Aura
First appearance: Spectacular Scarlet Spider #1

In the time after Otto Octavius' death and the arrival of his protege Carolyn Trainer as the new Dr. Octopus, a team was assembled to serve as enforcers for Trainer, as her plans towards ultimate power grew. First enlisting the aid of G. Norton Fester, the Looter, Trainer also sought out the talents of scientist Anne Herd and her equally brilliant husband Greg. By providing the Herd's with the necessary technology, they crafted the tools to become the technological master criminals Aura and Override. As Aura, Ann possessed the ability to generate an impenetrable force field around her and wore a black wig to conceal her identity, but unfortunately her newfound powers were no match for Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider, and Aura, Override and the Looter were all defeated.

After their initial defeat, Ann and Greg went into retirement, though Greg still held onto his plan that someday the suits he had designed would someday give the Herds the money to retire and settle down. Almost a year later, when Spider-Man had been framed for the murder of street hustler Joey Z, it seemed that the opportunity for the suits to live up to their purpose had arrived, and Ann and Greg returned to New York, though rather reluctantly on Ann's part. Re-donning their cyber-suits, Ann and Greg returned as Aura and Override and like most other bounty hunters, began gunning after the five million-dollar bounty on Spider-Man's head. However, in time, the Dealy brothers, bounty hunters from Dallas, caught up with Spidey too, and a stray shot from one of the Dealy's got caught in Ann's force field, ricocheting back and forth, very badly injuring her. Blaming Spider-Man for Ann's subsequent hospitalized condition, Override went after Spidey, but ended up encountering the "benevolent" philanthropist Norman Osborn, who offered Greg a chance to bring Ann back.

By taking part in a ceremony called "the Gathering of Five", Greg hoped that he would gain the power to bring Ann back from her grave condition. However, Greg received the gift of death from the ceremony and was transformed into a grotesque skeletal creature named Shadrac by Sean Dolman, the owner of one of the shards used to initiate the Gathering. Shadrac was taken over mentally by Dolman for a time, until freeing himself from Dolman's control and becoming physically bonded to Dolman. Shadrac has since encountered the third Spider-Woman, but Ann's status and current state of health are unknown.

Powers and Abilities: Wearing a cybernetic suit created by herself and her husband Greg, Ann Herd became the powerful Aura, and was able to create force fields from her suit. Ann also wore a black wig as Aura to conceal her identity.

REFERENCES: Spectacular Scarlet Spider #1, Web of Scarlet Spider #2, Sensational Spider-Man #25, Spectacular Spider-Man #255, Sensational Spider-Man #32-33, Amazing Spider-Man #441, Amazing Spider-Man volume two #2-3, Peter Parker: Spider-Man volume two #3

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