TERRIER

Real Name: Gordon Savinski

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Mob enforcer

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Bennett Brant;
enforcer for Nick "Lucky" Lewis (Crime-Master);
former boyfriend of Betty Brant

Enemies: Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Gordo"

Base of Operations: New York City

First Appearance: (As Gordon) Untold Tales of Spider-Man#12 (August, 1996);
(as the Terrier) Untold Tales of Spider-Man#15 (November, 1996)

Powers: The Terrier possesses superhuman strength, at least class 10, as well as superhuman stamina, speed, and resistance to injury. He also appears to have enhanced senses, including sharper-than-normal hearing. He is a moderately skilled hand-to-hand combatant and an amazingly poor strategist.

Physical Description: Terrier is well-dressed man in his early twenties, who favors purple suits.

History:
(Untold Tales of Spider-Man#12(fb)) - Gordon was a student at Empire State University when he befriended Betty and Bennett Brant. Gordon had a wild streak and enjoyed gambling, and he encouraged Bennett to borrow money to fund their games. However, they lost big time and found themselves owing money to the gangster Blackie Gaxton. Gordon washed his hands of Bennett, since his name was the only one on the IOU, leaving Bennett deep in debt.

BTS - Savinski became a low-level goon working for Nick "Lucky" Lewis. While in that gang, he again became involved with Betty and Bennett, who owed the mobs gambling money and as such were forced to help them in various endeavors. At some point after the Brants broke ties with the underworld, Lewis submitted Savinski for various experimental treatments that granted him superhuman powers. Savinski got the nickname "the Terrier," allegedly for his tenacity.

(Untold Tales of Spider-Man#12) - Savinski was sent by Lewis to keep tabs on Betty Brant

(Untold Tales of Spider-Man#14) - Savinski shadowed Betty during her date with Peter Parker.

(Untold Tales of Spider-Man#15)- Savinski, acting on Lewis' orders, coerced Betty Brant into helping with a scheme to frame J. Jonah Jameson and take over his newspaper, the Daily Bugle. Peter Parker, in his capacity as a Bugle employee, encountered Savinski and noticed him threatening Betty. When Parker tried to scare Savinski off, the Terrier knocked him unconscious. Shortly thereafter, Savinski personally threatened Jameson and offered to have the charegs against him dropped in exchange for Jameson's controlling interest in the Bugle. However, Spider-Man intervened and attacked Savinski, prompting a battle that raged into the Bugle's press room. Though Savinski appeared to be winning, he was distracted by Spider-Man's taunts about being a mafia lackey long enough for the web-slinger to pull several tons of paper rolls onto the mobster, leaving a subdued Savinski to the police.

Comments: Created by Kurt Busiek and Pat Olliffe.

Untold Tales of Spider-Man weaves in between issus of the original Lee/Ditko Spidey work. This particular issue ocurs between issues#12 and#13 of Amazing Spider-Man v.1. In issues#11-12 of ASM, Betty Brant's brother Bennett (alliteration, anyone?) was revealed to be a mob-connected lawyer under the thumb of Blackie Gaxton and died taking a bullet for his sister Betty, Spidey's love interest at the time. Nick "Lucky" Lewis was never seen in his normal identity in the original stories, but was the original Crime-Master in Amazing Spider-Man I#26-27.

He looks a lot like Peter Parker, doesn't he? First Spider-Clone, anyone? -Prime Ed-ternal
--Yeah, that's what I was thinking, esp. with the MC2 version of Pete also sporting a goatee and being drawn by Olliffe--Snood.

The Terrier also received a pin-up by Olliffe in Untold Tales of Spider-Man '97 Annual.

Profile by: Omar Karindu

Clarifications: The Terrier should not be confused with:

• Terrier, one of the members of the Litter, @ Excalibur I#52
• The Terror, Golden Age hero, @ Mystic I#5
• Terror, Inc., demon-hero with a forthcoming profile, @ Terror, Inc.#1
• Night Terror, CIA vampire, @ Ghost Rider Annual#1
• Triumvirate of Terror, Mad Thinker's thugs, @ Avengers I#39
• Fusion, the "Twin Terror", @ Amazing Spider-Man I#208
• Captain Terror, Spainish civil war hero, @ USA Comics#2