Tarantula

Jonathan Law is a mystery novelist who donned a spider-themed costume to fight crime as the Tarantula, a non-powered Golden Age vigilante. He became a member of the wartime All-Star Squadron, operating alongside other patriotic heroes of the 1940s.

Few characters can claim a Golden Age pedigree stretching all the way back to 1941, but Tarantula launched with the very first issue of Star Spangled Comics — a debut that doesn't get more historic than that, courtesy of the legendary Jerry Siegel and Harold Sherman. This DC stalwart has kept extraordinary company across the decades, sharing adventures with the likes of Green Lantern, Robotman, and Sylvester Pemberton, and turning up most memorably in All-Star Squadron and Young All-Stars alongside some of the finest heroes of the Golden Age era. With three key-issue appearances to their name and a presence in the catalog spanning a remarkable eighty years, Tarantula is exactly the kind of enduring, foundational figure that serious DC collectors love to track down. If you want a character whose roots go deep into the very soil of superhero comics history, this is one worth knowing.