Do you know the story of the Scorpion and the Frog? A scorpion asks a frog to help it cross a river, the frog refuses, worried the scorpion will sting and poison the frog. The scorpion explains that would kill them both and the frog relents and begins to ferry the scorpion. Midway, the frog feels the sting of the scorpion, as they begin to drown the frog asks why? The scorpion’s last words are “Because it is my nature.” Mac Gargan knows this all too well and it’s now in his nature to strike out at the world and anyone who gets in his way. How did this happen? Let’s find out!
Mac Gargan was a private detective who had a good track record. This got the attention of newspaperman J. Jonah Jameson, who had an extreme loathing of the masked hero, Spider-Man. Mac was hired to find out how Jameson’s freelance reporter, Peter Parker, was able to get such good pictures of Spider-Man. Jameson figured Parker had an in with Spider-Man and if Mac could find it, Jameson could exploit it to finally stop Spider-Man for good. Sadly, Mac didn’t know that since Parker WAS Spider-Man, his spider-sense would alert him every time Mac was close to catching him. Mac couldn’t find the reason for Parker’s good luck of getting amazing shots of Spider-Man but his dedication and loyalty were clear to Jameson.
Seeing that Mac was willing to go the distance for this job, Jameson would ask him to undergo an experimental procedure to grant him powers similar to Spider-Man’s. Since one of the natural predators of the spider was the scorpion, it was the ideal animal to have the powers of for such a task. Mac would undergo surgery and treatments and even have a prosthetic mechanical tail attached to himself so he could actually sting like the animal he was gaining the powers of. The procedure was a success, mostly, unlike Spider-Man who gained the powers of the spider but maintained his own mind and personality, Mac’s mind was heavily influenced by the nature of a scorpion, he no longer saw anyone else as worth working with. It was his nature now to strike at the world.
The Scorpion would successfully beat Spider-Man on their first few encounters, Mac was stronger than Spidey. The problem was that now that he was being influenced from his transformation, he wasn’t able to outmatch Spider-Man forever with pure brute strength. Finding Jameson to be at fault with what little of his mind could feel the effects as not being himself, he would try to kill Jameson on his wedding day. Spider-Man would arrive just in time to stop Mac from murdering Jameson and was finally able to defeat Mac.
From here, Mac would spend years in and out of super prisons, since they were the only places that could literally hold him thanks to his super strength. When he was able to get free, he’d find work as a mercenary, there is always work for those who want to use their strength against the weak. He fights against the likes of S.H.I.E.L.D. and many a hero as time goes on. He would show his dedication and loyalty could still show up post-Scorpion transformation, he’d find work for Norman Osborn with his villainous teams.
While he was powered by scorpion abilities, he’d still take whatever edge he could when he was able to merge with the Venom symbiote to be the new Venom for a time. He’d take on more of Spider-Man’s black costume look that Venom had before becoming Venom when it was advantageous to be seen as a new Spider-Man when Osborn ruled the country and had a Thunderbolts team of villains masquerading as Avengers and other heroes. Mac realized if you can’t beat him, become him, and was now the new Spider-Man. This time with the symbiote would nearly break him down as he was worried that his obsession with the power was like a drug and eventually he and the symbiote would part ways.
Returning as Scorpion, he’d find himself technically teaming up with Spider-Man who was now trapped in the body of his enemy, Doctor Octopus. Octavius’ body was dying with Parker trapped in it, while Octavius now resided in Parker’s body. Along with Hydro-Man the trio would try to get back Parker’s body but during the fight, Octavius would punch Mac so hard that he would lose his jaw in the process. A prosthetic metal jaw would suffice until he was healed by Alistair Smythe’s Spider-Slayer tech and would work for him for a time as he felt indebted to him. Mac would meet Venom once more and find that no love was lost between the two as Venom tried to kill him, having to have Spider-Man save his life from the symbiote.
There you have! Scorpion is one of Spider-Man’s many recurring villains and has appeared in animation and video games time and time again. He even had a very small cameo in Spider-Man: Homecoming but without his suit or tail, seems like we’ll be seeing more of the Scorpion in the cinematic future. See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Amazing Spider-Man #19
Marvel Knights Spider-Man #10
Dark Avengers #1
Venom Vol. 3
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
