Spider-Slayers

Latest revision as of 05:45, 30 September 2023

Spider-Slayers in Superior Spider-Man v1 #29.

Spider-Slayers are robots that feature in Marvel Comics.

History

Mark I Spider-Slayer in Amazing Spider-Man v1 #25.

Spider-Slayers were a series of robots that were constructed for the express purpose of hunting down Spider-Man. They were originally created by Spencer Smythe who decided to showcase it to Daily Bugle owner J. Jonah Jameson. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #25)

Spencer Smythe showed arrived at J. Jonah Jameson's office and offered the services of his new robot, which was specially created to capture Spider-Man. Jameson initially dismissed Smythe as a 'crackpot', but Spider-Man, as Peter Parker, convinced him to give it a try since he thought it would be fun to tackle the robot. Later on, the robot was using its sensors to home in on Spider-Man, and Peter Parker, to protect his secret identity, changed into Spider-Man to fight it. It proved immune to his webbing, and put Spider-Man on the defensive. It eventually caught Spider-Man with its many tentacles, and put him in a grip he could not escape. Spider-Man pulled a control panel off of the robot and shut it down manually. He then left his empty costume for Jameson and Smythe to find, while he himself was nowhere to be found. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #25) Peter Parker found Smythe with the intentions of getting his costume back after he left it behind. When he entered Smythe's house, the Spider-Slayer Mark 1 automatically sprung out its tentacles and entrapped him. Peter pulled out a jar of Spiders he had brought just in case that happened. Later on, while Smythe was knocked out by the newly created Molten Man, the robot entrapped Peter again, but he managed to shut off the power with his webbing before Smythe woke up. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #28) Smythe later contacted Jameson once again where he informed him that a new improved Spider-Slayer had been created for use against Spider-Man. This robot was a humanoid form and had incredible strength as well as the same sensors for spiders as the first as well as a myriad of other abilities. You could also see Jameson's face through the screen like the first one. They set the robot loose on Spider-Man, and the two began to fight. Smythe, who was obsessed with revenge and out for blood, seized the remote controls for Mark 2 from Jameson. Spider-Man found himself running from Mark 2 and looked up Smythe's address in a phone book when he had the space he needed from Mark 2. Spider-Man led the Mark II Spider-Slayer into a room full of spiders, which overloaded the robots sensors and rendered it inert. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #58)

Despite the bad note on which the two left each other, Jameson paid Smythe to make another robot, the Spider-Slayer Mark 3. This robot was not humanoid, but rather in the shape of a spider, albeit a large one. This robot had all the abilities of Spider-Man, but to an advanced level. Yet again, this one also had Jameson's image in both its eyes and was controlled via remote control. In the ensuing fight between Spider-Man and Mark 3, Spider-Man found the robot was quite powerful, but in time, Spider-Man clogged its web-shooter with his own, and rode it like a bull. That is until Smythe took the controls and knocked out Spider-Man. Smythe then had Mark 3 steal a powerful computer element, which allowed him access to every video scanner in the city, and thus allowed him to behold Spider-Man taking off his mask. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #105) Spider-Man, through a careful ploy, led Smythe to believe that what he had seen was not actually his face, but a second mask. Enraged, Smythe entered the Mark 4 Spider-Slayer, which was basically the same as Mark 3 accept twice as big and powerful, and piloted from inside. Soon, Spider-Man found himself in a web spun by Mark 4, and was quickly and decisively captured by Smythe. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #106) Smythe's Mark 4 Spider-Slayer carried the incapacitated Spider-Man to his lair, where he tied up Spider-Man upside down. Smythe then turned his back on Spider-Man and to his video monitors so he could use his video scanners around the city to direct his men around the cops. Spider-Man broke free and went on auto-pilot and attacked Spider-Man. Smythe was forced to go on guiding his men, and trust the robot, without his instruction, to catch Spider-Man on its own. Spider-Man clogged the sensors with web fluid and used the phone inside the robot to alert the police of the video cameras Smythe had all over town. Then, Spider-Man went to tackle Smythe's goons and before he was finished, was confronted by Mark 4 again, this time with Smythe inside. However, the robot started to short-circuit and then broke all together. Spider-Man revealed that he had switched the controls around when he dove in the cockpit earlier. He then tied up Smythe, and the Mark 4 Spider-Slayer, and left them both for the police. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #107)

Smythe rebuilt Spider-Slayer Mark 4, and used a different approach on his next attack. First he sent robotic replicas of the Vulture, the Kingpin, and the Sandman against Spider-Man. Each time that Spider-Man beat one of these robotic replicas, it would explode. When Spider-Man saw a Spider-Slayer coming, he assumed it was another fake and would explode as well. However, this Spider-Slayer was very real and easily ensnared an already tired Spider-Man, who was not on his guard at all. When Spider-Man realized the danger he was in, he managed to smash open the cockpit and knock out Smythe. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #150) Jameson, having lost faith in Smythe, had his soon-to-be wife Dr. Marla Madison construct for him a new Spider-Slayer, the Mark 5 Spider-Slayer. This one was huge and had super strength as well as a force beam. This one was controlled by Jameson's own mind. While fighting the Mark 5, Spider-Man was simultaneously fighting Will O' the Wisp. The fight eventually led them to an ice rink. In the battle, the Mark 5 Spider-Slayer was thrown into a massive statue of Prometheus which towered over the ice rink, and then fell on the robot, thereby wrecking the Spider-Slayer Mark 5. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #168) After the seeming death of John Jameson, J. Jonah Jameson came to blame Spider-Man for the loss of his son. This saw him reaching out to Spencer Smythe for the creation of a Spider-Slayer to kill the Wall-Crawler in an act of revenge. Smythe built his latest model but took Jameson hostage as he himself wanted revenge on both Jonah and Spider-Man. This was because the constant creation of Spider-Slayers had exposed Spencer to radioactive material in their construction that left him slowly dying. Thus, he wanted a last act of revenge against the two people responsible for his demise. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #191)

Within the asylum, Alistair Smythe seethed at his recent defeat by Spider-Man and devised a plan to get his revenge. During a prison break, he took a number of the in-mates from the special ward with him with these possessing a technical brilliance that rivalled his own. With their aid, he devised new technology that would help him defeat Spider-Man. Among these efforts included encasing Smythe's entire body in a bio-organic carapace that not only gave him the power to walk but boosted his strength as he became the cybernetic Ultimate Spider-Slayer. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #373)

Overview

Arachnid Spider-Slayers in Amazing Spider-Man v1 #372.

In appearance, the Spider-Slayers were a series of robots that came in a wide variety of shapes and forms.

They were designed to target anyone with spider DNA where they looked to attack them. Spider-Slayers were designed to circumvent the abilities of Spider-Man such as possessing an oily exterior to prevent liquid webbing from sticking to them and using their arms to intercept any webs shot at it. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #25)

It was said that certain models of Spider-Slayers were produced using radioactive materials. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #191)

Known models of Spider-Slayers included:

• Spider-Slayer Mark I : a vaguely humanoid form with a pair of legs and a screen on the had with it able to shoot out multiple coiled steel tentacles to ensnare its targets. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #25)
• Spider-Slayer Mark II : an improvement over the prototype with this being even more humanoid that was bigger, more powerful and deadlier where similar to the older version it had a screen for its head. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #58)
• Spider-Slayer Mark III :
• Spider-Slayer Mark IV :
• Spider-Slayer Mark V :
• Spider-Slayer Mark VI : one of the last models of Spider-Slayer made by Spencer Smythe with it being constructed of unshatterable metals and responded to mental commands. It was said to possess all the strengths of the previous models and none of the weaknesses. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #191)
• Spider-Slayer Mark X : a humanoid model whose appearance was that of an alien where it had an elongated head holding a mouth filled with fangs, clawed digits on its limbs, two pairs of pincers around the torso and a tail with a pincer on it, (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #368)
• Spider-Slayer Mark XIII : an amoeboid robot resembling one created by Mendel Stromm where its body could morph and wrap around its quarry to restrain them. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #370)

Notes

• Spider-Slayers were created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko where they made their first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man v1 #25 (June, 1965).

Alternate Versions

In other media

Television

• In Spider-Man, the Spider-Slayer appeared but unnamed in the setting of the 1987 animated television series in the episode "Captured by J. Jonah Jameson".
• In Spider-Man, the Spider-Slayers appeared in the setting of the animated television series where they appeared as antagonists starting from the episode "The Spider-Slayer". The first was created by Spencer Smythe with the resources of Oscorp after being hired by Norman Osborn who himself had been given the task by the Kingpin. In exchange for success, Spencer Smythe would be given a hover chair for his son Alistair Smythe who had lost the use of his legs following a laboratory explosion. Prior to its deployment, Smythe constructed remote drones called Spider Seekers that had sensors to track Spider-Man. After they proved a success, he launched the 'Black Widow' Spider-Slayer with the goal of capturing Spider-Man.
• In Spider-Man, the Spider-Slayers appeared in the setting of the 2017 animated television series with them being the secret robotic creations of Spencer Smythe with them working for Norman Osborn. One was deployed to attack the Horizon High science academy where it attacked the former laboratory of Harry Osborn to steal his equipment. During a confrontation with Spider-Man, the masked super-powered hero used an explosive to destroyed the Spider-Slayer. Alistair Smythe later operated another Spider-Slayer that attacked Spider-Man but it was destroyed. Spencer Smythe later grew angry at Norman Osborn for not giving him a teaching position at his Osborn Academy causing him to ally with Raymond Warren. Osborn and Warren both battled over control over the genetically engineered spiders that Raymond had created. Osborn began building an army of Spider-Slayers as he prepared for an eventual possible war with Warren's spider-enhanced warriors.

Video games

• In The Amazing Spider-Man 3: Invasion of the Spider-Slayers, the Spider-Slayers appeared as antagonists in the setting of the handheld Nintendo video game.
• In Spider-Man, the Spider-Slayers appeared in the video game adaptation of the Sam Raimi movie. They were created by OsCorp with them resembling mechanical spiders. After discovering Spider-Man, Norman Osborn and Dr. Stromm desired the secret of his abilities as it could save the company by perfecting the human performance enhancers. As a result, the Spider-Slayers were deployed but they ended up hunting the Scorpion due to his similar arachnid DNA.
• In The Amazing Spider-Man, the Spider-Slayers were re-named as the S-Bots that were antagonists in the video game adaptation of the movie.

Toys

Appearances

• Amazing Spider-Man v1: (1965)
• Superior Spider-Man v1:
• Amazing Spider-Man v5:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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