History
The Araneons were a species born on the planet of Araneo where they evolved into a savage and brutal people who believed in the survival of the fittest. They were ruthlessly ruled for a long by Orb Weaver who enforced an oppressive system. His reign came to inevitable end when one of those he oppressed, an Araneon who would take the name Spidercide, rose up against him. After commiting mass slaughter to prove his worth, Spidercide killed Orb Weaver, earning the throne of Araneo. Under his new rule, the Araneons soon expanded outside their planet and became intergalactic conquerors, invading various planets and taking their inhabitants as slaves.[2] Some of the worlds they conquered included Phela,[3] Urzon,[4] and Breakworld, the latter of which welcomed the Araneons, and in these planets they planted gigantic spindles to drain the local resources.[5]
Life on Araneo was harsh and miserable for countless Araneons who were deemed weak. One of the stronger Araneons by the name of Madame Web, who held a more empathic connection to the subweb, attempted to change her people for the better, but she was betrayed by her followers and imprisoned by Spidercide.[6] Another oppressed Araneon who served in an orbital monitoring station received data from Earth about Spider-Man, and inspired by his heroism decided to finally betray her people to become the hero Spider-Woman, becoming the first ever traitor in Araneon history.[7][4] Although they were known as parasitic conquerors, the Araneons did allow Star-Lord to monitor their system, but at the cost of never interfering.[1]
Learning of the existence of the vampires the Araneons saw a potential new workforce and livestock and went to attack their new homeworld of Domus Draconum. Despite the vampires' best efforts to fight back, the Araneons managed to utterly squash their newly formed civilization, killing countless innocent vampires and taking the surviving ones as slaves. When Lord Dracula and his Legions of the Night arrived to find his people's world devastated he declared war on the Araneons.[2] He first attacked Urzon, alerting Spidercide of his incoming arrival. Meanwhile, Nova gathered Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Cyclops, Phoenix and Red Hulk to help get back at the Araneons for the crimes they committed.[4]
Spidercide and his enforcers were unconcerned by the vampires' attack, as they figured they would emerge victorious just like last time, and even planned to next invade Dracula's original homeworld, Earth.[5] Unbeknownst to them, as the superheroes and the vampires devastated the Araneon fleet, Dracula went to Breakworld where reactivated the Dreadful Orb and launched a giant bullet directed at Araneo.[3] Soon, Spider-Woman and her allies arrived to Araneo where she battled Spidercide and his endless army. In their distraction, the bullet passed through one of Star-Lord's Starpaths and struck Araneo's moon, leading the climate to be irreversibly damaged. Immediately after this, Dracula himself arrived to execute Spidercide. This time, Spidercide lost the battle, as Dracula mortally wounded him, but before the vampire lord could kill the rest of the Araneons through the subweb, the Silver Surfer intervened by incinerating him and stranding him in space.[6]
In the aftermath of this battle, the surviving Araneons were left in a dying world and without a leader. They asked Spider-Woman to take Spidercide's place, but refused. Instead she freed Madame Web who became the new leader of the Araneons, and under her rule the race left their homeworld to emigrate to a new planet where they could abandon their old ways and become a more benevolent people. However, the few Araneons who were loyal to Spidercide detached themselves from the subweb and went somewhere they could carry their master's legacy by continuing the bloodshed.[6]Powers and Abilities
Powers
Thanks to their spider-like physiology, Araneons can weave webs,[5] and most had natural instinctive speed faster than the speed of thought. All Araneons were emotionally connected between them through the "subweb," [6] allowing every single member to feel the race's general feelings, regardless of the distance.[2] This allowed the leader to affect the entire race and control it with barely any opposition.[6] They also possessed great smelling as they could figure who was previously present at a place by the scent that person left behind.[5]
Wanting to create superpowered enforcers, Spidercide subjected the most fiercest and loyal of his subordinates to the Terrigenetics Program which involved torturous experiments with the Terrigen Crystals stolen from the Universal Inhumans. Those subjected to this program were Web-Weaver, White Widow and Ghost-Spider who gained unique and useful powers.[8]Weaknesses
Habitat
Habitat
Miscellaneous
Type of Government
Level of Technology
Cultural Traits
The Araneons were a brutal people who thrived in savagery and fear, deemed strength and cruelty as virtues, forbid concepts like family or peers, and had no word for sacrifice. The hatchlings were forced to fight for their lives since birth by cannibalizing each other, and as they grew were encouraged to continue killing in order to earn their right to live.[2] Most Araneons had no names, as only the strongest had that right. After decimating a world, grunts would be left for one year there to feed on the flesh of the dead as a way to advance.[4] Araneons didn't have eulogies as they didn't honor the dead, instead they ate the remains. Outright helping fellow Araneons was seen as a weakness, so if someone was to encourage others that individual was to glorify themself in front of everyone.[5]
Following Spidercide's death, Madame Web took over from him. Thanks to her special connection to the subweb, she forced most of the Araneons to abandon their savage ways and reform themselves, becoming a better and more peaceful race who valued life and individuality.[6]Representatives
See Also
- 13 appearance(s) of Araneons
- 1 mention(s) of Araneons
- 3 image(s) of Araneons
- 6 representative(s) of Araneons
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Annihilation 2099 #2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Conquest 2099 #1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Conquest 2099 #4
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Conquest 2099 #2
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Conquest 2099 #3
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Conquest 2099 #5
- ↑ Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis #2
- ↑ Conquest 2099 #3–4
- ↑ Conquest 2099 #1–2