Tommy Richardson (Earth-13666)

Thomas "Tommy" Richardson is the vigilante of Earth-13666 known to the public as Spider-Punk.

Tommy was born and raised in Manhattan and lived most of his life in Affordable Housing Projects. At age fifteen, he was bitten by a genetically altered spider on a field trip to Alchemax, which caused him to develop spider-like abilities. Shortly after, his father was arrested for murder at the behest of Wilson Fisk. Having lost his mother at the age of ten, Tommy was placed in the care of his Uncle, John Cooper.

His father's arrest pushed the teen towards revenge against Fisk, and other crime lords, which eventually evolved into full fledged vigilantism under the alias Spider-Punk.

Early Life
Tommy was born and raised in Manhattan. His family was not well off, growing up, and he lived most of his life in subsidized housing. For his early childhood, he had a decent life. His parents, Patrick Robinson and Sara Cooper, loved him and cared for him to the best of their ability, and they sacrificed a lot to make sure that Tommy was given as easy a childhood as possible.

When Tommy was nine, his mother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. It had been missed because seeing a doctor was cost prohibitive. At about the same time, Tommy’s best friend, Alex Meachum, son of Ward Meachum, had started avoiding him and began hanging out with the children of his father’s business associates. Unlike Tommy, Alex and his new friends are middle-upper class.

About a year after her diagnosis, Tommy’s mother passed away. His father was overcome with grief and began abusing alcohol as a result. Tommy was forced to begin looking after himself. Additionally, as the Richardson’s financial situation worsened, Tommy began suffering the consequences. Without his mother’s income and with the added strain of his father’s alcoholism, there was less money for luxuries like new clothes. His garments were often the wrong size, and once he stopped growing, they were often worn out and threadbare. His ragged appearance made Tommy the target of bullying, most notably by Alex’s new friends. Alex himself did not participate in the abuse, but that was cold comfort when he also did nothing to prevent it.

After so much misfortune, Tommy became jaded. Once kind and sympathetic, the young boy turned bitter and isolated himself. On the odd occasion that he tried, Tommy had trouble making or keeping friends. He frequently got into fights with classmates and spent a lot of time suspended or in detention. It was about this time that Tommy found rock and metal music, using them as a form of escapism from his difficult life. Due to a number of factors, including a severe lack of support or healthy coping mechanisms, Tommy began smoking at around fourteen years old, stealing cigarettes from his dad who was often too drunk to notice. This would lead to a lifelong addiction.

It was around this time that Tommy's father seemed to get a grip. After he seemingly got a promotion at work, his father brought home more money and seemed to be making a concerted effort to decrease his alcohol consumption. He showed interest in Tommy’s life, and engaged in his interests, even going so far as to gift his son an expensive bass guitar. It’s such an incredible luxury that Tommy hadn’t dared to dream about, so he reluctantly allowed himself to hope that things are turning around for what was left of his family.

In the Fall of 1982, he began high school. Despite Tommy's aggressive mannerisms and appearance, not everyone was completely put off. Within the first few weeks of the school year, Tommy was approached by a classmate named Gwen Stacy. She had learned that Tommy played bass and wanted to recruit him to play for her friend's band, "the Mary Janes." Tommy agrees to give it a try, and through the band gains friends in the form of the eponymous lead vocalist and guitarist, Mary Jane "MJ" Watson, keyboardist Glory Grant, and naturally, drummer Gwen Stacy.

Around the time of Tommy's fifteenth birthday, his life took another turn. Any progress his father had made in improving himself and reconnecting with his son was overshadowed by intense anxiety and paranoia. Once again, Patrick's alcoholism reared its ugly head, though it wasn't immediately apparent, as he also began spending multiple days away from the apartment at a time, leaving Tommy to fend for himself and refusing to talk about how he spends his time.

Spider Bite
In the early Spring of 1983, Tommy's chemistry class attends a field trip to Alchemax's Manhattan Research and Development Labs. During a tour of the facility's Genetic Sciences lab, where researchers were experimenting with DNA splicing and genetic modification with arachnid specimens, a modified specimen escaped undetected. Eventually the specimen ended up on Tommy's person, where it proceeded to bite him. Tommy, not aware of the significance, killed the spider and continued with the tour.

Powers and Abilities
The spider which bit Tommy was presumably an amalgamation created through genetic modification, though it most resembled eresus sandaliatus

Major Powers

 * Superhuman Strength: Some spiders are capable of lifting 170x their body weight. This means that Tommy, who weighs in at 160 lbs (72.5 kg), is theoretically capable of lifting 27,200 lbs (12337.7 kg). It's possible that this is what allows his joints to withstand the high strain of web swinging with minimal issues.
 * Superhuman Reflexes: Spiders of every species have much faster reaction times than humans. Tommy's reaction speed is about ten times the average human. Without the assistance of his spider-sense, Tommy's fastest reaction time is 15 ms, and averages around 20 ms.
 * Superhuman Constitution: Due to both his enhanced physiology, Tommy is capable of brushing off attacks that would kill the average human. He is particularly resistant to high-power blunt force traumas, but only moderately more resistant to puncture wounds, or wounds that result in extensive blood-loss.
 * Superhuman Agility: Tommy's previously average agility was multiplied several times that of a normal human following the spider bite. He is capable of jumping several meters straight up, as well as being considerably more flexible than natural. Unfortunately, this particular ability comes with an undesirable caveat. Tommy often favors more spider like positions and behaviors when relaxing. This includes resting in a hammock made of webbing, hanging from the ceiling, walking or sitting on the walls, and even sleeping in contorted positions on surfaces in ways that physics shouldn't allow. Observers may find this unsettling.
 * Adhesion: The pads of Tommy's hands and the soles of their feet are covered in millions of microscopic pro-tractable structures similar to a spider's setae. These fibers allow Tommy to stick to any number of surfaces, and are capable of supporting dozens of times their body weight. Being pro-tractable means that these setae are inactive by default, and require some degree of concentration to extend, however they can be inadvertently extended in times of stress. The setae are not long enough to extend through most fabric, hence the finger-less gloves on his costume. However, Tommy's costume also includes sneakers, and the mechanism of how he sticks to things through them is unclear.
 * Enhanced Perception: After being bit, all of Tommy's senses were enhanced far beyond what even the most sensitive non-mutated humans can perceive. Most effected is his sense of hearing, touch, and vision.
 * Enhanced Vision: He can see better than average in dim rooms, though he cannot see in complete darkness, and it's been calculated that he has 30/10 vision. This means he can see clearly at 30 ft, what most people can only perceive at 10 ft. In addition he is capable of seeing some light on the UV spectrum.
 * Enhanced Hearing: Tommy has been shown to hear the electricity in the walls, the heartbeats of people nearby, and people talking several stories below them. It's not specified the minimum decibels they are capable of hearing.
 * Hypersensitive Touch: Not unlike a seismometer, Tommy is capable of feeling tremors in the earth far more minute than what normal humans are capable of recognizing. He can also recognize changes in air pressure before a storm, and they can calculate the weight and build of a person based on the vibrations of their footsteps.
 * Spider-sense: Like most spider heroes, Tommy has a sort of precognitive sense that allows him to react to danger before he, at least consciously, perceives it. This manifests typically as an overwhelming feeling of anxiety paired with a "buzzing" sensation at the base of his skull. It's unknown how this ability works, though it's speculated to be a subconscious reaction to stimuli compiled by their enhanced senses.

Minor Powers

 * Paralytic Venom: By flexing particular muscles on the inside of his mouth, Tommy is capable of producing a type of toxic venom. Using his fangs to breath the skin, Tommy can dose the chosen target with a potent toxin that causes partial to complete paralysis. For story reasons, this paralysis does not effect vital organs (i.e. the heart and lungs). Though Tommy himself is immune to the effects of this toxin, the same cannot be said for his romantic partners who inadvertently ingest it.
 * Accelerated Healing: Thanks to his enhanced physiology, Tommy heals about three times that of the average human. Bruises and light scrapes can fade in as little as a single day, though the severity of the injury is directly proportional to healing time. Broken bones can heal as quickly as a couple weeks if properly treated.
 * Accelerated Metabolism: A major caveat of their enhanced healing is the speed at which his metabolism consumes energy. Pre-bite Tommy consumed the average about 2000 calories per day. After being bit, Frankie must consume 4000 calories to ensure optimal performance. This has forced Tommy to find some creative ways to maintain energy levels without going broke on groceries, notably taking food from dumpsters and occasionally shoplifting. He also metabolizes medications faster than average, rendering many of them ineffective.
 * Enhanced G-Force Tolerance: Spiders have an open circulatory system which allows them to swing around without losing consciousness. Average human beings are only capable of withstanding 9gs for a few seconds before unconsciousness. At the lowest point of his swing, Tommy experiences anywhere from 3-15gs of force. However, due to his enhanced physiology, the blood vessels in his legs contract and allow him to remain conscious under forces that would kill a normal human.

Other Post-Bite Traits

 * Growth Spurt: Prior to being bitten, Tommy measured about 5'6" (168cm) tall. In the days following, their height increased by 3 inches, putting him at 5'9" (175cm). This caused a fair amount of growing pains and Tommy no longer fit most of his pants. As a result, Tommy was forced to wear too-short pants until he could afford to replace them. Growing so much in a short span of time also temporarily impaired Tommy's coordination and resulted in a lot of bumps and bruises.
 * Fangs: Though not noticeable at a glance, after being bitten Tommy's canine teeth became elongated to the point of resembling vampire fangs. Like a spider, Tommy can use these fangs to break skin and dose a target with paralytic venom.
 * Aversion to Mint: Spiders have been shown to naturally avoid menthol, a trait which Tommy inherited after being bitten. Tommy finds both the scent and taste of mint to be incredibly repulsive, bordering on nauseating. Now they are unable to use most toothpastes and other dental products, and instead have to default to bubblegum and fruit flavored substitutes.
 * Poor Temperature Regulation: During cold weather some spiders enter a state similar to hibernation, called diapause. It is widely accepted that this is the reason for Frankie's poor temperature regulation. Though not as extreme as some spider-heroes, Tommy has significant difficulty keeping himself comfortable in cold months.

Equipment
Given that Tommy's story takes place in the 1980s, his equipment is less sophisticated than other spiders.


 * Web Shooters: Devices mounted on the inside of the wrists with a push button on the palm. Designed to dispense specialized polymers referred to as "webbing." Tommy stole the original schematics from Alchemax and redesigned them into the smaller wrist mounted design using recycled parts from wrist watches and scavenged computer parts.
 * Webbing: Specialized polymers similar in characteristics and strength to spider's silk, the formulas for which were also stolen by Tommy from Alchemax.
 * Degradable Webbing: Standard webbing that dissolves quickly when exposed to the elements, particularly UV light from the sun. Capable of restraining a person for approximately two hours depending on environmental factors.
 * Non-degradable Webbing: Slightly stronger than its degradable counterpart, non-degradable webbing will not dissolve without the use of a specialized solvent.
 * Spider-Punk Suit: A full body suit constructed mostly of spandex. The upper half of the suit is mostly red with a large black spider logo emblazoned on the chest. Below the waist, the material is mostly black. The mask is also red with large black lenses and stylized fangs painted as if they are protruding from under his chin. The mask does not cover his hair. Over the suit Tommy usually wears tube socks, red, high-top converse, and a cropped battle vest. His gloves are finger-less to prevent interference with his adhesion ability.
 * Web-watch: Schematics gifted by Frankie Stevens during their first excursion to Earth-13666

Relationships
 Family 


 * Patrick Richardson †: Father
 * Sara Cooper †: Mother
 * John Cooper: Uncle and guardian

 Friends 


 * Gwen Stacy: Friend and bandmate
 * Mary Jane "MJ" Watson: Friend and bandmate
 * Glory Grant: Friend and bandmate
 * Betty Brant: Friend and bandmate/replacement
 * Peter Parker: Friend
 * Alex Meachum: Friend and eventual romantic partner

 Enemies 


 * Wilson Fisk/Kingpin: Nemesis