Mac Gargan
- The Scorpion redirects here. For the constellation, see Scorpius.
There are two Scorpion characters in the Marvel Universe. The first is a supervillain, the second a superheroine.
Mac Gargan
| Venom | |
|---|---|
| File:ScorpionVenom.png | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #20 |
| Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Macdonald "Mac" Gargan |
| Team affiliations | Sinister Twelve, Masters of Evil |
| Notable aliases | Scorpion, Venom |
| Abilities | As the Scorpion: Superhuman strength and endurance, can cling to walls, wears scorpion-like armor with a cybernetic tail that has projectile weapons. As Venom: in addition to his inherent powers, symbiote allows all of Spider-Man's powers. Allows limited shapeshifting and cannot be detected by Spider-sense. |
Macdonald "Mac" Gargan was the first Scorpion. He first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #20, and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. He recently acquired the Venom symbiote and has taken that name.
Character biography
A former private investigator named Mac Gargan who was initially hired by J. Jonah Jameson to find out how Peter Parker is able to get those incredible pictures of Spider-Man, Gargan's efforts set off Peter's spider-sense and the teen was able to easily frustrate the detective. J. Jonah Jameson then decided to hire Gargan as the subject of a barely tested process that would endow him with the useful characteristics of a particular animal. In this case, a scorpion was the base for the purposes of creating a powerful agent capable of defeating Spider-Man.
This mutagenic treatment seriously affected Gargan's mind, driving him insane. He promptly turned on his benefactor and when Spider-Man intervened, Jameson found himself in the strange position of praying that his investment was insufficient in defeating the superhero he hated. Since then, the Scorpion has repeatedly attempted to indulge in his deadly vendetta against Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson, only to be defeated each time. Jonah does appreciate the irony.
The Scorpion, in his career, has accomplished among other things: a new costume, fought Ms. Marvel, and paid for a new tail that spurted acid. In one instance, Scorpion became more psychotic than usual after his battle with Ms. Marvel, resulting in his being dumped in acid. In the sewers, Scorpion came to believe that his costume couldn't come off, but after a quick encounter, Spider-Man proved to him that his belief of being a monster was in his mind.
Later on through circumstances yet to be revealed, Norman Osborn reveals Spider-Man's true identity to Gargan and gives him orders to kidnap Peter's Aunt May should Osborn ever be captured and imprisioned. When Spider-Man defeats Osborn, he is imprisioned and Gargan carries out Osborn's orders in kidnapping Aunt May. Gargan eventually summons Peter and tells him the only way he can see his aunt again is to break Norman out of jail. Shortly thereafter, the Venom symbiote approaches Gargan and Gargan becomes bonded with the Venom symbiote, and becomes part of the new Sinister Twelve. Even with these additional powers he was still swiftly defeated by Spider-Man, as the Avengers dealt with the rest of the Twelve. So far he remains bonded with the symbiote. Though incarcerated, Gargan is unfazed, as with his new powers came the respect of becoming an "A-list" villain.
Powers and abilities
Mac Gargan has superhuman strength, agility, reflexes, stamina, and endurance, and also has the ability to cling to walls. In addition to his superhuman physique, he was traditionally armed with a cybernetic, seven-foot mechanical tail, which can whip at incredibly high speeds. The tail has in the past been equipped with projectile weapons (usually an electrical generator, although it has also been equipped with an acidic spray and a plasma energy projector). The Scorpion is substantially stronger and more durable than Spider-Man, though a much less skilled hand-to-hand combatant.
Mac Gargan was once a skilled investigative journalist but, as he is emotionally disturbed as a result of the procedure in which he acquired his powers, he retains little of his former rationality. He is typically easily outsmarted by Spider-Man and is not very good at cooperating with other supervillains or following instructions.
With the Venom symbiote, Gargan retains his superhuman abilities (which are probably increased because of the symbiote) and has the ability to shoot webbing like Spider-Man can, and can presumably disguise himself as other people or blend in with his background as Brock could. He is undetectable to Spider-Man's "spider-sense".
Scorpion in other media
Scorpion appears in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. In his debut episode, Mac Gargan works for J. Jonah Jameson as an investigator, but is nervous, plump and balding. In an attempt to discover Spider-Man's real identity, Jameson hires a scientist to use Dr. Connors' Neogenic Recombinator to turn Gargan into a superhero called the Scorpion. He encounters Spider-Man on a roof top, but when he is about to unmask Spider-Man, he notices his monstrous appearance in the reflection of a puddle. At that point, madness at the horror of what he has become descend upon him. At OsCorp, the Scorpion plans to blow up the city, until Spider-Man stops him.
In "The Insidious Six", Scorpion becomes a member of the Insidious Six. In "The Final Nightmare", he makes a plan to find a cure for his mutation by kidnapping the scientist who is responsible for turning him into a freak. In "Partners", he makes an another attempt to cure himself, but fails when Spider-Man stops him. In "Wedding", Scorpion makes a bank robbery and Spider-Man is defeated. Then, he takes the wedding rings, so that he and his girlfriend Sara can get married.
Scorpion also appears in the Game Boy Color video game "Spider-Man 2: Enter The Sinister Six" as a member of the Sinister Six, though in comic reality, he never officially joined. He also appears in Spiderman playstation game and Spider-Man: The Movie. In all his video-ggame appearances, his costume tends to be large and blue instead of tight and green. The Scorpion will be appearing as a villian in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
Ultimate Scorpion
Scorpion is to make his debut in Ultimate Spider-Man on issue 97.
See also
Carmilla Black
| Scorpion | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #7 |
| Created by | Fred Van Lente Leonard Kirk |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Carmilla Black |
| Notable aliases | Thanasee Rappaccini (birth name) |
| Abilities | Immunity to poisons Left arm delivers "sting" ranging from causing mild discomfort to killing with a touch. |
Carmilla Black is the new Scorpion. With the exception of her name she has no relation to Gargan. Carmilla first appeared in Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #7 and was created by Fred Van Lente and Leonard Kirk.
Character biography
After the vicious murder of her adoptive parents, Carmilla discovered her biological mother is the top scientist of the worldwide terrorist network Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). Carmilla is now trying to find her real mother under the auspices of S.H.I.E.L.D., who are attempting to use her to infiltrate AIM. She appears in Incredible Hulk #87, a one-shot story that takes place immediately after House of M.
House of M
In the House of M reality, the Scorpion was raised by her mother, and has a good relationship with her (as she was never adopted, she also goes by her birth name of Thanasee Rappaccini, although she retains the Scorpion codename). She is thus an agent of the semi-heroic AIM, and recently helped recruit the Hulk, her mother's former lover, to overthrow Exodus' totalitarian Australian government.
Captain Universe
Carmilla and her S.H.I.E.L.D. handler, agent Derek Khanata, had been sent to New York under orders to track down and capture The Uni-Power before it could fall into the hands of the terrorist organization A.I.M., watching over the spot where a Captain Universe empowered Daredevil fought four Class Three A.I.M. Commandos, Scorpion and Khanata waited to see if A.I.M. (who was also at the site) would find anything. A group of kids interrupted the A.I.M. Agents work and were nearly killed until Laura Kinney a.k.a. X-23 steps in. The A.I.M. Commandos who fought Daredevil before begin to assault X-23 when she becomes Captain Universe. Scorpion enters the fray helps X-23/Captain Universe defeat the Commandos. Soon afterwards X-23 begins to search for a hidden base Scorpion joins her so that she can capture Captain Universe and get the information on it from A.I.M., however X-23 convinces Scorpion to see the light and let Captain Universe go. X-23 takes Captain Universe to a safe hiding place while Scorpion brings an A.I.M. scientist back to S.H.I.E.L.D. for interrogation.
Trivia
The name Rappaccini is an allusion to the short story Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne [1]. The title character of that story is a beautiful young woman whose breath and touch have been rendered poisonous by the experiments of her father.
Alternate Scorpion
In an alternate future, a version of Scorpion (presumably not Gargan) is a member of the Avengers, led by Heroine, Gertrude Yorkes. He died fighting Victorious, Victor Mancha.