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The Spider (Bret Leather)
"Can we get this started? I have serious business in Chicago."
Real Name: Bret Leather
First Appearance: Planetary #1
Affiliation: Axel Brass's people.
Vital Stats
Species: Human/Century Baby
Height: unknown
Weight: unknown
Date of Birth: January 1, 1900
Birthplace: Texas
Known Family:
Powers/Abilities:
Leather wields a pair of "turbo guns" designed and cast from the silver he inherited from his father, and possesses the ability to throw or transmit his voice around enclosed spaces. He also seems to speak in a hissing voice. ("Serious business in Chicago" comes out "SSSeriousss businessss in Chicago.")
Leather has also shown the ability to disintegrate himself into spiders and other insects, and reconstitute himself at will. He also probably experiences the same retarded aging common amongst all Century Babies, though his constant use of a mask and his premature death leave this unclear.
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!
Bio:
Bret Leather was born to John Leather (the Dead Ranger, an analogue of the Lone Ranger) at midnight, January 1, 1900, making him a Century Baby. Specifically, he was the "Justice of the 20th Century" and possessed several superhuman abilities, like all other Century Babies did.
As the sole heir to his father's silver mine, Leather inherited a fortune and moved from Texas to Chicago, where he funded a newspaper and lived a millionaire lifestyle. Under the surface though, he believed himself to have an understanding of law and ethics outside that of mortal ken, and privately fought crime outside the law under the alias "The Spider".
Clad in long black leather coat (emblazoned with a silver spider design across the front) and donning a metallic mask that covered most of his face (exposing only his glowing red eyes), Leather terrorized the criminals of 1920s and 30s Chicago with his lethal brand of justice.
During this time, Leather married his assistant Miriam Langham, who gave birth to his only son William on one of the many nights Leather was out fighting crime. However, the son, who would eventually become one of The Four, was not biologically Leather's own, as Miriam had had an affair with one of his assistants, a loan shark named Danny Vincenzo. As a product of this illegitimate liaison, William Leather never inherited his father's powers, as the child of a Century Baby usually did (see Jakita Wagner).
Leather eventually came to work with Doc Brass and his group of fellow Pulp heroes, some of whom were Century Babies like himself and Brass. In January 1945, as the group tried to create a "corrected" version of the Earth in an attempt to end World War II, they inadvertently brought forth a group of super humans from another universe, and the ensuing battle between both groups claimed the lives of all involved, save for Brass's.
Creator Warren Ellis has described Leather as "far, far crazier" than The Shadow, and "Batman with guns and no mood stabilisers". In one particular encounter with a group of would-be assassins, Leather illustrates his ruthlessness and seeming instability by blowing one of the assassin's guts out from behind him with his "turbo guns", when a disabling blow would have sufficed, all the while laughing maniacally to himself.
Trivia:
Appearances:
Sources:
 Bret Leather |
 The Spider |
Real Name: Bret Leather
First Appearance: Planetary #1
Affiliation: Axel Brass's people.
Vital Stats
Species: Human/Century Baby
Height: unknown
Weight: unknown
Date of Birth: January 1, 1900
Birthplace: Texas
Known Family:
- Father: John Leather, The Dead Ranger
- Wife: Miriam Langham
- "Son": William Leather
Powers/Abilities:
Leather wields a pair of "turbo guns" designed and cast from the silver he inherited from his father, and possesses the ability to throw or transmit his voice around enclosed spaces. He also seems to speak in a hissing voice. ("Serious business in Chicago" comes out "SSSeriousss businessss in Chicago.")
Leather has also shown the ability to disintegrate himself into spiders and other insects, and reconstitute himself at will. He also probably experiences the same retarded aging common amongst all Century Babies, though his constant use of a mask and his premature death leave this unclear.
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!
Bio:
Bret Leather was born to John Leather (the Dead Ranger, an analogue of the Lone Ranger) at midnight, January 1, 1900, making him a Century Baby. Specifically, he was the "Justice of the 20th Century" and possessed several superhuman abilities, like all other Century Babies did.
As the sole heir to his father's silver mine, Leather inherited a fortune and moved from Texas to Chicago, where he funded a newspaper and lived a millionaire lifestyle. Under the surface though, he believed himself to have an understanding of law and ethics outside that of mortal ken, and privately fought crime outside the law under the alias "The Spider".
Clad in long black leather coat (emblazoned with a silver spider design across the front) and donning a metallic mask that covered most of his face (exposing only his glowing red eyes), Leather terrorized the criminals of 1920s and 30s Chicago with his lethal brand of justice.
During this time, Leather married his assistant Miriam Langham, who gave birth to his only son William on one of the many nights Leather was out fighting crime. However, the son, who would eventually become one of The Four, was not biologically Leather's own, as Miriam had had an affair with one of his assistants, a loan shark named Danny Vincenzo. As a product of this illegitimate liaison, William Leather never inherited his father's powers, as the child of a Century Baby usually did (see Jakita Wagner).
Leather eventually came to work with Doc Brass and his group of fellow Pulp heroes, some of whom were Century Babies like himself and Brass. In January 1945, as the group tried to create a "corrected" version of the Earth in an attempt to end World War II, they inadvertently brought forth a group of super humans from another universe, and the ensuing battle between both groups claimed the lives of all involved, save for Brass's.
Creator Warren Ellis has described Leather as "far, far crazier" than The Shadow, and "Batman with guns and no mood stabilisers". In one particular encounter with a group of would-be assassins, Leather illustrates his ruthlessness and seeming instability by blowing one of the assassin's guts out from behind him with his "turbo guns", when a disabling blow would have sufficed, all the while laughing maniacally to himself.
Trivia:
- Bret Leather was created by Warren Ellis & John Cassaday
- The Spider isan amalgam of The Green Hornet, The Spider, and The Shadow.
Appearances:
Sources:
See Also:
| List of Planetary Characters | List of Century Babies |
WildStormResource |
Latest page update: made by WildStormResource
, Apr 14 2010, 7:11 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by WildStormResource
29 words added 7 words deleted 2 images added 1 image deleted view changes - complete history) |
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