Tarantula

Origin

Antón Miguel Rodríguez was a revolutionary against dictatorship in the South American republic of Delvadia, but he loved killing too much and was forced out. He then joined those who he first fought. There he got the costume and the name Tarántula. But when he killed a fellow officer, he was yet again forced out. He escaped to United States, where he started his criminal career.

Creation

Tarantula (Rodríguez) was created by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 issue 134 (1974).

Major Story Arcs

The Tarantula Rises

On his first job he met Spider-Man and Punisher, who foiled his plans. He was thrown into prison, where he escaped thanks to Jackal, who used him as tool against Spider-Man. He tried several kidnapping jobs but ultimately failed them.

Frustrated on his defeats he subjected himself to experiment to duplicate Spider-Man’s power. The experiment went bad when Will O’The Wisp trashed the machines. Antón was turned into a spider hybrid. His intelligence waned and appearance turned more spider-like with moments. In the end he jumped down from the roof goading for cops to shoot him, thus ending his life.

The Clone Conspiracy

Some years later, Tarantula was seemingly revived (alongside a number of other dead) by Spider-Man’s resurfaced enemy, the Jackal. Tarantula seemed to be in normal human form but could only remain alive through a serum that was injected by the Jackal.

Legacy

• Tarantula of Old West – Clay Riley
• Tarantula I – Antón Miguel Rodríguez
• Tarantula II – Luis Álvarez
• Tarantula III – Jacinda Rodríguez
• Tarantula IV – María Vásquez
• Devil-Spider – Roderick Kingsley (the Hobgoblin)

Rodríguez’s daughter, Jacinda, inherited the Tarantula costume, but she was thought to be killed by Taskmaster on her very first day in costume. She was later confirmed to be alive by Gail Simone.

A few years later, while it was assumed that Roderick Kingsley had been killed by Phil Urich during the Big Time arc, Kingsley still being active in Delvadia with Tarantula’s costume under the alias “Devil-Spider.” He and Jacinda later assisted Spider-Man and Mockingbird.

In Other Media

Merchandise

• Tarantula was featured in the HeroClix figure game.
• Despite his relative obscurity, Tarantula was featured in Hasbro’s Spider-Man Classics line, the sister line to Marvel Legends. Much of the figure was a reuse of the earlier Marvel Legends Bullseye figure that had been made by ToyBiz, the company that held the Marvel license prior to Hasbro.