Mattie. Madame Web's telepathy had been used by Charlotte to gain strength during battle, and once the heat of battle diminished; Charlotte was ultimately left in a dormant state. They returned her to Madam Web's house, who performed a "psychic surgery" on Charlotte to sever her link and render her powerless, which ultimately ended Madame Web's fluctuations of age, returning her to her youthful state.

Presumably, Madame Web continues to mentor Mattie Franklin's career as Spider-Woman. Madame Web's current condition has not been revealed.

Height: 5 ft. 6 in.
Weight: 110 lbs.
Eyes: Pale grey
Hair: Black and silver

Strength Level: Madame Web is an invalid.

Known Superhuman Powers: Madame Web possesses psychic sensory powers. With great concentration she can scan people's thoughts or project her thoughts into their minds (telepathy), perceive past or present events which she has not personally witnessed (clairvoyance), or foretell events which have a high probability of taking place (prescience). Since there is more than one possible future stemming from almost any given critical moment, she cannot perceive the future with absolute certainty: overlapping mental images of alternate sequences of events appear to her simultaneously, the most probable futures appearing more "luminous" than others. The farther into the future she tries to peer, the greater the number of possibilities which appear and thus the greater degree of uncertainty. The range of her telepathic powers is not yet known. Her natural powers make her particularly sensitive to similar powers in others.

Paraphernalia: Madame Web is cybernetically linked to a spider web-like life-support system which attends to all of her bodily needs by augmenting her weakened autonomic nervous system. By simple cybernetic command, she can shift her chair to an upright or reclining position for sleeping. The system is equipped with robot arms that take the place of her now useless arms.