Dmitri Smerdyakov

Dmitri Smerdyakov is the Chameleon, a Russian master of disguise and one of Spider-Man's earliest villains. Half-brother to Kraven the Hunter, he uses elaborate costumes and masks to impersonate virtually anyone, making him a uniquely deceptive and persistent threat in Spider-Man's rogues' gallery.

Meet Dmitri Smerdyakov, a figure who has haunted the pages of Spider-Man's world since his 1997 debut — brought to life by the creative talents of J. M. DeMatteis, Mark Bagley, and Reinhard Schweizer. Rooted in the Copper/Modern Age of comics, this character has persisted across nearly three decades, turning up in German-market Marvel collections like Marvel Origins and Der sensationelle Spider-Man, keeping dangerous company with the likes of Kraven der Jäger, Peter Parker, and Das Chamäleon. With a modest but enduring footprint spanning 1997 to 2026, Dmitri Smerdyakov is a fascinating thread woven through the international tapestry of Spider-Man publishing — a name worth tracking down for the dedicated collector with an eye for the wider world of Marvel.