Arachne in Spider-man

[BriGuy85]

Posted: 1/19/11 at 2:16am

For those who have seen the show, could someone explain what this new villainess is? What does she look like? What does she do? I can't seem to find any good pictures of her.

Thanks!

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 1/19/11 at 2:49am

This is her first costume.

[romgitsean]

Posted: 1/19/11 at 6:39am

Oh dear lord.

[zerose]

Posted: 1/19/11 at 7:15am

Actually that is her second costume. She first appears as a human, a weaver better than Athena. Then Arachne hangs herself, and Athena makes her immortal. Don't get me started on how a supposed family-friendly musical starts off with a suicide.

[ace33]

Posted: 1/19/11 at 11:17am

I for one think the greek mythology story of Arachne and Athena is a brilliant IDEA for the show... now the EXECUTION of that idea is a whole 'nother story.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 1/19/11 at 11:24am

I do agree that, while the execution of the character Arachne (as well as the rest of the story) is awful, the idea of Arachne being in the story itself isn't such a bad idea. Especially since TV Carpio does such a dynamic job of playing the role.

*Spoilers*

What you essentially need to know, in addition to what's already been said about her history, is that she's the world's first spider. She apparently turns Peter Parker into a Spider (though that part really didn't make sense to me based on what I saw), and then later tries to seduce him and bring him to her "Astral Plane". There's this like Spider sex-scene in the vein of Avatar, but Peter rejects her because he's in love with Mary Jane. Then, when Peter gets pissed and throws away his spidey suit, Arachne becomes furious (Deeply Furious haha) and flies down from the balcony to sing about how he can't just throw away his powers. So, she descends from her Astral Plane, after her "furies" raided all the shoe stores in New York to get her fancy shoes to go to earth in, and poses as a human to lure Peter into her clutches. So (I'm pretty sure- this was also confusing), she simulates a whole lot of villains, including the dead Green Goblin. Then, in the (totally bizarre and hopefully soon to be changed) finale, she fights him, then pleads with him to go with her to the Astral Plane, but Peter says no because he still loves MJ, so Arachne lets him go, saying that he will never truly be hers, and that somehow "frees" her and she ascends to the top of the theatre in a noose. She also sort of watches over him for most of the story. Now you can see why people think her character is so odd. I mean, with some major rewrites, she can become the other main focus of the show besides Peter, but for right now, she's just sort of hanging around...literally.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 1/20/11 at 12:43am

"I for one think the greek mythology story of Arachne and Athena is a brilliant IDEA for the show... now the EXECUTION of that idea is a whole 'nother story."

Unfortunately I could not disagree more, it muddies the Spider-man origin and detracts from what little plot Act 1 has.
Spider-man has been around for close to 50 years without neading Greek mythology forced into his mythos.

[TheKandyLife]

Posted: 1/20/11 at 2:38am

That costume looks like a Lady Gaga special hahaa I'm strangely attracted to it, but it doesn't look good technically.

I haven't seen the show, and wondering how you pronounce "Arachne"...I have 3 different ways to pronounce it in my head haha

I think it's a good idea to have another spider as a villain, (kind of reminds me of the Black Widow spider, the one that eats the male? i think it's the Black Widow anyway haha) but to change the original Spider-Man creation...I'm just not a fan.

And the spoiler above...about the shoes?...Is that still in the show?...I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of it haha

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 1/20/11 at 11:23am

Arachne- Iraq (If you pronounce the "I" and "uh") knee.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 1/20/11 at 12:19pm

Actually that is her second costume. She first appears as a human, a weaver better than Athena. Then Arachne hangs herself, and Athena makes her immortal.

So not only did Julie change Spidey's orgin story but she changed Arachne's as well?

And, if Athena came to me and said "I'm going to turn you into an ugly spider thing so you can live forever". I'd have been "Thanks but no thanks".

Updated On: 1/20/11 at 12:19 PM

[whatacharacter]

Posted: 1/20/11 at 12:21pm

Are there any pictures of TV as Arachne?

[yournamehere]

Posted: 1/20/11 at 2:59pm

I don't think she changes the origin at all. A radioactive spider still bites Peter which gives him his powers. In reality, the whole concept is supposed to be whether it was fate Peter was the one bitten or something other than that. Arachne has an army of other spiders throughout the show, and as the first spider, she seems to have some control over spiders themselves. The thing up for debate in this (I think and could be wrong but hell) is that did she control the spider, was it fate, or just random chance and anyone could've been standing where Peter Parker was?

What's more confusing to me - why does throwing out the suit that came after he has his powers make him lose his powers? That's kind of made up in Act 2. Is it if you don't use it you lose it type deal?

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 1/20/11 at 3:47pm

The ending was so muddled that I'm not really sure. The whole thing just seems like the first draft of a story, when the overall idea makes sense to you, but you have to go through and clarify things so it makes sense to the audience. It's like they plunked down the story and have just been working on the effects for all these years.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 1/20/11 at 4:32pm

I think that's exactly what they did, and it's the root of all the problems with the show.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 1/20/11 at 11:06pm

yournamehere- While its true that she just causes the spider to bite him (or is the spider that bit him... that seems a bit muddy) , I have MAJOR issue with her bestowing the spider-man costume to Peter.

[rougeduck]

Posted: 1/21/11 at 8:39pm

I think Julie Taymor should have just directed a large scale opera on the mythology of arachne.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/26/11 at 3:39am

I was reading some audience reviews online and I do not understand how her costumes work. How many costumes does Arachne have? I know she has the giant spider apparatus that was pictured above. (spoiler?) I also read something about a gray jumpsuit with spider legs that she wears during Turn Off The Dark. Finally, what does she wear during Deeply Furious? Thank you and sorry for so many questions.