Megatron
Heckno12
op2024
Lemons
Half Pint
Gerlando
Crimson Flame
Izurich
Omega Man
Letter BeeEnded up changing some stuff around, decided not to go with Kraven and Scorpion, instead my character studied under this world's version of Doctor Conners. Hopefully everything's good!All right, let’s take it from the top, one more time…
What’s your name?
My name is Oliver Raulot. For the last year and a half, I've been living a double life as Argyros. But the public only ever calls me The Sea Spider. Unfortunately.
How old are you?
Somehow, I've made it to twenty-three.
What do you look like?
A friend of mine used to say I was doomed to eternally look like I just pulled an all-nighter. That was before I got bitten, since then, I've gotten in better shape, and gotten much worse sleeping habits.
My costume is slim, designed for minimal resistance both on land and in water, with webbed gloves to help me swim faster. The material is similar to a diving suit, but the tensile strength is superior. It's kind of a little too slim honestly, but I don't really have the cash to redesign it.
What's your story? What was it like before and after becoming a Spider-Totem?
I'll try to skip to the juicy bits. I grew up in Chicago, living as what could dystopianly be referred to as 'upper lower class'. Meaning I was poor, but not at risk of losing my home. Middle child of three, I was the quiet one. My family loved me, but they had no idea what to do with me, other than take me to the lake. I used to swim down as far as I could, trying to hold my breath longer each time. Damn near gave my Mom a heart attack. We'll trim the fat and skip to the good stuff, I went to school, got some friends, met a girl, it didn't last. The friends didn't either. I decided I was done with Chicago, went to college in New York for Marine Biology.
I wouldn't say I was a prodigy, because I don't like the implication that it was natural talent instead of hard work, but I graduated without any issue, apparently I did well enough to net me an internship working for Doctor Curt Connors, a geneticist with a lot of eccentric ideas. But I liked eccentric, it was new, and it was exciting. So I was on board, studying on a boat for months with Doctor Connors, some of his colleagues, and two other interns. To my surprise, I became fast friends with them both. Becca was in the field of chemical oceanography and had a razor sharp wit, I made sure never to make her mad. And Tyler was a motor technician, and was about as easy-going as they came.
Since I was the intern studying biology, I operated directly under Doctor Connors. It made me realize I was working with a legitimate genius. He had all these projects.. studying diving dell spiders to imitate their ability to collect air bubbles, he had this idea to use the cells of alligator gar to replicate their unique swim bladder's oxygen filtration abilities, these ideas that just seemed so beyond possible. But I was right there, seeing him make real progress. We had done good work, and were wrapping up the expedition, headed back to New York. Nearly in the bay, and everything was right as rain. Up until someone screwed everything up. I still have no idea if it was sabotage from a jealous colleague, corporate espionage, or just a stupid mistake. But some chemicals got swapped, and when me and Doctor Connors were in the lab, we were ground zero of a chemical explosion.
It blew out our engine, and left me and the Doctor in bad condition. They phoned for help, but before it got there, the both of us.. changed. I caught a dosage of our diving bell spider experiment, it altered my DNA. I was the lucky one. It changed me, but not nearly as much as it did Connors. the alligator gar DNA wasn't as stabilized as the diving bell, so the result was a lot more extreme. He became a monster, nearly killed us before help arrived. Then he dove into the water. I'd like to think it was his humanity, deciding to flee instead of attack us.. But I don't know.
What was I doing, with my brand new abilities when he attacked, you may ask? Hiding. Like a coward. I left Becca and Tyler to die, it's a miracle they didn't. I'll skip over the crushing guilt and the brutal pity-party I had for a while afterwards. Both out of a lack of necessity and to preserve some shred of dignity.
So anyway, I'm a vigilante now. See, I might be a coward. But I can take responsibility for my actions, I'm not turning tail and running anymore. I have the ability to help, so I will. It's been a while now and the people I'm fighting are getting meaner, stronger, they aren't just thugs anymore. I'm starting to feel like I'm out of my depth, but I'll keep treading water.
Powers and Tech
From what I gather, I have what one might consider the standard spider suite. Superhuman physique, a sixth sense, and a heck of a lot of agility.
But I'm more.. I don't know a positive word for it. I'm more mutated. My hair changed, it's a little bit coarser now, head and body, It's become that of a diving bell spider, lets me trap oxygen bubbles between the strands so I can stay underwater for a long time. I can swim fast, really fast. I'm not sure if the other spider-people can too, or if that's just me.
Oh, and my webs are organic, come straight from the wrists, as disturbing as that is, it is a huge boon, because I don't have any gadgets. I'm not that kind of scientist, after all.
Do you believe in aliens?
Yeah, but I think we ought to be worried about what's already here on earth.
What are your goals for the future?
Find Doctor Connors and cure him, which will hopefully lead to me escaping this dead-end job. Beyond that..? I really don't know. I can't do this forever, but it feels irresponsible to quit.
You lived in New York for a while now, right? What do you think of the city?
I feel like it's given me Stockholm Syndrome. Staten Island and Brooklyn are my haunts, and I've gotten nearly killed in both places more times than I can count. But I still feel a connection to it.
How much technology do you use on a daily basis?
It's the modern day, it's impossible not to use technology daily. I like analog when I have the choice, but it's usually not convenient.
What do you like?
Despite several traumatic ocean experiences, I still like freediving a lot. I listen to a lot of instrumental music, it helps me focus. If I didn't like marine biology I wouldn't have bothered studying it, so I like that. And I like street food, the cheaper the better.
What do you dislike?
As of recently, alligators and alligator-adjacent things make the top of that list, both dislike and fear. I've never liked coffee, either. Not a fan of my job, I spent too long on this degree to clean tanks!
Do you think true evil exists?
Yeah, call me a pessimist, I guess.
What’s your favorite color?
Purpley-blue, I dunno the names of colors. Sorry.
Favorite song?
"Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens. I miss home sometimes, cut me some slack.
Anything else to add?
Sea Spiders are not actual spiders. The fact that I keep getting called 'The Spectacular Sea Spider' drives me up the wall. Argyros rolls off the tongue just fine!
What are your thoughts on these people?
Other Spider-Folk: Eugh.. I dunno. Maybe I'm just an ass, but I kind of resent them. I mean, in a way they're my inspiration. But also, and I know it's stupid, but it feels like the second they come onto the scene, the world goes crazy. It's not fair to hold it against them or blame them, but.. here we are.
Doctor Curtis Connors: I feel like Ahab chasing my white whale. He was my mentor, and I learned so much from him. I respect him a lot, and I want to help him. But he's also terrifying. He's a semi-aquatic alligator gar monster now, and I've seen his teeth puncture solid steel with barely any strain.
Becca & Tyler: I care about them a lot. They are my best friends, the best friends I've ever had. Our friendship is.. messy right now, that day on the boat complicated things. I want to be a better friend to them, but it's hard when I have to split my focus on vigilantism.
Omg I love him ;-; Fellow A-based superhero name
