Prowler (Marvel Comics)


Prowler is an alias used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. In the mainstream Marvel Universe, the most notable character to assume the identity of prowler was Hobart "Hobie" Brown, who started as an enemy of Spider-Man before becoming an antihero and occasional ally of the web-slinger. In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Aaron Davis, a career criminal and the uncle of Miles Morales, the second Spider-Man, became the Prowler and, just like his mainstream counterpart, eventually left his life of crime behind. Other characters have assumed the Prowler alias in comics over the years. The Hobie Brown version is notable for being the first Spider-Man villain to redeem himself.
The Hobie Brown incarnation of the character has appeared in several media adaptations, including animated series and video games. Conversely, Aaron Davis has made appearances in film, portrayed by Donald Glover in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film ', though he did not appear as Prowler, and voiced by Mahershala Ali in the animated film, '.

Publication history

The original and most well-known iteration debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #78, and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema and Jim Mooney. The character eventually appeared in his own solo comic The Prowler.
The character was inspired by Romita's 13-year-old son, John Romita Jr., who sketched a villain called the Prowler. Editor Stan Lee liked the name but not the costume; Romita combined the name with a design that he had previously intended for a character called the Stalker that was intended for the never-published The Spectacular Spider-Man #3.
Several other characters have taken up the Prowler identity as well: The second version first appeared in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #47, and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The third version first appeared in Sensational Spider-Man #16, and was created by Todd DeZago and Mike Wieringo.
The Ultimate Marvel iteration first appeared in #1, and was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli.

Fictional character biography

Hobie Brown

Hobie Brown is the original iteration of Prowler. Born in the Bronx, New York, he was a bright but angry teenage African-American who got fired from his window washer job. Intending to use his engineering skills for personal profit, he devised a plan to steal items while disguised as a supervillain and then return said items as Hobie. Donning his green and purple Prowler costume for the first time, Hobie set out to rob the payroll office of the Daily Bugle, figuring that would garner him quick publicity. However, he was caught in the act by Peter Parker. While struggling with Peter, he drew editor J. Jonah Jameson's attention. Parker, with no way to defeat Prowler without giving away his own secret identity, contrived to get thrown through a window during the struggle, and used spider-powers to save himself once outside. Traumatized by the events, the shaken Hobie made his escape to the building's roof, only to be confronted by Spider-Man. Spider-Man vanquished and unmasked Hobie, but realized he was just a misunderstood kid to which the web-slinger gave him advice not to throw his life away as a criminal and to redeem himself. Hobie took this advice to heart. Hobie later impersonated Spider-Man at the hero's request - Spider-Man wearing a webbing mask - to convince Peter's friends that Parker was not Spider-Man after Peter 'confessed' the truth while suffering delirium due to the flu, thus creating the impression that Peter had merely been confused. Hobie was convinced that Spider-Man was involved somehow in Police Captain George Stacy's death, and unsuccessfully tried to bring Spider-Man to justice. Hobie eventually married his love Mindy S. McPherson, and settled down into a career as a construction worker.
Brown began to look after his 'little brother' Manuel "Manny" Lopez as a part of the Big Brother Program. When Manny was murdered, Prowler believed the White Tiger was responsible and attempted to bring White Tiger to justice. Prowler attempted to join the super-hero group the Defenders, only to be tossed into the harbor by Valkyrie, at which point he decided to retire his identity. However, his Prowler equipment is later stolen by a cat burglar to commit crimes for fashion criminal Bella Donna. Brown was eager to join the search for the thieves, but Spider-Man insisted that he stay home so he would not get into trouble, since the second Prowler had committed a felony murder. When the second Prowler was subsequently defeated by Spider-Man, the stolen equipment was returned to Brown.
Prowler later appeared in California during Peter's Webs book deal. He is first seen attacking the Black Fox for possession of a chalice in order to keep Mindy out of prison. Mindy accepted a bookkeeping job at Transcorp New York. The company was caught in some shady stock deals and Mindy was set up and blamed for the crimes. Seeing it as the only way to clear Mindy's name, Hobie re-donned his Prowler costume and found the books which Mindy had been blamed for stealing. He hid the books on an information chip and put the information chip on the chalice, where no one would look for it. Prowler and Spider-Man then teamed up to take on the Black Fox in order to regain possession of the chalice. Hobie vindicated his wife of stock fraud charges with the help of Spider-Man and the Black Fox.
Prowler later attempted to vindicate Spider-Man of a crime and first encountered Silver Sable and the Outlaws. His safety designs were stolen by Justin Hammer. Hobie proved the design flaws during an encounter with Hammer's hirelings. Hobie fought Black Tiger as an initiation test for Silver Sable. Prowler joined with Spider-Man and the Outlaws against the Avengers and the Space Phantom. Prowler was hired along with the Outlaws to retrieve a Symkarian nuclear device in England. Prowler then formally joined the Outlaws to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Canadian official.
His costume and equipment were stolen by Nightcreeper and Prowler then battled Nightcreeper and the Vulture. This story also revealed that his brother is Abraham.
Later, Hobie was paralyzed during the Great Game. In follow-up appearances, he began regaining movement of his paralyzed limbs- evidence suggests that his paralysis was more a result of mental rather than physical damage, as he was feeling frustrated over the recent theft of his costume, eventually regaining full mobility. While recovering, Brown provided Spidey with a jetpack used when assuming the Hornet identity during the Identity Crisis storyline.
Prowler was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. in Ms. Marvel's Civil War tie-in.
Escaping incarceration, he attended the wake for Stilt-Man, along with many other villains and former villains. Prowler narrowly escaped injury as Spider-Man and Puma escorted him from the wake shortly before it was bombed by the Punisher.
When Peter Parker elevated Parker Industries into a global franchise with Spider-Man officially acting as a "bodyguard" as part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel branding, Hobie Brown is hired to act as Spider-Man in situations where the public would expect to see Peter and Spider-Man in the same place. Following the fight against Zodiac's Pisces Sect, Peter tells Hobie to change into his Prowler costume and that they'll retrieve the Webware together before Zodiac undoes his encryption.
Before storyline and crossover, wanting to know more about New U Technologies, Peter sent Prowler to infiltrate. He ended up encountering Electro. Prowler was chased around by Electro and was accidentally killed. In the aftermath, Doctor Rita Clarkson took Spider-Man to where some people that were subjected to the New U Technologies treatment were being held. The Prowler was among those people, as it turned out that he was not killed by Electro. Julia Carpenter later talks to the real Prowler, who just emerged from cryo-sleep, and tells him about his clone's actions. Hobie is then seen talking to Peter about his future, wondering which direction he will take. He then heads home, where he is last seen conflicted about his own identity.
Hobie next attacks the F.E.A.S.T. Center, which was re-established by May Parker. He tells Spider-Man that he was investigating a crowdfunding group called Fairgray Pay after he funneled some money to help a sick friend, which never reached him, and broke into the center since it's almost wholly funded by the group. He and Spider-Man break into the company's head office with help from Marnie, Peter's neighbor known also as The Rumor. After an intense battle, Spider-Man, Prowler and the Rumor escape, with help from Captain America. Prowler is left in his home after being knocked out from the fight. He later wakes up to find that Spider-Man managed to defeat the head of Fairgray Pay with help from Iron Man who bought the company and turned into a division of Stark Unlimited. During their conversation, Prowler is offered a job as the new head of Fairgray Pay, which he quickly accepts.

Second Prowler

stole Hobie Brown's costume and equipment and hired the cat burglar that Spider-Man had originally fought long ago. As the second incarnation of Prowler, the criminal wears a simpler Prowler costume. He accidentally killed a guard during one of his crimes. This Prowler's silhouetted profile confused witnesses enough to have Spider-Man implicated in the murder. Eventually, Spider-Man captured both Bella Donna and this Prowler, cleared the original Prowler's name, and returned Brown's stolen equipment. This Prowler was later seen at the "Bar With No Name" attending Stilt-Man's wake, identifying himself as the "Second Prowler". He had a brief fight with the original Prowler at Stilt-Man's funeral. Sometime after the original Prowler left, the Punisher poisoned the guests' drinks and blew the place up. It was later mentioned that "they all had to get their stomachs pumped and be treated for third-degree burns".

Rick Lawson

Rick Lawson is the third incarnation of Prowler. A medical intern, he stole a Prowler costume when Hobie Brown was brought in with a back injury. When Brown was brought into the hospital, the costume was partly cut away to conceal Hobie's superhero identity, but friends were unwilling to risk moving Brown due to the back injury and so a portion of the costume was left that tipped Rick off. Having found Hobie's address from the medical files, Lawson stole a replica Prowler costume, using new tech to both rob patients in the ICU and get revenge on those who had "wronged" him in the past, such as a construction foreman who fired him when needing the job to complete medical school. He ran into the Vulture, rejuvenated and attempting to kill all who knew as an old man, mistaking this Prowler for Brown and unconcerned about the mistake. The Vulture managed to badly injure Prowler by slashing him across the chest with the wings but was unable to kill him when Spider-Man interrupted the fight. As Spider-Man defeated Vulture, Rick was taken to the hospital and the Prowler costume was returned to Hobie.

Hobie Brown (Clone)

The fourth iteration of Prowler is a clone of Hobie Brown. The Jackal apparently revived Prowler with his memories intact. While learning about Jackal's mission, Prowler ended up being loyal and started acting as a spy to find out what Parker Industries is up to. It is revealed that this Prowler is a clone that Jackal had gathered to grow clones with false memories that span all the way to their deaths.
After stopping a bank robbery that a clone of Madame Web foresaw, Prowler returns to New U Technologies to stop a fight between clones of Jack O'Lantern, Kangaroo, Massacre, Mirage, Montana, and Tarantula. Jackal reminds Hobie that Hobie was brought back to keep the reanimated supervillains in line and that Hobie is wanted to warn when he leaves the building so his technology does not go out into the world. Knowing how annoying it is to be stuck in the same location, Jackal assigns Hobie to take care of a potential hacker in San Francisco. When Hobie goes to get more information on the hacker from Madame Web, he is told that of seeing buildings filled with agony that cannot escape. After confronting his killer Electro, Prowler figures out Madame Web's precognition and goes to Alcatraz where he sets off a trap and gets caught in the process. Hobie wakes up in a cell in Alcatraz and discovers that the hacker is Julia Carpenter who has been using the Shroud's leftover technology to investigate New U Technologies. Hobie angers Julia by severing a connection from looking more into New U Technologies. Back at the company, the villains are getting out of control, so Jackal sends Electro to find Prowler to put under check again. Julia senses that Madame Web is alive from telepathic feedback resulting from Electro's attack. Prowler tells Julia what New U Technologies has accomplished and tries to get Julia to join them but refuses and escapes in a puff of black smoke. Prowler's body then starts failing due to not taking his New U Pills for an extended period of time as he questions what he's doing with his life. He is then confronted by Electro. Prowler tries to escape Electro's wrath in Alcatraz, which proves difficult with Electro's powers and his dying body. Using his weapons, the gift shop and his strategic thinking, Prowler manages to defeat the simple-minded Electro. When he makes it outside, he is found by Julia taking him on a boat and heads towards New U Technologies to get his New U Pills.
When Spider-Man and Spider-Woman of Earth-65 are escaping from New U Technologies, Prowler helped the two out by diverting the cloned villains to another part of the city.
Julia helps Prowler break into New U Technologies and takes Prowler to his room to get his pills. When the Jackal orders the villains in the "Haven" part of New U Technologies to kill Spider-Man, Prowler works with Spider-Man to fight the villains off. When the alarm goes off and all the clones start breaking down from clone degeneration, Prowler leaves Haven and tries to find the individual set off the system that has been killing the clones. Prowler accuses Julia of being the culprit. He tries to fight and Julia is left with no choice but to fight back, knocking him down as Prowler's body continues deteriorating.
The clone assists Jean DeWolff's clone in helping Spider-Man get away from the villains. During the final battle, Prowler and DeWolff battle the villains outside. Hobie's body is rapidly decaying, but the two receive assistance from Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 and Kaine Parker. Gwen leaves Hobie in an alley when he proves too weak to continue and he's found by the murderous Electro. Julia arrives and fends Electro off as Hobie is told that Spider-Man stabilized the human and clone cells. When Electro gets the upper hand on Julia, Prowler sacrifices himself to stop Electro and dies in Julia's arms. Kaine later tells Spider-Man that the clones of Prowler and Jean died in battle against the villains.

Powers and abilities

The Prowler's various iterations have no superhuman powers, although Hobie Brown is naturally inventive, especially in the field of pneumatics despite no formal education in that science. Each one relies on a suite of technical gimmicks. Prowler wears modified coveralls interwoven with denim and stretch fabric, equipped with gas cartridge bracelets and anklets capable of propelling projectiles at high velocity. Their arsenal of projectiles include steel darts, gas pellets, small explosives, magnesium flares and cleaning fluid. Prowler has been known to use hypnotic aids and conventional hand-held weapons. Each wears steel-tipped gauntlets for scaling walls and shock absorbent foam rubber insulated boots. He also wears a cape which contains a network of pneumatic filaments which expand with air to give it a rigid structure, allowing him to glide for short distances.
A technological genius, Hobie Brown has also designed the cybernetically-controlled wing harness used by Hornet, although he himself was unable to use it due to the weight. He is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, possessing a green belt in taekwondo.

Other versions

House of M

In the altered timeline of the "House of M" storyline, Hobie Brown serves as a technician in Luke Cage's resistance.

Marvel Zombies

A zombified version of Prowler is seen during the Ultimate Fantastic Four story "Crossover". He is depicted in a scene standing near the side of Tigra on the two-page layout of the zombies.

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Marvel versions of Hobie Brown and Rick Lawson are alluded on a list of cat burglars on the Daily Bugle database.

Aaron Davis

The Ultimate Marvel incarnation of Prowler is Aaron Davis, the uncle of Miles Morales and the brother of Jefferson Davis. Whereas Jefferson reformed by marrying Rio Morales, Aaron never came around and is known as the cat burglar Prowler. He breaks into Oscorp's abandoned lab to steal a small red box and other rare items from a safe but Oscorp's genetically altered spider crawled into his duffel bag without his knowledge. Miles later visits his uncle's apartment and is bitten by Oscorp's spider. After Miles passes out and regains consciousness, Jefferson forbids Aaron to spend time with Miles on account of his criminal life. During a visit to Mexico City, Aaron fights off the Mexican crime boss Scorpion. When his deal with Scorpion goes bad, he is detained by Mexican authorities. Returning to New York, Prowler interrogates the Tinkerer about Norman Osborn. Realizing his nephew is Spider-Man, Prowler kills Tinkerer to keep this a secret. He then claims Tinkerer's various tech for himself: an electric suit, a winged suit and electric gauntlets. Davis uses his winged suit in a vain attempt to kill Scorpion. The next day, Davis confronts his nephew about being Spider-Man. Davis initially convinces Miles to assist in defeating Scorpion, however, Spider-Man comes to the realization of his uncle's exploitation. When Miles decides to sever their relationship, Aaron threatens to tell Jefferson and Rio of his nephew's secret identity. Spider-Man ultimately gets into a fight with Aaron that results in Aaron's gauntlets exploding, killing him but not before accusing his nephew of being just like him. Miles later discovers that Aaron was hired to break into Oscorp by Donald Roxxon, and was revealed to be Turk Barrett's criminal acquaintance when he and Jefferson used to commit various crimes in their youth. Sometime after the "Secret Wars" storyline, Davis is seen on Earth-616 alive and well. Equipped with a recolored variant of "Iron Spider" armor, he formed his version of Sinister Six, Electro and manages to have a reunion with Spider-Man trying to stop him. Despite Spider-Man's attempts, the Sinister Six carried out Davis's heist and took off aboard a decommissioned S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. When the Champions interrupted a meeting with Lucia von Bardas as a buyer, Spider-Man attempted to reason and convince his uncle that he could be better. Although the chaos resulted in his apparent death, Davis turned out to be alive, seemingly believing his nephew is right and indicating that he had given up a life of crime. Miles later goes to visit his uncle. Aaron later discovers that Miles has been kidnapped by the villain Assessor. After obtaining a new Prowler suit and not being able to do this alone after finding the hideout, Aaron enlisted Jefferson's help who uses S.H.I.E.L.D. weaponry during the successful rescue mission where Assessor gets away.
This was used as the basis for the version in the films Spider-Man: Homecoming, and .

''Spider-Gwen''

In the pages of Spider-Gwen which take place on Earth-65, Hobie Brown is a member of the Yancy Street Gang. He and the Yancy Street Gang rooted for Spider-Woman and were graffiti-spraying a billboard attacking Spider-Woman when Officer Ben Grimm tried to catch them. However, they witnessed as Officer Grimm gets attacked and abducted by Vulture.

''Spider-Punk''

The Earth-138 version of Hobie Brown operates as Spider-Man but is often called Spider-Punk as his design was inspired by punk rock.

''Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows''

During the "Secret Wars" storyline in the pages of , Prowler is part of the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. resistance against.

In other media

Television