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| The Tarantula | |
| Aliases: | The Tarantula; Anton Rodriguez |
| Continuity: | Marvel Universe |
| Notability: | Antagonist |
| Type: | Supervillain |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| Location: | Delvadia, South America Miami Beach, Florida [1] |
| Relatives: | Jacinda Rodriguez (daugther) |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Died: | 1983 (Publishing year) |
| First: | Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1 #134 |
| Final: | Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1 #236 |
Overview[]
Biography[]
The Brand Corporation hired Anton Miguel Rodriguez to track down and assassinate an information named "Nose" Norton, who had reportedly uncovered information relating to some of Brand's more illicit activities. Rodriguez reluctantly accepted the job and tracked Norton to a dive bar called Murray's in Staten Island, New York. As it turned out, Peter Parker had likewise tracked "Nose" Norton down and quickly changed to Spider-Man so he could fight up against the Tarantula. Spidey avoided Tarantula's poisoned toe-tips and managed to defeat him, dumping his body onto a passing garbage scow. Rodriguez quickly revived however, and made his escape. [2]
Despite his failure to assassinate Nose Norton, the Brand Corporation were willing to give the Tarantula another shot, by upgrading his abilities. He wanted to become as powerful as Spider-Man, but the Brand men upped the ante, stating that he would "be" Spider-Man. Rodriguez volunteered to undergo a scientific process, which had the unfortunate result of transforming him into a hideous spider monster. [3]
Powers[]
For most of his career, the Tarantula was just a normal human being gifted with great athletic ability. He did not develop any superhuman capabilities until he was transformed into a giant spider.
- Superhuman strength: The Tarantula developed superhuman strength only in his mutated spider form. His strength level was approximately in the 10-ton range, the same as Spider-Man, even though his arachnid form did not easily allow him the ability to make use of this strength.
- Superhuman durability: The Tarantula developed superhuman durability only in his mutated spider form. He could withstand many forms of small-yield weaponry such as low-caliber handguns and bladed weapons.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Anton Miguel Rodriguez was created by writer Gerry Conway, artist Ross Andru and inkers Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt.
- Anton's daughter, Jacinda Rodriguez, assumed her father's identity as the Tarantula and appeared in Agent X #6.
See also[]
External Links[]
- Tarantula at MDP
- Tarantula at Wikipedia
- Tarantula at Comic Vine
- Tarantula at SpiderFan.org
- Tarantula at Sam Ruby.com
- Tarantula at Comicbookdb.com
Appearances[]
- Amazing Spider-Man 233
- Amazing Spider-Man 234 - Mutates into a spider monster
- Captain America 224