DR. DONALD MELAND

Real Name: Donald Meland

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Surgeon

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Annabelle Adams, Buddy the dog, Hummingbird (Aracely Penalba), Jillian, Courtney Johnson, Ryan Ketola, Teddy

Enemies: Armadillo (Antonio Rodriguez), Assassins Guild, Ana Kraven, Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff), Terrence Mitchell, Salamander

Known Relatives: Wally Layton (husband)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Houston, Texas, USA

First Appearance: (as Donald, surname unrevealed) Scarlet Spider II#1 (March, 2012);
    (surname revealed): Scarlet Spider II#3 (May, 2012)

Powers/Abilities: Dr. Donald Meland is a talented and experienced surgeon. He walks with a cane.

Height: 5'10'' (by approximation)
Weight: 200 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown

History: (Scarlet Spider II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Surgeon Donald Meland married police officer Lt. Wally Layton and they established a house in Houston, Texas.

(Scarlet Spider II#3 (fb) - BTS) - Terrence Mitchell and his wife and daughter were rushed to the hospital after a car accident, and Meland soon lost the wife and daughter despite his best efforts to save their lives. When Donald informed Terrence of the losses, Terrence assaulted Donald. As security pulled him away, Terrence yelled that he would have his revenge, blaming Donald for their deaths.

(Scarlet Spider II#1) - At the hospital, Donald was tending to a patient who'd shot someone else and Wally questioned the man. When a super-powered man (Kaine) entered with a wounded girl (Aracely Penalba) in his arms, he demanded that she get medical help immediately and Donald rushed to help her, calling nurse Jillian to aid him. Wally drew a gun on Kaine, who quickly disarmed him, and Donald begged the man not to hurt Wally. Kaine informed Wally that there were corpses at the pier and asked him to follow. Later, Donald was tending to Aracely when the villain Salamander attacked, setting the hospital on fire.

(Scarlet Spider II#2) - Donald fled from Salamander as he set the hospital on fire. Salamander burned Donald until he saw his target: Aracely. When Scarlet Spider arrived to fight Salamander, Donald yelled at him to get the villain out of there, as hundreds of patients were in danger. When the battle ended, Donald and Wally approached Scarlet Spider, who unmasked as Kaine, and asked him to stay in Dallas to help protect people. They emphasized that Aracely would need their help, as she was in America illegally and had limited protection. Later, Donald checked on Aracely and found her hospital bed empty.

(Scarlet Spider II#3) - Donald went to the Plaza to find Kaine and found Aracely in his room. As Donald checked on her, he met bartender Annabelle Adams, who had befriended Kaine, and Donald assured Adams that Kaine had saved their lives. Donald later bypassed security guard Teddy at the hospital and retrieved medications and files inside then invited Scarlet Spider inside, the hero using his cloaking powers to enter. Scarlet Spider was shocked to learn that Donald and Wally were married. When a sniper subsequently opened fire, Scarlet Spider saved Donald's life then battled the Assassins Guild, who had been hired by Mitchell to kill Meland.

(Scarlet Spider II#4) - Armed with a gun and unwilling to go to the police, Donald broke into Mitchell's home to confront him, taking Wally with him. They found Mitchell inside with an armed assassin, who Mitchell ordered to kill Donald. Wally drew a gun on the assassin as Donald pleaded with Mitchell to let him live, explaining how anytime he lost a patient was hard for him. The assassin departed, recalled by the Assassins Guild, and Donald and Wally realized Scarlet Spider had somehow saved them. Mitchell broke down and apologized.

(Scarlet Spider II#5 - BTS) - Wally called Donald in fear, believing that a nuclear bomb was about to go off but Scarlet Spider saved them in time.

(Scarlet Spider II#7) - Donald snored loudly, keeping Wally awake.

(Minimum Carnage: Alpha#1 (fb) - BTS) - Scarlet Spider saw a group of slaughtered civilians and brought Ryan Ketola into the hospital for treatment from Donald while Wally took reports on the killer, who apparently resembled Scarlet Spider.

(Minimum Carnage: Alpha#1) - Donald treated Ketola while Wally shared intel with Scarlet Spider, who rushed off to handle things.

(Scarlet Spider II#12) - At the Four Seasons, Wally and Donald confronted a drunk Kaine, who seemed determined to leave for Mexico, and they helped Aracely take care of him when he passed out. They talked about the deaths at Carnage's hands then witnessed Courtney Johnson, an employee of the hotel, say that Kaine needed to check out of the hotel, as the room had been reserved by others. When Annabelle called, having been taken hostage, Wally and Aracely rushed to help, leaving Donald to wake Kaine up. As Donald brewed coffee, he heard Kaine mutter in his sleep about how he'd killed people in New York. As Kaine woke and sobered up, Donald helped him realize he was actually a hero, even if he was an unorthodox one. An armed man in a Santa costume soon burst in with Annabelle and Kaine defeated him and other criminals. They later celebrated the victory with Kaine, who'd decided to remain in Houston.

(Scarlet Spider II#15) - Wally and Donald went out to dinner with Kaine, Annabelle and Aracely.

(Scarlet Spider II#16) - Wally and Donald dressed up in cowboy gear and took Kaine, Aracely and Annabelle to a rodeo, where they were impressed by Aracely's telepathic skills while watching performer Wyatt Taft. When Armadillo attacked the rodeo, Wally and Donald watched as Scarlet Spider defeated him.

(Scarlet Spider II#17) - Donald saw a man rushed to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and he found a bullet in the man marked with the name Kaine.

(Scarlet Spider II#21) - Donald emerged from surgery and was told Aracely had called, frightened about something. Donald called to check in with Wally (who had just found their dog Buddy dead) but shortly after that, he was kidnapped by Ana Kraven.

(Scarlet Spider II#22) - Wally, Donald, Annabelle and Aracely were held in the zoo, tied up as bait for the Scarlet Spider. Kraven the Hunter and Ana Kraven fought back when the hero arrived.

(Scarlet Spider II#23) - Surrounded by lions, Donald and Wally watched helplessly as Scarlet Spider battled Kraven and Ana. Kraven demanded that Scarlet Spider kill him to end the fight but Kaine refused so Ana gutted Donald in front of the others, savagely slicing open his stomach. Scarlet Spider slammed a knife into Kraven's chest then rushed to try and save Donald's life, packing his wounds and binding them before freeing Wally, Annabelle and Aracely. Ana fled with her father and Wally asked Kaine to leave them as they tended to Donald. Donald was rushed to the hospital and had an initial surgery then remained in critical care as Wally and Annabelle waited for word.

(Scarlet Spider II#24) - Kaine and Aracely visited Donald, who continued to improve, though the doctors told him he was facing long-term damage and the potential of having to use a colostomy bag.

(Amazing Spider-Man III#1/7) - Donald, using a cane and discharged from the hospital, went to the Four Seasons to make amends with Kaine but he saw Peter Parker there instead. Thinking Peter was Kaine's brother, Donald told him how Kaine had saved his life several times.

Comments: Created by Christopher Yost, Ryan Stegman and Michael Babinski.

Profile by Chadman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Donald Meland has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Scarlet Spider II#21, p8, pan1 (main)
Scarlet Spider II#4, p12, pan4 (face)

Appearances:
Scarlet Spider II#1-2 (March-April, 2012) - Christopher Yost (writer), Ryan Stegman (penciler), Michael Babinski (inker), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#3 (May, 2012) - Chris Yost (writer), Ryan Stegman (penciler), Michael Babinski, Wade Von Grawbadger (inkers), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#4-5 (June-July, 2012) - Chris Yost (writer), Ryan Stegman (penciler), Michael Babinski, Cam Smith (inkers), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#7 (September, 2012) - Chris Yost (writer), Khoi Pham (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Tom Brennan (editor)
Minimum Carnage: Alpha#1 (December, 2012) - Cullen Bunn, Chris Yost (writers), Lan Medina (penciler), Karl Kesel, Cam Smith, Walden Wong (inkers), Tom Brennan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#12 (February, 2013) - Chris Yost (writer), Reilly Brown (penciler), Terry Pallot (inker), Tom Brenan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#15 (May, 2013) - Chris Yost (writer), Khoi Pham, Neil Edwards, Paulo Siqueira (pencilers), Terry Pallot, Bit, Victor Olazaba (inkers), Tom Brennan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#16 (June, 2013) - Chris Yost (writer), Khoi Pham (penciler), Terry Pallot, Victor Olazaba (inkers), Tom Brennan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#17 (July, 2013) - Chris Yost (writer), Carlo Barberi (penciler), Walden Wong (inker), Tom Brennan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#21 (October, 2013) - Chris Yost, Erik Burnham (writers), Carlo Barberi, David Baldeon (pencilers), Terry Pallott, Victor Olazaba (inker), Tom Brennan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#22 (November, 2013) - Chris Yost, Erik Burnham (writers), David Baldeon, Pat Olliffe, Tim Green (pencilers), Terry Pallott, Victor Olazaba (inkers), Tom Brennan (editor)
Scarlet Spider II#23-25 (December, 2013-February, 2014) - Chris Yost, Erik Burnham (writers), David Baldeon (artist), Tom Brennan (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man III#1/7 (June, 2014) - Chris Yost (writer), David Baldeon (artist), Jordi Tarragona (inker), Ellie Pyle (editor)

First Posted: 04/13/2021
Last updated: 04/13/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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