Arcade

Background

The son of a Texas oil millionaire (some accounts say a Beverly Hills businessman), Arcade killed his father and used Daddy's fortune to construct the first Murderworld. Now a thriving world-wide chain, Murderworld was designed to whimsically kill businessmen, political leaders, and anyone else Arcade was paid to murder. It can also be hired out as a training ground for mercenaries. Arcade charges one million dollars per assignment, which he uses to defray the exorbitant costs of his deadly theme parks.

Arcade ran into his first super-heroes when he kidnapped Spider-Man and Captain Britain, who in turn became the first people to survive Murderworld. Arcade took this personally, and began to track down super-heroes for no other reason than to off them. (Marvel Team Up #65)

”Why Me?”

Peter learned at the Bugle that Captain Britain needed Spider-Man’s help in London. He followed a clue to Baker Street, the address of Sherlock Holmes. He was attacked by a stone gargoyle that turned out to be a robot. The robot spayed him with gas and when he woke up, he was met by Excalibur, Captain Britain’s version of the X-Men. They attacked him and he soon realized that they thought they were fighting the Juggernaut. Nightmare and D’Spayre appeared and claimed to be behind everything but were beaten and found to be robots. A group of Spider-Man’s enemies arrived and were also androids. Spidey and Cap figured that this was all a virtual reality simulation and they tracked it back to Arcade. He was serving time at Blackmoor prison and explained that he had gained advanced technology from a Shi’ar soldier and chose Spider-Man and Cap to test it. They had Meggan trick him into confessing that he had bribed the warden to allow him to conduct his experiment. (Spider-Man (vol. 1) #25)

"Massacre in Murderworld"

Arcade was hired by Gaunt to kill the new Green Goblin, Phil Urich. The Goblin escaped but Arcade reported that he was a talented amateur. Gaunt passed the information along to his boss, Norman Osborn. (Green Goblin #10)

"Back on His Game"

Arcade laid a trap for Spider-Man and Black Cat when they were looking for a runaway named Dougie. They escaped from Murderworld, saved Dougie and captured Arcade. (Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 1) #29 and #30)

"Lifetime Achievement"

Arcade was hired by Frederick Foswell, Jr., the son of the Big Man, to kill Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson. After showing them a hologram review of Jonah's life, he ended the illusion and revealed them to be surrounded by the Scorpion, the Human Fly and Spencer Smythe's spider-slayer. After Scorpion escaped from Spider-Man, Gargan was kidnapped by Taskmaster and Black Ant, who were working for Arcade. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #13)

"Hunted"

Ultimately, Arcade's employer was Sergei Kravinoff, Kraven the Hunter. Kraven had hired Arcade for the purpose of building robots to be piloted by wealthy donors that wished to hunt dangerous prey. Arcade kept the donors entertained until Kraven arrived to announce that the hunt had begun. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #16) The most dangerous prey were animal themed menaces, who were captive in Central Park and prevented from escaping by a force field around the park. The prey was made up of:

• Princess Python
• White Rabbit
• Rhino
• Scorpia
• Viper
• Kangaroo (Hibbs)
• Puma
• Tarantula
• Armadillo
• Owl
• Beetle (Janice Lincoln)
• Toad
• Squid
• Stegron
• Dr. Octopus (Carolyn Trainer)
• Iguana
• Vulture
• Gibbon
• Frog Man
• Walrus
• Mad Dog
• Gazelle
• Mandrill
• Black Racer
• Man-Bull
• Razorback (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #17)

Arcade explained to the eager hunters how the robots worked. He explained that they were controlled by a control unit connected directly to their cerebral cortex. After the donors credit card info was entered, they could design and customize their robots any way they wanted. Weapons could be chosen, from primitive bows and arrows to advanced blaster cannons. They could even be modified with emblems and social media handles. He had a volunteer try on the glasses that connected the robot to his brain and then goaded him to attack the Iguana. The radio broadcast to the audience Iguana's mocking of the robot and Arcade taunted the donor to use the club against the creature. Soon the monster was beaten to death and others were eager to pay for their own robots. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #18)

After the robots began their attacks, Arcade witnessed the Vulture use the naïve Gibbon as bait to draw the robots away. He sent Toomes a hologram inviting him to meet at the restaurant in the park, and told him the alternative was to stay with the hunter robots. After Vulture arrived, Arcade explained that Kraven had hired Taskmaster and Black Ant to kidnap him, throw him into a cage, and then release him into the nearly impossible to escape death trap. Vulture was about to lunge at him, until the heavily armed drones showed up. Arcade went on to say that the trap was perfect, and he didn't like it. He wanted the prey to have a slim chance of survival to make the game interesting.

He showed Vulture a device that would disrupt the functions of the robots, slightly improving his odds. The catch was that the device had a small area to broadcast its signal, so one robot would have to be destroyed at a time. However, as each robot was dismantled, the strength of the broadcast would grow, enabling more of the machines to be weakened at a time. It would require many of the captured criminals to attack to ensure the broadcast field would grow...and would cost many lives. Arcade chose Vulture to give the device to, after seeing him throw Gibbon's life away. Vulture agreed to the deal and after he left, Kraven contacted Arcade to see if he took the bait. Arcade informed him that he had and if Vulture was willing to kill his followers to save himself, then he'd have the opportunity. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #20.HU)

Arcade soon met with Taskmaster, who was delivering the Lizard. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #19)

Later, Arcade was in a lab with the creature called Vermin. It was once Edward Whelan until he was experimented on and became a human/rat hybrid. Arcade taunted the caged creature and Vermin bit his finger. Vermin told him that Taskmaster had double crossed Arcade and was working with the Lizard. Arcade panicked and ordered his men to find them. He repaid Vermin by injecting him with a formula that caused him to split into other Vermins. Now there were four others. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #20.HU)

Spider-Man came to confront Kraven but was met by a hologram of Arcade. He told Spidey that Kraven was busy being mysterious and brooding, so he had something made up just for him. This time, Spider-Man wasn't facing just one Vermin but a dozen of them. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #21)

Spider-Man had been saved by the Vermin by Kraven, who wanted to make a point to him. He saw Spider-Man and his power as something magnificent but held back by Peter's compassion. Kraven wanted Spider-Man to embrace the idea that sometimes death is necessary. He then summoned Arcade, who again appeared as a hologram. Arcade then explained that if Spider-Man killed Kraven, the robots would be shut down, the criminal captives would be freed, the force field would be lifted and drones would be sent to save Black Cat and Billy Connors from Kraven's son/clone. He then wished Kraven good luck dying. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #22)

Arcade kept his word to lift the force field and release the captives, but didn't anticipate the group of heroes waiting for the chance to attack. The Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, and the Avengers were on hand to round up the escaping bad guys. Arcade's control room was soon breached by Carol Danvers. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #23)

"Arachnobatics"

Working with Mentallo, Arcade captured various students and personnel around Empire State University to subject them to a mind control device. They also captured both Spider-Men (Peter Parker and Miles Morales) and plugged them into the machine. It gave them a simulated reality of their greatest fantasies. Peter was married to Gwen Stacy, had children and May Parker was dating George Stacy. Miles was dating Kamala Khan. (Spectacular Spider-Men (vol. 1) #3)

Arcade and Mentallo got their funding from Hammerhead after explaining how their artificial intelligence program worked. Arcade had stolen technology from Tony Stark, the Baxter Building and the X-Men's Danger Room to create the "Arcadium." The A.I. could create a person's fantasies with androids and controlled environments, which would then be sold to the ultra-wealthy.

After the Spider-Men were captured, Arcade and Mentallo could watch their fantasies on a tv screen but were bored with what they saw. They also wanted to learn who they were but their faces were unfamiliar and no one said their names. Peter began to suspect that something was wrong when he realized his luck was never so good. Miles got suspicious after his clone, Shift, showed up and smashed Kamala, showing her to be a robot. (That would do it.) Mentallo managed to hurt them mentally and Arcade soon had duplicate Spider-Man androids going after them. The androids were beaten but then they faced each other, and assumed they were more robots. They breifly panicked and called Hammerhead, who decided to check on his investment. (Spectacular Spider-Men (vol. 1) #4)

They proudly explained to Hammerhead that they had fooled the Spider-Men into thinking that the other was a robot, but their boss was unimpressed. Hammerhead demanded to handle the bugs himself and soon Arcade had him plugged in to Arcadium. (Spectacular Spider-Men (vol. 1) #5)

Arcade and Mentallo saw their robots being destroyed, making them deploy "Contingency Zed." The Arcadium sensed that it's creators were about to wipe it out, and it was aided by a man claiming to be Raymond Warren. Soon the computer program was a biological being that called itself K.N.A.I.V.E. (Spectacular Spider-Men (vol. 1) #6)

Arcade and Mentallo began to panic as the police covered all of the exits, when they were saved by Turk Barrett. He said that the Arcadium had been a brilliant and he had ideas for it. (Spectacular Spider-Men (vol.1) #8)

Image Gallery

Appearances

Cover Date	Appearance Information
Jan 1978	1st: Marvel Team-Up #65
	(First Published Appearance) Kidnaps Spider-Man and Captain Britain; faces his first defeat
Aug 1979	FB: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #124
Feb 1978	App: Marvel Team-Up #66
	Origin given
Jun 1979	App: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #122
	Kidnaps X-Men and Spidey; brainwashes Colossus; again defeated
Jul 1979	App: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #123
Aug 1979	App: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #124
Jan 1980	App: Marvel Team-Up #89
Oct 1980	BTS: Marvel Two-In-One #68
May 1981	App: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #145
	Must deal with the wrath of Dr. Doom, and contacts the X-Men for help
Jun 1981	App: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #146
Jul 1981	App: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #147
Date TBD	App: Micronauts (Vol. 1) #45
Jan 1984	App: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #177
Sep 1985	App: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #197
Apr 1986	App: Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #204
Apr 1990	FB: Marvel Fanfare #50
Jan 1989	App: Excalibur #4
	Kidnaps Excalibur, and is forced to run the Murderworld gauntlet himself
Feb 1989	App: Excalibur #5
Date TBD	BTS: Marvel Comics Presents #31
Date TBD	BTS: Marvel Comics Presents #32
Date TBD	BTS: Marvel Comics Presents #33
Date TBD	BTS: Marvel Comics Presents #34
Date TBD	BTS: Marvel Comics Presents #35
Date TBD	BTS: Marvel Comics Presents #36
Date TBD	BTS: Marvel Comics Presents #37
Date TBD	App: Marvel Comics Presents #38
Apr 1992	App: Marvel Comics Presents #99 (Story 1)
Aug 1992	App: Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #25
Date TBD	FB: Gambit & Wolverine L.S. #4
Date TBD	BTS: Gambit & Wolverine L.S. #1
	After accidentally killing Miss Locke, sets up a series of murders in a half-suicidal attempt to have Gambit and/or Wolverine kill him
Date TBD	App: Gambit & Wolverine L.S. #2
Date TBD	App: Gambit & Wolverine L.S. #3
Date TBD	App: Gambit & Wolverine L.S. #4
Jul 1996	FB, BTS: Green Goblin #10
Jul 1996	App: Green Goblin #10
Mar 1998	FB: X-Force #76
Mar 1998	FB, BTS: X-Force #76
Mar 1998	App: X-Force #76
Oct 1998	App: Excalibur #125
Jul 1996	App: Green Goblin #10
	Hired by Gaunt and a Mysterious Shadowy Figure to get the Green Goblin's gear.
Jul 1998	App: Sensational Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #29
	Captures Spidey and Black Cat by accident. Captured.
Aug 1998	App: Sensational Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #30
Jan 2003	App: Agent X #5

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.