The Terrible Tinkerer
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #2

A criminal genius with a hand in just about every super villain out there, the man known only as the Tinkerer has had a part in the creation of such criminals as the Scorpion, the Big Wheel and the Grim Reaper and has been hired to improve the machinery of Whirlwind, the Beetle, Diamondback, the Hobgoblin, the Constrictor and others. The Tinkerer first encountered his nemesis Spider-Man when Midtown High school student Peter Parker went to pick up a repaired radio for a scientist named Dr. Cobbwell, from, of all places, the Tinkerer's repair shop. Peter suspected trouble was afoot following his encounter with the Tinkerer, and with good cause, because, as Spider-Man later found out the Tinkerer was in league with a group of aliens bent on taking over the world. Spidey would later find out that the aliens were actually costumed stuntmen in league with the Tinkerer, who had set up his repair shop as a front for a blackmailing scheme. The Tinkerer would not encounter for years to come following this incident, but the Tinkerer's involvement in Spider-Man's life did not end. A short while after his encounter with the Tinkerer, Spider-Man fought the Scorpion, an enhanced superhuman, created by Dr. Farley Stillwell to destroy Spider-Man in a plot financed by J. Jonah Jameson. What Spider-Man did not know was that the Scorpion's mechanical tail had been created by the Tinkerer.

The Tinkerer did not remain behind the scenes forever though, as he reemerged, his faithful robotic assistent Toy in tow, and took over the control of Spider-Man's spider-mobile, a souped up dune buggy. After a short fight, Spider-Man disabled his one-time car, but was unable to apprehend the Tinkerer. The Tinkerer would continue to aid other costumed criminals in this time, including the Grizzly and the Rocket Racer, and actually ran afowl of Captain America however briefly. From time to time Spider-Man caught up with the Tinkerer, in one of these instances Spider-Man destroyed Toy, but the Tinkerer by no small miracle, continued to evade capture. In a twist of fate, the Tinkerer found himself needing his long-time foe's save his heretofore unmentioned son, a victim of a Carrion virus, spread by the latest Carrion. Using the Tinkerer's techonology, Spider-Man was able to find a cure and the Tinkerer's son, as well as all of the other plague victims were cured.

Currently the Tinkerer keeps up his low-key profile, having, most recently, provided weaponery to an anti-mutant group that attacked the Avengers mansion.

Powers and Abilities: The Tinkerer has a brillient mind, honed naturally, a rarity in the Marvel Universe, though he has the body type and strength of an average man his age, most likely in his seventies if not older.

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