The Undertaker

Origin

Conrad “The Undertaker” Eisenstadt is a New York crime lord who provides society with the service of death. His gang specialises in murder, from death to disposal, and extorting money from the elderly, widows and the helpless. He and his gang were Spider-Man‘s first adversaries after he caught Dennis Carradine.

Creation

The Undertaker was created by Kurt Busiek and Paul Lee.

Major Story Arc

When Spider-Man and The Undertaker first crossed paths, Spidey hadn’t even decided to join the hero game yet. In fact the only bad guy he had previously faced was the burglar that killed Uncle Ben. The Undertaker had sent one of his “salesmen”, Mr. Vale, to pull a scam on Aunt May soon after Uncle Ben’s death. May and Peter both fall for it but when Spider-Man spots Vale pulling the same trick on an elderly widower, he decides to follow him to his hideout.

They arrive at a Manhattan warehouse where Spider-Man discovers The Undertaker is running an entire crime ring based on extortion and murder. The Undertaker mistakes Spidey for a client but when a still inexperienced Spider-Man says he’s calling the police, he faces his first fight against organised crime, When face to face with the mobsters guns, Spider-Man’s Spider Sense kicks in for the first time. He manages to evade the hail of bullets and eventually defeat all the gangsters. He also captures the fleeing Undertaker by using his web as a lariat for the first time. The entire gang is then turned over to the police.