Tarantula I
Attributes
| Eyes: | Brown |
| Features: | The Tarantula periodically sported a pencil- thin mustache. Oh, and he occasionally had eight appendages. |
| Hair: | Black |
| Height: | 6' 1" |
| Weight: | 185 lbs |
Powers
| Abilities: | The Tarantula was a superb hand-to-hand combatant and was exceptionally agile. |
| Limitations: | Short-tempered, impatient, and inclined to kill on the spur of the moment. |
| Powers: | The Tarantula possessed no powers, although once he became a spider he could spin a killer web. |
| Strength Level: | As a human, the Tarantula possessed peak athlete, although not super-human, capabilities. As a giant spider, he was in the lift- 10-tons category. |
| Weapons: | The Tarantula possessed boots that contained retractable, poison-dipped spikes and gloves with retractable, poison-dipped claws. |
Summary
| Citizenship: | Delvadia (South America) |
| Created By: | |
| Current Occupation: | deceased |
| Dual Identity: | Not Public |
| Education: | Unknown |
| Former Aliases: | Mr. Valdez |
| Former Bases: | South America, Miami |
| Former Occupation: | Terrorist, Government Operative, Criminal for Hire |
| Known Allies: | Senor Suerte, Lightmaster, Kraven the Hunter (although they didn't get along), the Jackal, the Brand Corporation |
| Known Relatives: | Daughter (Tarantula III) |
| Legal Status: | Known international criminal |
| Major Enemies: | Spider-Man, Captain America |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Place of Birth: | Delvadia (presumably) |
| Real Name: | Anton Miguel Rodriguez |
| Usual Bases: | New York City |
Background
"Danger is a Man Named...Tarantula"
Tarantula and his gang hijacked a day long boat trip on the Hudson River and robbed the passengers, among them Peter, Mary Jane, Liz Allan and Flash Thompson. The gang also held the ship for ransom and Spider-Man failed to stop the situation when Tarantula forced a crew member overboard. Spidey was poisoned by Tarantula's dagger shoes and as he lay on the deck of the ship, the group was saved by the Punisher. Tarantula escaped. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #134)
"The Tarantula is a Very Deadly Beast"
In an Upstate New York prison, Anton Rodriguez sharpened a new pair of dagger shoes in the workshop. He stabbed a guard, climbed over the prison wall and jumped into the waiting truck below, driven by the Jackal. He told the green costumed man to hurry before the guards arrived and Jackal told him that he was in the big leagues now and the Jackal was the biggest league of all. He found Spider-Man being stopped by the police after the webhead freaked out and smashed mirrors in a store. (Peter was suffering a mental breakdown after learning that Gwen Stacy had seemingly returned. He had actually met the Gwen Stacy clone.) After stabbing the two cops, Tarantula said he wanted revenge for having been defeated after the boat hijacking. As they fought across town, the locals muttered their nonchalance or annoyance over yet another "super jerk" battle. As the fight went on, Spidey noticed that the Tarantula seemed to be going in circles, always leading them back to where they started. Tarantula explained that when you hunt an animal, you lure it to a trap before kicking it in. He kicked Spider-Man into a passing bus, where the driver told them to move to the back. The bus stopped and the terrified passengers fled to safety before the bus continued speeding along. The bus made another stop as the fight continued, and a new passenger came on board. Spider-Man was stunned to see Gwen quietly take a seat, as the driver reminded her to pay the thirty-five cent bus fare.
The driver ripped off his mask, revealing the Jackal. Tarantula kept Spidey busy as Jackal smashed the bus through cars before arriving at the Brooklyn Bridge. As Gwen and Jackal left the bus, Tarantula stabbed Spidey in the back with his drugged shoes. When he woke up, he was chained up on top of the bridge's pillar with his captors. Tarantula said he would have killed him painlessly but Jackal insisted that they wait until he awoke. Jackal told Spider-Man that he was going to kill him in the same way and place that Gwen had died and Tarantula shoved him over the edge, calling him a good but foolish foe. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #147)
"Jackal, Jackal...Who's Got the Jackal"
Spidey caught himself by webbing the side of the bridge but was knocked out when the momentum swung him into the piling. On top of the support column, Jackal revealed an unassembled jet pack to fly them away from the gathering police. Tarantula flew them all to safety. After Spidey regained consciousness and escaped from the police, Peter met Ned Leeds at Peter's apartment. Together they reasoned that the Gwen he saw was a clone and Peter realized that the clone must have been created from cells taken for a science experiment in Professor Miles Warren's biology class. They confronted Warren, who directed them to his assistant, Anthony Serba. At Serba's apartment, Spider-Man was ambushed by Tarantula and the South American assassin was eventually defeated. Spidey was taken by surprise by the Jackal and drugged again. Jackal revealed that he had the Gwen clone with him, as well as the kidnapped Ned Leeds. He unmasked himself, revealing Professor Warren. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #148)
"Even If I Live...I Die"
Tarantula remained unconscious as Warren revealed his plot. Assumedly, he was taken away by the police. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #149)
"Twice Stings the Tarantula"
As Spidey took pictures of college Vice Chancellor Edward Lansky, Lansky’s speech was interrupted by Tarantula and his men. Tarantula and his goons escaped with Lansky and Spidey earned a broken rib. Later, at City Hall, Peter conveniently saw the same limousine that Tarantula escaped in. Inside, Spidey came across Tarantula and his men and as he dealt with the thugs, Tarantula threatened the mayor with death if he didn’t come along. After Spidey showed up, their fight crashed them through a window and the mayor fell with them. Tarantula escaped while the mayor was saved. (Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 1) #1)
”Kraven is the Hunter”
Inside a townhouse in Gramercy Park, Tarantula attacked a mysterious guest to the residence. Kraven threw off his hat and trench coat, warning his assailant of who he was. Kraven’s tigers were useless and soon a man in the shadows told both of them to shut up. He told Tarantula that he was lucky to only be assisted by Kraven instead of being killed for failing to murder the mayor. He told them that their next target was school Chancellor Richard Gorman, dead or alive. The two bickered and threatened each other as they crept along the administration building and after Kraven caught Gorman, Tarantula congratulated him on catching a fat old man. Kraven’s tigers kept the guards at bay while the men escaped to another building via a jungle vine. Tarantula called him “a master of running away.”
Tarantula delivered Gorman to his unknown boss, saying he’d take Kraven’s half of the bounty. (Kraven was busy with Spider-Man.) Tarantula started to take the money and leave, thinking of how he’d double cross his “leader” by selling the knowledge of his identity. Before he got far, the money exploded and a gas knocked him out. His boss told him he knew too much. (Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 1) #2)
”…And There Was Lightmaster”
Tarantula ended up bound next to Chancellor Gorman but soon cut the rope that held him. He stabbed Gorman with his poisoned shoe to put him back to sleep before swearing death on his former boss. He didn’t get far as Lightmaster waited for him. Tarantula was blinded by light as a voice told him he kept Tarantula alive to test his power against his former employee. Tarantula was unconscious after being knocked into a pillar. (Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 1) #3)
Furious at yet another defeat by Spider- Man, the Tarantula agreed to undergo an experiment meant to re-create the powers of Spider-Man. The experiment was disrupted by Will O'Wisp, and the Tarantula emerged an eight-limbed, spider-like creature with limited intelligence. Unable to bear life in his new form, the Tarantula threw himself into a police barrage of bullets and committed suicide.
The next person to use the name was Tarantula (Alvarez). Also, Anton’s daughter, Jacinda, became the Tarantula.
Appearances
| Cover Date | Appearance Information |
|---|---|
| Jul 1974 | App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #134 |
| Attempts to take a cruise-boat hostage, origin shown. | |
| Aug 1974 | App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #135 |
| Defeated by Spider-Man and the Punisher. | |
| Aug 1975 | App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #147 |
| Partnership with the Jackal | |
| Sep 1975 | App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #148 |
| Oct 1975 | App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #149 |
| Aug 1978 | App: Captain America (Vol. 1) #224 |
| Teams up with Senor Suerte to use the mad-bombs for extortion purposes, but is stopped by Captain America | |
| Dec 1976 | App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #1 |
| Hired by Lightmaster to perform a series of kidnappings, and is unwillingly teamed with Kraven the Hunter | |
| Jan 1977 | App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #2 |
| Feb 1977 | App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #3 |
| Oct 1982 | App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #233 |
| Hired by the Brand Corporation to murder "Nose" Norton, but thwarted by Spider-Man | |
| Nov 1982 | App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #234 |
| Undergoes an experimental process undermined by Will O'Wisp, and emerges as a gigantic spider | |
| Dec 1982 | App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #235 |
| Is placed under the mental control of Will O'Wisp, but fights it. | |
| Jan 1983 | App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #236 |
| Commits suicide by jumping off a skyscraper into a hail of police gunfire. |
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.