Spider-Slayer
| Spider-Slayer | |
|---|---|
 Spencer Smythe along with several Spider-Slayers | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Amazing Spider-Man #25 (June 1965) |
| Created by |
Stan Lee (script) Steve Ditko (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Not applicable |
| Abilities | Varies according to model |
The Spider-Slayers are a series of fictional robots in the Marvel Comics universe that were specifically designed to hunt down, capture, and/or kill Spider-Man.
Fictional character biography
See List of Spider-Slayers for a full breakdown of all versions of the Spider-Slayer.
The first series of robots were originally designed and built by Dr. Spencer Smythe with the financial backing of J. Jonah Jameson who piloted them for the pleasure of personally hunting the superhero he hated for capture. However, Spider-Man always managed to defeat each robot in turn. Smythe's continual efforts to perfect his machines backfired on him, leading to himself being fatally contaminated by radiation poisoning from the building materials of his creations. Blaming both Jameson and Spider-Man for this, he attempted, as a final act, to murder them both, but died just before Spider-Man thwarted the attempt.
Later, Jameson commissioned another scientist, Dr. Marla Madison, to create a new and improved Spider-Slayer. While that attempt failed, he eventually fell in love with her and married her.[1]
In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #19 (1985), Smythe's son, Alistair, emerged as the new builder of Spider-Slayers. He swore revenge on Spider-Man, repeatedly attacking the superhero with his own series of Slayers. Smythe later mutated into a humanoid Spider-Slayer, but remains a minor foe.
The original Spider-Slayer was seen among the robots and machines in the Reanimator's collection. Wolverine later destroyed the Spider-Slayer when the Reanimator attempted to use it against him. It was later used by J. Jonah Jameson to attack the She-Hulk after she had married his son John, but it was destroyed.
In Amazing Spider-Man #603, Jameson (now Mayor of New York) has some old Spider-Slayers sent to him from storage, to better equip his "Anti-Spider Squad" to take down Spider-Man. The Spider-Slayer technology is combined with that of the Mandroid suits. However, the "Spider-Slayer Squad" wearing the suits quit their jobs after Spider-Man saves them and New York from a dirty bomb.
Despite not being technically related to the Smythe's and Madison's creations, when Spider-Man refits all the Octobots confiscated from Doctor Octopus and kept in the New York Police Precinct to carry an antidote able to reverse the mutations turning all the New York population into Man-Spiders, he humorously renames them his own Spider-Slayers.[2]
List of Spider-Slayers
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Spider-Slayers were built by the Tinkerer under the order of General Nick Fury, to be used in case Spider-Man ever went rogue. When clones of Spider-Man begin running rampant Nick Fury and a battalion of Spider-Slayers travel to the Parker residence to arrest Peter, only to encounter the Fantastic Four and Carnage, the latter which the Slayers take down (reverting it to Gwen Stacy). The Slayers later kill a disfigured clone of Spider-Man. and imprisoned another unstable clone of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in SHIELD.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
In Ultimate Marvel continuity, the Spider-Slayers are tall (about eight feet) robots that balance on a large sphere, wield two arm-cannons, and have a sphere for their heads. They turned out in fact not to be manned but controlled remotely by the Tinkerer.
MC2
In the MC2 universe, Spider-Girl (Spider-Man's future daughter) is sent back in time. She encounters the original Spider-Slayer and after some confusion involving Spider-Man and the Human Torch, managed to defeat the Slayer in a manner not too dissimilar to the way Spider-Man originally did.[9][10]
House of M
In the House of M, J. Jonah Jameson (fearing Peter Parker would take revenge on him due to outing him as Spider-Man) has Alistair Smythe construct a Spider-Slayer to protect him. When Peter's family breaks into Jonah's home looking for Peter's journal (given to him by the Green Goblin) Jonah, using the Slayer, attacks. Hitting Peter's wife Gwen Stacy just as Peter arrives, Jonah's slayer is ripped to shreds by the hero.[11][12]
The House of M Slayer resembled a humanoid robot with claws and a glowing core in the chest similar to Iron Man's armor. Like early models in the mainstream universe it had a view screen depicting the controller in place of a face.
In other media
Television
- The first Spider-Slayer appeared in the Spider-Man episode "Captured by J. Jonah Jameson." This one only has two metallic tentacles and possesses a periscope.
- The Spider-Slayers appear in the 1994 Spider-Man TV series. They appear as the main antagonists in the second and third episodes. In "The Spider Slayer," the Spider-Slayers being commissioned by Norman Osborn for hunting Spider-Man with Spencer Smythe at the controls. Unfortunately, the "Black Widow" Spider-Slayer was destroyed and the factory exploded with Spencer Smythe still in it. This culminated in Alistair Smythe working for the Kingpin when his father was presumed dead. In "Return of the Spider-Slayers," Alistair would go on to not only recreate the "Black Widow" Spider-Slayer, but also at the same time to unleash the "Tarantula" and "Scorpion" Spider-Slayers. In this depiction, the three Spider-Slayers could join together as a massive engine of destruction. In "Tablet of Time," Alistair would build another Slayer called the "Mega Slayer", a heavily armed humanoid robot operated by remote. As punishment for repeated failures and being partially responsible for Richard Fisk's arrest, the Kingpin's new chief scientist Herbert Landon genetically mutated Alistair into the "Ultimate Spider-Slayer" as seen in "The Ultimate Slayer." In this form, Alistair was capable of walking again and was incredibly strong and resilient. He also had twin horns growing from his shoulders, both of which were organic laser guns. Though Alistair broke free from Kingpin's controls when Spider-Man revealed what really happened to Spencer Smythe. In "The Wedding," Kingpin used Smythe's duplicate of the "Mega Slayer" to stop Goblin Glider-riding Robots sent by Smythe and Harry Osborn to crash Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's wedding. It was destroyed while helping Spider-Man and Black Cat.
Film
- A Viral Marketing for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 shows a reference of Spider-Slayers as significant advancements in robotics and it's creator Smythe.[13][14]
Video games
- The Spider-Slayers appeared in both the SNES and Sega Genesis versions of Spider-Man: The Animated Series video game. The Spider-Slayer Mark X appears as a mini-boss in the construction site level, while the Spider-Slayer Mark XIV was the boss of that same level.
- The Spider-Slayers appeared in the Game Boy game Spider-Man 3: Invasion of the Spider-Slayers.
- The Slayers appeared in the video game adaptation of Spider-Man where they had been created by Oscorp to hunt down Spider-Man but they wound up hunting the Scorpion instead. They resembled mechanical spiders.
- Humanoid Slayers armed with flame throwers appear as enemies in the final Ultimate segment in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. In-game, it is stated that these Slayers were built with the intention of handling Venom and Carnage. When Carnage escapes and begins wreaking havoc throughout the Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D. releases them to handle the situation, but they also end up attacking Spider-Man as well due to his black suit. During the final battle, a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative named Welling reprograms a group of Slayers to recognize Spider-Man as an ally and help him defeat Carnage.
- Four Spider-Slayer models called the S-Bots series appears in The Amazing Spider-Man. The S-Bots consisted of Sentries (consisting of Medical Sentries, Combat Sentries, and Advanced Combat Sentries), Seekers (which were used to seek out Cross-Species), and Hunters (which terminate Cross-Species upon being called in by the Seekers). There were also four larger robots were created by Oscorp R&D head Alistair Smythe. The first is the S-01 (a massive arachnid-like machine that is a larger version of the Hunters) which was released into Central Park after the outbreak of the Cross-Species outbreak where Spider-Man defeats it by getting it fire one of its own missiles into its mouth. The second is the S-02 (a giant tentacled snake-like burrowing machine) released to kill Spider-Man after Smythe injected himself with the failed cure which Spider Man defeated by getting it to suck up a radio antenna. The third and final is the S-03 which can be best described as a Colosseum with legs that Spider Man and the Lizard were able to defeat via taking out its legs.
References
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #167-168
- ↑ The Amazing Spider-Man #672
- ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #99
- ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #100
- ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #101
- ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #102
- ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #103
- ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #104
- ↑ Spider-Girl #10
- ↑ Spider-Girl #11
- ↑ House of M: Spider-Man #3
- ↑ House of M: Spider-Man #4
- ↑
- ↑ ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2′ Viral Marketing Teases More Villains
External links
- The Spider-Slayers at Marvel Appendix
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