Scorpion (Marvel)

Scorpion appeared in 1964 Marvel Comics called Amazing Spider-Man.

Former private investigator Mac Gargan was hired by J. Jonah Jameson to find out how Peter Parker was able to get incredible pictures of Spider-Man. Gargan's efforts to locate Peter in order to find out the truth triggered Parker's spider sense, making him easily avoidable every time.

Frustrated, Jameson decided to pay $10,000 to Gargan to be the subject of an experiment. The experiment, created by Dr. Farley Stillwell, a researcher in animal mutation, which endowed the subject with the characteristic of another animal. Unfortunately the process resulted in the loss of Gargan's sanity, and the creation of the super-powered criminal menace known as the Scorpion. Over the years Scorpion fought and was bested by Spider-Man many times. Most of these confrontations were the result of Spider-Man stopping an attempt on the life of Jameson, who Gargan hated even more than Spider-Man. Scorpion attacked Jameson on his wedding day, but failed thanks to Spider-Man.

Gargan was hired to follow Agent Sharon Carter of S.H.I.E.L.D., but this lead to a confrontation with Captain America and was easily defeated. Teaming up with Mister Hyde they launched a campaign of attacks against S.H.I.E.L.D., including kidnapping Sharon Carter, but Falcon and Cap tracked them down and took them out.

When robbing a laundromat a young wannabe superhero named Jewel crash-landed on his head. This was enough to stun him so he could be apprehended.

Gargan was freed again and asked for help from the Jackal who sent him to Midtown Hospital in which Spider-Man's Aunt May was being cared for. Gargan went to the room but only found Peter and May, not realizing he was Spider-Man. He threatened them to tell him the location of Spider-Man. This angered Peter putting on his costume and ending the Scorpion rampage through the hospital. After his beat-down, Spider-Man forced him to apologize to Aunt May.

As a private investigator, Mac was skilled enough to garner the attention of J. Jonah Jameson, even if he was a little greedy. After his transformation into the Scorpion though, most of his previous personality went out the window due to the mutagenic process reshaping his mind, and what was left was continually influenced by all the predatory instinct of a scorpion. Depending on the writer though, this insanity varied from extreme to barely noticeable, such as in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #9. At some points, Gargan's mental state worsened to the point he believed himself to be trapped in his suit, and he developed an intense hatred towards J. Jonah Jameson - who he blamed for turning him into a monster.

After bonding with the Venom symbiote, Mac was initially in-control of himself, but over time began to struggle against the symbiote's bloodlust - going berserk at the slightest provocation and expressing both fear of the alien and disbelief that he'd lived as long as he had without it. After biting off and eating the Steel Spider's arm under the symbiote's influence, Gargan was initially disgusted and protested Songbird using this as a scare tactic to get unregistered superheroes to surrender. During Bluestreak III's psychic attack on the Thunderbolts, Gargan suffered a hallucination of the symbiote threatening and berating him, causing him to snap and fully succumb to its ravenous bloodlust. Following this, Gargan embraced the symbiote's darkness and became a cannibal with a macabre and sadistic sense of humor. However, as a result of the drug he was dosed with to keep the Venom symbiote under control, Gargan began having episodes of uncharacteristic timidness that hindered his effectiveness in combat.

After being removed from the symbiote, his violent personality receded and he appeared to return to his more rational mind from before he became Venom; such that he was able to obtain a position as Black Cat's top enforcer in her organization as well as employment as a member of Alchemax's security force. Gargan outwardly displayed a phobia of the Venom symbiote and expressed the desire to kill it, going so far as to destroy his high-tech Scorpion suit to prevent it from rebonding to him; but this was belied by his attempt to reclaim it from Lee Price, his delight at having his symbiote powers restored by Maniac, and by him joining the FBI's Symbiote Task Force solely to bond to Venom's latest spawn. Breaking out of prison and reclaiming his armor, Gargan was present at a supervillain bar and disparaged the new Jack O'Lantern, Black Cat, and other supervillains' tales of having fought Venom during his supervillain and Lethal Protector days. However, Gargan's bravado proved false as Venom attacked and threatened to eat him.

After being paralyzed by Carnage, Gargan - paralleling Eddie Brock's early attitude towards Spider-Man - became hellbent on getting revenge against Venom, who he blamed for ruining his life and leaving him dependent on his suit of armor for survival. While Eddie and the Venom symbiote were the primary targets of his rage, Gargan was not above endangering civilians or threatening Venom's son Dylan in order to antagonize Eddie; and when about to be executed by Captain America quipped that he had always wanted to kill an Avenger.

Powers and Abilities

• Scorpion/Human Hybrid Physiology: As the Scorpion, MacDonald Gargan possesses all the powers of a scorpion. When he acquired the Venom symbiote, he retained some of his scorpion-like powers, and was granted the additional powers of the Venom symbiote, granting him several abilities similar to Spider-Man. Due to the removal of the symbiote and destruction of his upgraded suit, Gargan now has been reduced to his original Scorpion power. His powers are:
  • Superhuman Strength: Mac Gargan possesses extreme superhuman strength. He is currently able to lift approximately 15 tons, and as such, can easily overpower humans, lift extremely heavy objects, uproot trees and use them as weapons. On several occasions, he has proven capable of even overpowering Spider-Man himself.
  • Superhuman Speed: Gargan can run and exercise at superhuman speeds. His overall body equilibrium is also heightened, although he isn't nearly as fast as speedsters. He's been shown to outrun vehicles.
  • Superhuman Stamina: Gargan's musculature generates considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than an ordinary human's. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to impair him.
  • Superhuman Durability: Gargan has superhuman durability. The Scorpion suit was capable of shielding Gargan from bullets from small-arms weapons firing conventional ammunition. He's also able to survive heavy impacts and blunt force trauma without sustaining injury.
  • Superhuman Agility: Gargan's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete.
  • Superhuman Reflexes: Gargan's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are superior to those of the finest human athlete.
  • Wallcrawling: Though he typically punches holes in walls to use as hand-and-footholds, Gargan is capable of adhering to solid surfaces much like Spider-Man.
• Investigative Prowess: Before he became the Scorpion or the third Venom, MacDonald Gargan was a detective with some investigative skills.
• Formidable Opponent: Gargan's powers make him a formidable combatant, even though he has had little formal training.

Arsenal

• Scorpion's Suit: As the Scorpion, Mac Gargan wears a full-body battle suit, which has undergone several major revisions in his long criminal career. These were always courtesy of third party suppliers - since Gargan himself possesses no aptitude for engineering. Dr. Farley Stillwell created his original suit, with funding provided by J. Jonah Jameson. Later versions were provided by Justin Hammer, and other large corporations and governments seeking to maximize the lethality of their hired assassin. The most recent design consisted of an inner woven Kevlar layer, covered with a thick layer of insulation/padding, and topped with a high-tech composite armor plating, making him impervious to small firearms.
  • Electro-Mechanical Tail: The Scorpion's battle suit was originally equipped with a superhumanly powerful tail that he could whip at speeds up to over 90 miles per hour. The tail varied in length with each design - from an original 4' version, up to 20' in other implementations. His tail before gaining the Venom symbiote was approximately 10' in length. His tail was powered by a self-contained power pack mounted on the back of his battle suit. The tail was connected via a cybernetic link to the fine muscles of his spinal column when he dons his suit, enabling him to direct the tail by involuntary nerve impulses and activated by his mental commands. Internally, the tail possessed a blunt tip and consisted of a series of separated circular plates connected by a matrix of steel cables. Solenoids contract the cables and manipulate the tail, allowing it to whip at speeds of over 150 feet per second. The tail was also armored, and subsequent versions were tipped with a spike, making it deadly in combat. He had mastered the use of his tail to the point that he could use it as both a bludgeon, projectile launcher, or as a fifth limb (he had also upgraded its flexibility several times, making it much more efficient in combat). By coiling his tail behind him and using it as a spring, the Scorpion could propel himself over thirty feet into the air. Over the years, he had modified and enhanced it countless times, acquiring upgrades from the likes of Justin Hammer and the Tinkerer, who equipped it with a poisonous barb with venom installed or a form of hypnogen, electrical blasts (he could also channel electricity through it to shock anyone who tried to grab him by the tail or short-circuit electrical equipment), laser blasts, acid blasts, and mace gas.Gargan destroyed his upgraded suit when the Venom symbiote pretended to try to rebond to him, and subsequently returned to his original costume.
  • Transparent Membrane: When the Scorpion was employed by Justin Hammer, Mac Gargan's eye holes were covered by a transparent membrane rigged to dissolve Spider-Man's webbing, should Spider-Man try to blind him as he did in past battles. It is unclear if his later costumes retained this.
  • Pincers: The Scorpion's gloves on his costume granted him miniature pincers on each hand that enabled him to literally rip through Spider-Man's webbing.

Weakness

• Genetic Defects: Due to his genetic mutation being unstable, without his Scorpion suit or the Venom symbiote to stabilize it, Gargan would die.