Vulture (comics)
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The Vulture is the name of three comic book supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The first Vulture is an elderly enemy of Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 (May 1963).
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[edit] Character biography
[edit] Adrian Toomes
Adrian Toomes is a former electronics engineer who employs a special harness of his own design that allows him to fly; his flight is directed by a pair of wings worn on his arms. The harness also endows him with enhanced strength and (according to some sources) increases his lifespan. Although Toomes is advanced in age, he is a strong fighter and a remorseless killer. On one occasion, he restored his youth through biochemical means, though this wore off after exposure to the corpse of an elemental superhuman. At one point he had used a device to steal Spider-Man's youth, leaving Vulture young and Spider-Man elderly, but this effect wore off within hours.
On more than one occasion Toomes has been in league with several other Spider-Man villains in order to destroy the wall crawler. The Vulture has been in every incarnation of the Sinister Six, and appeared in the Sinister Twelve. He has a strong friendship with fellow villain Electro; the two of them nearly beat Spider-Man to death.
The Vulture once stumbled across a plot by the Chameleon and the Green Goblin to drive Spider-Man insane by having shapeshifting androids impersonate his late mother and father; due to Toomes' interference, the androids were destroyed, leading the wall-crawler to a brief nervous breakdown. The Vulture absorbed the artificial life force from the Mary Parker android, and the effect on the Vulture was twofold; not only did he become a young man again, but he was instantly cured of the cancer that had been slowly killing him for some time. (The Vulture has since reverted to an old man once again.)
Toomes' identity as the Vulture has been claimed by imposters on several occasions. Blackie Drago and Professor Clifton Shallot are some of them. The Vulture technology was later copied by a group of thugs called "The Vulturions"; Toomes defeated these usurpers as well. Also, Toomes himself was not the first comic villain to use the name. In the 1941 comic Doll Man Quarterly, a robber named the Vulture used his pet vultures carrying bombs to commit crimes.
In the Identity Disc series, it was revealed that Toomes, with the help of Sandman, manipulated Marvel villains Bullseye, Deadpool, Juggernaut, and Sabretooth into laying siege to terrorist group A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) headquarters in order to retrieve a disc containing the identities of undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives (including that of Toomes' daughter).
During a brief time of working for the Owl, he failed in a mission and as a result was punished in that he was severely beaten and one eye was removed from his face. He subsequently revealed himself as a member of Norman Osborn's Sinister Twelve - though he wore a helmet, presumably to mask the wounds.
Under the tutelage of Al Kraven, Kraven the Hunter's son, Toomes briefly attempted a stint at heroism, but before long he returned to the other side of the law.
During the Civil War, he was apprehended along with the Grim Reaper and the Trapster, by Captain America and his growing Resistance, who chained him together with Grim Reaper to a pole and broke his nose. When he was found and taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D., he complained, "that lunatic broke my damn nose". After Spider-Man unmasked himself, Toomes was seen in his jail cell, knitting his fingers together. As someone on the television set said they hoped it wouldn't be any trouble for Spider-Man, Toomes said, "Oh I think it will be."
After Spider-Man goes rogue, Toomes is seen in a S.H.I.E.L.D prison cell speaking with agent Jamie Madrox, and commenting on Spider-Man's inherent weakness, that being his unwillingness to use his powers for personal gain. S.H.I.E.L.D. then returns his flying harness and encourages him to hunt down Spider-Man, saying that he "is now an outlaw, same as you."
Later, the Vulture attacks Spider-Man at a book signing, and manages to slash him with a powerful sedative. Toomes, however, falls unconscious and, sensing something is wrong, Spider-Man rushes him to the hospital.
Toomes wakes up a few hours later, where a doctor reveals that he has suffered a stroke, and many of his muscles on the left side of his body have been paralyzed. When the doctor leaves, Spider-Man sneaks in and Toomes asks him to kill him because he is weak. When Spider-Man refuses to do so, he says that Spider-Man is also weak, and always has been. After making remarks about Uncle Ben, Spider-Man takes a pillow and begins suffocating him. He fights back, and Spidey removes the pillow, commenting that "For somebody who's begging to die, you fight for life pretty hard."
[edit] Powers and abilities
Utilizing his harness, the Vulture is able to fly with a natural winged flight limit. The harness increases his physical strength. When he removes the harness his enhanced abilities slowly fade, although the rate at which this transpires remains unclear (some writers, such as John Byrne, have suggested that his strength is permanent).
It has recently been revealed that, due to his prolonged use of the harness, the Vulture can levitate or float his body even without the harness, although he requires his wings to maneuver while airborne. Like his other abilities, it is probable that this ability too would fade with time away from the harness.
The Vulture has a new version of his flight harness that has supposedly been augmented by the Green Goblin. Though Vulture claimed that it increased his strength by five-hundred percent it appeared to be a bluff to frighten the Black Cat, who proceeded to beat him half to death.
The Vulture is intellectually brilliant in the fields of electronics and mechanical engineering.
[edit] Other Vultures
[edit] Blackie Drago
In Amazing Spider-Man #48, "Blackie" Drago, was a prison cellmate of Toomes' who tricked Toomes and stole the Vulture harness and costume which was recently rebuilt. He used the suit to make money through air piracy which ended up in a three-way battle against Spider-Man and Kraven the Hunter which Spider-Man won. He later teamed up with Toomes when escaping from prison. Once free, he was subsequently defeated and humiliated by Toomes whom regained the recognition he deserved. A humbled Blackie was taken away by the police, vowing "I'm through!! I'll never put these wings on again!"
[edit] Clifton Shallot
In Amazing Spider-Man #127-128, Professor Clifton Shallot, was a vengeful university professor who was an expert on bio-mutation. He also had a Vulture wings and costume making project which he requisitioned from the State Prison Authority. When one of his courses was cancelled by the university trustees, something snapped in the doctor's head, and so he underwent the final stage of the mutation himself. The result was a change in himself which no amount of expertise and practice could do for the original Vulture... his face, teeth, and fingernails mutated, and for a short time, the wings became part of his body. The only one who knew his secret was his lab assistant and her roommate. Mary-Jane witnessed him killing them and she became a target. Clifton discovered that his mutation is reversible and when he ran out of the right chemicals, he stole them. This led Spider-Man to a clue of who the identity of this Vulture was and tracked him down. His powers were lost in his first (and only) battle with Spider-Man who force-fed him the antidote. Clifton Shallot is presumably still serving his sentence for the murders.
[edit] Ultimate Vulture
Adrian Toomes was seen to be working for Bolivar Trask in the Ultimate Spider-Man game.
The Ultimate Vulture made his official appearance in Ultimate Spider-Man #90, though it was not Adrian Toomes but rather "Blackie" Drago. A disgruntled former S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Drago had been hired to kill Donald Roxxon, head of the Roxxon Corporation. Drago received his equipment from a former employee of Roxxon named Elijah Stern, the Ultimate Tinkerer.
[edit] In Other Media
- The Vulture's first appearance outside the comics was in the 1960s Spider-Man animated series, where he appeared in two episodes. The Vulture in this series seems to be based on the second Vulture (Blackie Drago) rather than the original Adrian Toomes Vulture (for one thing, the Vulture in this series wears a helmet like Drago did).
- The Vulture later appeared in the 1981 Spider-Man animated series episode The Vulture Has Landed.
- In the animated Spider-Man series (1994-1998), Adrian Toomes (the Vulture) was voiced by Eddie Albert. In his first three appearances in Ravages of Time, Shriek of the Vulture and The Final Nightmare, he is an old person. Later, he used the Vulture talons to suck youth out of people to make him young (when young, he was voiced by Alan Johnson). In The Final Nightmare, Vulture got Spider-Man's mutation disease. At the lab, Dr. Connors tricked him to hold on to his disease, which causes him to lose control of his youth. Then, Vulture keep changing from his young to old self. In Partners, he gets control of his transformation. In the Six Forgotten Warriors, part 1-5, Vulture became a member of the Insidious Six, replacing Mysterio, who was originally a member but died in an earlier episode.
- In the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series, a Counter-Earth version of the Vulture appeared and voiced by Scott McNeil. Like the Counter Earth Green Goblin, this version of the Vulture is a hero instead of a villain and also like the Counter-Earth Goblin, he first mistakened Spider-Man as a villain. It is explained the Vulture was a human who got Beastial powers, hanging out with Beastials and disrespecting humans, while he was also playing with one. When he caused his human friend trouble, he hated the High Evolutionary for what he did and rebelled against him.
[edit] Video game appearances
The Vulture seldom appears in Spider-Man video games, often because flying villains are unique and the position is typically filled by the Green Goblin or the Hobgoblin.
- The Vulture appears in the Sega CD adaptation of the Spider-Man game.
- The Vulture appears in Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six for the NES.
- In the film adaptation Spider-Man: The Movie, the Vulture is yet another boss.
- The Vulture appears as a boss in the Nintendo DS adaptation of Spider-Man 2, based on the film of the same name.
- Vulture also appears in the PSP version of Spider-Man 2. Rhino has broken him, Mysterio and Shocker out of prison. Vulture then plants bombs around the city. After Spider-Man shuts them down, Vulture flees with Spider-Man in pursuit. Spider-Man defeats him at a construction site, where a webbed up Vulture tells Spider-Man that he was kicked out of a job with Rhino and Shocker at the docks. Spider-Man then leaves Vulture for the police to take care of.
- On the Spider-man 2 game, on the Chrysler Building on one of the gargoyles there are some large green feathers that could be a reference to the Vulture.
- Adrian Toomes appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man game for the Playstation 2, GameCube and Xbox. However, he does not appear as The Vulture; he is a researcher for Trask Industries.
