Thousand (comics)

The Thousand is a fictional character in Marvel Comics.

Publication History

Created in combination by Garth Ennis, John McCrea and James Hodgkins, the Thousand first appears in Tangled Web of Spider-Man #1.

Originally a man known as Carl King, King became the Thousand when he consumed the radioactive spider that gave Spider-Man his powers, which resulted in his transformation from a human being into a hive-minded swarm of a thousand spiders.^[1]

Fictional character biography

A bully as a child, King's favorite target of abuse was classmate Peter Parker who he has tormented in elementary school.^[2] When Aunt May heard of this, she complained to the principal about Carl King's . No student would testify as a witness. When it came to Peter Parker's days at Midtown High School, Carl King continued to torment Parker by forcing him to write his papers and then beating him up if his grades weren't good.^[3]

Wanting to gain superpowers like Peter, King returns to the science exhibit and, finding the now dead irradiated spider, kept for study, eats it. For several days, King shows no sign of mutation, until one morning he discovers his body is composed of spiders. Discovering his power to consume the innards of other human beings and use their skin like a suit after accidentally doing so to his mother, King proceeds to do the same to his father and, wanting to gain mastery of his new abilities, begins to consume and take over the bodies of various people, including his girlfriend, most of them homeless vagrants and children.^[1]

Years later, King becomes jealous of the fame and glory Peter Parker has as Spider-Man following his fight against Rhino and decides to kill him.^[2] Murdering and assuming the identity of Daily Bugle employee Jess Patton, King finds Peter and, pretending to be Patton, spins a lie about being broke, alcoholic and homeless after being rejected by a boyfriend. Managing to gain Peter's pity, King is taken to his apartment by him, where he reveals his true identity and attacks, managing to beat Peter in seconds after he changes into his Spider-Man outfit, paralyzing him with his venomous bite and, putting him in restraints, takes him back to his apartment where he plans to devour him.^[3]

Before King manages to eat Peter, the latter's landlord Mr. Ambrose, enters the room. Not wanting to have a witness to his existence, King swarms over Ambrose and kills him. After taking over Ambrose's body, King reveals his full origin to Spider-Man, in a lengthy speech. As King rants, the venom that had paralyzed him wears off and Spider-Man attacks him. Trading insults as they fight, King calls Spider-Man the same spineless worm he knew as a child, while Spider-Man calls King a friendless bully afraid of women. Gaining to the upper-hand in the fight, King knocks Spider-Man to the floor and prepares to deliver the killing blow to him. Ignoring the warnings given to him by Spider-Man, King attempts to strike, but instead hits a high-voltage electrical generator, which incinerates practically all of the spiders composing him. Believing King to be dead, Spider-Man leaves the scene, not noticing that one of the spiders that composed his enemy survived electrocution. Seconds after vowing vengeance on Spider-Man, the last piece of King is stepped on by an oblivious passerby.^[1]

Powers and Abilities

The Thousand was actually 1,000 spiders that made up Carl King's consciousness. They can enter the mouth of their host consuming their innards (usually by liquifying and drinking the brain, then devouring the organs and skeleton of the person) leaving the skin intact so that the Thousand can appear as a normal human being. With each host that has been consumed, the Thousand became stronger even to the point where it was as strong as Spider-Man. In addition, the Thousand's host can cling to walls, paralyze a victim with its bite, and hideously contort its body. In the event that the host was destroyed, the Thousand can find a new host.

References

External links

• Thousand at Marvel.com
• Thousand at Marvel Wiki
• Thousand at Comic Vine
• Thousand at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe