TONY PARETTI

Real Name: Tony Paretti

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Student;
    former drug dealer

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Rocket Racer (Robert Farrell)

Enemies: "Streettough" and his gang

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Empire State University, New York City, New York, USA

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man I Annual#25 (1991)

Powers/Abilities: Tony was a smart enough young man that he was accepted to Empire State University. He also proved himself useful to his suppliers as a drug dealer until he wanted to quit.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'5")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 130 lbs)
Eyes: Unrevealed (never clearly depicted)
Hair: Blond

History:
(Amazing Spider-Man I Annual#25/3 (fb) - BTS) - Tony was a student at Empire State University and sold the drug Ice there for a while. He shared at least one class with Robert Farrell, the man also known as the Rocket Racer, and they became acquainted. Eventually, Tony decided he wanted to quit dealing drugs and told his supplier, "Streettough."

(Amazing Spider-Man I Annual#25/3) - "Streettough" and a handful of his goons confronted Tony in broad daylight at a basketball court near the university. "Streettough" told Tony that he didn't get to quit and intended to kill him as an example to others. Just before the criminal could stab Tony, he was knocked aside by the Rocket Racer, who happened to be passing by on the way to school and noticed that Tony was in trouble.

    Speechless, Tony watched as the Racer not only beat up "Streettough" but launched rockets into the van where the drug stash was kept, exploding it. The Racer told "Streettough" to leave Tony Paretti alone or he'd be back to dish out more punishment.

    Tony tried to thank the Racer for the assistance but he responded that if Tony happened to go back to dealing drugs, he would also be a target for punishment.

    The most prominent operation dealing Ice at this point in Marvel's NYC, as far as I'm aware, is the one that the Red Skull (Johann Shmidt) started and the Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) won from him in shirtless combat during the Captain America story "Streets of Poison" (Captain America I#372-378). Knowing that, it seems likely that if you follow the supply chain, these Ice dealers were part of the Kingpin's organization.

    Most of the dealers in "Streets of Poison" had names like Lowlife, Potshot, Rubout, Moosemeat and so on, so for the sake of this profile, I've dubbed the head guy here "Streettough" though that name isn't canon.

    This profile was completed 06/03/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25^th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Patrick D Ryall.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Tony Paretti has no known connections to:

• any other "Tony" or "Paretti" characters, groups, items, races or events
  

"Streettough"

A large man with a leather jacket and a knife, he was a supplier of the drug Ice in New York City. He recruited Empire State University student Tony Paretti to work as a dealer on campus. This setup was profitable for him so when Paretti informed him that he wanted to quit, "Streettough" did not react well. He told Paretti that nobody got to quit his operation without his say-so and he intended to kill Paretti to prove that point.

Before "Streettough" could make good on his threat, he was knocked aside by the Rocket Racer, a would-be superhero who happened to also be a student at Empire State University and who knew Tony Paretti. The Racer beat up on "Streettough" and also fired rockets into the van that held their stash of Ice.

The Racer left, threatening that if there was any further retaliation against Tony Paretti, he would shoot some rockets up "Streettough"'s nose.

"Streettough"'s gang

A handful of men who worked with "Streettough" in his Ice-dealing operation in New York City. They kept their stash in a van to keep it mobile while individual dealers could pick it up as needed. When "Streettough" tried to execute Tony Paretti, a dealer on the campus of Empire State University who wanted to quit, the Rocket Racer arrived and beat up "Streettough." The gang left the van in an attempt to help, but once the vehicle had nobody inside it, the Racer blew it up, destroying all of the Ice they had on them. The gang were knocked to the ground by the explosion.

--Amazing Spider-Man I Annual#25/3

Images: (without ads)
Amazing Spider-Man I Annual#25, p32, pan4 (Tony, main image)
Amazing Spider-Man I Annual#25, p32, pan2 (side of Tony's face)
Amazing Spider-Man I Annual#25, p32, pan3 ("Streettough")
Amazing Spider-Man I Annual#25, p32, pan5 (gang)

Appearances:
Amazing Spider Man I Annual#25/3 (1991) - David Micheline (script), Alan Kupperberg (artist), Danny Fingeroth (editor)

First Posted: 09/30/2026
Last Updated: 06/03/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Back to Characters