Adrian Toomes

Adrian Toomes was an electronics engineer who built a harness granting him winged flight and superhuman strength, only to discover his business partner had swindled him. Donning the green-winged suit as the Vulture, he turned to crime — becoming one of Spider-Man's earliest and most persistent foes.

Few Silver Age villains have proven as enduringly menacing as Adrian Toomes, who first spread his wings in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 back in 1963 — a Stan Lee and Steve Ditko creation who has haunted Marvel's pages for over six decades. With 267 catalog appearances and a dozen collector-recognized key issues to his name, Toomes is no footnote; he's a cornerstone of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery, a constant presence across The Amazing Spider-Man in all its eras, right up through Zeb Wells' acclaimed recent run. He keeps formidable company on those pages — sharing adventures with Peter Parker and the likes of Otto Octavius — which tells you everything about the weight class this character occupies. If you're tracing the DNA of Marvel's Silver Age villainy, Adrian Toomes is essential reading.