LOOTER
Real Name: Norton G. Fester
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: Thief; former crackpot, would-be genius
Group Membership: None;
formerly Maniac (Lee Price)'s "Made Men" (8-Ball, Brothers Grimm, Hammerhead, Killer Shrike, Melter, Scorpion/Mac Gargan, many unidentified others); Super Villains Anonymous; Doctor Octopus' strike team (Aura & Override); Defenders imposters (Batroc the Leaper/Georges Batroc, Beetle/Abner Jenkins, Blob/Fred J. Dukes, Electro/Max Dillon, Plantman/Sam Smithers, Porcupine/Alex Gentry, Sagittarius, Whirlwind/David Cannon)
Affiliations: Basilisk (Basil Elks), Delilah, Scorpion (Mac Gargan), Screwball, Shocker (Herman Schultz), several unidentified henchmen;
formerly Doctor Octopus (Carolyn Trainer), Dr. Victoria Frankenstein, Hydra, Libra, Janice Lincoln, Sagittarius, Spider-Minions
Enemies: Alpha (Andy Maguire), Anti-Venom (Eugene "Flash" Thompson), Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Defenders (Hellcat/Patsy Walker), "Defenders for a Day" (Black Goliath/Bill Foster, Captain Ultra/Griffin Gogol, Havok/Alex Summers, Hercules, Iron Fist/Danny Rand, White Tiger/Hector Ayala), Duncan "Dunk" Diggs, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Albert "Bert" Ergle, Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Susan Richards, Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm), Giant-Man (Bill Foster), Holly Hae, Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Kris Keating, Mania (Andrea Benton), Old Man Logan (James Howlett) of Earth-21923, Plainsman, Power Man (Victor Alvarez), Roxxon, Scorcher, Silk (Cindy Moon), Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon), Spider-Girl (Mayday Parker) of Earth-982, Spider-Ham (Peter Porker) of Earth-25, Spider-Man (Otto Octavius), Spider-Man (Miguel O'Hara) of Earth-928, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spider-Man/Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Spider-UK (Brian Braddock) of Earth-833, Steelframe, Stegron, Tri-Sentinel, Tsum Tsum, Vaquero, Venom (Eddie Brock), Joe Wade, unidentified Chthulhu-like creature
Known Relatives: Unidentified brother
Aliases: Meteor Man
Base of Operations: An apartment at Albrick Court in Brooklyn, New York City;
formerly an abandoned toy store in Brooklyn, New York City;
formerly a few different bases in New York City
First Appearance: (Cameo) Amazing Spider-Man I#35 (April, 1966); (actual appearance) Amazing Spider-Man I#36 (May, 1966)
Powers/Abilities: Fester possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift at least 10 tons, and likely closer to 20. He is also superhumanly durable. He derives his powers from certain meteors, and was able on one occasion to convert the energies of such meteors into microwave energy, and then feed their power into himself, causing him to grow to gigantic stature and gain much greater physical power. He recently started wearing a stealth suit with heat-neutral, light-bending, sound-dampening capabilities and added bionics in within the suit's fabric to enhance his strength even further.
The Looter occasionally uses a "dazzle gun" that produces an intense flash of light, allowing him to briefly blind an opponent. Fester has used a backpack-like device containing a rapidly inflating helium balloon capable of carrying about 400 lbs. aloft for short periods of time. The balloon has straps which can be used to control its angle of ascent somewhat, and its smooth surface prevents Spider-Man's webbing from adhering very well. On seperate occasions, Fester wielded a "Wave-Motion" gun (allegedly of his own invention0 which projected powerful energy bursts, and a "Meteor-Powered Gun," which did absolutely nothing.
As an operative of Carolyn Trainer, Fester used a cybernetically controlled headset that could override electronic locks in his immediate vicinity. Fester abandoned this device after leaving Trainer's employ. Fester also briefly wielded the weaponry of the Unicorn, Mauler, Trapster, Ringer, Shocker, and Stilt-Man.
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History:
(Amazing Spider-Man I#36) - Norton G. Fester was a crackpot who considered himself a brilliant scientist, despite having failed in high school science courses. Fester witnessed a meteor that fell in a field near his house, and recovered it, believing that it could somehow prove his bizarre theories. Unable to gain funding for his research from any source, Fester decided to chisel the meteor open. Fester released a pocket of mildly radioactive gases within the meteor, and passed out after breathing them. After he awoke, Fester discovered that he had gained superhuman strength from the incident, and soon decided to commit crimes in order to raise money for his research. Fester learned of a similar meteor at a museum, and determined to steal it in the belief that it could further augment his powers. Coincidentally, Peter Parker (secretly the costumed crimefighter Spider-Man) was present when Fester attempted to steal the meteor. As Spider-Man, Parker battled Fester, who fled without the meteor. A few nights later, Fester returned to the museum only to find Spider-Man waiting for him there. In battle with Spider-Man, Fester was knocked unconscious and captured by the police.
(Untold Tales of Spider-Man) - Fester was granted bail.
At 4:30 PM, Fester made his way into the Neville K. Trelyane Memorial Mineral Museum and knocked a person out with a hammer. He inhaled vapor from a meteor at the museum, reigniting his power. Retreating, he threw a motorcyle into a fuel truck. He began attacking power stations, fire hydrants, and public transportation facilities. Later he returned to a museum and went after the Wakanda Find, from the T'Kaing Crater, the largest single intact meteor ever recovered. He was thwared by Spider-Man.
(Marvel Team-Up I#33 (fb)) - Fester spent months as a model prisoner, until he was placed with a cellmate who taunted him about his defeat and questioned why Fester had not used his powers to escape. Angered, Fester escaped in order to prove that he had superhuman powers, and adopted the new alias of Meteor Man.
(Marvel Team-Up I#33) - Learning that the museum meteor had been sold to Kyle Richmond, Fester broke into Richmond's penthouse apartment to steal it, only to run afoul of Richmond's costumed alter ego Nighthawk. Escaping after decking Richmond, Fester found himself in combat next with Spider-Man, whom he also surprised and overcame. Later, Nighthawk, deciding that Fester needed psychiatric help more than he needed a pounding, abandoned Spider-Man and the case.
(Marvel Team-Up I#34) - The Meteor Man ambushed and savagely beat Spider-Man, believing he had killed the hero. Meanwhile, Nighthawk's fellow Defender, the Valkyrie, learned of the case, and set off after the Meteor Man. With Spider-Man, she battled Fester at an antique shop. Fester managed to overcome them both and make his escape, but was soon attacked again. Valkyrie used her sword to puncture Fester's balloon, and he plunged to a rooftop, left unconscious by the fall.
(Marvel Team-Up I#35 - BTS) - Doctor Strange sent the Human Torch to Meteor Man's old apartment in Harlem after Valkyrie had disappeared following a battle against Meteor Man alongside Spider-Man. While examining the apartment the Human Toch gets caught by Jeremiah and his cult.
(Defenders I#63 (BTS) - 64) - Fester, again calling himself the Looter, joined a large group of supervillains organized by the Libra and Sagittarius of the android Zodiac. He was defeated along with many of his comrades when Hellcat's latent psycho-kinetic powers were unleashed, and was left on the floor in a subway station among various heroes and villains.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#41) - Seeking to further increase his power, Fester (now using his Meteor Man alias) broke into a science exhibit at Empire State University, only to encounter both Spider-Man (who was then a student at ESU) and Bill Foster (who had then adopted the alias and powers of Giant-Man). Fester escaped them, and used his collected meteors and the stolen device to construct an energy converter that greatly augmented his powers, causing him to grow to tremendous height. Fester was besting Spider-Man and Giant-Man when his highly unstable power pack generated painful feedback and then exploded, seemingly killing him.
BTS - Fester survived the explosion, but his mind was still further addled by his experiences. He became a homeless alcoholic, living in the Forest Hills area of Queens.
(Web of Spider-Man I#39) - Fester took to burgalry to finance his need for liquor, and robbed Nathan Lubensky, boyfriend of Aunt May. This attracted May's nephew Spider-Man, who failed to recognize Fester. His hatred triggered again, Fester donned his now-soiled Looter costume and battled Spider-Man near May's boarding house. Ultimately, Spider-Man easily trounced the Looter, who was taken into police custody.
(Marvel Tsum Tsum#2 (fb) - BTS) - Norton bought Taskmaster's "Master your Task" videotapes for $29.95 to learn the techniques of the best super villains in the world. He soon felt ripped off because he learned nothing from them.
(Amazing Spider-Man Annual I#26/4) - Again free, Fester embarked on a crime spree, but was swiftly captured once again by Spider-Man, who took the opportunity to compare Fester to his more formidable opponents.
(Amazing Scarlet Spider#1) - Fester was eventually released from prison and was immediately contacted by Carolyn Trainer, who made Fester one of her superhuman operatives.
(Spectacular Scarlet Spider#1) - Fester practiced combat with his new wepaonry alongside Trainer's other recruits. Later, he assaulted a club owned by her rival, the crime boss Mr. Tso, but was opposed by Ben Reilly in his guise as the Scarlet Spider. Fester and his allies were nearly beaten by the Scarlet Spider, but Fester destroyed a load-bearing column in Tso's club to distract the Scarlet Spider and give himelf and his allies the time to escape.
(Web of Scarlet Spider#2) - Dr. Octopus gave Looter and his team another chance and sent them to the zoo, where she was supposed to meet Jason Tso. Seward Trainer informed Scarlet Spider about the meeting and the villains got another shot against the hero, but one of Smythe's Cyber-Slayers attacked Looter from behind when he had the Scarlet Spider at his mercy. Looter and his allies were defeated by Scarlet Spider and the Cyber-Slayers (controlled by Tso and A. Smythe) and were then arrested by the police.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#236) - Looter took advantage of the chaos in Roxxon's Iron Rock facility and stole some super-weapons.
(Sensational Spider-Man#8 (fb) - BTS) - Using the former equipment of the Shocker, Looter stole a diamond.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#414 - BTS) - Looter used the former equipment of the Ringer to rob a jewelry store.
(Spider-Man I#71 - BTS) - Using the former equipment of the Trapster, Looter robbed a train.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#237 - BTS) - Using the former equipment of the Stilt-Man, Looter stole something in a skyscraper.
(Sensational Spider-Man I#8) - Fester returned to his earlier goal of discovering universal secrets and finance his "research" with the money he made with the crimes he had committed. Ben Reilly, who had taken on the identity of Spider-Man, investigated the thefts and battled Fester. Fester initially overcame and captured Reilly, who asked him why he hadn't simply stolen the meteor. Fester was unable to answer, and Reilly used the delay to break free and thrash him. However, after Fester was defeated, SHIELD agents collected both Fester and the unusual meteor he had obtained.
(Sensational Spider-Man I#27) - Fester, again free, began burglarizing apartments. Tracked to his own rooms by Peter Parker (who had temporarily assumed a guise as the Hornet), Fester was again defeated. Even as Parker examined an odd meteor Fester had stolen, SHIELD agents again burst in and took Fester and his meteor into custody.
(Marvel Knights Spider-Man#6) - The Looter attended the auction in which the Venom symbiote was sold.
(Marvel Knights Spider-Man#12 - BTS?) - He may also have been present at the auction of the Scorpion suit.
(Spider-Man Family II#7) - In search for the twin of his beloved meteorite Looter broke into the Institute for Seismo-Harmonic Studies. Taking everyone hostage he plucked his meteorite into an experimental electromagnetic refractualizer to isolate his meteorite's ambient energies to track down its lost twin. Spider-Man took the meteorite and Looter threatened to drop a female scientist over a railing if Spider-Man didn't return his meteorite to him. Spider-Man did, but Looter accidentally dropped the scientist. While Spider-Man saved her, Looter escaped and followed Spider-Man's earlier hint that the Fantastic Four probably had the technology to search for the twin of Looter's meteorite at the Baxter Building.
Failing to break into the Baxter Building on his own Looter used the arrival of Spider-Man and the Human Torch's warm welcome for him to break in by blinding them both with his flash gun. Looter broke into Reed Richards' lab and to Richards' surprise was able to use the advanced machines inside to track down his meteorite's twin. An impressed Richards discussed with Looter the possible whereabouts of the meteorite in the Savage Land. While Spider-Man tried to explain that Looter was insane, the Looter used the distraction to steal Thing's sky-cycle and fly to the Savage Land.
Looter arrived in the Savage Land and asked Stegron, ruler of a valley of dinosaurs, for an item atop a temple Looter believed to be his meteorite's twin. Spider-Man, Thing and Human Torch arrived in the Fantasticar shortly after and saved Looter from Stegron and his dinosaurs. Looter used the battle between dinosaurs and heroes to take the stairs to the top of the temple after knocking out a dinosaur with his superhuman strength. To his surprise the others (including Stegron and new arrivals Ka-Zar, Shanna and Zabu) were already at the top when he finally arrived because they took the Fantasticar to fly there. Spider-Man recognized the item at the top as the mystical Sphere of Sarah-Kath, an item that caused him and Doctor Strange some trouble years ago. Ka-Zar mockingly suggested to Looter to possibly get help from Doctor Strange to find the twin of his meteorite. Looter distracted everyone by claiming Chtylok had returned and ran through the portal the Sphere of Sara-Kath had kept open. Spider-Man, Human Torch and Thing followed him through because they considered him their responsibility.
(Spider-Man Family II#7 - BTS) - Surprisingly the portal took Looter to Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum and he had a nice conversation about the twin of his meteorite with Doctor Strange, who promised to use the Eye of Agamotto to find it.
(Spider-Man Family II#7) - When Spider-Man, Human Torch and Thing arrived to warn Doctor Strange he had already made his promise.
(Spider-Man Family II#7 - BTS) - At some point Reed Richards secretly had contacted Doctor Strange to tell him to stop Spider-Man, Human Torch and Thing from apprehending Looter.
(Spider-Man Family II#7) - Doctor Strange claimed the twin of Looter's meteorite had landed in Latveria. He stopped Spider-Man, Human Torch and Thing with magic and watched as Looter stole the Fantasticar to make his way to Latveria, but to his surprise the Fantasticar returned to the Baxter Building, remote-controlled by Reed Richards. When Looter arrived the Invisible Woman used a force field to soften the landing of Looter and his meteorite. While Richards marvelled at the strange properties of the meteorite the others tried to talk some sense into the Looter. S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived to take the supposed meteorite and arrest Looter because they had been watching him for years. Looter overheard Richards surmising that if there was another meteorite like Looter's it would have landed on the moon.
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man#10 (fb) ) - Defense attorney Janice Lincoln hired the Looter as distraction for Matt Murdock aka. Daredevil. Looter was quickly beaten by Daredevil, but Janice's plan had worked because her client got off free after Murdock, the plantiff in the case, left to fight Looter (his identity was still kind of secret at this point, but rumors were floating around already that Matt was Daredevil).
(Amazing Spider-Man I#590) - Looter got caught in Spider-Man's web again. While Spider-Man made fun of the Looter, the latter told Spidey that he wouldn't even see a cell from the inside because due to Norman Osborn being in charge of superhumans in the US he could just tell the police that Spider-Man had framed him and they would let him go. A slightly angered Spider-Man gave the Looter a wedgie and left him hanging on the wall.
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man#10 (fb) ) - After becoming the new Beetle Janice Lincoln approached Looter at a Club With No Name. He blew her off when she told him that she was not a defense attorney anymore because he now saw her as competition. He then continued to hang out with some girls at the club.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#645) - Looter warned Screwball of Spider-Man, who was going after every criminal that had gone after Lily Hollister's baby, which had apparently been killed (it wasn't dead....Chameleon had kidnapped it). In front of Looter's eyes Screwball was pulled from the roof by Spider-Man's web. While Spider-Man slowly closed in on Looter the criminal begged for mercy and told Spider-Man that he had never even seen the baby...
(Amazing Spider-Man II#653/2 (fb) - BTS) - Fester learned about an alleged meteorite hidden in a secret Freemasons hideout beneath Federal Hall and set out to get the ceremonial key to New York, which had been made for centuries in the shape to unlock the entrance to the hidden chamber.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#652/2 (fb) - BTS) - Norton G. Fester sent an email to rookie hero Power Man about a bomb someone had allegedly planted within the ceremonial key to New York, which was granted to Spider-Man that day.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#652/2 - BTS) - During a short fight between Spider-Man and Power Man an accomplice of Looter stole the ceremonial key to New York.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#652/2) - Looter received the key from his accomplice, boasted that he knew at least 38 other ways to steal the key without humiliating Spider-Man and that he would unlock a 300 year-old secret with this key.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#653/2) - Looter took over the Federal Hall on Wall Street with a few hired guns and took several hostages. Power Man and Spider-Man tried to ruin his day, but Looter kicked Power Man into Spider-Man, taken them out long enough for Looter to rip out a door and reveal a secret keyhole, which the ceremonial key fit in perfectly. He turned the key and a secret stairwell opened up in the middle of Federal Hall. Looter blinded both heroes with his dazzle gun and ran down the stairwell where he found what he had came for, a meteorite hidden centuries ago by the Freemasons. He was shocked when a Cthulhu-like creature hatched from the meteorite and hurled him against a nearby wall. Spider-Man and Power Man came to Looter's aid and the latter stabbed the creature with a flagpole through the head. Spider-Man webbed up Looter's hands and took him upstairs for the authorities.
(Wolverine VI#12/3 (fb) ) - Scorpion and Shocker brought the injured Looter to the bar 113 and demanded of the bar's owner Max Moore to hide them. Dr. Victoria Frankenstein objected and after scaring the villains by introducing herself treated the Looter before telling the villains never to return to this bar because she didn't want it to become another bar for super-villains.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#692) - Spider-Man taught rookie hero Alpha a few things about being a superhero. One of his lessons was that superhuman criminals received superhuman punches unlike non-superhuman criminals. Looter was on the receiving end of the combined punches of Spider-Man and Alpha after committing a crime.
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man#11/2 (fb) ) - After committing a crime Looter was once again defeated by Spider-Man and webbed up to a street light.
During his stay in prison Norton was visited by his brother, who gave him another lecture for not using his scientific skills in a real job.
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man#11/2 (fb) - BTS) - After his prison sentence Looter was hired by Hydra.
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man#11/2 (fb) ) - Looter and Basilisk were stealing an Ellsworth Sonic Reducer for Hydra when Spider-Man kicked their butts and webbed them up.
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man#11/2 (fb) - BTS) - Looter somehow escaped.
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man#11/2 (fb) ) - Looter left town to train, upgrade his gear and achieve his true potential as a criminal.
Somewhere in the US he became a capable gang leader, impressing the women in his employ. He didn't stop there and like he planned improved his gear by turning his suit into a stealth suit.
With his added powers he easily defeated the heroic Steelframe, who interfered with Looter's criminal campaign.
Looter added strength enhancing bionics to his suit.
Even stronger than before Looter continued his crime spree and easily defeated the pistol-wielding hero Vaquero somewhere in the American Southwest.
Later in St. Louis, Missouri Looter came across local hero the Plainsman. Looter defeated him and than shot him in the head.
Feeling unstoppable Looter returned to New York City to become NYC's new boss of the underworld. He threatened Scorcher with a gun after easily defeating him, when Scorcher questioned his abilities. Delilah warned Looter that Spider-Man had become dangerous, injuring criminals left and right. Looter didn't care and only asked her if it took a lot of money to get her on his side, which she agreed on. Looter was soon confronted by Spider-Man and badly beaten up. With his face cut up and both legs broken Looter pulled a gun on Spider-Man, who showed mercy and only broke his right arm to disarm Looter, so Looter could drag himself to the police.
Out of hospital and in a wheelchair Norton took a train out of town and hoped his brother would still hire him.
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man#11/2 (fb) - BTS) - Norton's brother didn't hire him. Norton sneaked back in to NYC for a Super Villains Anonymous meeting.
(Superior Foes of Spider-Man#11/1) - Looter, badly injured and in a wheelchair, rolled into a Super Villains Anonymous meeting to tell his story and warn the other costumed criminals about the danger of not stopping their crimes because not stopping could kill them one day.
(Amazing Spider-Man III#9 (fb) - BTS) - Looter allied with the Spiderlings, the former henchmen of Spider-Man (Otto Octavius). They stole the uniforms and a tank-like Arachnaught vehicle from Spider-Island for future use.
(Amazing Spider-Man III#9) - Looter operated the Arachnaught while he robbed a bank with the Spiderlings. The Spiderlings congratulated Looter for his planning while Looter just wanted his share of the money. They were quickly apprehended by Spider-Man (Parker), Silk, Spider-Woman (Drew), Spider-Girl (Corazon), Spider-Man (O'Hara), Spider-UK, Spider-Girl (Mayday Parker) and Spider-Ham.
(Marvel Tsum Tsum#1 (fb) - BTS) - Norton was released from prison on probation.
(Marvel Tsum Tsum#1) - Norton's young neighbor Albert Ergle, who lived down the hall, bumped into him on the way to the elevator. Norton told him to watch where he was going.
Norton called Hammerhead for a job, but was told that times were tight and they were keeping operations at a minimum at the moment. He also didn't want anything to do with Norton because he was out on probation and always got caught. Norton heard some loud noise from upstairs and ended the call to check. He was rather annoyed when it was the children again (Albert and his friends Duncan and Holly). He followed them down the stairs and while they caught most of the extraterrestrial Tsum Tsum they had found a day before on the roof, Norton stole one of them that was designed like Spider-Man at the time. The children didn't notice. Norton was really interested to learn what the little thing could do.
(Marvel Tsum Tsum#2) - Norton took the Tsum Tsum to an abandoned toy store to plan his heist using the Tsum Tsum. He learned that the Tsum Tsum was not wearing a mask and possessed super strength by smashing a brick on it, which it quickly tossed back at Norton, nearly breaking one of his ribs. Norton then chained the Tsum Tsum to a chair and switched on the TV to teach it something.
When Norton later returned with donuts the Tsum Tsum had torn apart the chains. Norton switched off the TV and followed the moving chain. To his surprise it had changed its design to Ultron and multiplied. Norton was sure he could work with this evil version and showed the five Tsum Tsum a set of Taskmaster's "Master your task" videotapes he had bought years ago. The videotape showed the best super villains in the world. Norton watched the tapes with the five Ultron Tsum Tsum.
(Marvel Tsum Tsum#2 - BTS) - Four Tsum Tsum gained the designs and powers of Loki, Rhino, Venom and Green Goblin while the fifth remained Ultron.
(Marvel Tsum Tsum#2) - Looter took the Tsum Tsum to Midtown Bank to case the place and figure out the easiest way in. A security guard asked him to remove his sunglasses and his plan quickly changed when the Tsum Tsum escaped his bag. Looter put on his mask and the Tsum Tsum went through the vents into the vault where they encountered Ant-Man, who had been hired by the bank to improve their security. They knocked him out, blew off the vault's door and Looter walked in to pick up two bags of money. He used his balloon to escape the crime scene with the Tsum Tsum.
(Marvel Tsum Tsum#3) - Looter was soon rolling in money. He thanked the Tsum Tsum for all their help and hoped Hammerhead would now recognize his talent. He planned to rob a shipment of gold next and asked the Ultron Tsum Tsum if he could possibly make a few more Tsum Tsum.
That night Looter was standing on a roof with nine Tsum Tsum (Green Goblin, Loki, Rhino, Venom and five Ultron) to wait for the arrival of the transport. When the truck arrived Looter ordered the Tsum Tsum to attack, but they had enough of him and attacked him instead. Looter tried to escape the Tsum Tsum with his balloon, but it was destroyed and Looter fell from the roof down to the street.
Norton survived, but was captured by the Tsum Tsum and tied up with webs at the toy store. The children from his block, who were searching for the Tsum Tsum (actually their heroic versions), found and freed him. Bert finally recognized Norton as the Looter. When Norton tried to grab some of the money he accidentally alerted the growing army of villanous Tsum Tsum. Looter escaped through the exit and immediately blocked it with a dumpster, leaving the children behind with the evil Tsum Tsum.
(Marvel Tsum Tsum#4) - Later Norton was packing up to leave the country with the money he had stolen. He received a call from Hammerhead, but denied his job offer. He was then confronted by the heroic Tsum Tsum (Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor).
(Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. Alpha#1 (fb) - BTS) - Looter painted toy guns black and planned to sell them to criminals so they could claim they weren't carrying a gun when they got caught during a crime.
(Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. Alpha#1) - Venom (Brock) tipped over Looter's truck and attacked the villain. Looter peed his pants and tried to explain himself, but Venom was not in the mood for mercy and threatened to kill him. Brock stopped the symbiote's murderous plan and Looter ran away.
Looter later had a beer at a bar and told of his encounter with Venom. Lee Price offered him to join his gang, but Looter declined. Price then spat a symbiote globule in Looter's face and took control over thim to make him part of his "Made Men".
(Amazing Spider-Man I#792) - Looter and other "Made Men" barged into Black Cat's Club after knocking out her guards. Looter suggested someone else should take over Black Cat's territory, which she considered a joke because it was the Looter. Lee Price then entered to take over Black Cat's territory and sent his "Made Men" against Black Cat's crew. When the figh was over Black Cat and her crew had become part of Price's "Made Men".
(Venom III#159) - Looter joined the other "Made Men" in a fight against Spider-Man and Anti-Venom at Black Cat's Club. During the fight Black Cat broke Price's control over her by destroying the symbiote controlling her with a kiss on Anti-Venom. Lee ordered Looter, Hammerhead, Melter, 8-Ball and the Brothers Grimm to bring her back to him, but Black Cat escaped. The fight continued and Spider-Man used Melter's weapons to set the club on fire. The plan failed miserably and they got caught (and Spider-Man turned into one of the "Made Men" as seen in Amazing Spider-Man I#793).
(Venom III#160) - After Price took control over the world's five largest crime families during a meeting by turning them all into his "Made Men", the meeting was attacked by Venom, Anti-Venom, Black Cat, Mania and Spider-Man (who had infiltrated the meeting by still posing as one of the "Made Men", even though he had been freed in ASM#793). Looter participated in the big battle, but was freed from Price's control (either by an anti-venom bullet shot by Venom or Anti-Venom himself...it wasn't clear).
(Venom III#161 (fb) - BTS) - Back in NYC Norton checked out the Oh My Rug store one day. Spider-Woman recognized his stupid haircut and that night waited for him near the store to make his move.
(Venom III#161) - Venom caught Looter loading rugs from the store into his van. Looter immediately peed his pants, but Venom only webbed him up and didn't threaten to kill him this time. Spider-Woman revealed she had watched Looter earlier that day and was now going to capture Looter and Venom. The latter claimed he was one of the good guys now, but she didn't care and just hit him as hard as she could. Venom dropped Looter, whose helmet cracked upon hitting the ground. Venom then used Looter as distraction by throwing him as far as he could, forcing Spider-Woman to go after the defenseless Looter to save him before he hit the ground again. Venom fled the scene.
(Amazing Spider-Man V#4) - Spider-Man (split from Peter Parker at this point) rode a stolen Tri-Sentinel into battle to capture Looter and two henchmen, who tried to steal paintings in a park.
(Amazing Spider-Man V#6) - Looter hung out at the Bar With No Name when Boomerang walked in with Peter Parker. He presumably witnessed Peter Parker, calling himself the Liar, win the Spider-Man Trivia Night hosted by the Answer and the Living Brain.
(Amazing Spider-Man V#7) - The Kingpin had a message sent to all villains at the Bar With No Name with a bounty on Boomerang's head. They attacked Boomerang, who was aided by Peter Parker. During the battle Looter was hit in the face with a boomerang and later blown up with an exploding boomerang alongside the other villains. Boomerang and Peter escaped.
(Dead Man Logan#2) - During his search for Mysterio, Old Man Logan interrogated the Looter, while his ally Hawkeye took down Looter's Spiderlings. Looter had no clue where Mysterio was.
Comments: Created by "Sturdy" Steve Ditko and Stan "The Man" Lee
One of Spider-Man's most unique foes, the Looter is just threatening enough not to be purely silly. Okay, he's still silly, but he deserves to appear more often anyhow. And there's something about him that makes me think he could battle the lesser Defenders again sometime.
Todd Dezago kept hinting in Sensational about the possible nature of Fester's stolen meteor, but nothing was ever really revealed.
Carycomix speculates: Maybe the meteors that empowered him were dormant eggs laid (outside a parasitized host) by a mutant Broodqueen. You know; as a new contribution to their ongoing part of...THE COCKROACH CONSPIRACY?
The Spacemen also got their powers from gases from meteor rocks. Could there be a connection?
--John Kaminski
In Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man I#5 (April, 2006) the Looter appeared in a story that likely took place in an alternate reality. In this story Looter was beaten up by Spider-Man during an attempt to steal a meteor from a science exhibit at Empire State University. Its similar to Spectacular Spider-Man II#41, but Looter was called Meteor Man at that point and he fought Spider-Man and Goliath (Foster) in that story and got away with the meteor.
--Markus Raymond
In King in Black#2 (February, 2021) a character at the Bar With No Name was called Loot by the Melter. His costume resembled more that of the Tumbler, than the Looter. Maybe he was one of Hobgoblin's clients using the Tumbler identity, but I am pretty sure this was not the Looter.
Per Degaton provided the info for the Untold Tales of Spider-Man novel.
Profile by Omar Karindu. Updated (pretty much everything after Marvel Knights: Spider-Man) by Markus Raymond
Clarifications:
Looter, aka Meteor Man is not to be confused with:
images: (without ads)
Amazing Spider-Man I#36, Cover (original appearance, main)
Amazing Spider-Man I#36, p17, pan3 (Looter flies away)
Amazing Spider-Man I#36, p2, pan3 (Norton finds the meteor)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#41, p15, pan1 (giant Meteor Man)
Web of Spider-Man#39, p8, pan4 (Norton the bum)
Spectacular Scarlet Spider#1, p1, pan1 (Looter's return)
Superior Foes of Spider-Man#10, p11, pan1 (hired by Mrs. Lincoln)
Superior Foes of Spider-Man#11, p16, pan5 ("Superior" Looter)
Amazing Spider-Man I#792, p11, top panel (with "Made Men")
Venom III#161, p6, pan2 (peeing himself)
Appearances:
Amazing Spider-Man I#35-36 (April-May, 1966) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Steve Ditko (artist/plot)
Marvel Team-Up I#33-35 (May-July, 1975) - Gerry Conway (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Len Wein (editor)
Defenders I#63 (September, 1978) - David Kraft (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Jim Mooney (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Defenders I#64 (October, 1978) - David Kraft (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Don Perlin (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#41 (April, 1980) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Jim Mooney (pencils/inks), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Web of Spider-Man I#39 (June, 1988) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Alex Saviuk (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man Annual I#26 (1992) - Tom Brevoort & Mike Kanterovich (writer), Aaron Lopresti (pencils/inks), Danny Fingeroth (editor)
Amazing Scarlet Spider#1 (November, 1995) - Tom DeFalco & Mike Lackey (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Larry Mahlstedth (inks), Bob Budiansky (editor)
Spectacular Scarlet Spider#1 (November, 1995) - Todd DeZago (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Eric Fein (editor)
Web of Scarlet Spider#2 (December, 1995) - Tom DeFalco & Todd DeZago (writer), Tom Morgan (pencils), Randy Emberlin, Herctor Collazo & Don Hudson (inks), Eric Fein
Spectacular Spider-Man II#236 (July, 1996) - Todd DeZago (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), John Stanisci (inks), Ralph Maccio (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#414 (August, 1996) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Larry Mahlstedt (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spider-Man I#71 (August, 1996) - Howard Mackie (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#237 (August, 1996) - Todd DeZago (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), John Stanisci (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Sensational Spider-Man I#8 (September, 1996) - Todd DeZago (writer), Mike Wieringo (pencils), Rich Case (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Untold Tales of Spider-Man (October, 1997) - Pierce Askegren & John Garcia (writers), Stan Lee & Kurt Busiek (editors)
Sensational Spider-Man I#27 (May, 1998) - Todd DeZago & Mike Wieringo (writer), Mike Wieringo (pencils), Rich Case (inks), Bob Harras, Ralph Macchio (editor)
Marvel Knights: Spider-Man#6 (November, 2004) - Mark Millar (writer), Frank Cho (pencils/inks), Warren Simons & Axel Alonso (editor)
Spider-Man Family II#7 (April, 2008) - Karl Kesel (plot/pencils/inks), Todd Dezago & Mark Waid (plot), Nathan Cosby (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#590 (June, 2009) - Dan Slott (writer), Barry Kitson (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#645 (December, 2010) - Mark Waid (writer), Paul Azaceta & Matthew Southworth (artists), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#652 (March, 2011) - Fred Van Lente (writer), Reilly Brown (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#653 (April, 2011) - Fred Van Lente (writer), Reilly Brown (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#692 (October, 2012) - Dan Slott (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Superior Foes of Spider-Man#10 (May, 2014) - James Asmus (writer), Siya Oum (artist), Tom Brennan (editor)
Superior Foes of Spider-Man#11 (May, 2014) - Tom Peyer (writer), Carmen Carnero (pencils), Terry Pallot (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Story 2: Elliot Kalan (writer), Nuno Plati (artist), Tom Brennan (editor)
Wolverine VI#12/3 (October, 2014) - Paul Cornell (writer), Salvador Larroca (artist), Mike Marts (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man III#9 (January, 2015) - Dan Slott (writer), Olivier Coipel (artist), Nick Lowe (editor)
Marvel Tsum Tsum#1-2 (October-November, 2016) - Jacob Chabot (writer), David Baldeon (pencils), Terry Pallot (inks), Devin Lewis (editor)
Marvel Tsum Tsum#3-4 (December, 2016 - January, 2017) - Jacob Chabot (writer), David Baldeon (pencils), Terry Pallot & Scott Hanna (inks), Devin Lewis (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. Alpha#1 (February, 2018) - Dan Slott & Mike Costa (writers), Ryan Stegman (artist), Devin Lewis & Nick Lowe (editors)
Amazing Spider-Man I#792 (February, 2018) - Dan Slott (story/writer), Mike Costa (story), Ryan Stegman (artist), Devin Lewis & Nick Lowe (editors)
Venom III#159 (February, 2018) - Mike Costa (story/writer), Dan Slott (story), Gerardo Sandoval (artist), Devin Lewis (editor)
Venom III#160 (March, 2018) - Mike Costa (story/writer), Dan Slott (story), Gerardo Sandoval (artist), Devin Lewis (editor)
Venom III#161 (April, 2018) - Mike Costa (writer), Javier Garrón (artist), Devin Lewis (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man V#4 (October, 2018) - Nick Spencer (writer), Ryan Ottley (pencils), Cliff Rathburn (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man V#6-7 (November-December, 2018) - Nick Spencer (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Dead Man Logan#2 (February, 2019) - Ed Brisson (writer), Mike Henderson (artist), Chris Robinson (editor)
First Posted: 07/17/2002
Last Updated: 06/01/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099
Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you
should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!