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Quote1 Or are you too dense to realize I'm hovering in a genius harness of my own design that allows individual self-guided, heavier-than-air flight? Quote2
The Vulture[src]

History

Adrian Toomes (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 241 002

The first electromagnetic harness that would form the base for Vulture's modern suit

The Vulture designed a pair of wings to fly without any noise. Using the Anti-Magnetic Inverter, Spider-Man was able to counteract the magnetic power that the Vulture harnessed for his wings, damaging them and causing the Vulture to spiral to Earth was arrested.[1]

In prison, the Vulture spent his time secretly smuggling parts from the prison machine shop into his cell, so that he could recreate his flying technology, this time correcting the flaw which caused his defeat last time: by switching the magnetic poles, the wings wouldn't be affected by the anti-magnetic inverter anymore.[2]

When he joined the Sinister Six, the Vulture used his wings to deliver a message to J. Jonah Jameson, telling him that Betty Brant had been captured and that Spider-Man had to go to Stark Electric Plant in order to save her. The Vulture was eventually defeated by Spidey and ended up in prison with the rest of the Sinister Six.[3]

Vulture's Wings from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 49 001

Blackie Drago dons the Vulture suit in mid-air

Before Adrian Toomes seemingly died in jail, following an accident, he told his cellmate Blackie Drago the location of a spare set of Vulture wings. Once he learned of their location, Drago revealed that the "accident" was planned in the hopes that Toomes would reveal the location of the wings, so that once Drago got out of prison, he could use the technology for his own personal gain. That night, Drago managed to sneak out of the prison, and found Toomes' spare set of wings: hidden in a hiding place near the prison. Drago managed to escape before the guards could capture him, mastering how to use the wings in moments and flying away.[4]

He used the Vulture's wings against Spider-Man and Kraven the Hunter, but he was eventually defeated by Spidey at the Exhibition Hall.[5] Back in Toomes' possession when he was hired by the Kingpin to kill Raymond Trask, the wings were used to fly away after the failed assassination attempt, before the Vulture was lifted by Doctor Octopus in his Hover Jet.[6]

The Vulture flapped again his wings to deploy Sandman to Governors Island in order to steal a prototype amphibious tank, fending off Spider-Man.[7] The Vulture then joined the Sinister Six in the assault against the Cordco space launch facility, fighting Spider-Man again.[8]

As soon as he understood Doc Ock's real plan to infect the ozone layer with a drug that causes extreme convulsions in cocaine users, in order to rule the world alone in exchange for the burundite antidote for the rich and powerful addicts, the Vulture flew away, vowing revenge on the traitor.[9]

The original vulture wings resulted from Toomes' mastery of electromagnetic force, but he nevertheless managed to break out from Ryker's Island only with a pair of wings tinkered together from sheets and bed slats.[10]

After he absorbed Spider-Man's lifeforce and returned young, the Vulture headed to his hideout and created a new and improved electromagnetic costume.[11] When he was arrested again in New Jersey, the police seized his new pair of wings.[12] When the Vulture met the Owl in Manhattan, he seemed to have recovered his new pair of wings.[13]

The Vulture was then defeated by Daredevil in Brooklyn, and supposedly arrested by the police.[14] A while later, the Vulture was surprised by the Scarlet Spider, who tried to trap his wings with impact webbing, but the villain easily freed himself and flew away.[15]

After Spider-Man defeated the Sinister Six in a Nassau County top-secret facility where Doctor Octopus' Tentacles were stored, the Vulture managed to escape capture by flying away.[16] The Vulture then saved Hobgoblin when he was thrown off a rooftop by a collapsing water tower.[17]

As the de-aging effect was fading away, the Vulture used his wings to ambush his victims.[18] A short time later, he flew again to get revenge on the new Prowler.[19] The Vulture sneaked into Prowler's apartment, although he was out of his element, unable to maneuver in such a confined area.[20]

Adrian gave a pair of red wings to his granddaughter, Tiana Toomes, which she used to become the superhero Starling.[21]

Alternate Reality Versions[]

Image Description Issue
Brenda Drago (Earth-982) Spider-Girl Vol 1 25 On Earth-982, Blackie Drago's wings were modified by Tony Dravis so that Brenda Drago, Blackie's daughter and Tony's then girlfriend, could operate as the masked Raptor.[22] Spider-Girl #18
Adrian Toomes (Earth-1048) from Marvel's Spider-Man (video game) Promo 001 On Earth-1048, over the years, Vulture's wings gave him spinal cancer due to the batteries of his suit. This flaw was later repaired when Doctor Octopus upgrade it in need of his assistance. His wings are capable of launching simple energized knife-like projectiles. Vulture's wings grants him airborne speeds of up to 95 mph and enhanced strength. Marvel's Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 90 Textless On Earth-1610, the wings were a part of a combat suit created by Elijah Stern for the Roxxon Corporation. After being fired by the company, Stern stole the suit and gave it to mercenary Blackie Drago.[23] Ultimate Spider-Man #89
Adrian Toomes (Earth-12041) from Ultimate Spider-Man Season 4 7 001 On Earth-12041, initially Adrian Toomes didn't have a need for mechanical wings due to Doctor Octopus fusing his DNA with that of a Vulture's thus giving him his own organic wings, taloned feet and a sonic scream.[24] Later Octopus gave Adrian a green Iron Vulture Armor for enhancements which also came with armored wings, Doc Ock used his nanobot to upgrade his armor (changing it to the black and red variant) as well as keep him under Ock's control.[25] Adrian is later cured of his mutation and freed from the armors control.[26] Ultimate Spider-Man S404
Vulture's Wings from The Amazing-Spider-Man 2 (film) 001 On Earth-120703, Vulture's wings appeared briefly at the end of Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie, though Adrian Toomes did not appear in the film. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Adrian Toomes (Earth-199999) from Spider-Man Homecoming 001 On Earth-199999, disenfranchised Adrian Toomes secured a load of Chitauri technology recovered from the Battle of New York and had a flight harness fashioned from it. In essence it was a wearable drone, able to operate remotely under Toomes's command, and yet also had the capability to clamp onto him and maintain enough lift to bear him aloft with a considerable amount of additional weight. The wing assemblage was capable of vertical take off and landing by way of a pair of gimbal mounted rotors, and the material structure (being Chitauri in origin) could slice through solid steel. Later modifications to Toomes's wings included an exoskeleton incorporating taloned feet with considerable gripping power and a high altitude seal that allowed the wings to clamp together to form an air pocket when the entire apparatus was clamped to the side of an unyielding structure.[27] Spider-Man: Homecoming
Adrian Toomes (Earth-199999) from Morbius (film) 001 After being accidentally transported to Earth-688B by a side-effect of Doctor Strange's spell,[28] Adrian Toomes was swiftly released from prison due to having no criminal record. He would later construct a new flight suit in hopes to do "some good" while being currently trapped in Earth-688B. Using his suit, he was able to physically meet with Dr. Michael Morbius after reading about him, which Toomes gave him a chance to team up, which Michael accepted the offering.[29]Morbius

Notes

  • Nearly all images and stories that feature Adrian Toomes or others who have been the Vulture will also depict the wings in some way.

Trivia

  • Hobie Brown was one of Bestman's top engineers, a company which Toomes owned, under the alias Holden Tooks. Vulture stole designs from the company and added them to his Vulture suit, so it's fair to say that Hobie, unbeknownst to himself, was an additional designer to Vulture's costume. This is further supported when Vulture claims that he knows the ins and outs of Prowler's costume and declares his suit superior.[citation needed]
  • Daniel Kingsley theorized that the design of wings of the Goblin Armor ultimately used by Phil Urich as Hobgoblin were stolen from Vulture.[30]
  • Taskmaster was able to convert his cape into functional wings. Starling speculated this was his way of mimicking her.[31]

See Also

Links and References

References

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