I got the new Marvel Legends Tarantula figure a bit ago, and while he's pretty far down the list of Spidey villains, it's not his first figure: per
OAFE.net, he's gotten figures in 2009 and 1997. I mention that, because this classic foe has never gotten anything! Granted, that was about three seconds of looking, but he didn't appear to have ever gotten a Heroclix, a Minimate, anything; but he is in this fun tribute to Mike Wieringo: From 2008,
Spider-Man Family #7, "Looter's Quest" Plot by Karl Kesel, Todd DeZago, and Mark Waid; pencils and inks by Karl Kesel and others, script by Todd DeZago and Mark Waid.
The Looter, Norton G. Fester, first appeared in 1966's
Amazing Spider-Man #36, and feels more Steve Ditko than Stan Lee: a crackpot stumbles into a weird meteor and gets powers, hijinks ensue. I don't know if he always talked to his meteor, or if that was a recent addition; he was never one of the most prevalent of Spidey's bad guys. (Aside: I might need to read
Web of Spider-Man #39, where he apparently steals Aunt May's engagement ring?) Today, the Looter's trying to be a good...friend to his meteor, and recover its (her?) "
long-lost missing twin!" Spidey stops him at a museum, pointing out the only place to get the tracking equipment that could maybe find something like that would be the Baxter Building. The Looter then accidentally drops a hostage, whom Spidey saves, but the Looter is long gone, and Spidey has a pretty good idea where...
Spidey tries to warn the FF, but when the Torch goes to let him in on the roof, the Looter hits them with a "
flash gun" which is a nice Ditko touch: Blue Beetle had one of those! Reed is mildly surprised the Looter had the wherewithal to use his complicated equipment: Looter claims to be a scientist, which Spidey doubts, and that the meteor increased his intelligence as well, which Spidey also doubts. Johnny, glancing things over, notes the twin meteor probably landed in the Savage Land; and the Looter sneaks off and swipes Ben's sky-cycle for the trip!
Perhaps wisely, Reed and Sue opt out of the trip to the Savage Land, leaving Spidey, Ben and Johnny; who discover the Looter trying to parley with another obscure Spidey bad-guy: Stegron, the Dinosaur Man! (Stegron had a 1998 Toy Biz action figure that I'm legitimately surprised I don't think I've ever owned; part of a villain wave called "The Vault" that included Ultron and Typhoid Mary, and each character came with restraints!) Ka-Zar and Shanna also show up: amusingly, Spidey seems way happier to see Shanna, which is understandable. They have to fight to save the Looter, who punches out Devil Dinosaur (!) to try and get the twin, but he instead finds what Spidey recognizes as the "Sphere of Sarakath," a mystical doodad that gave him and Dr. Strange the hassle once, in
another Mike Wieringo issue! Ka-Zar suggests, maybe the Looter should consult with Strange about the meteor, and Ben knows what's coming: the Looter escapes again, through a portal. At Strange's Sanctum, Strange also appears to give the Looter the benefit of the doubt, and uses the Eye of Agamotto to track the twin meteor...to Europe somewhere...Latveria!
The Looter makes an attempt to swipe the Fantasticar for the next leg of his trip, but Reed and Strange had consulted on this one: the Fantasticar takes him to the Baxter Building again, where he's stopped by an Invisible Woman force field. They want to study the meteor, and see if they can break the Looter's delusions; but they're interrupted by the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents airdropping in, to take the Looter and the meteor into custody, for top-secret hush-hush reasons. But while he's being taken away, Reed lets slip if there was a twin to his meteor, it probably landed on the moon...
There are precedents for sentient objects in the Marvel Universe: the first to come to mind is Green Lantern ring knockoff the Power Prism, of Doctor Spectrum; but there has to be others. I don't think the reader is ever privy to what, if anything, the meteor communicates to the Looter, so it makes him look really crazy, but is he? ...yes, he's a nut!
Also this issue: reprints of
Venom: Lethal Protector #1, and
Spider-Man: Death and Destiny #1. The latter was written and drawn by Lee Weeks, and was a sad story set around the death of George Stacy. There was also the manga-style "Spider-Man J" story "The Moth and the Flame."
Also this issue: reprints of Venom: Lethal Protector #1, and Spider-Man: Death and Destiny #1. The latter was written and drawn by Lee Weeks, and was a sad story set around the death of George Stacy. There was also the manga-style "Spider-Man J" story "The Moth and the Flame."
Despite seeing them in Wizard magazine, I never saw any if those Vault figures in the wild at the time they were initially released, but I did see them many years later at various comic book stores. Never picked any up tho.
ReplyDeleteI could be wrong here, but I REALLY don't think we'll be getting a Looter figure anytime soon form Hasbro or anyone. He really does suffer from being a SUPER-lower-tier villain for there to be enough interest out there amongst collectors to make one, but again I could be wrong. He had a narrow window to be something, and it just never happened for him. But honestly, he's always suffered from a hideous costume design. Ditko, for all the iconic looks he created, certainly put out some stinkers on that book at times.
Never read this, but it certainly feels like this would be his only time to ever shine like this.
Tarantula’s not that far down the list- he just hasn’t done much lately. He was the villain for Spectacular Spider-Man #1, back when a #1 for a Spider title was still relatively uncommon and meant more. Admittedly, not a great gimmick, and the Tarantula is more common of a comics character name than it should be, but still.
ReplyDeleteNah, I don't really think the Looter's destined to get a figure anytime soon. I was kind of chewing over who was maybe left? Mildly surprised Stegron hasn't got a new one--he's a dinosaur man, for crying out loud. There's a few that come up on occasion like Mindworm or Big Wheel or Hypno Hustler, that would aspire to the level of six-piece chicken McNobody. The Enforcers, maybe? Hallow's Eve or Queen Goblin seem more likely.
ReplyDelete