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History

Early Years[]

Maria Vasquez decided to become a hero to avenge her sister, who was killed in the Stamford Incident. This was against the wishes of her father Fernandez, who would have preferred that she found a safer profession (such as a doctor or a lawyer) and where she could put her intelligence to good use.[2]

Heroes For Hire[]

Her father was killed by ninjas while visiting her sister's grave when she had been the one marked for death by Ricadonna (along with the rest of the Heroes For Hire). Tarantula killed the entire team of ninjas herself and then went up against Ricadonna, who she wa able to injure but not kill as she desired.[3]

Along with other members of Heroes For Hire she was paid to locate and put a stop to the Death Cadre, a dangerous group of thieves who had been using advanced exoskeletons to aid in their robberies, with no regard for the collateral damage or death they left in their wake. The investigation led them to stop a plot to destroy the Statue of Liberty as part of a plan by Grim Reaper to set himself up as an untraceable terrorist for hire.[4]

The team later went to the Savage Land, after being approached by Paladin, in an attempt to capture Moon Boy for study by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Devil Dinosaur as well if it tried to stop them. On their return, S.H.I.E.L.D. refused to pay them before they solved their problem with the Hulk. Tarantula got into an argument with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Scorpion which raised some tension between the two teams. During this time she also came close to having a relationship with Shang-Chi and fought with the team against the Hulk when he returned to Earth and began World War Hulk, after which she left Heroes For Hire and the team disbanded.[5]

Secret Empire[]

After Steve Rogers replaced the original, revealed himself to be a Hydra sleeper agent, and overthrew the United States of America to establish a Hydra Empire, Tarantula joined the Underground.[6]

Personality

Maria Vasquez had a bad attitude. She enjoyed inflicting pain and death and once licked her bloody blade after slicing through an enemy.[7] If instructed not to kill, she will seriously injure an opponent instead, to the chagrin of her teammates.[8]

Attributes

Power Grid[13]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Master: Single Form of Combat:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/None:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Genius

Abilities

  • Master Martial Artist: Tarantula is highly skilled in Martial Arts and hand to hand combat. She is skilled in using the blades on her wrists and the toes of her boots as very effective weapons.
  • High Intelligence: Maria was also shown to be highly intelligent with knowledge of biology and engineering,[8] as well as having advanced knowledge of biophysics.[9] She is also qualified to drive a large freighter ship.[10]
  • Detective Skills: Tarantula is a skilled detective, capable of observation, forensic investigation, and inductive and deductive reasoning of the highest caliber.
  • Interrogation Expert
  • Expert Marksman: She is an exceptional marksman. She is skilled in sharpshooting and knife throwing.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Blades on her wrists and the toes of her boots.

Trivia

  • She possesses blades attached to her elbows and wrists. Whether these are biological, mechanical, or merely attached weapons is unrevealed.
  • She shared a very passionate kiss with fellow teammate, Shang-Chi, but they ignored each other since after he rejected her to return to his vow of celibacy.[11]

See Also

Links and References

References

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