Scorpion
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Full Name: | MacDonald Gargan |
First Appearance: | Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #19 (as MacDonald Gargan) Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #20 (as Scorpion) Marvel Knights: Spider-Man Vol. 1 #10 (as Venom) Dark Avengers #1 (as Spider-Man) |
Created by: | Stan Lee; Steve Ditko |
Home Universe: | Earth-616 |
Alignment: | Bad |
Status: | Alive |
Place of Birth: | Yonkers, New York |
Citizenship: | American |
Base: | Alchemax Tower, Manhattan, New York City, New York; formerly Thunderbolts Mountain, Colorado; Avengers Tower, New York City, New York |
Affiliations: | Former partner of Mister Hyde and Delilah; formerly Sinister Six/Sinister Twelve, Egghead's Masters of Evil, Thunderbolts, Osborn's Avengers, H.A.M.M.E.R., Alchemax, Black Cat's Gang, Inklings, Symbiote Task Force |
Powers/Abilities: | Investigative Prowess, Formidable Opponent |
Height: | 6' 2" (1.88 m) |
Weight: | 220 lbs (100 kg) (245 lbs. with Symbiote) |
Hair Color: | Shaved (formerly brown) |
Eye Color: | Brown |
Unique Features: | Scorpion-like armor and tail attached to his body, no longer has a jaw |
"You don't have to ask, Smythe. Killing the Spider's always been my idea of fun. But after what he did to me--to us--we won't leave enough of him to bury." |
MacDonald Gargan (of Earth-616), also known as Scorpion, Venom, and Spider-Man; was originally a private investigator initially hired by J. Jonah Jameson to find out how Peter Parker was able to obtain his incredible pictures of Spider-Man. Jameson later convinced him to undergo a procedure that granted him all the powers of a scorpion, but at the cost of his sanity.
History[]
Birth of the Scorpion[]
Mac Gargan was a private investigator initially hired by J. Jonah Jameson to find out how Peter Parker is able to obtain incredible pictures of Spider-Man. Gargan's efforts set off Peter's spider-sense and the teen was able to easily evade him. Jameson then decided to hire Gargan as the subject of a tested process that would endow him with useful characteristics of a particular animal with the help of Dr. Farley Stillwell. In this case, a scorpion was the base for the purposes of creating a powerful agent capable of defeating Spider-Man.
The Scorpion proved to be more than a match for the wall-crawler, defeating him twice, but the mutagenic treatment seriously affected Gargan's mind, driving him insane. He promptly turned on his benefactor, but Spider-Man managed to finally defeat the Scorpion in their third battle. Jameson was struck with irony that he was saved by the man he tried to destroy from the thing he created to hurt him. Scorpion became a professional criminal and would return to indulge in his vendetta against Spider-Man and Jameson, only to be defeated again.
Later, he was hired by a spy who works for S.H.I.E.L.D, Agent Sharon Carter, but was defeated by Captain America. Scorpion was acquired by Mr. Kline, who created android duplicates of Scorpion and Mr. Hyde to dispatch against Daredevil. The real Scorpion and Mr. Hyde then launched a campaign of terror against S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but were defeated by Captain America and the Falcon. After being released from prison for good behavior, the Scorpion resumes his criminal career and encounters Spider-Man again. After realizing that the wall-crawler survived his encounter, he receives help from the Jackal who gives him Spider-Man's location. Scorpion arrives at a hospital room finding Peter Parker and his Aunt May. Not realizing that he had Spider-Man right there, he threatens May and demands to know where Spider-Man is, after she faints, Scorpion rampages through the hospital. Spider-Man furiously beats the Scorpion and forces him to apologize to May.
Through the course of his career, Scorpion acquired a few items, a new costume, and several new tails, one that spurted acid, another that spurted tear gas, and one that can deliver electric blasts from its stinger. He also fought Ms. Marvel after a botched revenge attempt against Jameson; the Scorpion became more psychotic than usual after his battle with Ms. Marvel, resulting in his being dumped in acid. In the sewers, his sanity was deteriorating, Scorpion came to believe that his costume couldn't come off. However, after a quick encounter, Spider-Man proved to him that his belief of being a monster was in his mind. He formed an extortion racket to sabotage the Daily Bugle, but was thwarted by Spider-Man and Captain America. He was freed from prison by agents of Egghead, who wanted him as a member of the Masters of Evil. The team fought the Avengers but were defeated. Scorpion would make another attempt to ruin Jameson's life by kidnapping his bride Marla Madison on their wedding day but she is rescued by Spider-Man. Jonah does appreciate the irony from his relationship with the Scorpion and eventually decided to publicly confess to his role in creating a super villain when the original Hobgoblin tried to use that secret to blackmail him.
Despite his encounters with other foes, Scorpion has always had a special hatred for Spider-Man and Jameson, which extended when he attempted to become a mercenary for Justin Hammer, who had the Scorpion's modified battle suit . Namely, he ruined his prospects on his first mission, to capture a war hero, when he could not resist creating a hostage situation simply to bring Jameson to him for revenge. Hammer sent Whiplash and Rhino to subdue Gargan and confiscate his tail enhancement equipment for abrogating his contract.
Scorpion tried to enter Canada to avoid the Super Human Registration Act. The Tinkerer met him at the airport and provided him with a modified scorpion tail for his costume. He, Asp, Nekra, and Leland Owlsley a.k.a Owl (who were under the control of Llan the Sorcerer) were repelled by Alpha Flight and Gamma Flight. He was then hired by the Chameleon to kill a de-powered Spider-Man. He was defeated by the Black Cat. At one point, the Scorpion's constant defeats at the hands of Spider-Man drove him into depression. He wandered the sewers, his mind became clearer than it had been since his transformation and decided to quit being the Scorpion. He encountered a depressed and crisis-ridden Spider-Man. Ignoring Gargan's plea that he had changed, the wall-crawler beat him savagely. In his next appearance, Gargan was back to being a psychopath. He battled and was defeated by Spider-Man's clone Ben Reilly.
Scorpion temporarily worked for Roxxon and helped them in their phony "Rehabilitation Therapy". Roxxon updated Scorpion's powers and costume and promised that he would get back at his enemies. Spider-Man managed to convince Scorpion that he was only being used as Jameson had once before. Scorpion then turned on Roxxon and was then defeated by Spider-Man. Gargan reappeared during the aftermath of the Secret War that had been organized by Nick Fury against Latveria. He was among the super villains who had been supplied with technology by a Latverian dictator Lucia von Bardas and sent to attack the heroes who had been involved in Fury's Secret War. The villains' technologies were then hijacked by von Bardas, supplying her with power and potentially at the villains' lives, but the assembled heroes defeated von Bardas and apprehended Scorpion and the others.
The Next Venom[]
Norman Osborn reveals Spider-Man's true identity to Gargan and gives him orders to kidnap Peter's Aunt May should Osborn ever be captured and imprisoned. When Spider-Man defeats Osborn, he is imprisoned and Gargan carries out Osborn's orders in kidnapping Aunt May. In the middle of his task Scorpion was approached by the recently freed Venom Symbiote. Seeking a new host that shared both its hatred of Spider-Man as well as the experience of a life of crime, the symbiote bonded with the Scorpion, who eagerly accepted the offer, and transformed into the monstrous Venom. After an elaborate plan paid off, the Green Goblin was out of prison, leading Spider-Man and the Black Cat into direct confrontation with the newly formed Sinister Twelve, which included the new, more powerful Venom.
Venom and the Sinister Twelve very nearly defeated Spider-Man before the Fantastic Four and a small faction of the Avengers led by Captain America joined in, leading to the eventual defeat of the Twelve. In the midst of the battle Osborn escaped, with the intention to murder Peter's wife, Mary Jane. Spider-Man soon followed only to be stopped by Venom. The two foes continued to battle high above on New York's rooftops. After catching Gargan off balance, Spider-Man dropped a condemned building on the new Venom. Venom was arrested and sent to Ryker's Island. He promised Spider-Man he would never reveal his identity, as that was his only leverage against him. Though incarcerated, Gargan is unfazed, as with his new powers came the respect of becoming a villain.
Alongside Spider-Man and other villains and heroes, Gargan is kidnapped by other-dimensional forces. Where he succeeds on killing Spider-Man, who is really the original Space Phantom in disguise. For his crimes, the Inhumans matriarch came as Medusa orders his execution and almost carries it out herself. Later, he tries to kill the other participants for the "Beyonder's" wish fulfillment prize for the winner, but fails and is returned to Earth.
Thunderbolts[]
Gargan later becomes a member of a the Thunderbolts, which has been drafted by the Avengers to hunt down the members of the fugitive Secret Avengers and is currently run by the Commission for Superhuman Activities. It was then revealed that he has been outfitted with electrical implants by the government to keep the symbiote in check. As a Thunderbolt, he is seen as a hero by the general public and has his own action figures. Gargan displays his raw power as Venom in a battle with Jack Flag, after pummeling Flag for a bit, the hero manages to stab Gargan, who is protected by his symbiote. Gargan becomes enraged and ferociously handles Flag, and is about to eat him when his electrical implants kick in and subdue him, allowing Flag to live. Gargan expresses fear of the control the symbiote possesses over him, yet he has become addicted to the unearthly power it brings him, and cannot begin to imagine life without it. An attack from Steel Spider and Sepulchre makes him lose control again, briefly becoming a huge monster once more, while Moonstone is incapacitated and thus cannot coordinate control of his electrical implants. Afterwards, he returns to a normal form with no ill effects. He also bites off and devours Steel Spider's arm during the fight.
Gargan is later ordered by Norman Osborn to hunt down Namor. After shooting him with a supplied weapon, Gargan disables Namor by ripping off his feet-wings. However, the Sub-Mariner manages to render Gargan unconscious and then rips out his tongue, although the symbiote easily makes a new one. Gargan begins to hallucinate that the symbiote is speaking to him, telling him to "feed it". He later attacks and devours a guard and declares that "the only way out of Thunderbolts Mountain is when I decide to let you die". The psychic criminal Bluestreak is controlling Gargan's actions, although it is uncertain whether the symbiote was actually speaking to him. Venom goes up against the Swordsman, who stabs Gargan through the chest, using his powers to force the symbiote away from his sword, resulting to Gargan being wounded. After healing, Venom retains his monstrous form, rarely returning to his regular size.
New Ways to Die[]
After Brand New Day, Gargan no longer possessed the knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity. Gargan and the Thunderbolts are called back to New York to capture Spider-Man. While on a search for the wall-crawler, Gargan's symbiote senses a former host at the F.E.A.S.T center. Gargan suspects that it's Spider-Man and searches the place only to find Eddie Brock. The Venom symbiote attempts to leave Gargan to re-bond with Brock, much to Gargan's dismay. However, upon making contact with Brock, Brock's skin is shown to be caustic to his former symbiote, and as a white substance seeps out of his pores covering his body, Brock becomes Anti-Venom and attacks Gargan. Brock subdues Gargan and nearly destroys the symbiote, with some help from Spider-Man.
Norman Osborn uses a sample of the Anti-Venom's symbiote from Mac Gargan and creates a poisonous counter to its healing powers by combining the sample with the immune system of Freak. Mac Gargan is injected with a "cure" and is given a new Scorpion battle suit, which contains the poison, until the symbiote can recover. Anti-Venom tracks down Gargan at Oscorp. After a grueling battle Scorpion injects the poison into Anti-Venom and seemly kills the suit. He then attempts to kill Brock but the symbiote tries to hold him back, still feeling love for its former host. The symbiote gains its strength and breaks though the Scorpion suit. Gargan gives up but promises that he will get past this problem and finish Brock.
Secret Invasion[]
Gargan was seen being thrown out from the Thunderbolt Mountain by Captain Marvel. Gargan was later seen with the other Thunderbolts in Washington. The Skrulls attempt to trick him into killing normal humans to find out which of them are Skrulls. Osborn attempted to prevent the symbiote from killing anyone by threatening to kill Mac Gargan and promising to help satisfy his "urges" later, only for Gargan to reveal that the threat he appeared to pose to civilians was a ruse in order to draw out a disguised Skrull. Venom slashing and eating the Skrulls all at once. He soon joins the Thunderbolts and the remaining heroes, for the final battle against the Skrulls.
Venom, along with most of the Thunderbolts team, attempts to kill partner, Songbird from the orders of Osborn. Songbird was defeated by Venom and almost eaten by Venom, but escaped with help from Swordsman.
Dark Reign[]
Osborn gave Venom a medication that reset the symbiote to the size it was when it formed with Spider-Man. However, the symbiote resumed its monstrous traits whenever Venom attacked an enemy. Norman Osborn formed his Dark Avengers, providing new identities to some of his Thunderbolts members. Norman introduced Gargan as the Amazing Spider-Man in his new Avengers.
During their first mission against Morgana le Fay, Morgana transforms "Spider-Man" into a giant, demonic monster who then tries to eat Ares. Venom later coughs up Ares, however Morgana's magic affects Venom, causing him to lose and randomly gain control of himself. After Morgana is defeated in the past by Iron Patriot and Doctor Doom, Mac returned to his "Spider-Man" physic with only a slight headache. "Hawkeye" promised to kill Mac one day for trying to eat him while he was under Morgana's control. Once they arrive home, he argued with "Hawkeye".
Later, attempting to find out Norman Osborn's plans for his son Harry, the real Spider-Man, with the aid of the Invisible Woman, manages to capture Gargan by using a sonic generator and takes his place to infiltrate the Dark Avengers. Gargan is thrown into the Negative Zone, but later went back with the Dark Avengers.
Gargan is seen heading out into the city to "fight crime" solo against Osborn's wishes. At one point, he was defeating a bank robber called General Wolfram. After making out with two girls at once and getting cheered by a large crowd, he takes the robber to an abandoned roof top and consumes his arm. He then takes the money Wolfram stole and swings away. Gargan is then seen at a strip club with the money. After getting reprimanded by Norman Osborn for eating Wolfram's arm, Gargan kills a stripper and places her dead body in J. Jonah Jameson's bed while he is gone in an attempt to frame him for her murder. At the same time, Redeemer visits the injured General Wolfram and recruits him alongside other villains who have had limbs bitten off by Gargan (namely Dementoid, Doctor Everything, Eleven, and Hippo) in a plan to take down "Spider-Man". In another attempt to antagonize Jameson, Gargan instigates a turf war between two rival street gangs, hoping to wear Jameson down through stress and exhaustion from continuously putting out stories to cover the crime wave. At the same time, the Redeemer arms his group with cybernetic limbs to defeat Spider-Man. J. Jonah Jameson goes to Norman Osborn for help and is given Spider-Man to help solve the city's gang problem.
Gargan continues to instigate the gang war and aggravate Jameson in person. A bomb threat is placed by Redeemer to lure Spider-Man into an intervention, though Gargan instead devours Hippo and Eleven, badly injures Dementoid, and beats Doctor Everything into submission before turning him over to the police. He then eats Redeemer's limbs. Redeemer, Wolfram, and Dementoid are the only ones still remaining of the group, despite being hospitalized, Redeemer sends photos of Gargan's actions to Jameson in an attempt to expose him as a psychopath to the world. Jameson first goes to Osborn, who decides to cut Gargan loose by sending Bullseye and Daken to kill him. At the Big Apple Festival, the two attack him, with Dementoid, General Wolfram, and both gangs involved in the turf war entering the fray to try to kill Spider-Man. Gargan ends up defeating all of them, and J. Jonah Jameson shoots a gun in the air to stop the fight. As a result, everyone credits Jameson and Spider-Man with successfully working together to stop criminals and save the festival. Gargan returns to Avengers Tower, where he is visited by Norman Osborn. Osborn informs him that Bullseye and Daken will get over being hurt, but warns Gargan that if he goes out of control again, he will personally take care of him.
In Utopia, the Dark Avengers are sent into San Francisco to quell the mutant riots and battle any of the X-Men they can find. Tension between the Avengers and Osborn's own Dark X-Men. When Namor and Emma Frost are revealed to be double agents on Cyclops' side and defect with Cloak and Dagger, Osborn gathers the Dark Avengers and the remaining Dark X-Men, Gargan included, ordering them to bring him Namor's head and Emma Frost's heart and to make sure that Cyclops sees them do it. The Dark Avengers and Dark X-Men attack Utopia and battle the X-Men, having Venom facing off against Colossus. However, Osborn is forced to retreat due to the sheer number of X-Men when informed that the only way to win would be to kill all the mutants on the island.
Later, Gargan begins to show signs that his medications are making him emotionally unstable. On a mission with the Dark Avengers, Osborn takes Gargan off the case when he notices his outbursts. Molecule Man turns Gargan and inert his symbiote into pile of goo.
Siege of Asgard[]
Mac Gargan is with the Dark Avengers when Norman Osborn makes plans to invade Asgard. Mac Gargan and the rest of the Avengers protest. Osborn promises to give the team their freedom from servitude. As a result, Gargan is among the mass of soldiers to launch an attack on Asgard following Loki's setup. He and the rest of the Avengers manage to overwhelm Thor. Gargan is forcefully removed from the Venom symbiote, while fighting Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man after they arrive, which takes over Ms. Marvel until Spider-Man defeats it and separates it from Ms. Marvel.
The Symbiote rejoins with Gargan and continues his fight with Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man until he is defeated. He along with the other Dark Avengers were arrested after Norman Osborn fell from power.
Return as the Scorpion[]
Gargan was sent to the Raft where the Venom Symbiote was permanently removed by the military via sonics. Since the symbiote was keeping him alive as it was preventing the negative effects of his genetic tampering in check, Gargan began to develop health problems without his Scorpion suit or the symbiote to keep the harmful effects of his mutation from endangering his life. Alistair Smythe (in a disguised) was able to break him out and provide him with a new Scorpion suit that can save his life and explain his plans for them to work together with the other Spider-Slayers, he had to get revenge on Jameson and his associates due to the fact they both suffered from Jameson's past actions.
Scorpion joins Alistair Smythe, and a new villain named Fly-Girl, including some unnamed cyborg minions in attacking the launch site of John Jameson's latest space mission where they sabotage the launch and put Jameson on hostage.
Dying Wish[]
Scorpion, Hydro-Man, and the Trapster head Peter Parker's headquarter (while trapped in Doctor Octopus's dying body) to save him and apprehend Doctor Octopus (who has occupied Spider-Man's body) in order to save his loved ones from Doctor Octopus's final sinister scheme. Scorpion and Hydro-Man accompany Peter Parker in Doctor Octopus' body to Stark Industries to look for Tony Stark only to end up in a trap set by Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man's body. When finding a safe area containing Peter Parker's friends and relatives, Scorpion plans to have his final revenge on J. Jonah Jameson. Accessing the memories of Peter Parker loving Aunt May, Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man's body punches Gargan so hard in the jaw that breaks off from his head.
Foiled Breakout[]
When Jameson came to the Raft to oversee the execution of Alistair Smythe, Smythe had taken the opportunity to unleash his microbots across the complex, and with them, cybernetically enhanced Gargan and Toomes, equipping them with new suits to finally kill Spider-Man and break out of prison. However, Octavius managed to foil the breakout, and ended up killing Smythe, disabling the new tech and Scorpion and Vulture were detained and reimprisoned. However, Tiberius Stone pays Gargan's bail and heals him, making him his new bodyguard.
Confronting Spider-Man 2099[]
When the temporally-relocated Miguel O'Hara is roped into accompanying Tiberius Stone to sell Spider-Slayers to a foreign country, while investigating, Stone is captured by local rebels, Miguel encounters the Scorpion, having been hired by Alchemax to further test the Spider-Slayers. Thinking that Miguel is the present Spider-Man in a new suit, the Scorpion attacks him with the aid of the Spider-Slayers, but Miguel manages to defeat him by using his holographic assistant Lyla to project the present Spider-Man's costume over Scorpion, causing the Spider-Slayers to attack him. After Stone deactivates them, Mac is introduced to Miguel, commenting that he seems familiar.
Venomous Reunion[]
Becoming a part-time enforcer for Black Cat's criminal organization, Mac Gargan arranged a meeting with Lee Price, a discharged Army Ranger looking for work. Despite being disturbed by Price's callousness, Gargan hired him as the muscle for an arms deal between Black Cat's gang and Tombstone's gang. The deal went badly, but Gargan's suspicions were aroused when Price was the only survivor and reports from spies from Black Cat planted in the police force, stated that some of the people were killed by something other than gunshots. When Price returned the merchandise the following day, Gargan confronted him and was even more suspicious after sensing something familiar about Price, referring to him as the Scorpion when Gargan hadn't disclosed his super villain identity.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
As the Scorpion, MacDonald Gargan possesses all the powers of a scorpion. When he acquired the Venom symbiote, he retained some of his scorpion-like powers due to the removal of his suit, and was granted the additional powers of the Venom symbiote, granting him several abilities similar to Spider-Man. Due to the removal of the symbiote, Gargan now has been reduced to his original Scorpion power.
Current[]
- Superhuman Strength: Gargan possesses extreme superhuman strength in both his Scorpion complexes, with his strength as the Scorpion, he is able to lift approximately 15 tons, and as such, he can easily overpower humans, and lift extremely heavy objects, uproot trees and use them as weapons. On several occasions, he has proven capable of even overpowering Spider-Man by himself.
- Superhuman Speed: Gargan can run and/or exercise as well as operate at superhuman speeds hence his overall body equilibrium is also heightened although he isn't nearly as fast as speedsters. With his speed, he can outrun vehicles.
- Superhuman Stamina: Gargan's musculature generates considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. Originally, he could exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue began to impair him.
- Superhuman Durability: As Scorpion Gargan had superhuman durability. The scorpion suit was capable of shielding Gargan from bullets from small-arms weapons firing conventional ammunition. Gargan was also able to survive heavy impacts and blunt force trauma without sustaining injury.
- Superhuman Agility: Gargan's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete .
- Superhuman Reflexes: Gargan's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are superior to those of the finest human athlete.
- Wall Crawling: Though he typically punches holes in walls to use as hand-and-footholds, Gargan is capable of adhering to solid surfaces much like Spider-Man.
- Scorpion Sense: After Alistaire Smythe provides Gargan with a new Scorpion Suit, he also explains it is designed to tap into his new Scorpion Sense, which allows him to sense danger similar to Spider-Man.
Former[]
- Black Symbiotic Costume:
- Superhuman Strength:
- Superhuman Stamina:
- Superhuman Durability:
- Accelerated Healing Factor:
- Wall-Crawling:
- Symbiote-Generated Tail:
- Webbing Generation:
- Genetic Memory:
- ESP (Spider-Sense):
- Immunity to Spider-Man's Spider Sense:
- Constituent-Matter Generation:
- Camouflage Capabilities:
Abilities[]
- Investigative Prowess: Before he became the Scorpion or the third Venom, MacDonald Gargan was a detective with some investigative skills.
- Formidable Opponent: Gargan's powers make him a formidable combatant, even though he has had little formal training.
Weaknesses[]
Current[]
- Genetic Defects: Due to his genetic mutation being unstable, without his Scorpion suit or the Venom symbiote to stabilize it, Gargan would die.
Former[]
- Sonic and Heat: Despite the great resistance to physical injury afforded him by the Venom symbiote, the symbiote itself is extremely vulnerable to heat and sonics and can be affected by attacks based on those two weaknesses. He no longer possesses this weakness due to the removal of the Venom symbiote.
Paraphernalia[]
Equipment[]
- Transparent Membrane: When the Scorpion was employed by Justin Hammer, Mac Gargan's eye holes were covered by a transparent membrane rigged to dissolve Spider-Man's webbing, should Spider-Man try to blind him as he did in past battles. It is unclear if his later costumes retained this.
- Electro-Mechanical Tail:
- Pincers: The Scorpion's gloves on his costume granted him miniature pincers on each hand that enabled him to literally rip through Spider-Man's webbing.
- Scorpion Armored Suit:
Weapons[]
- Scorpion Armored Suit is equipped with an Electro-Mechanical Tail.
Notes[]
- During his time as an agent of H.A.M.M.E.R., Mac had Level 5 security clearance which meant he was a mid-level agent.