Inspiration

Spider-Weaver

“With this year (2022) being Spider-Man’s 60th anniversary, Marvel came and asked us whether we’d be interested in creating an original Spider character that added something new and unique to the Spider-Verse. Challenge accepted!”

- Sean Dugan, Creative Director

Growing up in a turbulent home and the rough barrios of Los Angeles, safety was never guaranteed. The one place I found it was in the presence of an older Navajo man who spent his days at the park near my home. More than once, he stepped in to defend me from the bullies who claimed the park as their turf, but what stayed with me even more were the stories he shared about his life, his people, and the beliefs that shaped him.

Through him, I learned that stories aren’t just told. They’re woven, carrying strength, identity, and purpose through every thread. He taught me to stand up not only for myself, but for those who couldn’t. That idea of quiet responsibility to protect, to connect, and to shape meaning through story is what inspired me to pitch Spider-Weaver. I wanted to create a character that could be for the Navajo people, who he was to me.

Her Backstory

Ajei Benally was born to a long line of Navajo weavers who passed their techniques and traditions from generation to generation. Brilliant and extroverted, Ajei’s family was overjoyed to send her to college in Las Vegas, Nevada. But while she was away, her grandmother fell mysteriously ill and became too frail to continue weaving the beautiful textiles that paid for Ajei’s tuition.

Returning home from college, Ajei decided to make it her mission to discover what made her grandmother sick and ultimately find a cure. She remembered tales of Na'ashjé'ii Asdzáá, a Navajo spider deity who protects and guides those in need, and set off to find her. Deep in the desert, she found an empty spider web glistening with dewdrops and placed her hand on the web, following an ancient Navajo ritual. A great pain shot through her hand and as she recoiled, she discovered a spider sitting in the middle of the web. Returning home, Ajei was overcome with a fever, and in her sleep had visions of Na'ashjé'ii Asdzáá. She told Ajei about the Web of Life and Destiny, and that a powerful being was tainting her grandmother’s thread in hopes to curse the deity’s current and future weavers. But with if Ajei agreed to help, she would be given the ability to heal her grandmother and safeguard the Web.

Ajei awoke, woozy but rested, and, while contemplating her dreams, began a weaving project. But without even thinking, she began to produce a mystical silk, which transformed her project into a uniform with a powerful spider design. Rushing to her grandmother’s side, Ajei showed her the mystical silk and suddenly sprouted ethereal spider arms, which she used to cleanse the Web of Life and Destiny, healing her grandmother and thwarting whoever sought to harm the weavers.

With her grandmother safe, Ajei decided to track down this being to protect Na'ashjé'ii Asdzáá, the Web of Life and Destiny, and other weavers who might be vulnerable. Donning her newly made spider uniform, she adopted the name Spider-Weaver to honor her deity and the weavers, and tracked the malicious being back to the City of Sin, Las Vegas.

Bringing Spider-Weaver to Life

Below is the process I took part in to own and drive the character's authenticity and release.

  • Created a Miro board with reference images and a detailed backstory to pitch to studio and department stakeholders

  • Once internally approved, I owned the creation of the pitch deck that was then presented to Marvel

    • MARVEL Strike Force has 6 original characters, but Spider-Weaver was the only character that passed through multiple Marvel approvals with no feedback for reiterations!

  • I then worked closely with the Combat and Art teams and an external cultural representative to determine her combat abilities and animations, all of which were based either on her backstory or culture

  • To prepare for my role in creating Spider-Weaver’s event, the lead mission designer brought me on to work on another character’s event

  • With the successful release of that event, I was allowed to step back from my Quality Assurance role and step into a temporary Game Designer role, in which I owned the entire event.

  • I collaborated across design, product, and art teams to ensure every aspect of how she was presented was authentic to the world she was in and her culture

  • Spider-Weaver’s release changed our game’s meta, challenging our players to theorycraft with their roster to find characters that could counter her impressive powers

Weaving the Narrative into the Design

Visually, Ajei’s costume incorporates key elements of traditional Navajo dress.

  • Her hair is tied in a tsiiyééł, which represents how her people carry their thoughts, teachings, and place in the world

  • She uses leg wraps, which have practical applications as well as serving as a reminder of her connection to the earth

  • Silver and Turquoise jewelry serve to reinforce the beliefs of a harmonious blend of sky and earth

To serve gameplay, the work I did was making sure the character made sense in her surroundings, and believe me, being a Web-Slinger in the desert isn’t easy! Every aspect of her backstory and geographical location had to coexist in a way that felt real and distinct.

  • Desert location - Ajei can’t rely on her web-slinging for mobility. Instead, her spider limbs draw inspiration from a jumping spider, allowing her to cover large distances quickly with powerful leaps.

  • Spider-Weaver’s role isn’t one of an offensive character. Using her abilities, she tugs on the threads of the Web connected to Spider-People and, as long as she has charges in battle, can ensure that her enemies are never able to land a hit!

  • Because the Web of Life and Destiny connects all Spider-People throughout the multiverse and across time, Spider-Weaver can travel the Web to defend Spiders whenever and wherever they need her.

Web of Life Event Campaign

Responsibilities

  • Brainstorm, outline, and write the dialogue

  • Create all associated UI text

  • Collaborate with the art team to generate the event energy icon as well as the event card arts

  • Set up character storytelling poses and dialogue box types

  • Create the enemy encounters

  • Work closely with internal and external QA for testing

  • Control the movement of data between servers

  • Monitor the release of the content

Goals

  • Deliver a storyline that:

    • Introduces players to the character

    • Works in tandem with Marvel’s events surrounding Spider-Man’s 60th Anniversary

    • Remain true to the character voices of Spider-Man 2099 and Spider-Man (Noir), as well as other associated characters

Watch how it all came together below!