Vulture

: "How do you think your buddy Stark paid for that tower? Or any of his little toys? Those people, Pete, those people up there, the rich and the powerful, they do whatever they want. Guys like us, like you and me, they don't care about us. We build their roads and we fight all their wars and everything, but they don't care about us. We have to pick up after 'em. We have to eat their table scraps. That’s how it is. I know you know what I'm talking about, Peter."
: ―Vulture to Spider-Man[src]
Adrian Toomes is the former owner of Bestman Salvage who lost his livelihood after Damage Control, a joint venture between the federal government and Stark Industries, took over salvaging operations in New York City. Recruiting his co-workers and equipping himself with a flying exo-suit that Tinkerer created using Chitauri technology, Toomes took on the identity of the Vulture and became a black market arms dealer. However, after four years, his illegal activities were noticed by Spider-Man, thus forcing him to fight the young hero. After sending Shocker to deal with Spider-Man, Vulture hijacked Tony Stark's cargo plane, although he was once again thwarted by Spider-Man. During their final clash, Spider-Man defeated Vulture before saving his life and leaving him for the authorities to apprehend. Toomes was then incarcerated in prison, and in gratitude to Spider-Man for saving him, refused to give up the hero's true identity.
== Biography ==
=== Bestman Salvage ===
==== Raising his Family ====
: "It ain't bad, is it?""No, yeah. Kid's got a future.""Yeah, well... we'll see, I guess."
: ―Adrian Toomes and Phineas Mason[src]
Adrian Toomes had married Doris and together they had their daughter, Elizabeth "Liz" Allan. In order to support his own family, Toomes had founded the salvage company, Bestman Salvage, in New York City. Toomes discovered his daughter had a natural talent for art like he had in his childhood, which made him proud as he vowed to secure Liz's future.
==== Battle of New York Cleanup ====
: "Come here, hey, lady, come on. Look I bought trucks for this job. I brought in a whole new crew. These guys have a family. I have a family. I'm all in on this. I could lose my house.""I'm sorry, sir. There's nothing I can do."
: ―Adrian Toomes and Anne Marie Hoag[src]
In 2012, in the wake of the Battle of New York, the Bestman Salvage had successfully gained the contract to clean up the city. Having shown Phineas Mason a picture that his daughter had just drawn of the battle and the Avengers involved with it, Toomes oversaw all his men cleaning up Grand Central Station, telling Herman Schultz to use the Chitauri technology to take apart one of the crashed Chitauri Chariots as their own tools did not work on them.
Toomes confronted Jackson Brice for arriving later for their job, with Brice blaming his lateness on his alarm failing to go off while Toomes told him to stack the Chitauri armor plating as he had been asked to do. Toomes was then approached by Anne Marie Hoag and her team of agents, telling him that they thanked him for his efforts but that he was to withdraw his teams from the area as the Damage Control had secured the contract to clean up after the Avengers' future battles.
As Toomes explained that he had the contract to clean up New York City, he concluded that they were now allowed to be there. Hoag was unrelenting, however, telling Toomes' Crew to stop all their work and then leave immediately. Desperate to keep the work, Toomes started begging Hoag to let him have the contract, as he had his own family to support and he had put too much money into this job already, but Hoag simply ignored his pleas and began to get to work.
When Foster, one of Hoag's own men, mockingly told Toomes that he should not have overreached in his work, Toomes punched him in the face, causing all the guards around Hoag to immediately draw their guns and ordering that Toomes and his men to then leave the area immediately. Hoag told Toomes that if he wanted to, he could still talk to Tony Stark about the contracts if he wished to continue fighting for the job to keep himself and all of his own men employed.
==== Turning Towards Crime ====
: "I'll tell you what, let's keep it. The world's changing. It's time we change too."
: ―Adrian Toomes to Randy Vale[src]
Furious at the disappointment, Toomes watched the NY1 report Damage Control being backed by Tony Stark to clean up the mess left behind after the Battle of New York. Toomes watched the report with Herman Schultz who then commented on how the system was now rigged against them all, with Schultz noting the Avengers were being paid to clean up their mess whilst they were left unemployed.
As they watched these reports, Randy Vale discovered that the group still had a large amount of Chitauri technology left over which had not been handed back over to Anne Marie Hoag and her own team to be stored away, as was instructed. With Jackson Brice refusing to move it, Toomes had then decided to keep it, convincing their group to turn to a life of crime, by reverse-engineering and weaponizing these alien weapons for sale on the streets to keep themselves earning money.
Over the next four years, Toomes still worked alongside Schultz and Brice while having Phineas Mason to use more advanced technology and creating an exo-suit for Toomes, avoiding the attention of the authorities or the Avengers, as they continued breaking the law. As Toomes flew into his base, he proudly told Mason and his crew that business was good as he delivered even more advanced technology for them to weaponize and then sell to all of their brand new buyers.
=== Weapons Trafficking ===
==== Jackson Brice's Fatal Mistake ====
: "I told you not to fire them out in the open!""You said, move the merchandise.""Under the radar. Under the radar! That's how we survive."
: ―Adrian Toomes and Jackson Brice[src]
A few months later, Toomes' arms-dealing businesses were still going strong, while Toomes himself had still continued being hands on and working in their Headquarters cutting through pieces of metal to build new weapons, ready to be sold straight in the black market. However, he soon received a call from Herman Schultz that Spider-Man had come across their arms deal with Aaron Davis and was pursuing him through a neighborhood, as they tried to defend themselves.
Toomes had quickly donned the Vulture suit and flew off to Schultz's location where they were still trying to get away and were shooting at Spider-Man with the specially designed Chitauri Gun, causing chaos across the streets. Upon arriving at his crew's speeding van, Vulture spotted Spider-Man about to catch up with their group. Swooping down, he seized Spider-Man in his talons, flying hundreds of feet into the air above New York much to Spider-Man's complete and utter horror.
However, as Vulture flew Spider-Man up, higher and higher, and further away from the truck, he prepared to kill the vigilante only for the Spider-Man Suit to deploy a parachute, ripping the young hero out of Toomes' grip. Seeing that his men had now made a successful getaway, Vulture chose not to continue pursuing the Spider-Man and instead flew back towards his lair to regroup with the rest of his crew, leaving Spider-Man to fall into a lake hundreds of feet below.
Vulture eventually successfully landed back in his base, enraged by what he had witnessed as he removed his own exo-suit and waited for his men to return, furiously throwing his helmet across the room. As Toomes continued fuming, Tinkerer informed him that Doris Toomes had been trying to get in contact with him before noting he had finished designing the high vacuum seal for the Vulture Suit, only for Toomes to reject the design as he still did not want it.
Eventually, Schultz and Jackson Brice managed to get back into the base as Brice thrilled with the chase, ignoring the consequences of his actions. Toomes furiously confronted Brice, asking him how many times he had told Brice not to fire the weapons like the Ultron Blaster Gun in public, with Brice defending his actions saying that he had to sell the weapons to Aaron Davis, despite Toomes furiously reminding him that he had told him to move them under the radar.
Toomes noted that Brice had risked bringing Damage Control to their doorstep if they were discovered, which could even possibly lead to the Avengers finding out about them and destroying everything that they had built. Toomes then began mocking Brice's attitude and his recent claims to be the Shocker due to using a weaponized gauntlet taken from Crossbones, which Brice just ignored, even still ignoring Toomes as he had noted how much he relied on this operation.
Eventually, Toomes became fed up with Brice's recklessness and his attitude, telling Brice that he was now fired from his organization. Now angry over losing his job, Brice threatened Toomes, saying that he will inform the authorities about their operation. Brice then asked Toomes what would happen if he had told Doris Toomes all about his business. This was a step too far for Toomes, who promptly picked up a weapon and shot Brice with it, instantly disintegrating him.
Confused and shocked by these actions, he asked Tinkerer if he had picked up an Anti-Gravity Gun, only to have picked up a Chitauri Gun instead. Unfazed by his sudden act of murder against his own former friend and co-worker, Toomes simply walked over to Brice's ashes as he picked up the Shocker Gauntlet and then passed it onto Schultz, sarcastically telling him that he had become the 'Shocker' now while everyone else looked on in utter horror at Toomes' violent actions.
==== Hijacking Damage Control Truck ====
: "This little bastard in red tights shows up, and he thinks he can tear down everything I've built. Really? I'm gonna kill him."
: ―Vulture to Shocker[src]
Several days later, Toomes' Crew received the tip that a truck full of confiscated technology was heading onto the Damage Control Deep Storage Vault by the way of Maryland. With both the Shocker and the Tinkerer in the van nearby watching for outgoing distress signals, Vulture stealthily intercepted the truck. Anchoring his wings to the truck, Vulture used a Matter Phase Shifter to enter the truck.
Taking in the sight once he was inside without alerting the guards, Vulture started filling a duffel bag with all of the Chitauri and Ultron technology that he found. To his surprise, Spider-Man, however, had shown up, causing Vulture to quickly exit from the truck with the technology that he had been able to take. Before Vulture could get away, Spider-Man used his Web-Shooters to snatch his duffel bag away from him before then choosing to insult Vulture.
Determined to get away before Spider-Man could disrupt his plans again, Vulture regained the exo-suit and then began furiously flying towards the Spider-Man, trying and failing to rip the duffel bag away from his hands. Seeing that Spider-Man was about to fall back through the Wormhole he created, Vulture shut of the Matter Phase Disrupter, sealing Spider-Man in the truck. Vulture quickly made his escape, angrily leaving all his stolen technology behind.
Back at the base, Toomes was fuming over losing the technology. Tinkerer offered to upgrade the Vulture Suit, so they could pull off an airborne heist against Avengers Tower, but Toomes turned Mason down, asking if they had enough to sell to Mac Gargan which Mason confirmed. Toomes began muttering that it was all Spider-Man's fault and he would kill him. Overhearing, Herman Schultz showed Toomes a news report on Spider-Man saving Toomes' daughter.
==== Ambush at the Staten Island Ferry ====
: "You're messing with things that you don't understand!"
: ―Vulture to Spider-Man[src]
The next day, Toomes and Herman Schultz made their way onboard the Staten Island Ferry where they planned to have a secret meeting in order to sell more of their Chitauri and Ultron based technology to criminals. Once they had discussed their plan, Schultz left Toomes behind while he and Randy Vale dealt with their latest buyer, Mac Gargan, while Toomes stayed behind and kept his distance, ready to suit up and get involved if anything was to go wrong during their dealing with Gargan.
However, Toomes was soon informed by Schultz on the radio that the deal had been interrupted by Spider-Man. Upon hearing all this, Toomes quickly ran down to his van where his suit was being kept, seeing that the Shocker had been subdued during the fight and his own Gauntlet had been trapped in the railing. Once Toomes knocked out one of Gargan's men to get to the van, he briefly locked eyes with Spider-Man before he then climbed inside of the van.
Just before Spider-Man could confront Toomes, the FBI showed up to arrest Gargan and Schultz, distracting Spider-Man long enough for Toomes to don his suit and armed himself with a Chitauri Gun. Bursting through the van's doors, Vulture fired upon the agents and Spider-Man, who had managed to knock the FBI agent out of the way while Vulture inadvertently threw a car off the ferry which had collided with Gargan and knocked him into the water.
Freeing the Shocker from his webbing restraints, Vulture told him to get off the ferry as they were retreating from the mission. Unwilling to allow Vulture to escape, Spider-Man fired his Web-Shooters at him, however, Vulture fought back by shooting the Chitauri weapons at Spider-Man while cutting the webs with his wings. During their fight, Spider-Man gained the advantage by activating the Taser web when one of the strands managed to hit Vulture in mid-air.
The shock of the Taser web caused Vulture to drop the gun, which reacted violently with the electricity, causing it to fire several lasers that cut the ferry in half, despite Spider-Man desperately attempting to web it up. Seeing his opening, Vulture flew to the top of the ferry, where the Shocker was waiting for him. With the Shocker aboard his wings, Vulture flew away from the battle before Iron Man could show up and assist Spider-Man with saving the ferry's passengers.
==== Convincing the Crew ====
: "So that's it. You just gonna run?""Feds were waiting for us. Now we're on Iron Man's radar? Yeah, I'm running. You should too."
: ―Vulture and Shocker[src]
In the wake of their fiasco on the Staten Island Ferry during which they were almost all discovered while Mac Gargan ended up being arrested by the FBI, Toomes was informed that Herman Schultz had finally decided to quit the Crew and go on the run, citing that the FBI were waiting in the wings to arrest them and therefore the risk was to great, inviting Toomes to just come and follow him.
However, Toomes noted that he could not simply walk away, as his wife and daughter still relied on him. Seeking to convince Schultz to stay on, Toomes asked Phineas Mason to create their high-altitude vacuum seal for the suit ready for their Hijacking of the Stark Cargo Plane to steal all of the Stark Industries technology, and had asked Schultz to stick around for one last heist, which he reluctantly agreed to as the group got to work planning for the mission.
==== Learning Spider-Man's Identity ====
: "I’ll bet you were glad when your old pal Spider-Man showed up in the elevator, though, huh?""Yeah, well, I actually didn’t go up. I saw it all from the ground. Very lucky that he was there that day.""Good old Spider-Man."
: ―Adrian Toomes and Peter Parker[src]
On the same night of the heist, the Toomes family also prepared for the upcoming homecoming dance at Midtown School of Science and Technology, as Toomes personally warmly welcomed Peter Parker inside his home ready to take Liz Toomes out to the dance and tried to make small talk with the uncomfortable boy, who was seemingly turning pale from nerves before the homecoming dance.
Toomes then jokingly asked if Parker wanted any alcoholic drinks and noting that refusing was the correct answer. Toomes watched as a nerved Parker awkwardly took several pictures with Toomes' own daughter, with Doris Toomes questioning if her husband had gotten Parker's name right. Toomes then announced that he would then be driving the pair toward the dance, claiming he was going out of town with Bestman Salvage, promising this was the last job.
During the drive to the dance, Toomes asked Parker about what his plans were post-graduation. Liz explained to her father that Parker had an internship with Tony Stark. Toomes' interest was piqued as Liz declared that Parker was even friends with Spider-Man. When Toomes asked what Spider-Man was like, Parker fumbled, prompting Toomes to ask if they had met before, stating that Parker's voice was familiar to him, as if he had recently heard it somewhere.
However, Liz carried on about how Parker came to their house party several days earlier and left after a few minutes and had mysteriously disappeared during the Decathlon. Realizing that his botched Chitauri arms deal was on the same night as the party, Toomes began to suspect that Parker might be Spider-Man and inquired how Parker felt to have been saved at the Washington Monument, only for Liz to declare that Parker had not been with them all at the time.
As Toomes' suspicions about Parker's true identity were confirmed, although he kept his observations quiet and inconspicuous. Once Liz exited the car upon arrival, Toomes told her to give him just a few minutes alone with Parker as he wished to give him the "dad talk". Once she left, he pulled a gun out from the glove compartment and confronted Parker, asking him whether Liz was aware of his duality and assuming by all Parker's silence that she did not know.
As Parker listened closely, Toomes explained that he was sparing his life in gratitude for saving Liz's life while in Washington, D.C.. However, Toomes then warned Parker to stop pursuing him at his crew or else he would kill him and everybody he loved in order to protect his own family. Toomes then prompted Parker to thank him for saving his life, declaring that they were now even and sent him into the dance and show his daughter a good time before Toomes drove away.
==== Spider-Man Confrontation ====
: "How could you do this to her?""To her? I'm not doing anything to her, Pete. I'm doing this for her."
: ―Spider-Man and Adrian Toomes[src]
Fearing that Peter Parker would not listen to all his warnings, Toomes chose to send the Shocker to the school to intercept him if he tried to follow. Despite Toomes' warnings, Parker did refuse to back down and, following a fight with Shocker, he soon tracked Toomes back to his hideout with help from Ned Leeds and confronted him. Toomes tried to justify his actions to Spider-Man, explaining that everything he had done was to support his family and claiming that the wealthy and powerful care nothing for the common people like them.
In an attempt to take Toomes straight into custody, Spider-Man used his Web-Shooter to trap him against the table. However, Toomes had continued to claim that Tony Stark had made his fortunes by selling weapons to terrorists, just like Toomes had been doing. Toomes also noted that he could see why Liz Toomes had liked Parker, noting that he had not been impressed when he had first laid eyes on him at the doorway of his home but had claimed that now he understood.
When Spider-Man still refused to give up, Toomes revealed he had in fact been stalling and summoned his exo-suit to fly into the room. When Spider-Man boasted that the exo-suit had failed to hit him once, Toomes noted that this had not been his intention. Spider-Man then realized too late that Toomes had made the suit break the support beams around his lair, trapping Spider-Man under the pile of rubble and leaving him to suffocate and eventually die in there.
With Parker now seemingly being crushed to death as his hideout fell apart around him, Toomes stepped outside as he donned his Vulture Wings which had all been upgraded by the Tinkerer. Looking out just over New York City, Vulture spied on Stark Tower and waited until the cargo plane filled up with the Stark Industries weapons and all of the other Chitauri and Ultron technology was moved out so he could then steal it and sell all of the technology on the black market.
==== Hijacking of the Stark Cargo Plane ====
: "Got a visual on the plane, but I'm feeling a little resistance.""It's probably just drag on the new turbines. Look out for the cloaking cameras. Stay in the blind spots.""Deploying high-altitude vacuum seal. This better work."
: ―Vulture and Tinkerer[src]
With all threats to his plans seemingly dealt with, Vulture sat over the ruins of his Headquarters and waited for the go-ahead to begin the Heist. Once the time was right, Vulture flew after and quickly caught up with the cargo plane leaving Stark Tower holding the equipment he planned to steal. Speaking to Tinkerer during his flight, Vulture noted that the Exo-Suit felt like it was dragging extra weight.
Once he had caught up with the plane, Vulture managed to avoid being seen by the cloaking cameras and latched himself onto the side of the plane. Without causing any alarm, Vulture then attached himself onto the plane with the high-altitude vacuum seal before he cut inside using the Matter Phase Shifter. As he got himself inside, Vulture noted to Tinkerer that this had better work, as Tinkerer then reminded him that every box in the plane was worth a fortune.
Entering the plane, Toomes used the Anti-Gravity Gun to get inside of the cockpit, finding nobody in there before he then hacked into their systems to override their security with the help of the Tinkerer who was still watching down below while also then deploying the decoy drone to throw the plane's ground control, which Happy Hogan was monitoring, off his scent during their heist. With everything going to plan, Vulture removed his helmet and overlooked the plane.
Toomes discovered it was filled with even more than he could have hoped for, boxes of Chitauri weaponry, robotic parts of Ultron as well as various armors from the Iron Legion, all of which would be worth millions on the black market. As Toomes looked at some of the Stark Industries technology which included boxes of Arc Reactors which had been used by Tony Stark, he then began seeking to find the best collection of technology to take away with him, Toomes then began going through all the boxes, throwing aside the one of Iron Man's old helmets to get to the Chitauri Guns which could all be ungraded by the Tinkerer and sold on to make a considerable profit.
While still marveling at the Avengers' equipment, Vulture discovered that the high-altitude vacuum seal had become dislodged, causing air to be sucked out of the plane and the alarms to go off. Charging to the security cameras, Toomes discovered that Spider-Man had survived their previous encounter, having broken out of the rubble and quietly followed him and was now attempting to knock his exo-suit off the plane, causing Toomes to curse in frustration.
Enraged that all his plans were once again being interrupted, Toomes quickly donned his exo-suit and fought against Spider-Man outside the plane, using his claws on his suit to try and knock Spider-Man off the plane. Vulture attempted to quickly knock Spider-Man off, only to for him to use his Web-Shooters to stick to Vulture before they were both almost thrown inside of the plane's engine, with Vulture's wings taking some heavy damage as a direct result.
Quickly flying back to the battle, Vulture attempted to kill Spider-Man as he used his wings to stab at the web-slinger, causing sparks and shards of the plane to be thrown around which destroyed one of the engines in the process causing the plane to lose control. Seeing what was happening as the plane fell from the sky, Tinkerer pleaded with Vulture to abandon the mission while they still could but Toomes refused to leave without at least one crate to make their fortune.
While Spider-Man focused on attempting to use his Web-Shooters to redirect the craft away from New York City, Vulture sliced the plane's outer shell with his wings to attempt to pick up a crate filled with the Arc Reactors, but before Vulture could get a hold of the crate, the plane crash-landed on the beach at Coney Island and causing them both to hit the ground hard. Both survived the crash but Vulture's wings were heavily damaged as a result of the crash landing.
==== Duel at Coney Island ====
: "Time to go home, Pete.""I'm trying to save you!"
: ―Vulture and Spider-Man[src]
As Spider-Man slowly regained consciousness after the horrific crash landing, he took his mask off and looked around at the rubble of the destroyed Stark Cargo Plane. Because the crash had made his ears begin to ring loudly, Vulture used this to his advantage and was able to pounce at Spider-Man, who was caught off-guard, souring down from the smoke all around Coney Island and knocking Spider-Man over with force.
Despite the damage done to his wing suit, Vulture sarcastically greets Spider-Man and began to fly across the beach and smashed into Spider-Man, who was too disoriented from the crash to properly defend himself, allowing Vulture to pin him to the ground with his talons and punch him repeatedly in the face before flying him into the air and dropping him to the ground. Having already beaten him down into submission, Vulture then picked up Spider-Man with his own talons, and slammed him into the ground a few more times.
The pair had a brief conflict in mid-air, which Vulture quickly won as Spider-Man was beaten into the ground. Having subdued his own enemy, Vulture then prepared to execute Spider-Man but became distracted when he spotted a crate full of Arc Reactors. Feeling the heist was not a complete failure yet, Vulture dropped Spider-Man and went over to the burning plane and grabbed one of those crates with his pair of talons, attempting to escape and sell all of the Stark Industries technology on the black market for a massive profit.
However, all of the radiation emitting from the arc reactors caused the Chitauri technology in his exo-suit to short-circuit and had caused his wings to malfunction. Seeing the new danger as he had witnessed this happen in Washington, D.C., Spider-Man attempted to pull Vulture away from the Arc Reactors before the suit exploded, but he was too late and ignored his pleas to save him, overdriven by greed as he then desperately attempted to make his escape.
Having ignored Spider-Man's attempts to help him, Vulture's suit eventually went up in a ball of flames. Just after Vulture had crashed landed, Spider-Man ran into all the debris and pulled him out alive. Powerless without his suit and weak from the explosion, Spider-Man was able to use his Web-Shooters to tie Vulture to a crate, where he was later found and arrested by Happy Hogan and the FBI, with Vulture offering no resistance as he was taken into custody.
==== Incarcerated with Mac Gargan ====
: "I've heard a rumor... you know who he is.""If I knew who he was, he'd already be dead."
: ―Mac Gargan and Adrian Toomes[src]
In the wake of the Duel at Coney Island, Toomes was sent to prison impending his trial. Not wanting Liz and Doris Toomes to watch that, he asked them to move away from New York City. In prison, Toomes encountered former potential buyer Mac Gargan, who was heavily scarred following the Ambush at the Staten Island Ferry in which Vulture had inadvertently thrown a car at him and knocked him into the river, where he was then arrested.
Gargan, however, insisted that he did not blame Toomes for his injuries but instead blamed Spider-Man. As Toomes listened, Gargan revealed that he had friends on the outside looking to kill Spider-Man and he had heard a rumor that Toomes knew who the hero really was. Believing that he still owed Peter Parker, Toomes merely responded to Gargan that if he knew who Spider-Man was, he would already be dead. Toomes then left to talk with his wife and daughter telling them to be well.
== Personality ==
: "Nothing is more important than family. You saved my daughter's life, and I could never forget something like that, so I'll give you one chance. You ready? You walk through those doors, and you forget any of this happened. And don't you ever, ever interfere with my business again, because if you do, I'll kill you, and everyone that you love. I'll kill you dead. That's what I'll do to protect my family."
: ―Vulture to Spider-Man[src]
Before being thrown out of business by Tony Stark and Damage Control, Toomes was apparently a hard-working man who supported his family honestly. However, after being thrown out of business, he developed a dislike for the wealthy and privileged, believing that they do not care about the working class. Needing money to support this family, he became a ruthless and calculating man who was willing to commit crimes to do whatever it takes to support his family. Outside of his new criminal career Toomes continues to be an ordinary family man.
Despite his criminal career, Toomes makes it a point not to get his family involved in any of his black market business nor does he want them to find out by staying off the Avengers' radar for years. Despite his intense hatred towards Stark, Toomes does not actively seek revenge against him either because it would draw attention from the Avengers towards his activities. He was fully prepared to quit his criminal career should his family be close to finding out or if his operations were discovered. Upon being arrested, Toomes asked his wife and daughter to move to Oregon so that they wouldn't have to see his trial and incarceration either.
Initially, Toomes was annoyed by Spider-Man and tried multiple times to get the young hero out of his way, his realistic worldview clashing with Spider-Man's boundless idealism. Nevertheless he was impressed by the hero's sheer determination and to some degree stubbornness. However, after his daughter was saved by Spider-Man, and learning that he was actually Peter Parker, Liz's date, he gradually developed a sense of respect for him and even tried to convince him to join his side. When Toomes and Parker were alone in his car, he offered Parker the chance to end their feud in a peaceful manner if Spider-Man agreed not to further interfere with his plans, however; he was still willing to kill him if he continues to fight him.
Toomes proved to still be an honorable man, as after Spider-Man ruined his operations and put him in prison, he showed some degree of gratefulness towards Parker for saving his life and his daughter's by pretending he hadn't figured out Spider-Man's secret identity yet when asked by Mac Gargan about it.
== Powers and Abilities ==
=== Powers ===
* Vulture Exo-Suit Capabilities: Toomes was outfitted with a flying mechanical suit created by Phineas Mason with salvaged Chitauri technology. As Vulture, he would use the suit for heists on other salvaged equipment from Damage Control. In appearance, it consists of a metallic body armor, outfitted with a winged steel harness. The wings contained propellers that would help him fly. He was also able to move the wing tips, which he used to cut Spider-Man's web.
** Superhuman Strength: The Exo-Suit gives Vulture the strength to overpower both humans and superhumans, while the wings and talons are strong enough to destroy concrete and lift heavy objects with ease. He was able to do a lot of damage on Spider-Man.
** Superhuman Durability: Vulture's suit is fitted with metallic body armor, and is designed to withstand blows from superhumans like Spider-Man. Even by themselves, the wings are durable enough to blast through many support pillars of a building without breaking.
** Superhuman Speed: While flying, Vulture could reach great speeds. He easily caught up to a Stark Industries jet that was moving luggage to Upstate New York.
** Superhuman Agility: The suits jet propulsion systems allow Vulture to fly and maneuver in the air with incredible agility and coordination, despite its large and bulky frame. He spun around in the air in order to get Spider-Man off his tail, this was enough to break Spider-Man's enhanced grip.
** Superhuman Stamina: The suit gifted Toomes with greater stamina, allowing him to fight Spider-Man for a long time and flying without tiring.
** Flight: Vulture's suit is outfitted with a powerful winged harness that also has jet propulsion systems which allow him to fly at high speeds and soar through the skies with ease. Vulture's Exo-Suit operates in a similar manner to Falcon's wing-suit.
=== Abilities ===
* Master Pilot: Toomes easily piloted his Exo-Suit in order to help him with his black market business. Over the years of using the suit, he became a master at flying and maneuvering around obstacles.
: "Business is good."
: ―Vulture to Tinkerer[src]
* Gifted Intellect: Toomes is very intelligent, being able to deduce Spider-Man's secret identity from existing information. He is able to see the profit in anything, seeing that the Chitauri technology could be used for more nefarious needs.
* Expert Tactician: Toomes was able to plan and execute the Attack on the Damage Control truck, and the Hijacking of the Stark Cargo Plane. He even managed to stay off the Avengers' radar for years until he was caught by Spider-Man. His men follow and trust his orders enough to stay with him for four years after they started a life of crime.
* Expert Businessman: Toomes is a very intelligent in business, being able to form his own secret business to sell inventions to criminals in the black market. He went many years without being caught.
* Expert Thief: After his crew ran out of Chitauri technology to sell and make weapons, Toomes robbed a Damage Control truck in order to get new technology to sell. Then, he hijacked a cargo plane taking Avengers technology to Avengers Compound. He was only caught because his wing suit exploded.
* Combatant: Toomes is skilled in combat to a degree that he was able to best the enhanced Spider-Man multiple times during their encounter.
* Expert Marksman: Toomes was able to aim and fire a Chitauri Gun precise enough to cut through the webbing restraining Herman Schultz from a far distance.
== Equipment ==
=== Weapons ===
* Vulture's Exo-Suit: Created by Phineas Mason, Vulture uses a suit made with Chitauri technology and outfitted with metallic body armor, outfitted with a pair of talons and a winged, detachable steel harness that allows him to fly. The wings consists of doubled sharp blades which are capable of destroying entire concrete pillars and can fold and cut through objects in a scissor-like fashion. The second version of Vulture's wings has a decoy drone stored in its back compartment and an add-on function which give it the ability to form a high altitude vacuum seal by bringing the wings close together.
* Chitauri Staff: A standard-issue weapon of the Chitauri troops that invaded Earth during the Battle of New York. Toomes used a Chitauri Staff to cut off the power source of a Chitauri Chariot.
* Chitauri Gun: A standard-issue weapon of the Chitauri troops that invaded Earth during the Battle of New York. Vulture uses their powerful beam gun to fire at Jackson Brice, which disintegrated his entire well-being and is capable of bisecting the Staten Island Ferry.
* Matter Phase Shifter: Vulture used technology designed by the Tinkerer to be able to turn a portion of a surface intangible and transparent, making it look like glass with a purple glow. He would notably attach this device to Damage Control trucks and even the hull of an Avengers cargo plane to pass through them to steal the supplies inside.
* SIG Sauer P229: Toomes owned one of these handguns and kept it inside his car. He used it to threaten Peter Parker when he took him and his daughter to their homecoming dance, having correctly guessed Parker's identity as Spider-Man and warning him to stay away from his business.
=== Other Equipment ===
* Arc Reactors: Toomes attempted to steal several Arc Reactors from the Stark Cargo Plane but his plans were interrupted by Spider-Man. He attempted to steal a crate full of them but the plane crashed due to his fight with Spider-Man foiling his plans. Toomes' Exo-Suit had malfunctioned due to radiation from the arc reactors which allowed Spider-Man to subdue him.
* Switchblade: Toomes used this knife in order to free his hand from Spider-Man's webbing during their confrontation at his hideout.
== Facilities ==
: "Dude, a gang with alien guns and a guy with wings? Yeah, they have a lair."
: ―Peter Parker to Ned Leeds[src]
* Adrian Toomes' Headquarters: Toomes owned a large warehouse during his time working for Bestman Salvage, however when his company was taken over by Damage Control, Toomes had then converted the warehouse into his base of operations for his criminal career, housing all his illegally produced equipment while the Tinkerer had then redesigned it. However Toomes was forced to destroy the facility when he was discovered by Spider-Man, using his Exo-Suit to destroy the support beams and crush Spider-Man.
* Toomes Residence: Using the money he had earned through his criminal life as Vulture, Toomes and his family moved into a larger and more expensive home. While living at the house, Toomes welcomed Liz Toomes' date for Homecoming, Peter Parker, before offering to drive them both to the dance.
=== Prisons ===
To be added
== Relationships ==
=== Family ===
* Doris Toomes - Wife
* Liz Allan - Daughter
=== Allies ===
* Adrian Toomes' Crew - Former Subordinates
** Phineas Mason/Tinkerer
** Herman Schultz/Shocker
** Randy Vale
* Criminal Avengers - Customers
* Mac Gargan - Former Fellow Inmate	
=== Enemies ===
* Damage Control
** Anne Marie Hoag
** Foster
* Stark Industries
** Tony Stark/Iron Man †
** Happy Hogan
* Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Attempted Victim and Savior
* Jackson Brice/Shocker † - Former Employee and Victim
* FBI
* New York City Police Department
== Trivia ==
* In the comics, Vulture originally flew with a pair of magnetic wings to get revenge on his former business partner Gregory Bestman. He was also one of the founding members of Spider-Man's recurrent group of enemies, the Sinister Six, alongside Mysterio, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, and Electro.
* In the comics, Wilson Allan is the father of Liz Allan and the second husband of Doris Raxton. This is, however, not the first time Liz's father is a supervillain. In the Ultimate Comics, her father is the mutant villain Blob.
* The collar of Toomes' aviator jacket is a nod to many of Vulture's costumes in the comics.
* Vulture is the third superhero-type character based on a flying animal that Michael Keaton has portrayed, with the previous two being Batman in Batman and Batman Returns and Birdman in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).
* Toomes intensely dislikes Tony Stark for putting him out of business. Michael Keaton's character in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Riggan Thompson, has a similar dislike of Robert Downey, Jr. due to the fact that while they both achieved fame portraying superheroes, Downey is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood while he has faded into obscurity.
* Toomes is not directly referred to as the "Vulture" until Spider-Man: No Way Home. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Iron Man said to Spider-Man "Look, forget the flying vulture guy, please," which Parker later used to refer to him on the note he left for the authorities.
== Behind the Scenes ==
* Vulture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the first live-action incarnation of the character.
** In the original plans for an unproduced Spider-Man 4, which was part of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film series, Vulture was set to be the main villain with John Malkovich cast in the role. The character had also been considered to appear in Spider-Man 3 with Ben Kingsley being considered for the role.
* In an early version of the character, Adrian Toomes was a member of the Air National Guard alongside Sam Wilson, and the Vulture's Exo-Suit was a less refined version of the EXO-7 Falcon. The original pitch for Spider-Man: Homecoming by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein had Toomes as a teacher of the Midtown School of Science and Technology where he secretly crafted his wings, to connect Vulture with Peter Parker's school life through Liz.
* Star Wars actor Mark Hamill originally wanted to play Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming only if Michael Keaton did not accept the part. Keaton initially turned down the offer, but later regretted it just in time and played the role.
* Donald K. Overstreet, Trampas Thompson and Marlow Warrington-Mattei were stunt doubles for Michael Keaton in the role of Vulture.
* Donald K. Overstreet was a stand-in for Michael Keaton in the role of Vulture.
* Concept art showed that Toomes would've appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which it would turn out he was released from jail and would be visited by Peter asking for help with rehabilitating the captured villains.
** Another piece of concept art showed Toomes with Sandman and Doctor Octopus in a warehouse surrounded by police, getting ready to face off against Norman Osborn after his inevitable betrayal.
* This version of the character is shown entering Sony's Spider-Man Universe in the post-credits scene of Morbius due to a side effect of the spell cast by Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home. In the post-credit scene, it is shown that Toomes made a new Exo-Suit, and began recruiting allies for a new team. However, as of 2024, this has not been addressed by Marvel Studios.
== References ==
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Vulture.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of quotes related to Vulture.
# ↑ Jump up to:1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Spider-Man: Homecoming
# ↑ Spider-Man: Homecoming Mid-credits Scene
# ↑ Josh Nizzi's Concept Artwork of Vulture on Instagram
# ↑ From Pitch to Page to Screen: 9 Ways 'Spider-Man Homecoming' Changed Along the Way
# ↑ Daniel Espinosa's Interview with CinemaBlend on Twitter - March 25, 2022 #1
# ↑ Daniel Espinosa's Interview with CinemaBlend on Twitter - March 25, 2022 #2
# ↑ Daniel Espinosa's Interview with CinemaBlend on Twitter - March 25, 2022 #3
# ↑ As depicted in the film Morbius.
== External Links ==
* Vulture on Marvel Database
* Wilson Allan on Marvel Database
* Vulture on Wikipedia
* Vulture on Marvel Website