VULTURE

 

VULTURE

Real Name: Adrian Toomes

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #2, May 1963

Powers: Adrian Toomes was an electronics engineer who developed an electromagnetic harness which gave him the ability to defy gravity. It could create silent propulsion by cutting through the magnetic lines of force surrounding the planet. Toomes incorporated the harness into a bird suit with a set of artificial wings. On its own, the harness enabled him to hover and fly slowly through the air. With the addition of glider wings, however, the Vulture could reach speeds of nearly 100 mph, and dramatically increased his aerial agility and maneuverability. Oftentimes, his metallic feathers were razor sharp at the tips, making them useful as weapons. A side effect of the electromagnetic fields generated by the harness was that they increased the Vulture's strength and vitality. Despite being roughly 90 years old, the Vulture developed the ability to lift over 800 lbs, increased stamina, reflexes, and recuperative powers. In the early days, this booster effect would fade if he stopped wearing the harness for a time, but eventually his metabolism was permanently upgraded.

Many years later, the Vulture attempted to fight off cancer using the Juvenator, a device for transferring life energy from one host to another. This essentially allowed the Vulture to "trade ages" with another person. By grabbing a 20-year-old with the Juvenator paddles, the Vulture could regain the youth and vitality of his twenties, and send his victim into their nineties. The process was normally temporary, though, meaning both parties would revert back to their true ages within hours. Vulture managed to stabilize the process for several months, however, by draining the artificial life of "Mary Parker", the synthezoid Chameleon used to mimic Peter Parker's mother. With his newfound youth, the Vulture was much stronger and faster than ever before. He adopted a new armored costume and began using new weaponry, like an electromagnetic bolt gun and pulse grenades. Eventually, the Juvenator effects began to wear off, and he became a true Vulture, attacking people with the Juvenator paddles to steal their youth and maintain his own. Contact with the decomposing creature known as D.K. permanently restored his advanced age.

Adrian Toomes holds a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering and is a brilliant electronics engineer with a great talent for invention.