Early life
Eric Needham, an African-American native of Gotham City, had a healthy childhood until he experiences an upheaval in his life following his mother's death from illness and his father's subsequent emotional withdrawal. He eventually turns to a life of crime, becoming involved in small-time criminal activities and developing a heroin addiction. After an incident where he nearly kills an elderly woman during a mugging attempt, he is sentenced to prison but is released after three years due to being a minor. [2] [4] Sometime after reaching adulthood, Eric entered a relationship with his friend Linda Morre, which resulted in the birth of his son, Michael. While one source states that Eric was unaware of Michael's birth until years later by a chance meeting with Linda, [4] another expresses he took to robbing to support his drug habits and take care of their infant son. [2]
Becoming Black Spider
Nevertheless, in need of money to fuel his drug addiction, he commits a robbery at a liquor store, unintentionally killing the owner who is revealed to be his own father. Overwhelmed with remorse upon his arrest, Eric manages to overcome his addiction and embarks on a personal crusade against the drug trade. Financed by a mysterious source with weaponry, training, and a costume, he assumes the role of a self-proclaimed vigilante and begins targeting individuals suspected of involvement in drug dealing, resorting to lethal methods. [2] [4] Over time, Eric as Black Spider engages in multiple conflicts with Batman due to his employment of lethal methods, which the Dark Knight disapproves of. Despite his disdain for criminals, Eric clashes with Batman on several occasions. In one encounter, he sustains severe injuries and is believed to be deceased, but he manages to survive thanks to treatment received at a free clinic. During his recovery, Eric discovers that his resources were funded by drug kingpin Hannibal Hardwicke. Seeking vengeance, Black Spider attempts to kill Hardwicke but is thwarted by Batman, resulting in Hardwicke's imprisonment. Eric develops a resentment towards Batman and temporarily allies with other criminals to confront him purely for the sake of opposition. [2]
However, he later refocuses his efforts on targeting drug dealers, particularly after their activities directly impact his wife and son, both of whom tragically lose their lives during a botched drug deal. Eric ultimately sacrifices himself to dismantle the cartel responsible for their deaths. [4]
Later exploits
Eric Needham later appears in The Sandman , dating Lyta Hall. No explanation is given for his resurrection.
Whatever the case, Needham's survival has since been confirmed and the character has made subsequent appearances as the Black Spider, such as in the miniseries Underworld Unleashed . He was seen in Identity Crisis as an ally of Deadshot, Monocle, and Merlyn. He is later a member of The Society.
He is one of the villains sent to retrieve the Get Out of Hell Free card from the Secret Six .
New 52 onward
In the New 52 reboot and during the Suicide Squad series, Eric's background is altered, with Amanda Waller describing him as an educated man and devout father and husband who turned to vigilantism following the death of his family, gaining a strong disdain for criminals. Unbeknownst to her, after an encounter with Regulus, Needham joined him and was tasked with assassinating Waller, using his vigilante activities to be a viable candidate for her early Task Force X proposals. [5] While on the team, despite his criminal background, he's considered by Waller and some other teammates more heroic. However, Eric ultimately betrays the team when he is revealed to be an assassin and spy planted by Regulus, the leader of Basilisk and a former teammate of Amanda Waller who manipulated Eric using his tragedy and anti-metahuman sentiments. When Wallers defeats and detains him, she attempts to garner answers for his actions, believing Needham too smart to fall for Regulus's deception. Needham reveals that while he knew Regulus only sought to manipulate him for his means, he believed in his agenda, which aimed to establish a position of power before metahumans and extraterrestrial entities could accumulate enough resources to dominate humanity. [5] [6]
DC Rebirth & Infinite Frontier
Black Spider makes a return in the DC Rebirth era. He is among the numerous villains who target Batman in an attempt to claim Two-Face's bounty. In this iteration, Needham is equipped with two cybernetic claws on his back and employs a machine gun in combat. However, Batman ultimately triumphs over him, severing his cybernetic arms using a chainsaw. The character later clashes with the Flash and gains prominence as a member of Deathstroke's Secret Society of Super-Villains.
He becomes embroiled in a conflict between the League of Assassins and the Society following the framing of Deathstroke by Geo-Force for the death of Ra's al Ghul. Seeking revenge on both factions for their respective roles in Terra's and Markovia's downfall, Black Spider becomes a significant player in the conflict. Subsequently, Black Spider falls under the control of Pariah, who wields the power of the Great Darkness. After breaking free from Pariah's influence, Amanda Waller recruits him, along with several other villains, in response to the "Lazarus Planet" event. Waller issues a bounty for the death of any superhero, leading Black Spider to participate in this dangerous undertaking.
In the Penguin comic series, elements of his previous continuity are reinforced, including his classic costume and background involving him gunning down his father. The character is additionally is portrayed as queer or bisexual, being in a relationship with a man name Daniel, who is terminally ill. Neeham is hired by Penguin's children, Addison and Aiden Cobblepot, in exchange for venom, the same substance used by the supervillain Bane, but finds himself in a string of manipulation and threats to kill Daniel lest he follows their specific whims following a series of failures. A frustrated Needham, after Daniel is killed, teams with Oswald, who seeks to regain control. The pair are ultimately successful when Aiden is killed and Addison escapes despite Neehdam turning on Penguin, also placating blame on him for Daniel's death. In order to reconcile, Oswald grants Needham the opportunity to kill his daughter.
