Farley Stillwell

Last updated
Dr. Farley Stillwell
Farley Stillwell (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 20 001.png
Farley Stillwell as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #20.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance The Amazing Spider-Man #20 (1965)
Created by Stan Lee
Steve Ditko
In-story information
Alter egoFarley Stillwell
Species Human
Abilities Genius-level intellect

Farley Stillwell is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a scientist best known for transforming Mac Gargan into the Scorpion.

Contents

Publication history

Stillwell first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #20 and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Fictional character biography

When J. Jonah Jameson first hired Peter Parker, he was amazed at how he managed to obtain pictures of Spider-Man. He hired private investigator Mac Gargan to look into this. When Jameson saw an article about inducing animal mutations into humans, he visited the scientist that established this experiment: Dr. Farley Stillwell. Jameson first thought Stillwell was a crackpot, but later saw him as an opportunity to take down Spider-Man. When he first went to see Dr. Stillwell in his lab, Jameson had him experiment on Gargan. Stillwell gave Gargan a high-tech scorpion-suit, and the Scorpion was born. Shortly after the experiment, Stillwell ran some tests and found that his experiment wasn't a true success. He discovered that Scorpion would lose his sanity as he got stronger. Creating an antidote, Stillwell headed to where Spider-Man was fighting the Scorpion. Upon learning the side effects of the formula from Stillwell, Scorpion didn't want to lose his powers and climbed up a building. Stillwell went up after him and lost his grip. As he fell, Dr. Stillwell threw the serum at Gargan in a vain attempt to cure him. He missed and fell to his death. [1]

Legacy

It was later revealed that Farley Stillwell had a brother named Harlan Stillwell who used the experiment to create the Human Fly after being held at gunpoint by Richard Deacon. After Richard became the Human Fly, he shot Harlan. [2]

The Stillwell brothers' technology would also later be used to give superpowers to the Answer, [3] and the fourth Vulture. [4]

The sixth volume of Amazing Spider-Man officially confirmed that Regent's minion Shannon Stillwell is the sister of Farley Stillwell and Harlan Stillwell. In addition, their mother is a scientist who goes by the name of Madame Monstrosity. She is served by the Humanimals Mr. Rooster, Mr. Cricket, Hogsworth, and Tabby. They discuss how Farley and Harlan using her pilfered work that cost them their lives when cautioning Shannon on using her mother's work. After mentioning how her works have been misused and altered which led to the creations of Lizard, Morbius, the Living Vampire, and Rhino, Madame Monstrosity tells Shannon that someone else is making use of her breakthrough in her Humanimals project as she plans to go after Spider-Boy upon seeing him on the front page of the morning newspaper. [5]

Skills and abilities

Farley Stillwell is a brilliant biologist and cyberneticist. [1]

Other versions

House of M

In other media

Television

Video games

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Jonah Jameson</span> Marvel Comics character

J. Jonah Jameson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man issue #1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vulture (Marvel Comics)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

The Vulture is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most of whom are depicted as recurring enemies of the superhero Spider-Man and belong to the collection of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery, typically using special suits which allow them to fly at vast speeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhino (character)</span> Fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics

Rhino is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita Sr., and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #41. The character is a Russian thug who underwent an experimental procedure that gave him an artificial skin covering and superhuman strength. Rebelling against the scientists responsible for his transformation, Rhino used his newfound powers to become a successful criminal, and soon clashed with superheroes like Spider-Man and the Hulk. The character is typically portrayed as a dimwitted brute, capable of great destruction, but ultimately easily deceived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac Gargan</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

MacDonald "Mac" Gargan is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #19. Mac Gargan is a recurring antagonist of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He debuted as a private investigator hired by J. Jonah Jameson to learn how Peter Parker took pictures of Spider-Man. In the following issue, Jameson decided to turn Gargan into a deadly adversary for Spider-Man through a barely-tested procedure, which left Gargan with an irremovable scorpion-themed armor and the predatory instincts of the arachnid. Driven insane by his mutation, Gargan instead turned to a life of crime as the Scorpion, and went on to menace both Spider-Man and Jameson, whom he held responsible for his transformation. Since then, having finally removed the armor, Gargan has also served as the third host of the Venom symbiote, and a member of the Dark Avengers as Spider-Man, but eventually returned to his Scorpion alias as it kept him alive due to the strain both the neural-armors and symbiote put on his body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spider-Slayer</span> Fictional character

The Spider-Slayers are a series of fictional robots appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Spencer Smythe, they were designed specifically to hunt down, capture, or kill Spider-Man. A new generation of Spider-Slayers was later created by Spencer's son, Alistair.

John Jonah Jameson III is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the son of J. Jonah Jameson, and a friend to Peter Parker. He has also been portrayed as the husband of Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morbius, the Living Vampire</span> Marvel Comics character

Morbius the Living Vampire is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and originally designed by penciler Gil Kane, he debuted as a tragic, sympathetic adversary of the superhero Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man #101. For years, Morbius frequently clashed with Spider-Man and other superheroes while occasionally regaining his reason and helping those he regarded as allies. The 1992 Marvel Comics "Rise of the Midnight Sons" crossover event then revived and revised several horror-themed Marvel characters to present them as lead protagonists in new titles. The event launched the new series Morbius the Living Vampire, which ran from 1992 to 1995 and now presented the title character as a lethal anti-hero and vigilante. After the cancellation of this series, various stories shifted back and forth between portraying Morbius as a conflicted and brutal anti-hero or a tragic character subject to episodes of madness and murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alistair Smythe</span> Comics character

Alistair Alphonso Smythe is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of the superhero Spider-Man, and the son of Spencer Smythe. After his father dedicated his life to eliminating Spider-Man and died as a result, Alistair inherited his Spider-Slayer legacy and developed a hatred for the web-slinger. He turned to a life of crime to exact revenge on Spider-Man, and created a new generation of Spider-Slayers to kill him, but this only resulted in Alistair getting paralyzed from the waist down. Later, he encased his body in a bioorganic carapace that allowed him to walk again, in addition to giving him superpowers, and adopted the alias of the Ultimate Spider-Slayer.

The Human Fly is the name of three fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. One is a supervillain that was an occasional antagonist of Spider-Man, and the other two were superheroes, one of which was the title of a short-lived series in the late 1950s reprinting some of Fox's Blue Beetle strips from the 1940s. It was published by Super Comics.

Spencer Smythe is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary of the superhero Spider-Man as well as the father of Alistair Smythe. A scientist researching robotics and arachnids, he turned to crime to finance his research, and dedicated his life to capturing Spider-Man. He is best known for creating the Spider-Slayers, robots designed specifically to hunt down, capture, or kill the web-slinger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscorp</span> Fictional multinational corporation appearing in publications by Marvel Comics

Oscorp, also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The company was founded by Norman Osborn and has appeared in numerous media adaptations. It first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #37 and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Big Man is the name of different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The known characters who have gone by the name of Big Man are Frederick Foswell, his daughter Janice Foswell, and his son Frederick Foswell Jr. The MC2 version of Big Man is the son of Hank Pym and Wasp.

Jonas Harrow is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt</span> 2009–2010 Spider-Man storylines

"The Gauntlet" and "Grim Hunt" are 2009–2010 comic book storylines published by Marvel Comics. Despite being more issues, "The Gauntlet" was solicited as leading up to the "Grim Hunt" story, and the two storylines are interconnected. Written by The Amazing Spider-Man architects, "The Gauntlet" is not a strict event or storyline; it is the branding that indicates the direction of Spider-Man's life. In effect it is an event similar to Dark Reign only focusing on Spider-Man and his circle. "Grim Hunt" directly follows "The Gauntlet" and acts as a sequel of sorts to "Kraven's Last Hunt". The storyline received generally positive reviews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dying Wish</span> 2012 Spider-Man comic storyline

"Dying Wish" is a 2012 comic book storyline in The Amazing Spider-Man, published by Marvel Comics. The story began with a prologue in The Amazing Spider-Man #698 and ended in The Amazing Spider-Man #700, the final issue of that series, ending over fifty years of Marvel's publication of The Amazing Spider-Man. The series was replaced with The Superior Spider-Man, which premiered in January 2013.

The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. Since the introduction of Peter Parker as a character in 1962, with the superhero alter-ego, Spider-Man, a number of these locations have been prominently featured in connection with storylines specific to this character. These have then been carried over to depictions of Spider-Man in film, video games, and other media. There follows a list of those features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy</span> 2016–17 Marvel Comics Spider-Man storyline

"Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" is a 2016–17 Marvel Comics storyline starring Spider-Man. The story was notable for bringing long-dead Spider-Man supporting character Ben Reilly back to life. The storyline led Reilly to reclaim the heroic Scarlet Spider mantle and appear in his own comic book series. The story received generally mixed reviews, with critics praising the art style and action, however criticized the story and the retcons, as well as the treatment of Ben Reilly.

References

  1. 1 2 The Amazing Spider-Man #20. Marvel Comics.
  2. The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #10. Marvel Comics.
  3. Danny Fingeroth ( w ),Scott McDaniel ( p ),Brad Vancata ( i ),Dave Sampson ( col ),Diana Albers ( let ),Rob Tokar ( ed )."Deadly Reunion"The Lethal Foes of Spider-Man,vol. 1,no. 1(September 1993).United States:Marvel Comics.
  4. Mark Waid and Tom Peyer ( w ),Paul Azaceta and Javier Rodriguez ( p ),Paul Azaceta and Javier Rodriguez ( i ),Andres Mossa ( col ),Joe Caramagna ( let ),Tom Brennan, Tom Brevoort, and Stephen Wacker ( ed ). The Amazing Spider-Man,vol. 1,no. 624(10 March 2010).United States:Marvel Comics.
  5. Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 6 #31. Marvel Comics.
  6. House of M: Avengers #1. Marvel Comics.
  7. Tom Harvey Archived 2012-03-11 at the Wayback Machine , voicechasers.com, retrieved 23 Jan 2010
  8. Dr. Farley Stillwell, IMDb, retrieved 17 Jan 2010
  9. 1 2 Ian Hague, Comics and the Senses: A Multisensory Approach to Comics and Graphic Novels, Routledge, 2014, ch. 2: "Sight, or, the Ideal Perspective and the Physicality of Seeing".
  10. The fictional item also appeared in Spider-Man Adventures #1 (December 1994).
  11. "Dr. Stillwell Voice - Spider-Man 3: The Video Game (Video Game) - Behind The Voice Actors".