Black Spider
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Black Spider is the name of several DC Comics villains; the first two were both primarily the enemies of Batman.
[edit] Eric Needham
The original Black Spider first appeared in Detective Comics #463 (September 1976) and was created by Gerry Conway. Eric Needham was a small time crook who was addicted to heroin. Desperate for money to buy more drugs, he robbed a liquor store and killed the owner, who turned out to be his father. After being arrested, he kicked the habit out of remorse and began a war on the drug trade.
Donning a costume, he became a self-styled vigilante and began killing those suspected of dealing drugs. This soon brought him into conflict with Batman. Needham believed that the two should be allies, as he saw common purpose in their war against criminals. His murderous methods however continually put him at odds with the Dark Knight.
Despite his professed desire to fight criminals, the Black Spider occasionally allied himself with costumed villains (most notably in the gathering of super-villains in Detective Comics #526 and Batman #400). Ostensibly, Black Spider's goal in this was to seek revenge against Batman, or at least, this is how he attempted to justify his actions in his own mind.
During his war, Needham's wife and son were killed by a drug lord who had discovered the Black Spider's identity. In rage, the Spider prepared for one final assault. After being shot multiple times, Needham invaded the drug lord's headquarters and detonated explosives strapped to his back, killing the drug dealers in the process.
Eric Needham later turned up in Neil Gaiman's critically acclaimed fantasy comic, The Sandman, dating supporting character, Lyta Hall. No explanation was given for his resurrection. However, earlier issues of the series depicted the souls of sinners escaping Hell when its ruler, Lucifer abdicated the throne. Presumably, Needham was among these.
Whatever the case, Needham's survival has since been confirmed and the character has made subsequent appearances as the Black Spider, such as in the miniseries Underworld Unleashed. He was last seen in Identity Crisis as an ally of Deadshot, Monocle, Merlyn, et al, and was later referred to as being deceased with the identity of the Black Spider given to another small-time criminal.
[edit] Johnny LaMonica
The second Black Spider first appeared in Batman #518 (May 1995). Professional hitman Johnny LaMonica took the name Black Spider when he was sent to kill the crime lord Black Mask, but was thwarted by Batman and sent to prison. He sustained injuries during this incident which left his face a disfigured web of scars, giving his choice of codename an ironic touch.
He was later killed by Detective Crispus Allen during a gang shooting. Black Spider had opened fire on Detective Renee Montoya, preparing to kill her, when Allen unloaded his clip on the villain (Gotham Central #23, November 2004).
[edit] Derrick Coe
A third Black Spider appeared shortly after as a member of The Society. He first appeared in Birds of Prey #87. It was noted by his partners that he was presumed dead. Real name Derrick Coe, he apparently bought his "villain franchise" from the Calculator, who assigned him to help torture Savant into revealing the identity of Oracle. When Oracle sent in her task force, the Birds of Prey, to rescue Savant, Savant threw Coe out a window, nearly killing him — Black Canary speculated that he may be a metahuman, allowing him to survive the experience. His status since has been left unknown.
