CARLYLE
 Carlyle, newly armed, raids the bank

Real Name: Mr. Carlyle

Identity/Class: Human male technology user; citizen of the U.S.A. with a criminal record

Occupation: Con-artist and thief

Group Membership: Formerly Nexus Industries

Affiliations: Formerly Dr. Octopus

Enemies: Mr. Devereaux, Dr. Octopus (Otto Octavius), Embassy Crown Hotel (Los Angeles), L.A.P.D., Lobster-Man (Rick Turk), Nexus Industries, May Parker, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Mary-Jane Watson-Parker

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Not specified, called "Carlyle Calamari" by Spider-man

Base of Operations: Los Angeles, U.S.A.;

formerly mobile

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man II#43 (September, 2002)

Powers/Abilities: Carlyle was a normal human who was quite an adept con-artist and thief. He had no respect or awe for people more famous, rich or powerful than him. Carlyle appeared less than 6' tall, with black hair, blue eyes and a penchant for red spectacles. He was devious and manipulative, but not that smart or strong.

    He controlled a suit of green metallic armor of high density steel, which could withstand handgun bullets at close range and Dr. Octopus' tentacles. Carlyle's suit featured six powerful tentacles that were based on Dr. Octopus' design but augmented with modern technology like cybernetics and laser-assisted targeting systems, with 2 ending in electrical stunners and the other 4 having mini-tentacles that were flexible, could extend up to 4' and harden like knives. Similar to Octavius' design, the arms were about 6' in length, but could extend to well over 3x that using a sheathed system, and were very strong (probably similar to Octavius' titanium-nobium alloy design). All 6 arms were strong enough to puncture and tear down concrete walls, and could hold him aloft.
    Given he did not see fit to include a helmet in the suit's design suggests something of an egoist, that he wanted to be recognized.

Carlyle the con-artistHistory: (Amazing Spider-Man II#43 (fb)) - Convicted of fraud, forgery, extortion, racketeering, assault plus others, Carlyle was eventually hired by Nexus to promote the company's image and its stock values, although Nexus failed to check Carlyle's background. He organized flash-and-dazzle for Nexus, which were welcome distractions for the company and its employees. However, he was found out by Nexus' CEO who confronted Carlyle on the company debts and his lies, but was murdered by a calm and collected Carlyle with a heavy desklamp. The con-artist then lied about the death and contemplated what he could do to escape and with how much. Then Carlyle thought of Octavius and his tentacles, and began to engineer a trap to capture them.

(Amazing Spider-Man II#43 - BTS) - At the Nexus Company headquarters in L.A., Carlyle hired two temps to act as Nexus staff for a bogus meeting with Dr. Otto Octavius that Carlyle had designed to trap him. Ventilation ducts had been installed into a room that would blow a powerful but harmless greenish knockout gas. Further, wood veneer was installed over the hard steel walls to give the illusion of a business office.

(Amazing Spider-Man II#43) - Carlyle invited Octavius in under the pretense of wanting to hire him as a consultant because of his expertise in cybernetics, but he really sought the secrets to Octavius' spectacular tentacles. Massaging Octavius' ego, Carlyle asked to see the tentacles, and witnessed them break out of a suitcase under Octavius' mental command for dramatic effect. The two would-be Nexus representatives left the room with Carlyle, leaving Octavius in the room alone. Sleeping gas was then blown in with Octavius unable to escape before falling unconscious.

(Amazing Spider-Man II#43 - BTS) - Carlyle removed Octavius' body and drugged him to inhibit his mental functions, then strapped him inside a restraining tube that contained limited air. He hired cyberneticists, IT specialists and engineers (who worked separate from each other) to analyze Octavius' tentacles and construct a new and updated version. Octavius' tentacles were then confined in a large steel cube suspended from the ceiling.

Carlyle fights Dr. Octopus

(Amazing Spider-Man II#43) - Five days later, Carlyle gloated before a revived Octavius and showed him the next generation of tentacles. Carlyle then left to raid a bank, arriving in a large overcoat, and approached a teller, entwining the hapless teller with green tentacles, before fully revealing himself in a suit of green armor and six tentacles. Three security guards arrived but were hit powerfully backwards by his tentacles. Carlyle then ripped a wall out and menaced the tellers demanding all the money. Meanwhile, Octavius escaped by connecting with his tentacles once more.

(Amazing Spider-Man II#44) - Carlyle ran off with $150,000 to the Embassy Crown Hotel, paying for the penthouse with cash, then thought about a prostitute or three, before paying the bellhop $100 cash to be left alone. The bellhop then left and told a waiting Octavius where Carlyle was, and received more money. Octavius climbed the Hotel, smashing his way in and found Carlyle armed and ready. They battled spectacularly, violently and evenly, with Carlyle's hi-tech countered by Octavius' experience. Their fight made news radio, which Peter Parker overheard. Parker was in town visiting his wife, who was shooting a superhero movie in L.A., along with his Aunt May, and left abruptly to the nearby fight scene.

    Parker arrived as Spider-man to discover the two tentacled villains amid the rubble. Both Carlyle and Octavius launched tentacles at Spider-man, who leapt out of the way and shot webbing at Carlyle, temporarily blinding him, although Octavius stopped the webbing with a steel arm. Octavius revealed basic information to Spider-man on Carlyle, who freed himself in the meantime, but lost his red spectacles. Seeing the approaching authorities, Carlyle devised a plan for a distraction and the gathering of hostages. The distraction was the destruction of a load-bearing wall, with Spider-man and Octavius teaming briefly up so that civilians could escape, while Carlyle raced to the movie studios for hostages.

Carlyle immobilized

(Amazing Spider-Man II#45) - While L.A.P.D. SWAT units and helicopters were hunting for Carlyle and Dr. Octopus, Carlyle smashed his way into the studios looking for high-profile hostages and found them on the set for the Lobster-man movie, with the actor playing Lobster-man swatted down and the director, Mr. Devereaux, trying to negotiate with the con-man. Carlyle then threatened Aunt May as an expendable hostage, but was rescued by an enraged Octavius. The two fought again, but this time, Octavius managed to fracture Carlyle's tentacle backpack, before being struck down by Carlyle. However, Spider-man then appeared after crawling out from the Hotel rubble and webbed Carlyle's unprotected eyes. Spiderman kicked Carlyle, only to be struck back. Octavius told him about the crack in Carlyle's armor, and Spider-man then deftly jumped on Carlyle's back, ripped a bigger hole and dumped his webbing inside, only to be pulled off by a green tentacle as Carlyle once more freed his eyes of webbing. However, Spider-man's webbing expanded within the green armor, oozing out each joint, which thus immobilized Carlyle as he fell to the ground, trapped in his own armor.

(Amazing Spider-Man II#45 - BTS) - Carlyle was taken off by police, charged and sent to prison.

(Amazing Spider-Man II#44 (fb) - BTS) - Reporters described the Hotel as if it had been a war zone, while a guest with a video camera sold the footage to CNN for more money than Peter Parker ever made selling photos to the Daily Bugle. The Embassy Crown Hotel had to sue its insurance firm to get compensation for what could not be seen as "an act of God".

Comments: Created by J. Michael Straczynski (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils) and Scott Hanna (inks).

There was a window in the meeting room where Carlyle first met with Octavius, so why didn't Dr. Octopus seek to escape that way? Perhaps it was a holographic picture?

It would be kinda nice if he was related to Ms. Carlyle, the arms dealer (see below), but "Carlyle" might just be another alias he was using. His wedding ring was probably a prop.

Profile by Grendel Prime

Clarifications:

Carlyle has no known connections to:

images:
Amazing Spider-Man II#43, p14, panel 1 (bank robber);

p2, panel 5 (head);
Amazing Spider-Man II#44, p15 (fighting Dr. Octopus);
Amazing Spider-Man II#45, p20, panel 3 (immobilized).

Amazing Spider-Man II#43 (September, 2002) - J. Michael Straczynski (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#44 (October, 2002) - J. Michael Straczynski (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#45 (November, 2002) - J. Michael Straczynski (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Axel Alonso (editor)

Last updated: 02/05/06

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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