- This article is about the two Marvel Comics characters, for the 1970s Atlas/Seaboard comic book character and series see Scorpion (Atlas/Seaboard Comics)
Scorpion is the name that two separate fiction characters have used in stories published by Marvel Comics.
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Fictional character biography
Mac Gargan
Macdonald "Mac" Gargan was a former private investigator hired by J. Jonah Jameson to, at first, discover the connection between Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and later as a means to destroy Spider-Man. In this capacity, Gargan was used as a test subject for a process that would endow him with the useful characteristics of a scorpion. Over the years, Gargan was one of the foes Spider-Man regularly fought from his rogues gallery. Although he would occasionally square off against other heroes, he would always return to his fixation on Spider-man and Jameson. Recently, Gargan has given up the Scorpion costume and is now the host for the Venom symbiote.
Carmilla Black
Carmilla was created by Fred Van Lente and Leonard Kirk as part of Marvel's attempt to draw in new, younger readers. After the vicious murder of her adoptive parents, she discovered her biological mother works for Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). Recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D., she is now trying to find her real mother while attempting to infiltrate AIM.
Other versions
Runaways
In an alternate future, as seen in Runaways, a version of Scorpion is a member of the Avengers, led by Heroine, Gertrude Yorkes. He died fighting Victorious.
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.
Ultimate Scorpion
Scorpion made his debut in Ultimate Spider-Man #97, the first issue of the Ultimate Clone Saga, where he was revealed to be one of many clones of Peter Parker. It appears that his costume was bullet proof. Throughout the issue #97 he uses an acid that erupts from his tail as well as acid shooters on his upper hand, similar to Spider-Man's web shooters. His design is very close to the original Mac Gargan incarnation of the Scorpion, with the exception of sleekness to the design, and a dome like hunch which becomes the dangerous tail, giving the appearance of an actual scorpion's exo-skeleton. The tail was also fused to his spinal cord, which Invisible Woman of the Ultimate Fantastic Four referred to as an "illegal biograft". When Scorpion was awake enough to answer questions, Reed and Sue asked where he came from and how he came to be. His only response was asking where he was now. He asked if he was back in the "zoo". He is presently held in the Baxter Building while the Fantastic Four conduct research into the cloning. While Scorpion didn't recognize Peter in the Spider-Man costume, he does seem to have some of Peter's memories. When he is first seen in the mall, he repeats the phrase "Who are you, masked mystery man? Unveil yourself to the crowd!" which was said to Peter Parker earlier in the series. Also, Scorpion encounters Mary Jane Watson in the Baxter Building and says her name before passing out. These are the only indications that Scorpion was given Peter's memories. It was also shown at the end of Ultimate Spider-Man #105 that Nick Fury has him and Gwen Stacy in containment; Fury tells a S.H.I.E.L.D officer to "get to work".
In other media
Television
Scorpion appears in 1994 series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series played by Martin Landau and Richard Moll. 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. This incarnation is similar to the original comics version of the Scorpion, with superhuman strength and agility resulting from his genetic enhancement, using the Neogenic Recombinator, with scorpion DNA -referred to by the scientist who carries out the experiment as "a natural predator of the spider"- and an externally-mounted cybernetic weapon-tail. He encounters Spider-Man on a roof top, and after a short battle is able to defeat the wall crawler. However, when he is about to unmask Spider-Man, his body is overcome with pain, and he begins to mutate further, developing yellow eyes, green skin, and talons on his fingers. At that point, madness at the horror of what he has become descend upon him. The Scorpion then attempts to gain access to a nuclear reactor, insanely believing it will restore him to normal ("Radiation made me this way, and I'm going to use it to turn me back!"). Spider-Man stops him, sending him to jail. In "The Insidious Six", Scorpion becomes a member of the Insidious Six, created by the Kingpin, to kill Spider-Man, so Kingpin can settle off his debt with his enemy, Silvermane, but Spider-Man survived in the end. In "The Final Nightmare", he makes a plan to find a cure for his mutation by kidnapping Dr. Stillwell, the scientist who is responsible for turning him into a freak. Unfortunately, Stillwell destroys the Neogenic Recombinator in order to prevent any other beings like the Scorpion from existing again. Later, he meets Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the Vulture, who is as smart as Stillwell, and when Toomes' lab was blowing up, Scorpion saved him. In "Partners", where Moll replaced Landau, he makes another attempt to cure himself, but fails when Spider-Man stops him (this attempt was a plot created by Spider-Man because he needed Scorpion to give to Alistair Smythe to save the Black Cat). In "The 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. And finally, the Scorpion appears in the Six Forgotten Warriors five-parter as his last appearance as a member of the Insidious Six.
Appearances in the Show
- The Sting of the Scorpion
- The Insidious Six
- Battle of the Insidious Six
- The Final Nightmare
- Partners
- The Wedding
- Six Forgotten Warriors: Chapter One
- Unclaimed Legacy
- Secrets of the Six
- The Six Fight Again
- The Price of Heroism
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 (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 Snes and Sega Genesis games based off the animated series.
- He was a boss in the Japanese only Super Nintendo game Spider-Man: Lethal Foes.
- In some of his video-game appearances, his costume is the green and blue armor briefly seen during the Spider-Man: Chapter One/Reboot era instead of his classic green costume. This suit consists more of a plated like steel armor, other than just his usual smooth surfaced suit.
- He also appears in Spider-Man, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Here, he was making another attempt to get revenge on J. Jonah Jameson for turning him into the mutant freak he became. But Spider-Man arrives in time to save Jameson and defeats Scorpion in battle, thus foiling another one of the Scorpion's miserable plans. He was last seen in the game, playing cards with Rhino and Mysterio (whom have been placed in jail with Doctor Octopus for framing Spider-Man and almost releasing a symbiote invasion to the world). Scorpion was surprised and disappointed that all of them (Doc Ock, Mysterio and Rhino) were all working together and Spider-Man is still alive, while Mysterio tries to make it look like it was Doctor Octopus's fault.
- He appears as a boss in the Game Boy Advance game Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace.
- In the multiple platform game, Spider-Man: The Movie (based on the film), Scorpion makes an appearance in two of the levels. In the game his attitude has been totally revamped. He is depicted as a confused, misunderstanding, and paranoid person (Or, as Spider-Man says it, "Crazier than a soup sandwich") who probably was experimented on by a rival company of OSCORP, but that doesn't keep him from fighting Spider-Man when he wants "to be alone." After the battle, the Scorpion disappears. He was voiced by Mike McColl.
- He was briefly mentioned in Ultimate Spider-Man (video game) while chasing Rhino Spider-Man wonders why there arent any easy villains rather than those like Rhino and Scorpion.
- The Scorpion appears as a villain in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. There, he works for Dr. Doom's Masters of Evil and attacks S.H.I.E.L.D.. However, he is rather quickly disposed by Spider-Man, Thor, Wolverine and Captain America. Scorpion is the first villain players face in the game. He later appears with upgraded powers guarding the defeated Tyr (one of the gods in the fallen Asgard) along with Lizard.
- Scorpion reappears in the movie game line as one of the villains in the game Spider-Man 3. In it, his appearance is similar to his costume worn during the time that mattie Franklin was posing as spider-man.
Scorpion also appears as a unlockable sidekick in Spider-Man Friend or Foe.
