Background

Dmitri Smerdyakov was taught to hate himself from the moment he was born. He was the child of the recently widowed father of Sergei Kravinoff and a servant girl. Dmitri's parents never intended to have a child and considered his birth to be a humiliation. They taught him to hate the sight of his own face, which is why he wears a mask at all times, even when not engaged in criminal activity. The only person who even barely tolerated him was his older half brother, Sergei. In attempts to entertain his brother, Dmitri acted for him and with practice became an excellent impersonator. Despite his attempts, Dmitri was routinely beaten and humiliated by Sergei. Sergei could also be kind and compassionate to him, which left Dmitri feeling conflicted about his playmate, whom he was unaware was his half-brother.

His skill eventually brought him to the attention of the Communist countries, who trained him as a spy. With the ability to mimic anyone's face and voice, sneaky doesn't even begin to describe the Chameleon. Even though Spider-man has fought him numerous times, he has never been able to see through his disguises, until it's too late. The Chameleon's most deadly weapon is his devious mind. Loathing physical confrontations, he usually gets someone else to do his dirty work. Now trying to climb his way to the top spot in the New York criminal underworld, the Chameleon's ruthless cunning and ever-changing epidermis could make his dream a reality.

Smerdyakov impersonated Professor Newton during his first encounter with Spider-Man, while he was trying to steal American nuclear technology for the Soviets. Smerdyakov, hating to dirty his hands with battle, enlisted his old friend, Kraven the Hunter, after Dmitri returned from being deported. The Chameleon adopted the guise of JJJ during the Lobo Brothers/ Kingpin gang war while he bid his time to take over New York's criminal underworld with the help of Hammerhead. He caused Spider-Man to believe he had lost his powers at another time.

Dmitri remained subservient to his half brother for years but always hoped to prove himself equal to Kraven. The duo once tried to break into Tony Stark's (Iron Man)R & D lab but Kraven was quickly beaten by Stark. Dmitri, unseen by the Iron Avenger, saw an opportunity to prove himself but naturally, that didnt happen.

Dmitri hired the Femme Fatales (Bloodlust, Whiplash, Mindblast and Knockout) to do away with Spidey. They failed. Meanwhile, the Hunter had taken his life and Chameleon decided to avenge his childhood friend. After many tries, he followed a malicious hint by the Green Goblin (Harry Osborn) and used androids to pose as Peter's parents, to try to explore the "connection" between Peter and Spider-Man.

When his returned parents (who Peter learned to love) were revealed as robots, he went berserk, and hunted the Chameleon. In their final confrontation, Dmitri's repressed memories of childhood beatings flooded his mind. He had been tortured by Sergei and his father, both of whom had treated him as more of a servant than a family member. Dmitri didn't love his "friend" Sergei--he hated him! That and the shock of Spidey's feral rage threw the Chameleon into a catatonic state, from which he just kept repeating the words "I'm nothing"...

Following an escape from Ravencroft, he captured Spider-Man and learned his identity (finally understanding why Spidey had gone berserk). Chameleon tried to convince him that his life as Spider-Man was just a figment of his imagination. Peter didn't buy it, but the Chameleon escaped and saw what he thought was Sergei. (It was actually the first time that Alyosha Kravinoff had met his uncle.) It was then that Alyosha told Dmitri he was a half-brother to Sergei. He went after Mary Jane, and she beat him with a baseball bat. He managed to escape from Spider- Man, after he was found with Mary Jane, but his luck didn't improve. He nearly died, as Alyosha confronted Dmitri with a rifle, saying "The world is only big enough for one Kravinoff." That's when Dimitri finally realized that the Kraven before him was not a hallucination. Too late...

However, Kraven's son turned his rifle aside at the last moment, and Dimitri had a chance to survive: he is seen in a hospital bed in Spectacular #250, with doctors all around him, who presumably saved him. He later resurfaced to try to commit suicide in a last moment of clarity. In a poignant story by Paul Jenkins in Webspinners Tales of Spider-Man #10 and following, the full extent of Chameleon's loneliness and fractured identity is revealed to Spider-Man atop the Brooklyn Bridge, before Dmitri tries to sacrifice himself to the waters.

Unfortunately, Ron Zimmerman brought him back with no explanation, committed to an insane asylum. Let's assume Chameleon's suicide attempt failed and he was recovered from the river by the authorities. The Dmitri persona was buried deep inside, as the insane man believed he is Kraven, the Hunter.

Dmitri seems to have pulled himself together somewhat, as he recently led a band of Spider-Man's enemies to attack his loved ones. Peter had revealed his true identity to the public after the Superhuman Registration Act was passed. While Molten Man, Will o the Wisp, Swarm and Scarecrow attacked Liz Allan and Norman Osborn Jr., Chameleon went after Aunt May disguised as her nephew. Peter defeated the villains in time to see that Aunt May had tricked the Chameleon and was safe. Sleeping pills in cookies. Dmitri was not on his game.

He was much more focused after being hired by Colonel Masab and his "pro-Taliban elements" in Pakistan. His mission was to assemble a dirty bomb in New York, which he accomplished by again taking Peter Parker's identity. Peter had become a press photographer for mayor J. Jonah Jameson. Not that Chameleon remembered Peter. His mind, like everyone else, had been wiped clean of Spider-Man's secret ID by the Parkers' deal with Mephisto. "Parker. Peter Parker," he mused as he made a mold of a kidnapped Peter's face. "Why does that name sound so familiar to me? Tch. So many names. So many faces. And I've been them all."

Using Peter's security clearance to get access to various materials, Smerdyakov was ready for the bomb. It was seconds from detonation when Spidey caught on to the plan, but Chameleon escaped. Mayor Jameson's Spider Slayer Squad managed to contain the explosion, and promptly resigned after Jameson insisted that Spider-Man was still the bigger threat than the bomb. Later, at an abandoned building, Dmitri is met by Sasha Kravinoff, who wants his help in avenging the death of her husband.

Dmitri played his part in the death of Spider-Man by playing the part of Ezekiel Sims, Peter Parker's former mentor and guide through the revelations of his magic based powers. Disguised as Ezekiel, Chameleon informed Spider-Man and the second Spider-Woman of the Kravinoff plot against them both. He led them to believe he was going to help them build a "spider army" including "the twin monsters, Venom and Anti-Venom. Instead he led them to the waiting Kravens, who quickly took them both down. Over the grave of Kraven the Hunter, Spider-Man was sacrificed, his blood used to resurrect his old enemy.

After Sergei was reborn, Chameleon expressed doubt over whether or not his half brother had even intended to be brought back. "Has anyone stopped to consider the fact that this man shot himself in the head? How do you know he wanted to come back?" Dmitri knew his brother better than he was given credit for. The sacrificed man in the costume was Kaine, not Peter, and when Peter had pulled himself out of yet another grave, he wasn't happy. Spider-Man went through the Kravinoffs quickly and Chameleon was the easiest.

Thanks To:

The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.

Some of the above information is extracted from the various versions of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and the more recent Marvel Encyclopaedias.