Taylor Hebert
From bullied outcast to Skitter, she commands the swarm in a dark world of moral ambiguity.
Taylor Hebert is the protagonist of the web serial Worm by John C. "Wildbow" McCrae. A bullied teenage girl in Brockton Bay, she develops the power to control worms, insects, arachnids, and other simple lifeforms following a traumatic trigger event at the hands of her bullies. Initially seeking to become a superhero, she defeats a superpowered gang leader on her first night in costume and is mistaken for a villain by the Undersiders. She joins them to learn their boss's identity but grows increasingly close to the group, adopting the moniker "Skitter" and abandoning her original dream of being a hero.
Quick Facts
- Affiliation
- Undersiders (Member, later Leader)
Lore & Background
Taylor operates within Earth Bet, a fictional universe where parahumans emerged after Scion appeared in 1982. Her home city, Brockton Bay, is a declining port with high parahuman activity, its shipping industry devastated by the Boat Graveyard and economic factors rather than directly by Endbringer attacks. Taylor has repeated poor run-ins with the PRT and the Protectorate. She joins the Undersiders, a team of teenage thieves working for the mysterious benefactor Coil, and eventually becomes their leader after his defeat. Her power allows her to sense through the bugs' senses (sight, touch, etc.) and control them precisely, though she must navigate the complex dynamics of the "Kiss/Kill" relationships often found in cluster triggers.
Reader's Guide
Taylor Hebert starts as a 15-year-old seeking revenge but evolves into a ruthless tactician known for commanding vast swarms. Her power to sense and control insects allows her to use them for reconnaissance, defense, and offense, though healers are rare in this world due to the Manton effect limiting powers on organic material. Her journey is defined by the tension between her desire to do right and a dark world filled with moral ambiguity. Key turning points include her induction into the Undersiders, the Leviathan attack that cripples Brockton Bay, the Slaughterhouse Nine incursion where Jack Slash decides to fulfill Dinah's prophecy of doom, and the final battle against Echidna where lack of cohesion nearly costs everything. She ultimately accepts the role of a villain in society's eyes to protect her own.
Did You Know?
- The story follows a strict publication schedule with new chapters released every Tuesday and Saturday, plus bonus chapters on Thursdays for donations.
- Worm began in June 2011 with only 13 views but peaked at 1,390,648 monthly views by November 2013.
- Coil was killed by Taylor with a crossbow bolt; Noelle (Echidna) had been released earlier in the story.
- The Manton effect is a limitation in Worm where parahumans' abilities rarely affect both organic and inorganic material simultaneously.
More in Characters & Parahumans
Related in Worm
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Elsewhere in Worm
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