With so many classic creatures on the loose in Monsters Unleashed, we turn to their earlier adventures…

Frank Johnson just wanted to make amazing art, as seen in his tale from STRANGE TALES #88. The 1961 story by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko features an artist for sci-fi magazines receiving a magical set of paints that allow whatever he creates to come to life!

After testing his paints out with a flower, Johnson traveled to Mexico, got himself a giant canvas and went to work creating Zzutak, a giant orange dragon-like beast. With Zzutak’s rampage—revealed to be an Aztec plot—threatening everything around, the artist got to work creating another monster to stop the original. The ploy worked and the battle destroyed the temple they had been in, seemingly burying both baddies in the process.

Strange Tales #88

Frank dug a hole for the magical paints themselves and departed, thinking he’d left them behind forever—until FANTASTIC FOUR UNLIMITED #7 in 1994, when that same Aztec cult returned, kidnapped Frank’s son and forced him to bring Zzutak back. He obliged, but also brought back the enemy monster, this time imbuing it with the FF’s minds.

Since then, Zzutak tends to appear when his fellow monsters do. He can be seen sitting in the evil Iron Man’s lab in the pages of MARVEL BOY #1, pictured as a potential member of Blackout’s gang in GHOST RIDER #33, fighting the green and red Hulks in HULK #30, protecting Bloodstone Manor in THUNDERBOLTS ANNUAL #1, and hanging out with his larger-than-life pals on Monster Island in UNCANNY X-MEN #33.

Next time, Ant-Man faces off against an incredibly smart insect with control over other bugs dubbed Scarlet Beetle in TALES TO ASTONISH #39.

A mercenary ninja with a complex web of allies and foes, trained by the Hand, on the run from her past. Next month, the scarlet assassin returns in a brand-new series with ELEKTRA #1 by writer Matt Owens and artist Juann Cabal on February 22!

We’ll soon find her in the glow of Las Vegas—the perfect city for someone with a history of sin. But it’s only a matter of time before her luck runs out, and a long and difficult history catches up.

Elektra’s story began far from Las Vegas lights and noise, on a small Greek island, where famed businessman and diplomat Hugo Kostas Natchios and his wife Christina Natchios welcomed a daughter into the world. A fraught political climate led to the murder of Elektra’s mother, defining her early life with violence and destruction. After Christina’s death, Hugo implored her to train in self-defense as a martial artist.

After Elektra’s father became Greek ambassador to the United States, she traveled to New York to study law at Columbia University. There, she met fellow classmate Matt Murdock. The two grew close, attracted by each other’s’ simpatico physical abilities and dark beginnings.

A new life seemed to be dawning for Elektra, but the past repeated itself, and her father, like her mother, feel to violence from terrorists. In a haze of anger and regret, the young woman left New York City for the Mountain of the Chaste, a sacred enclave of mystical martial artists led by the master sensei, Stick.

The Chaste, entangled in an eternal battle with their spiritual adversaries, the Hand, accepted and trained Elektra. However, still imbued by the darkness and rage of her chaotic past, she broke away from the Chaste—and joined the Hand.

After studying both extremes of the martial arts, Elektra went rogue, leaving both the Chaste and the Hand, for a life as a freelance assassin. Now an expert-level martial artist, highly-advanced with a range of mystical abilities and blunt-force weaponry including her signature sai, Elektra’s mercenary work has brought her back to New York City more than once where she has often run afoul of her onetime love Matt Murdock, aka the hero Daredevil.

As her reputation grew across the globe, “Elektra” became more than just a first name, it became a title. Now, having retreated to the City of Sin, Elektra prepares her next move.

Start a new journey with ELEKTRA #1, by Matt Owens and Juann Cabal, on February 22!

Haven no longer lives up to its name. New U has been revealed to be a deadly sham of a company pushing a product with horrifying consequences. Ben Reilly’s plans stand in ruins.

However, the villains he brought back still live. While Spider-Man attempts to set right what his clone did wrong, these evildoers stand between him and his goals. Even as his actions may benefit them, a combination of the virus ravaging them or their loved ones and their own petty grudges and long-standing hates leave them unlikely or unwilling to see it.

We look at those baddies still stuck in Haven and consider the hows and whys of their desire to end the one who might well be their Friendly Neighborhood Savior.

Lizard
The Threat: Dr. Curt Connors may not present as much of an intellectual challenge when he resides in his reptile form, but he more than makes up for it in the physical realm. To survive a fight with the Lizard, Spidey will have to stay a step ahead of the ripping, tearing, and stabbing dangers of Connors’ claws and teeth as well the bludgeoning potential of his tail.

Why Will Lizard stand in Spider-Man’s Way: Fighting for your life may be one thing, but nothing motivates more than family. This especially stands for Lizard who not only misses his wife and son after their demise but caused it while in a savage, operating entirely on instincts form of his scaly alter ego. A chance to return to life as a father and a husband and to escape the crushing guilt of what he did provides more than enough motivation.

Massacre
The Threat: Emotionless and strategic, Massacre stands apart from his villainous counterparts even as the virus takes hold. As a result, where others might be in frenzy, he remains as distant and calculating as ever. Plus, put a gun in Lyman’s hand and he cannot help but live up to his super villain alias.

Why Will Massacre Stand in Spider-Man’s Way: Even when you get resurrected soon after, it remains difficult not to hold a grudge against the man that killed you. Sure, the Doctor Octopus—“driven” Superior Spider-Man actually pulled the trigger, but it seems unlikely Lyman can tell the Webheads apart. Additionally, the last time Massacre felt a thing—and for the first time since his wife died—happened when he faced off with ol’ Superior and he might well be motivated to chase that might once more.

Jack O’Lantern
The Threat: Steve Levins has a flying device, a variety of bombs, and a burning pumpkin for a mask. None of that registers as particularly nonthreatening.

Why Will Jack O’Lantern Stand in Spider-Man’s Way: He wants to live, of course, but, like so many villains over the years, his desire for revenge outweighs even that. Levins ended up in his plot in the ground while out chasing down the Wallcrawler during Civil War. Sure, Punisher punched his ticket, but we’d bet, dollars to donuts, Mr. O’Lantern remains sore at Spider-Man for it anyway.

The Rose
The Threat: Sergeant Blume has handgun and self-defense training and a keen mind for turning any situation to fulfill his corrupt desires.

Why Will the Rose Stand in Spider-Man’s Way: Blume wasted his first bite at the apple following in another baddie’s shadow and proving a lousy cover act in the bargaining. If he can take down Spider-Man, he can prove to himself he has merit and give himself a reason to be breathing again.

The Goblins
The Threat: Think Jack O’Lantern but better with their equipment, smarter, less on fire, and with a lot of sharp objects to throw too.

Why Will Green Goblin and Hobgoblin Stand in Spider-Man’s Way: As sure as night follows day, Goblins hate Spiders and Spiders hate Goblins. The science of it seems pretty unimpeachable these days.

Spencer Smythe
The Threat: He’s a genius surrounded by the most high tech equipment in existence. Imagining him utilizing said equipment to return to his favorite hobby of arachnid murder does not seem to far a stretch.

Why Will Spencer Stand in Spider-Man’s Way: Unfinished business. Back when Spencer died of radiation poisoning he stood ready to end both Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson—who just happens to be hanging out in Haven too—and send them to the Great Beyond just before him. Alas, he missed his window. But this may be his second chance.

Alistair Smythe
The Threat: While dear old Dad always presented as a scientist just a little too dedicated to seeing his work through to the end, son Alistair always seemed more like the type who followed in the family business out of true belief, not scientific curiosity.

Why Will Alistair Stand in Spider-Man’s Way: Another victim of the Superior Spider-Man, Alistair has double the motivation over Massacre because his whole purpose, his whole existence, came from his name: he existed to slay Spiders. To have the Spider slay him instead? The humiliation of it makes the dying all the more untenable.

Rhino
The Threat: Pure power. Standing massive, coated in a near invulnerable shell, and boasting an enormous horn/battering ram on his head, he basically exists as a walking talking bludgeoning device.

Why Will Rhino Stand in Spider-Man’s Way: Ben Reilly gave back Sytsevich his wife. Nothing in his life meant as much before he met her, nothing meant anything at all after he met her. If Spider-Man represents any threat to her at all, Rhino cannot allow the Webhead to live.

Witness Spidey’s battle against this army of villains in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #24, due out from Dan Slott, Christos Gage, and Giuseppe Camuncoli on February 22!

Any career can lead to complicated partnerships and the supervillain game proves no exception. Take Venom for example. The Klyntar alien symbiote spent so much time with Spider-Man that, when the two split up—because the creature took Peter Parker on a few patrols while the hero slept—the ditched being felt more than slighted.

Since then, the Venom symbiote has bonded with a variety of characters, many of whom failed to control the creature’s more nefarious nature. With Lee Price becoming the latest cohort in the pages of VENOM by Mike Costa and Gerardo Sandoval, it’s the right time to look back at some of those less-than-successful partnerships!

Deadpool
Hey, remember that time Deadpool snuck behind the scenes of Secret Wars, tried on what would be known as the Venom symbiote first and then had another run-in with it on Earth? Well, it’s true and can be seen in in the pages of DEADPOOL: BACK IN BLACK. In fact, some say that the reason for the symbiote’s instability could be because of Deadpool’s maddening influence over the creature.

Peter Parker
More readers will remember Peter Parker donning the black costume in 1984 between appearances in his own books and the seminal SECRET WARS #8. Instead of just changing looks, though, he soon realized that the black costume actually exhibited a hostile nature that seeped into his own consciousness. They eventually split, leading to an intense resentment from the suit towards its former companion.

Eddie Brock
In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #299, Eddie Brock revealed himself as Venom, kicking off the symbiote’s longest relationship to date. These two stayed together through a variety of Spider-Man stories plus plenty of limited series in the 90’s. In the next few decades the Brock-Venom combo accidentally created Carnage and played hero from time to time until, disillusioned with one another, Brock sold his longtime partner to Don Fortunato.

Angelo Fortunato
The shy, weak and bullied son of Mafioso big wig Don Fortunato, Angelo decided to bond with the symbiote that his pops just paid $100 million for in the pages of MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #7. Ultimately, this coupling didn’t work out when, disgusted by Angelo’s fears, Venom released his new partner while between buildings, letting the young man plummet to his death.

Mac Gargan
In MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #9, the symbiote presented itself to Mac Gargan, also known as The Scorpion. As Venom, Gargan joined up with the Thunderbolts for a time under the watchful eye of leader Norman Osborn. Thanks to a chemical provided by Osborn, Gargan even took on a more humanoid look, to become the Dark Avengers’ Spider-Man during Dark Reign. However, he didn’t escape the Siege on Asgard and had the symbiote removed while in prison.

Flash Thompson
With Venom removed from Gargan, it gave the government the opportunity to merge it with Flash Thompson, creating a super-soldier in the process. They also built in safety precautions like a 48-hour time limit and a kill switch if the alien took too much control. Agent Venom joined teams like the Secret Avengers, Red Hulk’s Thunderbolts, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and even the Space Knights. A trip to the symbiote home planet healed Venom and restored some mental stability, but the two split after returning to Earth for Civil War II, in a tale yet to be told!

Lee Price
Separated from Flash, the symbiote wandered looking for a new host in VENOM #1. He latched on to a homeless man who stumbled into a botched deal involving former Army Ranger Lee Price. The creature joined with Price and tried to convince him they could be heroes, but the man’s darker nature took over, negatively influencing Venom anew.

The She-Venoms
One of the sadder Venom hosts has to be Ann Weying, Eddie Brock’s ex-wife. In VENOM: SINNER TAKES ALL the symbiote bonded with her to save her life after Sin-Eater shot her. Once combined, they killed a group of people which sickened Ann. Brock sent the symbiote to do the same thing in the pages of VENOM: ALONG CAME A SPIDER. Later, in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #19, Ann kills herself after seeing Spider-Man swinging around in a black costume. Another woman, Patricia Robertson, became known as She-Venom for a time, but that came as the result of her interactions with a Venom clone.

The continued evolution of the Lee Price-symbiote relationship will be chronicled by Mike Costa and  Gerardo Sandoval in VENOM #3 on February 22!

Jackal has lost control. New U has begun to collapse into itself and the villains he so kindly resurrected can smell that the end draws nigh. They feel scared, angry, confused and they want someone to take it out on.

Enter Hobie Brown in PROWLER #5 on February 22.

As an established hero and a sort of lieutenant to The Jackal, Prowler proves too tasty a bit of revenge for a quintet of villains. We caught writer Sean Ryan trying to dump New U stock at the end of the trading day and he took some time to tell us what bad guys and girls will be seeking a bit of therapy by Prowler.

Tarantula
A revolutionary to some, a terrorist to others, Anton Miguel Rodriguez found himself cast out from his fellow agitators after he murdered someone without reason. He immediately betrayed his apparent ideals and joined the government as Tarantula, conceived as a kind of Captain America figure for his country. However, once again, Rodriguez’s amoral behaviors led to him being fired from the position and going freelancer mercenary.

He died via suicide by cop in the midst of a horrifying transformation due to a genetic experiment gone awry.

“He’s a skilled fighter, agile and a weapon master,” Ryan points out. “The guy knows how to fight. We didn’t actually saw Tarantula and Prowler interact in my series, but you have to imagine that [with] Prowler as basically the ‘warden’ of New U, Tarantula probably couldn’t wait to get his hands on [him] for bossing him around.”

Kangaroo
A kangaroo enthusiast from childhood, Frank Oliver studied the animals and developed a leaping fighting style inspired by them. Eventually, he lost himself in the moment, however, and jump kicked a boxing opponent, critically injuring him. Oliver tried to escape to the United States where he found himself detained for extradition. Instead he escaped and became a petty criminal.

Significantly overmatched by the heroes of Manhattan, Oliver turned to Dr. Jonas Harrow for a power boost which allowed him to at least tangle convincingly with Spider-Man.

His quest for power ended up undoing him, however, as he—in order to keep his powers—went to steal a radioactive isotope for Harrow. Not educated about the dangers of radiation, Oliver did nothing to protect himself from it and ended up reduced to a pile of smoldering ash during the robbery.

“Kangaroo is a real beast,” argues Ryan. “He’s got those super powered legs just begging to kick Prowler right in the chest. Kangaroo doesn’t like being kicked around by other people, so he’s excited to kick him right back.”

Ox
Raymond Bloch possesses incredible strength and, typically, fights alongside Fancy Dan and Montana. He recently died in a fight with Spider-Man and Deadpool when Itsy Bitsy joined the fray and stabbed him repeatedly.

“Ox is also a real beast,” acknowledges Ryan. “[He] is a massive dude who could pummel Prowler to a pulp without really even thinking about it. Which is good for Ox, since he doesn’t do much thinking. He never liked Prowler acting better than all of the other bad guys in New U. He’s looking to smack Hobie down to size.”

Montana
Ox’s teammate in the Enforcers, Montana came to Manhattan with a ton of rope tricks and a desire for crime. He paid with his life recently too, at a moment of his highest achievement—becoming Kingpin’s chief lieutenant—when he got tossed out a window by Hobgoblin.

“Montana is an expert with a lasso,” Ryan states. “He could tie Prowler up before Hobie even knew it. Montana is a man that always feels in control. Seeing Prowler run the show got under his skin more than he thought it would. He can’t wait to get Prowler all tied up.”

Electro
Less charitable people might label Francine Frye a super villain groupie. She would claim “enthusiastic fan” as a more accurate moniker. Regardless of what you’d choose, she became friends with the original Electro and sought to become even more. Unfortunately, Max Dillon lost control of his power and accidentally killed her the moment they kissed.

When Jackal resurrected Francine, she came back with electricity powers as well due to the DNA of Dillon’s saliva. Under Jackal’s direction, she went to Dillon to convince him to come to New U to receive a treatment sure to return his powers. Instead she took the moment to kiss him to death, literally. In the aftermath, she proudly took on the identity and costume of her would-be lover/murderer/first victim.

“Prowler and Electro have been brawling a lot recently,” Ryan reminds readers. “She killed him in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #17. Then they fought again in PROWLER #3. Each one has a victory, so issue #5 of PROWLER is the tiebreaker.”

PROWLER #5, written by Sean Ryan with art from Jamal Campbell and Javier Saltares, hits Hobie Brown hard on February 22!