| Tarantula | |
|---|---|
Cover to All-Star Squadron #66. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | (Law) Star-Spangled Comics #1 (October 1941) (Flores) Nightwing #71 (September 2002) |
| Created by | (Law) Mort Weisinger (Flores) Devin Grayson |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jonathan "John" Law Catalina Marie Flores |
| Team affiliations | (Law) All-Star Squadron |
| Abilities | Skilled in hand-to-hand combat (Law) Uses several gimmicks, such as suction cups and a "web-gun" |
The Tarantula is the name of two fictional comic book characters owned by DC Comics that exist in that company's DC Universe.
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The original Tarantula was a character prominent in the 1940s named John Law. He first appeared in Star-Spangled Comics #1 (October 1941).
Tarantula was inspired to be a mystery man by the Crimson Avenger in the days when America entered World War II. The Tarantula possessed no super-abilities, but relied on several gimmicks and his quick wits. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat, as well as some acrobatics, and had a passing interest in stage make-up and stage magic. He used suction cups attached to the soles on his boots to allow him to walk up walls and hang from ceilings. He also used a "web-gun" which fired a string of fast-hardening nylon that could be used to swing from one anchored point to another and ensnare his victims. He was even called a "spider man," all this decades before the "other" Spider-Man made his debut.[1]
He was a member of the All-Star Squadron before retiring to become a writer. He had a best selling novel, Altered Egos: The Mystery Men of World War II, published sometime in the 1970s. He went on to write many other novels, but none as successful as Altered Egos.
In his later years, Law lived in the city of Blüdhaven, in the same building as Dick Grayson, known to some as the vigilante hero Nightwing. Two elderly Nazis, wanting revenge on Law, tracked him down, but were defeated by Nightwing. Law tried to spin this out as a plot for a new story, with him as the major protagonist.
Later, the building was burned down by the villain Blockbuster in an attempt to ruin Nightwing's life. John Law's successor, the new Tarantula, tried to save him, but arrived too late. John Law died, along with 21 other residents. However, his body was never recovered, suggesting that he survived the explosion.
The second Tarantula is Catalina Flores, who first appeared in Nightwing #71, while waiting until issue #75 to appear as Tarantula.
Initially Catalina Flores, a former FBI agent as well as sister of Blüdhaven's assistant district attorney, dressed as the Tarantula, based on her hero, the original Tarantula, in order to battle the corrupt police officers and gangland criminals of the city.
It was inevitable for her to encounter Blüdhaven's own protector Nightwing, but he did not approve of the more extreme measures she took. When investigating the murder of Delmore Redhorn, the corrupt Chief of Police in Blüdhaven, Nightwing discovered the murderer was in fact Tarantula, and that she was working for his nemesis Blockbuster. She had also manipulated an encounter with Nightwing in such a manner that Barbara Gordon broke up with him.
Working with Tad Ryerstad, (Nite-Wing), Nightwing was able to have Tarantula arrested for the murder of Redhorn, although in the process the wanted vigilante Tad was arrested as well. Tarantula was out on the streets soon enough, and when the battle between Nightwing and Blockbuster heated up, Tarantula involved herself and shot Blockbuster. Nightwing could have prevented the murder, but, driven to the edge of sanity by Blockbuster's calculated assaults on everyone whom Nightwing held dear (Blockbuster knew his secret identity and exploited this), in a moment of absolute misery Nightwing stood aside and let Tarantula kill him. Allowing Tarantula to kill Blockbuster caused Nightwing to go through what appears to have been essentially a nervous breakdown, and Tarantula took advantage of his near catatonic state to have sex with him.[2] During the following period of time, she ran off with him and attempted to establish a relationship. After a while, Nightwing came to his senses and turned himself in for the murder of Blockbuster. He was acquitted, however, and worked to bring in Tarantula, who was sent to jail.
She appeared in Secret Six, in possession of a "Get Out of Hell Free" card, forged by Neron. The card is coveted by Junior, Ragdoll's insane sister, who sends an army of supervillains after her. She eventually sacrifices herself by pulling Junior and herself in front of a combined attack from the assembled villains, killing them both.
Recently, she made an appearance in Justice Society of America as part of the resistance in an alternative future dominated by Nazis, implying that she may make a possible return.
At the end of Nightwing #93 (July 2004), after Tarantula killed Blockbuster, she and Nightwing had sex on a rooftop. At the time, Nightwing was in shock and undergoing deep emotional trauma; thus there has been debate amongst fans as to his consent, and if Nightwing was in fact raped by Tarantula.[3] Writer Devin Grayson herself has given the contradictory statement, "For the record, I’ve never used the word 'rape', I just said it was non-consensual." This is further confused by the script for the issue specifically mentioning (in parentheses) that this scene was a sex scene and not a rape.[4]