TARANTULA II (Jonathan Law)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Mort Weisinger and Harold Sharp

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Jonathan Law
Occupation: Writer, adventurer (retired)
Status: Deceased
Place of Birth: Missouri
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Base of Operation: Blüdhaven, NJ (originally New York City, NY)
Group Affiliation(s): All-Star Squadron
Gender: Male
Height: 5'10" (later 5'7")
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond (later grey)
First Appearance: Star Spangled Comics #1/3 (October 1941): "Ace-Deuce"
Creators: Mort Weisinger and Harold Sharp

OVERVIEW

Inspired by the Crimson Avenger, John Law became a mystery man when America entered World War II, using a web gun with which he ensnared criminals, and boots fitted with suction cups to climb walls. His experiences with the heroes of the time, particularly as mentor to the Young All-Stars, prompted him to write a book: 'Altered Egos - The Costumed Mystery Men', which was immensely popular on its publication in 1960; his subsequent fiction has never attained that level of success. By the time he retired, John had moved to Blüdhaven, where he shared an apartment building with, among others, Dick Grayson. He was killed when the building was destroyed by Blockbuster's agents, carrying out a vendetta against Grayson.

HISTORY

Growing up on a southern Missouri farm, John Law knew that he was destined for great things. A tinkerer and a voracious reader, the youth discovered that he had a flair for writing and after attending college, made his way to New York to find his way as a writer. Striking gold on his first book, Web of Hate, Law settled in and began to pound out several best-sellers over the course of a couple years. Becoming financially secure, he turned his thinking over to another area that had caught his imagination in recent months...the 'mystery-man'.

In the summer of 1941, Law turned his researching onto the new phenomenon of the super-powered crimefighters that began springing up in America over the last couple of years. A chance meeting with another author, Dian Belmont, led to his deciding to follow-up in a unique way, to become a crime-fighter himself. He guessed that Belmont was connected to The Sandman, and after using a 'rejected' costume design, tracked them down only to see Dian horribly injured while pretending to be The Sandman. The Sandman, who at this time had also adopted the costume designed by Dian, led Law to believe that Dian had been killed so as to distance her from the Sandman's activities. (Law later learned that he had been tricked.)

Taking the name Tarantula, as the spider was "the hunter of the insect world" and aided behind-the-scenes by his clear-thinking ex-patriate German housekeeper Olga, The Tarantula soon joined up with The All-Star Squadron. Law fell in with the crowd of All-Star 'regulars', and used them as sources for his work in progress on the super-hero.

As time took its toll on his body, The Tarantula soon went into semi-retirement, when in 1950, Law was called before the House Un-American Activites Commission. He was called to testify and reveal any and all known Communists or Sympathisers he knew of in the New York writing community. Refusing to do so, he became "blacklisted" and found no publishers wanted his detective novels anymore. Years passed as Law survived writing for first the dying pulp publishers and then for the cheap-end paperback publishers, mostly under pseudonyms. As his income dwindled, he moved down the scale, from posh New York apartments to his three-room flat in Blüdhaven, where he survives on his Social Security check and the meagre royalties from his cheap adventure paperbacks. One bright spot, however, was the publication of his book Altered Egos: The Mystery Men of World War II in the 1970s.

At some point in the past, Law was disabled and had to walk with the aid of a "walker cane", living in the second floor of the brownstone owned by Dick (Nightwing) Grayson. Due to this choice of residence, Law perished recently when the building was blown up by agents of the criminal Blockbuster who was seeking revenge against Grayson.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

The Tarantula possessed no super-abilities, but relied on several gimmicks and his quick wits. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat, as well as some acrobatics, and had a passing interest in stage make-up and stage magic.

He used suction cups attached to the soles on his boots to allow him to walk up walls and hang from ceilings. He also used a "web-gun" which fired a string of fast-hardening nylon that could be used to swing from one anchored point to another and ensnare its victims.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Tarantula in chronological order click here

PROFILE REFERENCES

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #23 (January 1987)