Tarantula (Marvel)

The Tarantula strikes in X-Force v5 #5.

Tarantula is the name used by several characters in the Marvel Universe.

Tarantula (Antonio Miguel Rodriguez)

Main Article: Antonio Miguel Rodriguez

Anton Miguel Rodriquez was a male human who came to be a revolutionary in the South American country of Delvadia fighting to overthrow the fascist government. He and his fellow freedom fighters employed such tactics as bombings, kidnapping politicians for ransom, and assassinations. Rodriquez was expelled from his group after he murdered a security guard in cold blood during a bank robbery. The Delvadian government took notice of Rodriquez and gave him a new mission and role as the Tarantula, a government backed costumed agent, in effect a fascistic Captain America. He was used against his former allies in assignments he especially enjoyed. Rodriquez's violent streak eventually got the better of him when he killed a guard who wouldn't allow him to beat a captured revolutionary. Disavowed by the government, Tarantula fled South America and began living in New York illegally. He soon began to integrate himself into the city's criminal underworld. For his first big score, Tarantula, along with his two henchmen Hidalgo and Juan, hijacked a Hudson River dayliner in order to rob the passengers and hold them for ransom. Spider-Man, with help from the Punisher, managed to foil the Tarantula's plan and capture him. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #135)

Tarantula (Luis Alvarez)

Main Article: Luis Alvarez

Luis Alvarez was a male human who lived in the South American country of Delvadia. Several months after the death of the original Tarantula, Captain Luis Alvarez was employed by the same repressive dictatorship of Delvadia, a South American country, to replace him as the country's counterpart to the United States' costumed champion, Captain America. Alvarez was injected with drugs that gave him enhanced fighting abilities and strength. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #36) As Tarantula, Alvarez was sent to the United States to kill those who fled the South American regime. Tarantula killed Armando Ruiz, an employee at the Daily Bugle, then proceeded to hunt down other refugees. It was revealed that a man called South and assorted allies in other intelligence agencies were supporting Tarantula's government and providing him with aid in the U.S. Captain America (John Walker) was assigned to work with Tarantula. Tarantula and Walker came into conflict with Spider-Man, and Tarantula engaged the hero in combat, while Walker refused to intervene. Spider-Man was able to defeat Tarantula and he was deported to his native country. Walker eventually conferred with his own superiors and learned that South had been working without official authorization to back the South American country. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #138)

Tarantula (Unknown)

Main Article: Unknown

An unknown man came to claim the Tarantula identity which he used to become a costumed super-criminal. Using this persona, he was noted to had fought against the Runaways where he was defeated by Nico Minoru. (Runaways v2 #7)

Tarantula (Maria Vasquez)

Main Article: Maria Vasquez

Tarantula (Jacinda Rodriguez)

Main Article: Jacinda Rodriguez

Jacinda Rodriguez

Tarantula and Marie Batroc were hired by Higashi of the East Wind to kill Agent X, Outlaw and Taskmaster. She and Batroc's daughter waited on a rooftop while the three targets fought dozens of other mercenaries below. When Taskmaster made his way to the roof, the two attacked him, he avoided and they fell off the roof. Stating that he hated ethnic stereotypes, he shot them both multiple times. (Agent X v1 #6)

Tarantula (Kaine)

Main Article: Kaine

Overview

The original Tarantula was a great athlete with incredible agility, leaping skills and excellent in hand-to-hand combat. Additionally, they wore gloves with retractable razor-sharp finger claws and boots with two retractable razor-sharp spikes loaded with drugs that would render their victim unconscious, or other harmful or lethal drugs and poisons. They were educated in military school, was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant and was skilled in various martial arts, particularly in kickboxing. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #134)

Notes

• The concept of Tarantula was created by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru where it made its first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man v1 #134 (July, 1974).
• In Back Issue! v1 #44 (2010), writer Gerry Conway recounted the characters creation:

"During the political upheavals in South America during the 1970s, there was a real sense that we, the United States, were somewhat culpable, both for supporting the repressive regimes that were in power, and in the case of Chile, actually assisting in the overthrow of the democratically elected government. So, in that environment, a character like the Tarantula was inherently political. But the real reason I wanted to write that particular story was something said by my good friend Don Glut, who was also writing for Marvel at the time. Don once asked, "Why aren't there international heroes from smaller countries, a third-world, or old-world Captain America, like say, Captain Serbo-Croatia?" We laughed, but I really liked that notion: Just because the United States came up with their guy, why stop there? Why stop with the larger countries, the superpowers?"

• In Marvel Westerns Outlaw Files v1 #1 (2006), el Tarantula was the identity of César Mendivil who was the hero of Delvadia during the late 1800s. During the 1890s, he faced his much older Boca del Dios counterpart el Aguila during the Delvadia/Boca del Dios border wars. At the end of the conflict, he was missing, presumed dead. It was this persona that came to be used by the modern era Tarantula.

Alternate Versions

• In Ultimate Spider-Man v1 #100 (2006), an alternate version of the Tarantula appeared in the Ultimate Marvel reality designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse.
• In Spider-Geddon v1 #0 (2018), an alternate version of the Tarantula appeared in the Insomniac Spider-Man reality designated as Earth-1048 in the Multiverse. This version had made of multiple mechanical spider-like limbs which he used in his crimes. The Tarantula was reported to be assaulting a bank on the Financial District, when Spider-Man appeared to stop him. Both engage in a fight, with Spider-Man using a Web Bomb to immobilize Tarantula. The battle is suddenly interrupted when the Superior Spider-Man of Earth-616 warps into Earth-1048 to try to recruit this universe's Spider-Man to the Superior Spider-Army. Both Spider-Man and the Superior Spider-Man engage in a fight, with the Tarantula using the opportunity to escape after tricking Spider-Man into one of his own web bombs. Later, the Tarantula was finally arrested, when both Spider-Man and the Superior Spider-Man managed to ambush him while he was attacking a research facility in the city.

Appearances

• Amazing Spider-Man v1: (1974)

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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