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Chameleon (comics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Chameleon (Dmitri Smerdyakov) is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of Spider-Man.
The Chameleon is a spy and master of disguise. Throughout his history, he has used a variety of traditional, high-tech and biologically enhanced ways to change his appearance, believably imitating almost anyone.
He was also the ally, servant, and half-brother of fellow Spider-Man adversary Kraven the Hunter.
His name is derived from the characters Dmitri and Smerdyakov from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.[citation needed]
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Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he initially appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963), and was the first member of Spider-Man's vast rogues' gallery, based on issue publication date, excluding the burglar who murdered Ben Parker. (Supercharger was the first Spider-Man supervillain chronologically.[1])
The Chameleon had a vital role in the Sinister Six novel series by Adam-Troy Castro, in which the Gentleman, a long-lived supervillain and member of the Machiavelli Club (a gathering of some of the world's most sinister minds, including several non-Marvel characters) uses the new Sinister Six, of which the Chameleon is a member, as pawns in his schemes. Oddly enough, in this series he is referred to as Anatoly Smerdyakov.
In the final novel in the series, Secret of the Sinister Six, the Gentleman betrays the villains and tries to escape; it is the Chameleon, to everybody's surprise, who kills the Gentleman, shooting the old man while disguised as a limousine driver and assuming his identity, only to be attacked by Dr. Octopus, thinking him to be the real Gentleman. Marvel has officially stated that the Sinister Six novels lay outside of normal continuity; however, these events have more recently been referenced in the Marvel handbooks.
The Chameleon also plays the role of villain in the novel Goblin's Revenge. In this story, the Chameleon not only teams up with the murderous Carnage, but also attempts to drive Spider-Man insane by impersonating Norman Osborn (then thought to be dead and buried), and later trying to expose the web-slinger to a toxic chemical meant to destroy his mind.
The Chameleon was born a Russian citizen named Dmitri Smerdyakov. In his youth, he was a servant and half-brother to Kraven the Hunter, Sergei Kravinoff, and eventually became a minor associate to one Gustav Fiers. Although Dmitri and Sergei were friends, Sergei was often abusive to him, leading to a combination of admiration and resentment towards Kravinoff from Smerdyakov. Eventually, Smerdyakov emigrated to the United States of America. As he had made a talent for himself during his youth, impressing his brother by impersonating friends and neighbors, he assumed an even more impressive disguise: the identity of the Chameleon. During his first known criminal outing, he impersonated Spider-Man, though he was exposed and arrested. Shortly afterward, Kravinoff, now Kraven the Hunter, himself came to America, and the Chameleon set his old associate's sights on Spider-Man.[2] Both men became long-time enemies of Spider-Man, part of his primary rogues' gallery.
The Chameleon inspired Kraven the Hunter to begin hunting Spider-Man, inviting Kraven to dispose of the hero.[3] With Kraven, the Chameleon then battled Iron Man.[4] Chameleon then confronted the Hulk.[5] The Chameleon stole some paintings from an art exhibit, but was thwarted by Spider-Man.[6] The Chameleon disguised himself as Henry Pym, and robbed Pym's laboratory for documents to combat Virus Nine. He delivered the documents and a shrunken Hulk to HYDRA, but was defeated by the real Pym as Ant-Man.[7] The Chameleon disguised himself as the Torpedo and battled Daredevil.[8] The Chameleon later first used his hologram belt to disguise himself to unsuccessfully take revenge on Spider-Man.[9]
When Kraven the Hunter committed suicide,[10] the Chameleon became obsessed with making Spider-Man suffer for his failure to prevent Kraven from killing himself. He ingested a serum which made his face permanently featureless and malleable. He attempted to kidnap America's leading expert on superconductors, but was thwarted by Spider-Man.[11] He then kidnapped J. Jonah Jameson. He approached the Maggia for support to become New York's new crime-lord, and formed an alliance with Hammerhead.[12] Disguised as a scientist, the Chameleon temporarily removed Spider-Man's powers. He allied himself with the Femme Fatales, Scorpion, and Tarantula to eliminate Spider-Man and the Black Cat, but escaped when his plan failed.[13]
The Chameleon's most ambitious play against Spider-Man happened when he formed an alliance with Harry Osborn, the second Green Goblin. Before Harry's death, he told Chameleon Spider-Man's secret identity could be found through Peter Parker, to construct androids of Peter Parker's (Spider-Man) parents (Chameleon later admitted that he went through with the plot to confirm once and for all that Peter was Spider-Man). The plan led to a psychotic breakdown for both Spider-Man and Chameleon. Chameleon's confirmation of Spider-Man's secret identity led him to attacking, rather unsuccessfully, Spider-Man through his family and friends several times, including one incident in which Mary Jane Watson subdued him with a baseball bat. Somewhere in between this and subsequent appearances, he appeared to have been destroyed by his nephew, Alyosha Kravinoff (Alyosha was later to throw a Chameleon mask at Spider-Man's feet, referring to it as 'That weakling, Dmitri'), but apparently recovered, waking in a hospital.
After tricking Spider-man to the bridge where his first love Gwen Stacy died, on the pretext of having kidnapped his wife, he declared his own loneliness and love for Peter. When Peter laughed out of surprise, he threw himself off the bridge. He reappeared some time later in a mental institution, completely incapacitated, believing himself to be Sergei Kravinoff rather than Dmitri Smerdyakov. He later reappeared in his Chameleon identity as part of the Sinister Twelve villain team organized by the Green Goblin.
After Spider-Man was unmasked, the Chameleon gathered a gang of villains, including Will o' the Wisp, Scarecrow, Swarm, and Electro and also blackmailed the Molten Man into his employ all in an effort to defeat Spider-Man and attack his family.
However, the Chameleon was dealt a most humiliating defeat at the hands of Spider-Man's Aunt May, when he attempted to trick her into believing he was Peter, then murder her. However, May was not fooled by any means, and defeated the villain with a plate of oatmeal-raisin cookies laced with Ambien. Rhino was also employed as part of the team up and later defeated Spider-Man only to be unable to collect payment from Chameleon as he was already captured. [14].
The Chameleon next appeared in newest incarnation of Super Villain Team-Up, called M.O.D.O.K.'s Eleven. In this limited series it is revealed that he contacted A.I.M. the moment he was telepathically summoned by M.O.D.O.K. He then allowed A.I.M. to send in their newest creation the Ultra-Adaptoid under the guise of being the Chameleon.
Additionally, it was revealed in Super Villain Team-Up: M.O.D.O.K.'s Eleven that his apparent insanity and demise years earlier were in fact well-crafted ruses designed so that he could fade into the background once more.
Originally, the Chameleon had no superhuman powers and simply used makeup and elaborate costuming to impersonate his targets. In order to do this, he implemented a device in a belt buckle that emitted a gas that helped him mold his features. This method of disguising was perhaps a forerunner to that of The Question, who was later created by Steve Ditko after his run on The Amazing Spider-Man. Later, the Chameleon obtained a microcomputer from Spencer Smythe for his belt buckle that could be programmed with the facial features of hundreds of people. The belt buckle also contains a video receiver that enables the computer to analyze the appearance of anyone the Chameleon encounters so that it can duplicate his/her features using electrical impulses. The computer utilizes holographic technology that allowed him to change his appearance at the push of a button. His electronic devices allowed him to appear as two different people to two separate observers simultaneously. The Chameleon's costume consists of "memory material" that can be altered by electrical impulses from his belt so as to resemble the clothing of the person he is impersonating.
Currently, the Chameleon's powers are innate: his epidermis and skin pigmentation have been surgically and mutagenically altered by a serum so that he can take on the appearance of any person at will. He also wears fabric made of memory material that responds to nerve impulses and can appear to be what ever costume he wishes to be.
When his past friendship with Kraven the Hunter was revealed, it transpired that the Chameleon had also taken the same serums that Kraven had over the years. This would suggest that the two characters were of a similar age (over 70 years old). It would also suggest that the Chameleon's physical strength and endurance could be somewhat augmented, but as the Chameleon's strength is much lower than that of Kraven, his augmentations may not reach a superhuman level.
Aside from his physical advantages, the Chameleon is a master of disguise, and a brilliant method actor and impressionist. He is also a master of creating lifelike masks and make-up. He is a quick-change artist who can assume a new disguise in less than a minute, although he no longer needs to use such skills. He also speaks several languages fluently. Although the Chameleon is not a scientific genius, during his increased lifespan he has been exposed to a wide array of sophisticated experimental technology, much of which he can apply effectively in his nefarious schemes.
A version of Chameleon recently appeared in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He has the powers of physically changing into any shape of form after accessing their DNA. This usually involves sampling their blood after killing the subject, although less lethal methods are possible; he was able to change into Sandman after an accidental ingestion of some of his sand.
Chameleon encounters an alternate Uncle Ben from another future. He kills and replaces him. This fools Spider-Man 2211 whom he then kills. After discovering the body, Sandman's father was framed for 'Ben's murder, and Sandman went to Spider-Man for help.
The two encountered Chameleon at Peter's high school (Chameleon had murdered the principal and was posing as him), where Chameleon reveals that he wasn't human at all but a giant monster. Chameleon was finally defeated, however, after Spider-Man (of Earth 616) used Spider-Man 2211's helmet to literally "administer poetic justice," causing a last-minute body switch between Chameleon and Sandman's father into an electric chair.
Spider-Man faces the Counter-Earth version of The Chameleon in Spider-Man Unlimited #5. Like many Spidey foes in the Unlimited cartoon, the Chameleon is a Beastial.
Chameleon has not appeared in the Ultimate Universe, but his identity appeared on a list of known cat burglars.
The Chameleon appeared in #4 of the cartoon based comic in service to Justin Hammer. He used his transformation abilities to obtain The Grim Reaper (weapon) from Stark Enterprises.
The Chameleon's first animated appearance was on the Iron Man segment of The Marvel Superheroes Show episode "Cliffs Of Doom", where (through use of disguise) he pits Iron Man against Captain America. The episode was based off Tales of Suspense #58. He also appeared in The Incredible Hulk segment titled "Enter The Chameleon". The episode was based on Tales to Astonish #62-63.
He appeared again in the 1981 Spider-Man episode "Arsenic and Aunt May", posing as the spirit of Spider-Man's Uncle Ben to manipulate Aunt May.
The Chameleon was the featured villain in the "Seven Little Superheroes" episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, in which he lured Spider-Man, Iceman, Firestar, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner and Shanna the She-Devil (referred to as "Shanna of the Jungle") to a remote island to pick them off one by one. He was voiced by Hans Conreid.
In the Spider-Man animated series Chameleon is an international hitman and spy. He can't (or won't) speak while he is in his true form, though in the episode "Framed", Richard Fisk indicates that Chameleon told them about Peter Parker's parents. Chameleon wears a belt, which is capable of capturing an image of a person, so that he can turn into that person as a form of disguise.
In his first appearance, he attempted to kill two diplomats at a U.N. conference, but was foiled by Spider-Man who easily picked the Chameleon out from the crowd since he had taken the appearance of Peter Parker.
In "The Insidious Six" and "Battle of the Insidious Six", Chameleon became a member of the Insidious Six. In "Framed" and "The Man Without Fear", he was working for the Kingpin's son, Richard Fisk, framing Peter Parker for getting restricted government information. But Parker's name was cleared and Richard and Chameleon were sentenced to jail.
Later, in "The Cat", it was revealed that he was jailed in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison and was assigned by Kingpin to release Felicia Hardy's father. He successfully did and disguised himself as Felicia's father so no one would know the real Hardesky was abducted. Chameleon was also infused with a techno-organic virus, which made him part-machine and was thus able to change into any person without the belt. Eventually, his ruse was uncovered by Nick Fury.
Later, in "Six Forgotten Warriors" part 1-5, he was rescued by the rest of the Insidious Six and became a member again, but would betray them and join forces with his foster father, the Red Skull (they have no relation in the comics), and his brother, Rhienholdt Kragov, who would later become Electro. In the end, Electro and Red Skull, along with Captain America, were trapped in a time dilation loophole and Chameleon escaped, never to be seen again.
Interestingly, in the Chameleon's last appearance when he was fighting against Spider-Man, he was grunting numerous times and the grunts were provided by Jim Cummings, who also played Shocker in the series, which hints that the Chameleon can speak, but just doesn't have much use to talk in his true form.
Appearances in the Show:
- Day of the Chameleon
- The Insidious Six
- Battle of the Insidious Six
- The Sins of the Fathers Chapter VI: "Framed"
- The Sins of the Fathers Chapter VII: "The Man Without Fear"
- The Cat
- The Black Cat
- Six Forgotten Warriors
The Chameleon will appear in The Spectacular Spider-Man[15]
He appears in the SNES Spider-Man game based on the animated series.
- ^ Spiderman timeline of first villain
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #1
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #15
- ^ Tales of Suspense #58
- ^ Tales to Astonish #66
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #80
- ^ Incredible Hulk #154
- ^ Daredevil #134
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #186
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #294
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #307
- ^ Web of Spider-Man #50-55
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #340-343
- ^ Sensational Spider-Man #31-#33
- ^ http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0712/03/index.htm
- Chameleon on the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki
- SpiderFan.org: Chameleon
- http://www.marveldatabase.com/Chameleon
- The Chameleon on Spider-Man Wiki