See The Spot. See Spot Steal. Steal, Spot, Steal!
Doctor Ohn: “We can set up our own laboratory. All we need is a little capital and that’s no problem. Not for, ta-da! [transforms] The Spot!”
Spider-Man: the Animated Series “The Spot” (Season 3, Episode 10)
A security guard walks through a bank. It’s near the end of his shift and his bed is calling him. He hears off-key whistling coming from inside the vault. Everyone else has gone home for the day. The guard runs to his desk and enters the code to open the vault.
Rushing inside, he sees a crouched figure throw a bag at a dark circle. The bag disappears without a sound as the man in the vault begins filling another.
“Hands in the air!” the guard yells. The thief does so, revealing a bright-white body covered in black spots. The frightened guard fires at the creature. The bullet hits a spot and disappears.
“Well, that was rude. Then again, so’s this.”
The thief pulls two spots from his costume (body?). He hurls one underneath the guard and holds up another. He punches the dot and his fist emerges from the other, hitting the guard in the crotch. The guard keels over as The Spot closes the portal he stashed the money in. .
The Spot is one of Spider-Man’s most underrated foes. He is potentially Spidey’s deadliest enemy, but has never fully tested his powers. So who is he? How did he get his powers? What makes him so dangerous? Let’s find out.
Johnny on the Spot: The Spot’s Backstory
Doctor Ohn: “I’m back!”
Spider-Man: the Animated Series “The Spot” (Season 3, Episode 10)
Sylvia: “What happened to you?!”
Doctor Ohn: “Well, I’m… not exactly sure.”
The Spot debuted in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #98 in 1985. He was created by Al Milgrom and Herb Trimpe.
Dr. Jonathan Ohn was a scientist hired by The Kingpin to create a superpowered enforcer. He studied the heroes Cloak and Dagger to harness their powers and created a portal similar to Cloak’s. The portal overloaded New York’s power grid and began closing. Desperate to keep it open, Ohn leapt into the portal.
The portal dropped him into a white void filled with dark circular portals. He managed to reopen the portal that transported him and returned to his world. Ohn’s time in “Spotworld” changed him, bleaching his skin stark white and covering his body with portals.
Dr. Ohn quickly discovered that the portals ignored the laws of physics and could be used to teleport anywhere. He decided to prove himself to The Kingpin by taking down Spider-Man and became The Spot.
X Marks the Spot: The Spot’s History
Spider-Man: [falls into Spotworld] “Oh, boy. Not this again!”
Spider-Man: the Animated Series “The Spot” (Season 3, Episode 10)
The Spot: “Forgive me. I usually abhor violence. [binds Spider-Man with redirected webbing] Oh puh-lease. Wow, that does look like a sticky situation.”
The Spot fought Spider-Man, who underestimated his goofy-looking foe. A barrage from the portals battered Spidey and forced him to retreat. Spider-Man won a rematch by tricking Spot into using too many portals, leaving him unable to defend himself at close range.
The Spot turned to theft after escaping jail. He was often treated as an easy foe for new heroes and a convenient escape tool for villains. Dr. Ohn was hired to assist MODOK with a heist, but double-crossed the team to take the loot for himself. They responded by tossing him through one of his own portals, inadvertently trapping him in Spotworld.
Dr. Ohn couldn’t find a way back this time because he hadn’t voluntarily entered Spotworld. The isolation broke him, rendering him mute and only able to communicate through a language written with his portals. Spot eventually escaped and became an assassin, using his powers in ways that Spider-Man couldn’t stop.
Spot the Difference: The Spot’s Powers and Personality
The Spot: [beating up Spider-Man] “Perhaps I don’t hit terribly hard, but even the strongest trees can be felled by sufficient strokes from the smallest of hatchets! Goodness, I do believe this could get to be fun!”
Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #98
The Spot can create and manipulate dozens of his portals. His most common tactic is to surround foes with portals and attack them from odd angles. Precognitive foes like Spider-Man and Captain Marvel can’t sense the attacks coming because they originate in another dimension. Dr. Ohn also enjoys dragging foes into Spotworld, where they become disoriented and he is much stronger.
Dr, Ohn became ruthless after escaping Spotworld. He’s begun using weapons through his portal, transporting foes into the sky, and closing portals while the victim is halfway through to chop them in half. He briefly gained the ability to refract his limbs through the portals, letting him attack with multiple limbs. If The Spot is killed, he will resurrect in Spotworld.
The Spot is egotistical and power-drunk. He could be one of the deadliest villains in the Marvel universe, but insists on using brute force instead of cleverly applying his powers. Being driven mad has made Dr. Ohn more dangerous, but he still lacks ambition and drive.
The Actors Who Play The Spot
Oliver Muirhead – Spider-Man: the Animated Series
Crispin Freeman – Spider-Man (2017)
Jason Schwartzman – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Didya Get All That
A villain who has yet to spot his full potential.
Image: Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse © & ™ 2023 MARVEL. Courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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