Mac Gargan

Mac Gargan
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	As Mac Gargan: Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #19 (Dec 1964) As Scorpion: Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #20 (Jan 1965) As Venom: Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #8 & 10 (2005)
Created by	Stan Lee Steve Ditko
In-story information
Alter ego	MacDonald "Mac" Gargan
Team affiliations	Thunderbolts Sinister Twelve Masters of Evil
Notable aliases	Scorpion, Venom
Abilities	As the Scorpion: Superhuman physical attributes Ability to cling to most surfaces Pincer-like grip Wears scorpion-like armor with a cybernetic tail that has projectile weapons. As Venom: In addition to his inherent powers, symbiote grants all of Spider-Man's powers and also limited shapeshifting and immunity to Spider-sense.

MacDonald "Mac" Gargan is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in Amazing Spider-Man #19 (1964) and first appears as the Scorpion in Amazing Spider-Man #20 (1965) and becomes the third incarnation of Venom in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #10 (2005).

Fictional character biography

Scorpion

File:AmazingSpider-Man020.jpg

Cover of Amazing Spider-Man #20, first appearance of Gargan as the Scorpion. Art by Steve Ditko.

Mac Gargan was a private investigator initially hired by J. Jonah Jameson to find out how Peter Parker is able to obtain incredible pictures of Spider-Man. Gargan's efforts set off Peter's spider-sense and the teen was able to easily evade the detective. 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 with the help of Dr. Farley Stillwell. 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 Jameson, only to be defeated each time. Jonah does appreciate the irony and eventually decided to publically confess creating the supervillain when the original Hobgoblin tried to use that secret to blackmail him.

The Scorpion, through the course of his career, acquired a few items: a new costume, and several new tails: one that spurted acid, another that spurted tear gas, and one that can deliver electric blasts from the stinger. He also fought Ms. Marvel. 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. In addition he has also fought Captain America and Daredevil and was once a member of the Masters of Evil and fought the Avengers. Despite this he has always had a special hatred for Spider-Man.

At one point, the Scorpion's constant defeats at the hands of Spider-Man drove him to depression. He wandered the sewers, his mind becoming clearer than it had been since his transformation. Gargan's returning sanity was cut short when he encountered a depressed and crisis-ridden Spider-Man. Ignoring Gargan's plea that he had changed, the wall-crawler beat him to a pulp. As a result, Gargan's insanity flooded back and he reverted back into his psychotic state; his chance at redemption was destroyed by his hated enemy.

Scorpion temporarily worked for Roxxon and helped them in their phony "Rehabilitation Therapy". Roxxon updated the Scorpion's powers and costume and promised he would get back at his enemies. Spider-Man managed to convince Scorpion that he was only being used as Jameson had once before. Scorpion then turned on Roxxon and was then defeated by the webslinger.

Gargan reappeared during the aftermath of the Secret War that had been organized by Nick Fury against Latveria. He was among the supervillains who had been supplied with enhanced technology by Latverian dictator Lucia von Bardos and sent to attack the heroes who had been involved in Fury's Secret War. The villains' technologies were then hijacked by von Bardos, supplying her with power, potentially at the cost of the villains' lives, but the assembled heroes defeated von Bardos and apprehended Scorpion and the others.

Venom

Panel from Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #10, first appearance of Gargan as Venom. Art by Terry Dodson.

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 imprisoned. When Spider-Man defeats Osborn, he is imprisoned 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, offering him new abilities, and Gargan becomes bonded with the creature. This would later give him an extra edge as part of Norman Osborn's Sinister Twelve. Even with these additional powers he is still swiftly defeated by Spider-Man, as the Avengers deal 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.

Alongside Spider-Man and other villains and heroes, Venom is kidnapped by other-dimensional forces. He succeeds in killing Spider-Man, who is really the original Space Phantom in disguise. For his crimes, the Inhumans matriarch Medusa orders his execution and almost carries it out herself. Later, he tries to kill the other participants for the "Beyonder's" wish fulfillment prize for the winner but fails and is returned to Earth alongside the rest of the group.

Thunderbolts

Gargan later becomes a member of a sub-group of the Thunderbolts, which has been drafted by the Avengers to hunt down the members of the fugitive Secret Avengers and is currently run by the Commission for Superhuman Activities. It is then revealed that he has been outfitted with electrical implants by the government to keep the symbiote in check. As a Thunderbolt, he is seen as a hero by the general public and has his own action figures. Gargan displays his new raw power as Venom in a battle with Jack Flag, after pummeling Flag for a bit, the hero manages to stab Gargan, who is protected by his Symbiote. Gargan becomes enraged and ferociously man-handles Flag, and is about to feast upon his flesh, when his electrical implants kick in and temporarily subdue him, allowing Flag to live. Gargan expresses fear of the control the symbiote possesses over him, yet he has become addicted to the raw unearthly power it brings to him, and cannot begin to imagine life without it, similarly to a drug addict. And so, an attack from Steel Spider and Sepulchre makes him lose control again, briefly becoming a huge monster once more, while Moonstone is incapacitated and thus cannot co-ordinate control of his electrical implants. Afterwards, however, he returns to a normal form with no ill effects. He also becomes a cannibal, as he bit off and devoured Steel Spider's arm during a fight.

Gargan is later ordered by Norman Osborn to hunt down Namor. After shooting him with a Thunderbolts-supplied weapon, Gargan disables Namor by ripping off his feet-wings. However, the Sub-Mariner manages to render Gargan unconscious and then rips out the symbiote's tongue.

Gargan begins to hallucinate the Symbiote speaking to him, telling him to "feed (it)". He later attacks and devours a guard and declares that "the only way out of Thunderbolts Mountain is when I decide to let you die".. It is later revealed that the psychic criminal Bluestreak is controlling Gargan's actions. He goes up against the Swordsman, who stabs Gargan through the chest, using his powers to force the symbiote away from his sword. Gargan is wounded, but thanks to the symbiote, is still alive.

Secret Invasion

Gargan was seen being thrown from Thunderbolt Mountain by Captain Marvel. Gargan was later seen with the other Thunderbolts in Washington. The Skrulls attempt to trick him into killing normal humans to find out which of them are Skrulls.

Brand New Day

Gargan returned to the Amazing Spider-Man title. He no longer possesses the knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity. In "New Ways to Die," the Venom symbiote attempts to leave Gargan to re-bond with Brock, much to Gargan's (and Brock's) dismay. However, upon making contact with Brock, Brock's skin is shown to be caustic to his former symbiote, and as a white substance seeps out of his pores covering his body, Brock becomes Anti-Venom.

Personality

Before he donned the identity of the Scorpion, Mac was a skilled, if somewhat greedy and unscrupulous private investigator, who admitted that he'd go through anything "just so long as the pay is good!"

As he is emotionally disturbed as a result of the procedure in which he acquired his powers, Mac 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. His most prominent weakness is his explosive temper and irrational hatred toward J. Jonah Jameson, to the point where he has been known to ignore the orders of whomever he is currently working for, in order to attack the Daily Bugle's publisher.

The years of being outsmarted and beaten, despite his physical superiority over Spider-Man, complement the similar hatred possessed by the symbiote, and has allowed it to almost completely control Gargan. Very little of his personality is retained while in the Venom persona, thus Gargan is now observed making statements about eating brains and referring to himself as "we" rather than "I". Gargan has even engaged in cannibalism as Venom, severing and devouring the arm of the still-living Steel Spider. When the symbiote is dormant in his body he has expressed nausea and fear of the organism. Unlike Eddie Brock, any inhibitions Gargan had about harming innocent bystanders has been eliminated with his bonding to the symbiote (though he had little regard for others to begin with). Gargan's previous identity hasn't been completely degraded. When he learned there was a new hero calling herself the Scorpion, The Gargan-Venom attacked her to protect his trademark while it still lasted.

Powers and abilities

As Scorpion

Mac Gargan, as the Scorpion, has superhuman strength, agility, reflexes, stamina, and durability, and also has the ability to scale walls (he also punches holes in walls as a way to climb). He also has an expectionally strong grip, reminiscent of a real scorpion's pincers. 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.

As Venom

With the Venom symbiote, Gargan retains his superhuman abilities, some of which have increased substantially beyond the original levels. The costume can even emulate the tail of Gargan's scorpion costume, though it now shoots webbing rather than electrical voltage. It can also be used as a fifth limb. As Venom, Gargan has gained the ability to shoot webbing and climb walls like Spider-Man, and can disguise himself as other people or blend in with his background. He is undetectable by Spider-Man's "spider-sense". His skill as a hand-to-hand combatant has increased due to the influence of the alien symbiote, which has superior instincts and fighting experience. The costume can also heal grave injuries suffered by the host with incredible speed.

When injured or enraged, Venom now has the ability to increase its mass and physical strength in order to meet whatever threat it is facing with equal force, an ability inconsistently hinted in the past, such as when Venom battled the Juggernaut. During these times it is not clear that Gargan has any control over the symbiote, for had it not been for the technology restraining Venom, he would have eaten Jack Flag. Also, during a battle with the Steel Spider, Gargan attacks innocent bystanders..

Though his power potential has greatly increased thanks to the symbiote, Gargan has still failed to evoke any respect from Spider-Man, the web slinger's opinion being that "A loser dressed like Venom is still a freakin' loser."

Other versions

Exiles

In one of the many realities visited by the Exiles, Mac Gargan is one of the many superhumans that form the Heroes for Hire, and is part of the Avengers Package, which also includes the Black Widow and the Black Knight. After being hired to protect Tokyo from Moses Magnum and Namorita, Scorpion is killed by the murderous, teenage counterpart of Magik.

Runaways

In an alternate future, as seen in Runaways, a version of Scorpion is a member of the Avengers, led by Heroine, Gertrude Yorkes. It's unknown if this is Mac Gargan. He dies fighting Victorious, Victor Mancha.

Spider-Man: Reign

Gargan appears as the Scorpion (in a highly advanced costume) in Spider-Man: Reign as a member of the Sinner Six. He dies when he is kicked from a window by Spider-Man.

What If? Spider-Man: The Other

In this alternate reality, shortly after Venom's defeat by Spider-Man, he is in prison. The symbiote abandons Gargan when it realizes that Peter Parker is vulnerable, and ultimately, the symbiote overcomes Peter and becomes a new being, Poison.

In other media

Television

Spider-Man (1967 TV series)

On Spider-Man, the Scorpion is introduced in episode 5A - "Never Step on a Scorpion" in which his creation is shown and returns in episode 20A - "Sting of the Scorpion" where he breaks out of prison to wreak revenge on J. Jonah Jameson.

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Scorpion appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "Attack of the Arachnoid." He was thwarted by the Spider-Friends at the beginning of the episode. When Spider-Man ends up in jail for Zolton's actions to frame the real Spider-Man, Scorpion took this opportunity to deliver payback to Spider-Man only to be defeated.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series

File:Spidermanep2.jpg

Scorpion in the 1990s Spider-Man animated series

Scorpion appears in Spider-Man: The Animated Series voiced initially by Martin Landau and by Richard Moll from the episode Partners and on, following Landau's Academy Award win and subsequent lack of availability. In his debut episode, "The Sting of the Scorpion", Mac Gargan is a neurotic, plump and balding private eye working for J. Jonah Jameson. In an attempt to discover Spider-Man's real identity, Jameson convinces Gargan to be transformed into a capable superhero by Dr. Stillwell using the Neogenic Recombinator. As Scorpion, Gargan is able to defeat Spider-Man but before he can unmask the wall-crawler, Gargan is overcome with pain as he undergoes further uncontrolled mutations that give him green skin, yellow eyes and talon-like fingers. Believing more radiation may stop his transformation and return him to normal, Gargan attempts to gain access to a nuclear reactor but is found and defeated by Spider-Man, resulting in the Scorpion being sent to jail.

Scorpion reappears as a member of the Kingpin's Insidious Six, a super-villain team created to kill Spider-Man though he is again defeated by Spider-Man. Desperate to find a cure to his condition, Scorpion kidnaps Dr. Stillwell but Stillwell destroys the Neogenic Recombinator to prevent the creation of other beings like Scorpion. After meeting Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the Vulture, Scorpion kidnaps him from an exploding building and holds him hostage, believing him to be smart enough to undo the Scorpion transformation.

Eventually, Alistair Smythe, requiring Scorpion's genetic code to further his own experiments, holds Black Cat hostage to coerce Spider-Man into bringing Scorpion to him. Scorpion eventually manages to escape Smythe's clutches and attempts to stay away from crime for the sake of his fiancée. Scorpion's final appearance is again as a member of the Insidious Six, who attempt to locate the Red Skull's Doomsday device for the Kingpin.

The Spectacular Spider-Man

Producer Greg Weisman has stated that he hopes to use the Scorpion in season 3 of the The Spectacular Spider-Man TV series.

Video games

• The Scorpion is the third boss of the Game Boy game The Amazing Spider-Man.

• Scorpion appears in the Game Boy Color video game Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six as a member of the Sinister Six, though in the comics, he never joined the group (however he did join the Sinner Six in Spider-Man: Reign and the Sinister Twelve as Venom.

• He appeared twice in the arcade game Spider-Man: The Video Game.

• Scorpion appears as a boss in both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis games based on the animated series.

• He was a boss in the Japanese only Super Nintendo game Spider-Man: Lethal Foes.

• He also appears in the Neversoft Spider-Man (voiced by Daran Norris) in his short lived 1998 costume as the first boss. Here, he is hunting down Daily Bugle Editor J. Jonah Jameson because he blames him for his becoming the Scorpion. However, Spider-Man eventually defeats the Scorpion at the Daily Bugle.

• In the multiple platform game Spider-Man: The Movie (based on the film), Scorpion makes an appearance in two of the levels and was voiced by Mike McColl. He wears his short-lived blue and green armored suit from 1998 Spider-Man comics. In the game, Mac Gargan was the test subject for the Oscorp MechaBioCon Scorpion project. The project was to create Super soldiers. In the project, he was given Scorpion-like powers and a mechanic tail stuck to his spine and he escaped from the labs. After Gargan escapes from the labs, he donned a cyberconic scorpion suit and turned to a life of crime. Later on, the people of Oscorp MechaBioCon Labs sent out electronic spiders to hunt him down. As it is revealed, Scorpion has an intense fear of spiders. He encounters Spider-Man who saves him from the spiders. Spider-Man and Scorpion afterwards have an intense battle. Spider-Man wins the battle and Scorpion flees. This version of Scorpion appears to be insane, as his first line of dialogue to Spider-Man is: "Are you here to capture me, too? Yes... yes, I can tell, I can tell" before his fight with Spider-Man.

• He appears as a boss in the Game Boy Advance game Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace.

• The Scorpion appears as a villain in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by Beau Weaver. He works for Doctor Doom's Masters of Evil attacking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier. Scorpion is the first villain players face in the game and one of the few fought multiple times, as he later appears guarding the defeated Tyr along with the Lizard. Scorpion is the only villain to change his costume during the game, as he appears on the Helicarrier in his classic costume, and in his blue & green costume in Asgard. There is special dialogue between him and Spider-Man. In the downloadable content via Xbox Live, Mac Gargan's Venom form is an alternate costume for Venom. A simulation VS. disk has the heroes fighting Scorpion in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Omega Base and another disk had Spider-Man defending Dum Dum Dugan from Scorpion while in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Omega Base.

• Scorpion appears as one of the villains in the game Spider-Man 3 voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. In it, his appearance is like the costume worn at the time that Mattie Franklin was posing as Spider-Man, referred to by Chris Archer to be similar to what he would look like should he have been in a movie. It is revealed that Dr. Stillwell recaptured him and brainwashed him. Spider-Man came to free him, but is distracted by some Oscorp guards. Once Spider-Man defeats the guards and frees Scorpion, Scorpion and Spider-Man fight. Spider-Man defeats Scorpion when suddenly, Scorpion put more under the mind control. Scorpion knocks Spider-Man away and flees. Spider-Man chases Scorpion across New York. The chase stops when the two of them both land on a New York bridge. Afterwards, Spider-Man and Scorpion have another battle. Spider-Man defeats Scorpion by kicking him off the top of the bridge, knocking him unconscious. Scorpion quickly recovers, free from the mind control. While Spider-Man goes to find Dr. Stillwell's hideout, Dr. Stillwell hires Rhino to fight Scorpion. After Rhino defeats Scorpion in battle and runs off, Spider-Man arrives and takes Scorpion to Dr. Stillwell’s hideout. When Scorpion and Spider-Man arrive at Dr. Stillwell's hideout, Dr, Stillwell sends Rhino to destroy them. Working together, Spider-Man and Scorpion defeat Rhino and Spider-Man finishes off Rhino by tying him up with his weblines and smashing him with several enormous ceiling blocks on top of him, knocking him unconscious. Scropion subdues Dr. Stillwell and just as he was about to kill her, Spider-Man and Dr. Andros managed to talk sense into him. While the Scorpion and Spider-Man unite, there is no reference to their previous encounter from the first Spider-Man game.

• Scorpion appears in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe voiced by Fred Tatasciore. He is one of several enemies under the mind control of Mysterio. He was sent to a deserted island to guard one of the symbioite meteor shards. Once Spider-Man defeats him and frees him of this control, Scorpion agrees to aid him. It is speculated that Spider-Man returned Scorpion and the other villains to prison after he defeated Mysterio.

External links

• Gargan's Profile at Spiderfan.org
• Mac Gargan's profile at the Marvel Universe