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 (Amazing Spider-Man #167-168).

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.

Other versions

Ultimate Spider-Slayers

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.

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.

House of M

In the Spider-Man: House of M, a revenge-obsessed J. Jonah Jameson hired a Sapien scientist Dr. Allistaire Smythe to build a Spider Slayer to take out Spider-Man's family, the Parkers (Gwen, Ben, and George), but was defeated by using web-shooters on the robot. It had six hands and had a little monitor with Jameson's face on it.

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 combined in the 1994 Spider-Man episode "Return of the Spider Slayers."

• The Spider-Slayers appear in the 1994 Spider-Man TV series. 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.

Video games

• The Spider-Slayers appeared in both the SNES and Sega Genesis games based on the animated series. The Alien Spider-Slayer appears as a mini-boss in the construction site level, while the Tri Spider-Slayer 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.

External links

• The Spider-Slayers at Marvel Appendix