Ezekiel (comics)
Encyclopedia
Ezekiel Sims was a fictional character
in the Marvel Comics
universe
; a former supporting character
in The Amazing Spider-Man
.
istically gained powers similar to those of Spider-Man
. He wanted to use his powers to be a hero, but initially used them to found a corporation, believing that he could not do anything without a base of operations, and swiftly became too busy to use his powers on a daily basis. When Spider-Man emerged, Ezekial hired half a dozen independent private detectives to investigate Spider-Man's life, allowing him to piece together who Spider-Man was from the various pieces of information they provided to him. Felicia Hardy
was one of his investigators, specifically hired to track Spider-Man's appearances in foreign countries.
Ezekiel, in his 50s, contacted Spider-Man and explained to him the nature of animal totems: people who gain supernatural abilities from a mystic link with certain animals. He suggested that the spider that bit Peter Parker was not mutated by the radiation, but actually trying to give Peter its powers before the radiation killed it. This meant that Spider-Man was now part of the supernatural food chain, and became a target for other totems and beings who feed on totems (Hence why so many of Spider-Man's foes were based on animals; on some level, they 'sensed' that Peter was a true totem while they were merely impostors and were thus driven to destroy him). He subsequently aided Spider-Man in fighting a being known as Morlun
, a vampire-like entity that 'fed' on totems, apparently at the cost of his life, but it was later revealed that he survived and departed for Africa, where he aided Spider-Man in dealing with Shathra
, another supernatural-based menace, by leading Peter to an area where he would have the advantage over Shathra.
It was revealed that a variety of supernatural menaces that Spider-Man had faced were really after Ezekiel, and Ezekiel attempted to direct the consequences of gaining his powers onto Spider-Man himself, taking Spider-Man to the temple where he had been given his powers and drawing blood to attract a massive spider that would take the 'false' totem warrior as a sacrifice. However, in his last moments, he realized that he had done nothing with his powers but help himself, while Peter had selflessly risked his life to save others again and again. With this in mind, he attacked the spider that would have eaten Peter, giving his own life to save his friend in recognition of the hero that Peter truly was, and thus gaining a chance for redemption that he would have never had again.
Recently, in Grim Hunt, it appeared as if a reanimated Ezekiel (covered in spiders) appeared before Spider-Man and Arachne. Unknown to Spider-Man, the Ezekiel that appeared before him was really the Chameleon
in disguise leading Peter into a trap with the Kravinoffs in order to carry out the resurrection of Sergei Kravinoff
, which required the blood of Spider-Man.
Ezekiel also possesses the ability to stick to most surfaces and crawl along them in the same way as Spider-Man. He also possesses a type of E.S.P. that serves as an early warning system in much the same way as Spider-Man's spider-sense, although his wasn't as developed as Spider-Man's. Because of their nearly identical powers, Ezekiel and Spider-Man are immune to each other's early warning system.
In addition to his powers, Ezekiel is extremely wealthy and is a highly skilled businessman and owner of a company with international connections. As with Spider-Man, he is a formidable hand to hand combatant though he's had no formal training. He uses a unique type of freestyle fighting that allows him to make full use of his powers. He doesn't seem to have any web-generating devices like Spider-Man's web-shooters, and is never seen to produce any webbing naturally. In his conversations with Peter Parker, the subject never comes up. He is knowledgeable of the mystical nature of totems, and once told Peter the legend of the first "Spider-Man".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
; a former supporting character
Supporting character
A supporting character is a character of a book, play, video game, movie, television or radio show or other form of storytelling usually used to give added dimension to a main character, by adding a relationship with this character...
in The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
.
Fictional character biography
Ezekiel was a rich businessman who, in his younger years, ritualRitual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
istically gained powers similar to those of Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
. He wanted to use his powers to be a hero, but initially used them to found a corporation, believing that he could not do anything without a base of operations, and swiftly became too busy to use his powers on a daily basis. When Spider-Man emerged, Ezekial hired half a dozen independent private detectives to investigate Spider-Man's life, allowing him to piece together who Spider-Man was from the various pieces of information they provided to him. Felicia Hardy
Black Cat (comics)
The Black Cat is a fictional character, a superheroine in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Keith Pollard, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 ....
was one of his investigators, specifically hired to track Spider-Man's appearances in foreign countries.
Ezekiel, in his 50s, contacted Spider-Man and explained to him the nature of animal totems: people who gain supernatural abilities from a mystic link with certain animals. He suggested that the spider that bit Peter Parker was not mutated by the radiation, but actually trying to give Peter its powers before the radiation killed it. This meant that Spider-Man was now part of the supernatural food chain, and became a target for other totems and beings who feed on totems (Hence why so many of Spider-Man's foes were based on animals; on some level, they 'sensed' that Peter was a true totem while they were merely impostors and were thus driven to destroy him). He subsequently aided Spider-Man in fighting a being known as Morlun
Morlun
Morlun is a fictional comic book supervillain in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe, and a foe of Spider-Man. Morlun first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2, #30 , created by writer J. Michael Straczynski and penciler John Romita, Jr....
, a vampire-like entity that 'fed' on totems, apparently at the cost of his life, but it was later revealed that he survived and departed for Africa, where he aided Spider-Man in dealing with Shathra
Shathra
Shathra is a Spider-Man villain and a character in the Marvel Comics universe.-Fictional character biography:Shathra is a totem of the spider wasp, much as Spider-Man is rumored to be a totem of the spider...
, another supernatural-based menace, by leading Peter to an area where he would have the advantage over Shathra.
It was revealed that a variety of supernatural menaces that Spider-Man had faced were really after Ezekiel, and Ezekiel attempted to direct the consequences of gaining his powers onto Spider-Man himself, taking Spider-Man to the temple where he had been given his powers and drawing blood to attract a massive spider that would take the 'false' totem warrior as a sacrifice. However, in his last moments, he realized that he had done nothing with his powers but help himself, while Peter had selflessly risked his life to save others again and again. With this in mind, he attacked the spider that would have eaten Peter, giving his own life to save his friend in recognition of the hero that Peter truly was, and thus gaining a chance for redemption that he would have never had again.
Recently, in Grim Hunt, it appeared as if a reanimated Ezekiel (covered in spiders) appeared before Spider-Man and Arachne. Unknown to Spider-Man, the Ezekiel that appeared before him was really the Chameleon
Chameleon (comics)
The Chameleon is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko; the Chameleon is the first member of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery, based on issue...
in disguise leading Peter into a trap with the Kravinoffs in order to carry out the resurrection of Sergei Kravinoff
Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter is a fictional character, a supervillain and enemy of Spider-Man appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Kraven's name is Sergei Kravinoff. He also appears as Xraven, with white-grey skin and red eyes, possessing the powers of X-Men. He is the half-brother of Dmitri...
, which required the blood of Spider-Man.
Powers and abilities
Ezekiel possesses a number of superhuman attributes that are almost identical to those naturally possessed by Spider-Man. His strength, speed, stamina, agility, reaction time, and resistance to physical injury are all enhanced to superhuman levels. Although Ezekiel is of an advanced age, none of his physical attributes have declined over the decades.Ezekiel also possesses the ability to stick to most surfaces and crawl along them in the same way as Spider-Man. He also possesses a type of E.S.P. that serves as an early warning system in much the same way as Spider-Man's spider-sense, although his wasn't as developed as Spider-Man's. Because of their nearly identical powers, Ezekiel and Spider-Man are immune to each other's early warning system.
In addition to his powers, Ezekiel is extremely wealthy and is a highly skilled businessman and owner of a company with international connections. As with Spider-Man, he is a formidable hand to hand combatant though he's had no formal training. He uses a unique type of freestyle fighting that allows him to make full use of his powers. He doesn't seem to have any web-generating devices like Spider-Man's web-shooters, and is never seen to produce any webbing naturally. In his conversations with Peter Parker, the subject never comes up. He is knowledgeable of the mystical nature of totems, and once told Peter the legend of the first "Spider-Man".