THE FLY
Real Name: Tom Ness
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: Bully, criminal, student
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "The Fickle Fly," "Fly-Boy," "the
Once-Fickle Fly," "That Fly Guy"
Base of Operations: New York City, New York, USA
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man in "The Spider & the Fickle Fly" record (1966)
Powers/Abilities: The Fly has the ability to transform him into the form and size of an ordinary housefly, an ability he uses to escape justice when most assume he has simply disappeared. In his fly form, the Fly retains his human level intelligence and ability to speak (albeit at a very low volume).
In fly form, the Fly also has abilities possessed by
ordinary flies such as the ability to cling to solid surfaces and fly
via insect-like wings.
Height: Unrevealed (see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed (see
comments)
Eyes: Unrevealed (see comments)
Hair: Unrevealed (see comments)
History: (The Amazing Spider-Man in "The
Spider & the Fickle Fly" record (fb) - BTS) - Tom Ness was a
classmate of Peter Parker's who was known for needling Parker on a
regular basis. At the same time Parker gained spider-like superhuman
powers from a radioactive spider bite, Ness was bitten by a similarly
radioactive fly, gaining the ability to transform from his normal human
form into the form of an ordinary house fly at will. After Parker used
his powers as the superhero Spider-Man, Ness decided to become the Fly
in an effort to finally trap a spider in the way that a spider traps a
fly in nature. Making a public name for himself as a criminal, the Fly
spent a week getting the better of Spider-Man, who proved consistently
unable to catch the Fly due to his searching for a full-grown man. One
particular night, Spider-Man stayed up quite late trying to catch the
Fly.
(The Amazing Spider-Man in "The Spider & the
Fickle Fly" record - BTS) - The next morning, following a scolding
while taking a nap in Biology class, Peter Parker decided to visit the
Daily Bugle in hopes that J. Jonah Jameson might have new information
on the Fly. As Parker arrived, Jameson asked about any photos Parker
might have of the Fly but when Parker admitted he didn't have any,
Jameson remarked that he shouldn't send a boy to do a "man's errand."
Parker interrupted the grumbling Jameson to ask if Jameson had any news
on the Fly and Jameson revealed that he had discovered the Fly's powers
and the Fly's uncanny knack for disappearing. Parker muttered "You're
telling me" under his breath and Jameson questioned Parker's comment
until he became distracted by a phone call from Frederick Foswell about
the king of Marakesia's impending arrival. Jameson ordered Parker to
take photos of the king's arrival, warning that the king was carrying
the crown jewels with him on the trip, and Parker accepted the
assignment. Later that night, Parker suggested he could use the king's
presence as bait to lure the Fly into a trap and he exclamation about
his plan prompting the Fly, who was buzzing around Parker's head, to
remark that the king's presence could also be used to catch a spider as
well. Hearing the Fly's tiny voice comment on catching a spider, Parker
assumed he was still dreaming and decided to change into his Spider-Man
costume and go scope out the king's arrival. Web-swinging up to the
64th floor of the Skyview Hotel to check on the king's arrival,
Spider-Man became annoyed when a fly buzzed around his head but soon
deduced that the Fly he had been searching for the size of an insect
not a man. At first thinking the Fly to be an intelligent insect,
Spider-Man was surprised when the Fly revealed himself as Peter
Parker's bully Tom Ness and his ability to transform into the form of a
fly. The Fly then announced his plans to catch a spider in the way a
spider catches a fly and the two began to fight, with the Fly changing
forms to avoid the various sizes of web nets Spider-Man attempted to
catch him in. When the Fly monologued his plans to steal the crown
jewels from the king of Marakesia and return to defeat Spider-Man for
good, Spider-Man sprayed an especially sticky glob of web fluid onto
the Fly, preventing him from transforming back to human form and
causing him to fall from the air. Catching the Fly in a web net,
Spider-Man deposited the criminal into the arms of nearby police
officers.
Comments: Created by an uncredited creative team.
The Fly's physical stats were impossible to determine
as he was never actually seen. His only "appearance" is in an audio
story on the Amazing Spider-Man in "The Spider & the Fly" record,
made by SPC Records in 1966. No credits were given on either the
record's sleeve or the record itself so it is not currently known who
wrote the story on the record.
The story on the "The Spider & the Fickle Fly"
record does a surprisingly good job of staying within the Spider-Man
story continuity, tying the Fly's origin in with Spider-Man's and even
going as far as to mention Frederick Foswell as the guy who calls J.
Jonah Jameson about the king of Marakesia. Another interesting thing of
note is that the Fly likely knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man. The Fly
knew Spider-Man's origin since it matches his own and that likely made
the Fly suspect Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man (if he didn't
outright know). Even if he didn't know for sure originally, he likely
received confirmation when he was buzzing around Peter Parker's head in
fly form when Parker changed to Spider-Man.
For the record (pun
totally intended), I'd love to see this character show up in an
actual comic book. Marvel does own the character, as the record has a
copyright of 1966 Marvel Comics Group.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Fly should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
The Amazing Spider-Man in "The Spider & the Fickle Fly" record
(1966) - uncredited creative team
First posted: 04/03/2022
Last updated: 04/03/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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