No longer one with the Venom symbiote, Gargan returns to his first costumed identity.
The moment I've been waiting for has finally arrived. Mac Gargan will become the Scorpion once again. Mac Gargan first appeared back in Amazing Spider-Man #19 as a private investigator hired by J. Jonah Jameson to follow Peter Parker. Jameson wanted to know how Parker managed to get so many shots of Spider-Man in action. Jameson soon pulled him off this assignment when he found out a scientist was conducting experiments and was able to create a serum that could make a human stronger than Spider-Man. Gargan jumped at the chance to make money. The problem was, the longer he had the serum in his system, the stronger he got and he also ran the risk of losing a sense of right and wrong.
Obviously Gargan refused to take an antidote to reverse the process. He killed the doctor and became part of Spider-Man's rogue gallery. Despite his new deadly abilities, Gargan seemed to be fated to constantly be defeated by Spider-Man. In Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #9, the Venom Symbiote suit joined with Gargan. Becoming Venom changed who he was. As Venom, Gargan was simply a replacement for Eddie Brock. His long standing vendetta against Jameson seemed forgotten. He had a little rise in power in becoming one of Osborn's Dark Avengers but still didn't do anything extraordinary. After the downfall of Norman Osborn, Gargan was incarcerated and had the symbiotic suit removed. Where did that leave Gargan? == TEASER == Now Mac Gargan is the Scorpion once again. This isn't a step back for him as Alistair Smythe has given him a cyborg upgrade. He now has a form of scorpion-sense (Smythe informed Gargan that scorpions can detect when creatures brush the hairs atop its pincers). He already had super strength and speed and now has an upgraded tail and claw. Will he finally be a match for Spider-Man?
The other nice thing about this current portrayal is Mac Gargan is shown to possess some intelligence. He was never close to being a genius but as a private investigator, he should have been able to come up with more of a plan when facing Spider-Man. Teaming up with Smythe and his other Spider-Slayers, Peter Parker's Big Time luck is about to end. There's also Jameson's luck that will be tested. As the current mayor of New York City, if it became public knowledge that he was responsible for the creation of the Scorpion and all the deaths at this hand, Jameson stands to lose everything.
If we're being honest, we know at the end of the day, Spider-Man will figure out how to outwit Scorpion, Smythe and the the slayers. What matters is that Gargan is the Scorpion once again. There never really was a need for him to become Venom. It might have given him a slight edge and made him a little more respected as a Spider-villain but he quickly fell into the typical "I want to eat your brains" mode. I'm all for characters evolving but it shouldn't be at the expense of who the character was at their core. Mac Gargan is the Scorpion. With his new suit and experiences he's had recently, let's see him climb the ladder in becoming one of Spider-Man's more serious and deadly villains.
