Marvel Database
Marvel Database

History

The Spider-Slayer Mk VIII was Alystaire Smythe's second machine, built with the intention of killing Spider-Man and proving to his late father Spencer Smythe he was the smarter of the two. It was a gigantic machine at least twelve feet in height when in its standard form, though its arms, legs and neck could extend and retract. It held a cockpit in the chest for Alistaire to sit in and pilot. It was capable of climbing walls similarly to Spider-Man and could use magnets to rip open walls. Its head-mounted camera is protected by a special web-resistant coating and its arms were outfitted with ethyl chloride sprayers.

The machine made its first move in hunting down Spider-Man by finding Mary Jane Watson's apartment, but was scared off by a couple of women who heard the noise. Finding Spider-Man soon after, the two battled in a construction site where Smythe got the upper hand on the web-slinger before a construction worker came to the hero's rescue. However, Smythe's gas also had a tracing compound which allowed him to track Spider-Man all the way to Pittsburgh when Mary Jane asked for him to come.[1]

Arriving in Pittsburgh, Smythe had the Spider-Slayer reassembled and resumed his hunt of Spider-Man, following him to Duquese University, where Peter and Mary Jane were hunting for evidence to free Mary Jane's sister from jail and put her father rightfully behind bars. Spider-Man lured the machine and Smythe out of the University to protect Mary Jane and the students there, leading him to the Liberty Bridge. The machine overpowered and tried to drown Spider-Man, only to be stopped by Mary Jane smashing her car into the machine's leg, giving the hero enough time to escape. However, Smythe recovered and ambushed Spider-Man again, dousing him with more ethyl chloride. Mary Jane came to his rescue again, smashing the machine's leg with a baseball bat. Smythe dropped Spider-Man and grabbed Mary Jane, intending on killing her. However, this caused Spider-Man to shake off the chemicals' affect and destroy the robot.[2]

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