The Tarantula is interesting in that everything that’s been done with him in the modern era is effectively unconnected to the Golden Age rendition of the character. After all, if you’ve read any of the Golden Age appearances of the character, he’s probably one of the most generic mystery men out there. A boring yellow-and-purple costume (which would later be adopted by the Wesley Dodds version of the Sandman in a weird coincidence), boring stories, boring name (come on, his name is literally “Johnny Law”), and token gimmick: suction cups on his boots so he could walk up walls.
And that was pretty much it. Unlike a lot of the Golden Age heroes DC bought over the years, the Tarantula was boring and one-note: he wasn’t that successful in the Golden Age (his run in Star-Spangled Comics was pretty brief) and didn’t do anything memorable, unlike for example the entire Justice Society, which really was an all-star assortment of characters back in the day.
So when he was brought into the All-Star Squadron in the 80s, he was effectively a blank slate. What Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway did was take the name and create an interesting story hook: John Law wanted to write a book about superheroes, so he became one. They added a “wirepoon gun” that fired “thin but superstrong” nylon cord as his version of a spider’s web-shooter: a joke on the fact that in Tarantula’s first Golden Age appearance, somebody called him a “spider man.”
The “why does he have the same costume as Sandman” thing was resolved by having Dian Belmont design a costume for Wes, and then when Wes initially rejected it John took it for his own use, but eventually decided to go his own route and thus Jerry Ordway (who, incidentally, had one of the best artistic runs on any superhero comic ever when he worked on All-Star Squadron) created one of the more memorable and successful costume revamps in comics: the Tarantula’s new outfit still feels “Golden Agey” but adds a welcome touch of modern complexity.
The result of all this was to take a character who was the definition of “fringe” and make him into a mainstay of one of DC’s more successful team books for about fifty issues. That’s the definition of a successful reintroduction of a character. Tarantula might not be a star player, but he filled his role in the Squadron very well.
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I totally agree, MGK. Roy Thomas’ yen to give largely forgotten characters new life worked in All-Star Squadron (as it only intermittently worked elsewhere) in large part because of Ordway’s tasteful, glorious art. In particular I like the muted colour palette here with Tarantula — he’s no one’s idea of a superhuman, but he looks damn good.
As a result, they had him reappear in Dixon’s run on Nightwing, as well. He was an old, retired guy by then who gave Dick a copy of his book. But I remember some great moments between the two, as well.
Heh. You said ‘wirepoon’.
…And then his female South American successor raped Nightwing.
Thanks, DC.
I think this is the first I’ve ever heard of this guy. Man alive, this is a Howard Chaykin miniseries waiting to happen. I can’t wait to hear that this guy was actually a seamy freelance writer who got by on sleazy “men’s adventure” stories, developed his suction-cup boots to fullfill voyeristic fantisies and used his “web guy” for hardcore bondage play with a nazi spy femme fatale.
“And then his female South American successor raped Nightwing.”
C’mon, did you see how he was dressed? He was asking for it…
I too was inspired by my pet to be a costumed crime fighter. My name is Autistic Kitten, and my bad-ass superpowers include not letting anyone touch me under any circumstances, eating dead leaves wherever I can find them, running away in case something might eat me, and crying about how lonely I am. I’m too busy to write my own book about costumed weirdos, though, so I got Jenny McCarthy to write one for me about how I got my powers from a rabies shot.
I wonder if he was a “superb hand-to-hand combatant” before his decision to become a crime fighter, or after. And if it was afterwards, how do you go from “average or below” to “superb” in the time it takes for your housekeeper to alter your costume so that it looks Tarantuley?
I’d like to see more non-powered characters who are described as average or good, but not perfect, fighters. The only one I can recall at the moment is The Prowler; in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, it says he has a green belt in tae kwon do. (Which is two belts below black, and two above white.)
You always make me laugh, Cookie. Why aren’t you a guest contributor?
At last. The first sensible spandex outfit we’ve seen all season long.
However, his successor was ALSO in Secret Six, which forgives much. Be interesting for excerps of that book to pop up and have Law have figured out EVERYONE’s secret identity.
I’ll always remember Tarantula as the dude who gets his neck snapped by Super-Hitler-Man in Golden Age…
Heh, Olga.
Well said. WHy don’t we have Showcase All Star Squadron yet?
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