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Looter (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Looter is a fictional character, a supervillain
who appears in the Spider-Man
comic books published by Marvel Comics
.
and Steve Ditko
(who is believed to have created the concept).
The character subsequently appears in Marvel Team-Up #33-34 (May–June 1975), Defenders #63-64 (September–October 1978), Spectacular Spider-Man #41 (April 1980), Web of Spider-Man #39 (June 1988), The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #26 (1992), Amazing Scarlet Spider #1 (November 1995), Spectacular Scarlet Spider #1 (November 1995), Web of Scarlet Spider #2 (December 1995), The Sensational Spider-Man #8 (September 1996), Untold Tales of Spider-Man (October 1997), Sensational Spider-Man #27 (May 1998), Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #6 (November 2004), Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5 (April 2006), Spider-Man Family #7 (April 2008), and The Amazing Spider-Man #645 (December 2010).
The Looter received an entry in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #6 (2006) #6.
that crashed into the Earth
. Excited by his discovery, Fester searched for funding into a project, but investors went for more commercial ventures. Fester decided to continue without funding, and while chiseling the meteor, he struck a pocket of gas. Immersed in the strange compound, he discovered that he now had super-strength and agility thanks to the meteor's powers. Fester decided to devote his time and new powers to crime from then on. Calling himself the Looter, he struck bank
s and offices everywhere, gaining his current name. However, after attempting to steal another meteor to continually supply himself with his powers, he was defeated by Spider-Man after a battle in a hot-air balloon.
Since then, the Looter has had no success whatsoever, even after a name change to the Meteor Man. He would come into conflict with Nighthawk
after stealing a meteor from Kyle Richmond's home after he purchased it from the museum. Meteor Man would face Nighthawk and Spider-Man but would escape. Valkyrie
from the Defenders
helps Spider-Man apprehend Meteor Man. Fester tried to escape on his balloon but Valkyrie throws her sword into the balloon causing it to pop. Meteor Man crashed into the ground and is hospitalized for a few months. He would reappear at the Empire State University
campus to find components from a microwave energy exhibit to increase his powers. This would lead into another conflict with Spider-Man and Giant-Man
. Fester created a transmitter that transmuted the energy in his meteors into microwaves which is then transmitted into his nervous system. However, his transmitter was channeling too much power and the feedback caused it to explode and Fester was presumed dead.
Fester survived the explosion, but his mind was further addled by his experiences and became a homeless alcoholic. He robbed Nathan Lubensky, but was beaten down by Spider Man and forced to surrender to the police, who try to help Nathan. He was again defated by Spider-Man and later teamed up with Aura and Override. When Ben Reilly
was acting as Spider-Man, Norton has stolen weapons used by various criminals in order to fund his research. He even stated that S.H.I.E.L.D.
agents were after his work because of its importance. After Spider-Man beat Norton again S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived and took Norton away on board their helicarrier
. He was seen at an auction in which the Venom Symbiote
was sold. He later attempted to steal yet another meteor, at a museum display, to grow further in power. Spider-Man defeated him once more in the museum bathroom, in front of a woman named Vanna Smith, who was obsessed with the wallcrawler.
During the Dark Reign
storyline, Spider Man would capture Looter after a robbery and web him up against a building wall. Norton tells Spider Man that Norman Osborn
is running the show and his stay in a jail cell wouldn't be too long. The wall crawler gets in Norton's face and gives him an ultimate wedgie before he leaves.
During the "Origin of the Species" storyline, Looter meets up with Screwball before he is attacked by Spider-Man (who is attacking and apprehending any villain that might be responsible for the abduction of Lily Hollister's baby). Looter pleads to Spider-Man that he never even touched Lily Hollister's baby.
's, but he needs a supply of meteor gas or he will eventually lose his powers. He also has extraordinary leaping ability and a high degree of durability.
The Looter has had a large arsenal of gadgets and weapons in his bizarre career. He used a "Dazzle Gun" (a gun that could create a dazzling light and a quick getaway) and a helium balloon in his first appearance; these also appeared in Spider-Man Family #7. In Sensational Spider-Man #8, he used weapons from Stilt-Man
, the Shocker
, the Unicorn
, the Trapster
, and the Mauler
. Other weapons include a Wave-Motion gun and a "Meteor-Powered" gun (although this did not actually work).
, where not Fester, but Mary Jane
's high school counsellor Mr. Limke uses the identity.
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
who appears in the Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
comic books published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
.
Publication history
The character first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #36 (May 1966), and was created by Stan LeeStan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
(who is believed to have created the concept).
The character subsequently appears in Marvel Team-Up #33-34 (May–June 1975), Defenders #63-64 (September–October 1978), Spectacular Spider-Man #41 (April 1980), Web of Spider-Man #39 (June 1988), The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #26 (1992), Amazing Scarlet Spider #1 (November 1995), Spectacular Scarlet Spider #1 (November 1995), Web of Scarlet Spider #2 (December 1995), The Sensational Spider-Man #8 (September 1996), Untold Tales of Spider-Man (October 1997), Sensational Spider-Man #27 (May 1998), Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #6 (November 2004), Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5 (April 2006), Spider-Man Family #7 (April 2008), and The Amazing Spider-Man #645 (December 2010).
The Looter received an entry in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #6 (2006) #6.
Fictional character biography
Norton G. Fester was always a poor scientist, and was considered a crackpot by his colleagues. One day, however, he found an unusual meteorMETEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
that crashed into the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. Excited by his discovery, Fester searched for funding into a project, but investors went for more commercial ventures. Fester decided to continue without funding, and while chiseling the meteor, he struck a pocket of gas. Immersed in the strange compound, he discovered that he now had super-strength and agility thanks to the meteor's powers. Fester decided to devote his time and new powers to crime from then on. Calling himself the Looter, he struck bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s and offices everywhere, gaining his current name. However, after attempting to steal another meteor to continually supply himself with his powers, he was defeated by Spider-Man after a battle in a hot-air balloon.
Since then, the Looter has had no success whatsoever, even after a name change to the Meteor Man. He would come into conflict with Nighthawk
Nighthawk (comics)
Nighthawk, in comics, may refer to:* Nighthawk * Nighthawk * Nighthawk...
after stealing a meteor from Kyle Richmond's home after he purchased it from the museum. Meteor Man would face Nighthawk and Spider-Man but would escape. Valkyrie
Valkyrie (comics)
Valkyrie is a fictional character and Marvel Comics superhero. An Asgardian demi-goddess by birth, her real name is Brunnhilde. Among her other aliases are Barbara Denton-Norriss, Samantha Parrington, and Sian Bowen who all were host bodies to the spirit of Brunnhilde. For much of her history she...
from the Defenders
Defenders (comics)
The Defenders is the name of a number of Marvel Comics superhero groups which are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders," each known for following their own agendas...
helps Spider-Man apprehend Meteor Man. Fester tried to escape on his balloon but Valkyrie throws her sword into the balloon causing it to pop. Meteor Man crashed into the ground and is hospitalized for a few months. He would reappear at the Empire State University
Empire State University
Empire State University is a fictional university in the Marvel Comics Universe, a mixture of New York University and Columbia University . It is located somewhere in New York City, in Greenwich Village near the site of New York University...
campus to find components from a microwave energy exhibit to increase his powers. This would lead into another conflict with Spider-Man and Giant-Man
Bill Foster (comics)
Dr. Bill Foster, also known as Black Goliath, the second Giant-Man, and the fourth Goliath, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:...
. Fester created a transmitter that transmuted the energy in his meteors into microwaves which is then transmitted into his nervous system. However, his transmitter was channeling too much power and the feedback caused it to explode and Fester was presumed dead.
Fester survived the explosion, but his mind was further addled by his experiences and became a homeless alcoholic. He robbed Nathan Lubensky, but was beaten down by Spider Man and forced to surrender to the police, who try to help Nathan. He was again defated by Spider-Man and later teamed up with Aura and Override. When Ben Reilly
Ben Reilly
Benjamin "Ben" Reilly is a fictional character in the . He is a clone of Peter Parker , and is prominent in the "Clone Saga" story arc...
was acting as Spider-Man, Norton has stolen weapons used by various criminals in order to fund his research. He even stated that S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
agents were after his work because of its importance. After Spider-Man beat Norton again S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived and took Norton away on board their helicarrier
Helicarrier
The Helicarrier is a fictional flying aircraft carrier specifically designed to be capable of independent powered flight in addition to the conventional functions of aircraft carriers...
. He was seen at an auction in which the Venom Symbiote
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
was sold. He later attempted to steal yet another meteor, at a museum display, to grow further in power. Spider-Man defeated him once more in the museum bathroom, in front of a woman named Vanna Smith, who was obsessed with the wallcrawler.
During the Dark Reign
Dark Reign (comics)
"Dark Reign" is a 2008–2009 crossover comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It deals with the aftermath of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, which led to a shift of power in the Marvel Universe toward Norman Osborn. The title "Dark Reign" refers to Osborn's rise to national power and the...
storyline, Spider Man would capture Looter after a robbery and web him up against a building wall. Norton tells Spider Man that Norman Osborn
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
is running the show and his stay in a jail cell wouldn't be too long. The wall crawler gets in Norton's face and gives him an ultimate wedgie before he leaves.
During the "Origin of the Species" storyline, Looter meets up with Screwball before he is attacked by Spider-Man (who is attacking and apprehending any villain that might be responsible for the abduction of Lily Hollister's baby). Looter pleads to Spider-Man that he never even touched Lily Hollister's baby.
Powers, abilities, and equipment
Fester has super-strength, and agility comparable to Captain AmericaCaptain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
's, but he needs a supply of meteor gas or he will eventually lose his powers. He also has extraordinary leaping ability and a high degree of durability.
The Looter has had a large arsenal of gadgets and weapons in his bizarre career. He used a "Dazzle Gun" (a gun that could create a dazzling light and a quick getaway) and a helium balloon in his first appearance; these also appeared in Spider-Man Family #7. In Sensational Spider-Man #8, he used weapons from Stilt-Man
Stilt-Man
Stilt-Man is the name of two supervillains in Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Stilt-Man first appeared in Daredevil vol. 1 #8 and was one of his earliest enemies. He is a criminal wearing a suit of armor with powerful telescopic legs .The character did not age well, as his powers were more a...
, the Shocker
Shocker (comics)
The Shocker or just Shocker is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #46 and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr.-Fictional character biography:Herman Schultz was born in New York...
, the Unicorn
Unicorn (comics)
Unicorn is the codename of multiple supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The first Unicorn debuted in Tales of Suspense vol...
, the Trapster
Trapster
The Trapster , originally known as Paste Pot Pete, is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe.-Publication history:...
, and the Mauler
Mauler (comics)
Mauler is a name used by two fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version appears in Daredevil #167 and was created by David Michelinie and Frank Miller...
. Other weapons include a Wave-Motion gun and a "Meteor-Powered" gun (although this did not actually work).
Other versions
The character also appeared in Spider-Man Loves Mary JaneSpider-Man Loves Mary Jane
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane is an American comic book series focusing on a teenage Mary Jane, the love interest of superhero Spider-Man. The series, published by Marvel Comics, is a teen drama set outside the regular Marvel continuity, and aimed at teenage girls, as opposed to the traditional male...
, where not Fester, but Mary Jane
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
's high school counsellor Mr. Limke uses the identity.