By Ben Soltau
The superhero genre has been twisted and flipped and done to death, so it is rare to get an interesting and refreshing perspective on the genre. Worm accomplishes this feat spectacularly.
Worm is a web serial written by John C McCrae, known mainly by his penname Wildbow, and is the first of the Parahumans series written by Wildbow along with its sequel Ward. The series released two chapters a week, lasting from June 2011 until late November 2013.
Worm follows the story of Taylor, a young girl with an unusual superpower in a world of superheroes and supervillains. She dreams of becoming a hero yet gets mistaken as a supervillain on the gritty streets of Brockton Bay, taking on the mantle of Skitter.
Taylor must navigate an environment of moral obscurity where heroes are not always good, villains are not always bad, and the looming pressure of greater powers and worldly mysteries are at play.
The series is rife with potent social messaging, with themes including bullying, gang violence, racial animus, and a deep dive into how trauma is dealt with, all through the yellow-masked lenses of the teenaged Skitter.
How Wildbow simultaneously develops his characters, tackles heavy themes, explores the world’s boundless lore, depicts action scenes immersively in his writing, all with a topping of romance and humour, is fascinating in its scope.
Due to the structure of the series and its length, the pacing can sometimes feel a bit inconsistent, with fights happening quite close together, and interludes breaking up the story a bit jarringly, though they are great when it comes to fleshing out characters.
Worm features roughly 1,680,000 words, equal to around 26 typical-length novels. It is arguably the most popular western web novel of all time and can be read freely on its website.
Featured image: Worm hero Taylor (aka Skitter) controls her bugs. Artwork: ArtofLariz/CC/DeviantArt
