The Spider

History: In the desert of New Mexico, an ordinary spider found its way into a research lab. It strayed near an “atomic machine”; exposure to its rays mutated the spider, caused it to grow to gigantic proportions, and increased its intelligence, giving it the ability to speak. The Spider spun an immense web around the lab, trapping the scientists within. The Spider commanded an army of spiders and was going to expose them to the same atomic energy to make an army of giant spiders. Before it could carry out any of its plans for conquest, the Spider was tricked into ensnaring a guided missle with its web. The missle self-destructed when the Spider knocked it off course. The resulting explosion apparently killed the Spider.

Height: 15 ft. (standing upright)
Demonstrated Powers: The Spider possessed the proportionate strength of a spider magnified by his incredible size. The Spider was seen smashing through stone walls. The Spider had human level intelligence and could command a swarm of spiders. The Spider could spin a web which was proportionately stronger because of its size.

Comment: It is possible that The Spider could have some connection with the spider-god Omm first seen in Conan the Barbarian # 13.

Comment: The Spider is not to be confused with the villain who fought The Black Rider in Black Rider # 27 (March 1955), nor with the pulp character also called The Spider

Was it destroyed? Or, could its own “spider-sense” have warned it of impending danger? Maybe, the explosion somehow reversed the mutation/enlargement, and the re-shrunk Spider then made its way east (to a certain high school student in Forest Hills, Queens, NYC)!

Now that's a far-fetched idea! Sounds like something out of some old comic book!

BTW, in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 505, there is the first part of a new story arc involving Spidey and some arachnoid entity called the Gatekeeper. The latter apparently has the ability to manifest itself, using living spiders as a gestalt host body (a la the super-villain “Swarm”) !

hmm…What if there was some kind of spider elder-god which first tried to re-enter the Earth dimension by using this Spider. When that attempt failed, the spider-god decided to use a human avatar instead in the form of a young lad name…PETER PARKER!

That would certainly explain the mutant sentience of the spider who served as progenitor of…THE THOUSAND! *Don't you just love melodramatic exclamation points?

And I believe that recently (I don't follow Spider-man anymore) Peter Parker met a man who had spider powers as well before Parker did; perhaps he too could be tied to an elder spider god.
And come to think of it, Conan the Barbarian fought a spider god named Omm in Conan # 13. Could Omm be the source of all these spider characters?

Snood999 (owner-editor of the Unofficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe website) thinks so. But, Ezekiel—the old guy you referred to—puts the blame on Anansi, the arachnid-trickster/hero of many African myths.

Has anyone ever investigated whether this New Mexican research lab was associated with the gamma bomb experiments of Dr. Robert Bruce Banner? The “atomic machine” could have exposed the spider to gamma rays.

I do recall a Hulk story where he met some mutated desert animals who were the result of the original gamma-bomb's fallout. I think this was later adapted for that UPN Hulk cartoon show, back in the 1990's.

The Spider shouldn't be confused with the villian the Spider in Comedy Comics vol.1#11(9/42)'s Stuporman story.

Morbius The Living Vampire killed a giant spider called Arachne(Vampire Tales#3(2/74)) that sucks out the insides of it's victims and was a member of the -Fire .The Frankenstein Monster killed The Spider(a giant spider) that feeds on souls—the mental essence of it's victims(The Frankenstein Monster#6(10/73)).In Marvel Fanfare#31(3/87) Yellow Claw created Giant Black Spiders.

Miss America fought a villian named Spiderman who bred Giant Spiders and was eaten by his spiders in Phantom#12(win/46)—“Scourge Of The Spiderman”.

The Overstreet Price Guide says the Spider burned to in Western Tales Of Black Rider#28(5/55).Captain Marvel vol.1#59(11/78) has 2 Giant Spider-like creatures.

Giant,Man-Eating Spiders attacked the village of Marud,Roumania(erhmmm..)in ADVENTURES INTO TERROR#15 in the cover story “Tarantula''.

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