TARANTULA
Real Name: Jacinda Rodriquez
Identity/Class: Human; citizen of Delvadia
Occupation: Mercenary
Group Membership: Wild Pack (Agony/Navvab Tadjvar, Crippler/Phage/Carl Striklan, Flicker/Lina Abbas, Lightbright/Scream/Obax Majid, Puma/Riot/Thomas Fireheart)
Affiliations: Marie Batroc, Devil Spider, Dominic Fortune (Duvid Fortunov), the Four Winds (specifically the East Wind/Higashi), Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse), S.H.I.E.L.D., Silver Sable (Silver Symbiote; Silver Sablinova), Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Enemies: Goblin Army (El Facóquero, War Goblins), Scorpion (Mac Gargan), Shriek (Fraces Barrison), Taskmaster (Tony Masters), Zombiotes
Known Relatives: Tarantula (Antonio Miguel Rodriquez, father)
Aliases: Lasher
Base of Operations: Delvadia
First Appearance: Agent X#6 (February, 2003)
Powers/Abilities: She was probably a decent fighter, though a rookie and not as skilled as her opponent. She wore spikes on her boots, which were likely filled with toxins as her father's were.
The Scream symbiote allowed Lightbright to transform into a monstrous form with enhanced strength, reflexes, and agility, as well as sharp claws and four additional spider-like legs.
Height: 5'7" (by approximation)
Weight: 115 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Brown
History:
(Agent X#6 (fb) - BTS) - Tarantula and Marie Batroc were hired by Higashi of the East Wind to kill Agent X, Outlaw and Taskmaster.
(Agent X#6) - She and Batroc's daughter waited on a rooftop while the three targets fought dozens of other mercenaries below. When Taskmaster made his way to the roof, the two attacked him, he avoided and they fell off the roof. Stating that he hated ethnic stereotypes, he shot them both multiple times.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
(Amazing Spider-Man IV#25 (fb) - BTS) - Tarantula and Devil Spider, two of Delvadia's best operatives, were loaned to S.H.I.E.L.D. by the Delvadian military.
(Amazing Spider-Man IV#25) - Tarantula and Devil Spider allied with Mockingbird and Spider-Man, who had apparently found the hiding place of the nation's biggest drug lord and gun runner el Facóquero. The foursome entered hidden tunnels under Las Colinas Rojas in Delvadia and were attacked by War Goblins working with el Facóquero, whom Spider-Man believed to be a fake identity used by Norman Osborn. After the fight was over, Spider-Man told Tarantula and Devil Spider to get the defeated War Goblins out with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. using the pods, while he went after el Facóquero, who in the end turned out to not be Osborn.
(Venom War: Lethal Protectors#1 (fb) - BTS) - Liz Allan of Alchemax provided Silver Sable and her Wild Pack with symbiotes known as the Lethal Protectors Initiative, which they had no time to field-test. Tarantula received the symbiote Lasher and a sonic amplifier to keep it under control.
(Venom War: Lethal Protectors#1) - Allan hired Silver Sable and the Wild Pack to retrieve a package from Alchemax while New York City was overrun by Zombiotes. Tarantula had a drink from her flask before the mission, which Lightbright criticized. The team parachuted onto the Alchemax building and made their way down to the Life Foundation's lab where they found the tank they were supposed to retrieve. They were attacked by Zombiotes and though they were armed with machine guns, Sable authorized the activation of the Lethal Protector Initiative. Tarantula joined the fight against the Zombiotes as Lasher.
(Venom War: Lethal Protectors#2 (fb) - BTS) - The Wild Pack escaped the lab with the tank and Silver Sable, who had merged with the Agony symbiote after it had abandoned Navvab for being infected by the Zombiotes. The Wild Pack decided to put a sonic emitter on Silver Sable like the ones they were wearing to keep the symbiotes in check.
(Venom War: Lethal Protectors#2) - Tarantula and the rest of the team saw Silver Sable awaken and showed her that they had been successful. Tarantula was unfortunately unable to contact an airlift since the signal couldn't get through. Lasher went up a water tower to get Puma, who was allegedly scouting a path, but found him meditating. He only told her that he knew what was inside the tank and that somebody was following them (it was Scorpion) before they were once again attacked by Zombiotes. The Wild Pack got to higher ground and Lasher carried the tank to the ceiling while the Zombiotes, including Scorpion, who had just been turned, followed them. Scorpion damaged the tank Lasher carried and it released a sonic blast that took out all the Zombiotes. Lasher was okay, but as surprised as the rest of the team that inside the tank was a clone of the super-villain Shriek. She attacked Silver Symbiote, but got knocked out with a kick by Lasher.
Silver Sable and the Wild Pack later took control over Dominic Fortune's ship Mississippi Queen.
(Venom War: Lethal Protectors#3) - Tarantula and Puma set up an Alchemax amplifier on the Mississippi Queen for Silver Sable to serve as a sound channel they could power with Shriek's sound waves to stop the Zombiotes. When they were finished a horde of Zombiotes attacked the ship before the Wild Pack could strap Shriek into the machine. Lasher, Silver Symbiote, Scream and Flicker fought the Zombiotes. Silver Sable strapped Shriek into the machine and it was activated. Before Tarantula left with the rest of the team, Fortune, who had been shot in the leg by Silver Sable, told her that he would come after Sable for what she had done to him. Tarantula then joined her team, had a drink after saving the world from the Zombiotes and learned from Puma that Crippler had been working for Meridius and had betrayed them. She later lied to Silver Sable that Fortune had said nothing to her.
Comments: Created by Gail Simone and UDON Studios.
Upon meeting the girls, Taskmaster had this to say: "Listen, I knew both your fathers, and I must say, with all due respect to those brave and talented men...you cannot imagine my surprise at finding out they were heterosexual."
Tarantula's real name was revealed in Crossfire's entry in OHotMU A-Z Hardcover#3, with her real name revealed we learned the first Tarantula was her father.
Gail Simone revealed Tarantula and Marie Batroc survived their encounter with Taskmaster.
Profile by Patrick D. Ryall. Update by Markus Raymond (2017-2025).
CLARIFICATIONS:
Tarantula should not be confused with
images: (without ads)
Amazing Spider-Man IV#25, p10 (main)
Agent X#6, p16, pan2 (head shot)
Agent X#6, p16, pan4-6 (with Marie Batroc; defeated by Taskmaster)
Venom War: Lethal Protectors#2, p8, pan1 (as Lasher)
Appearances:
Agent X#6 (February, 2003) - Gail Simone (writer), UDON Studios (artists), Andrew Lis (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man IV#25 (May, 2017) - Dan Slott (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Venom War: Lethal Protectors#1-3 (November, 2024 - January, 2025) - Sabir Pirzada (writer), Luca Maresca (artist), Tom Groneman (editor)
First Posted: 09/19/2004
Last updated: 10/06/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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