Herman Schultz

**Herman Schultz**, also known as **Shocker**, was an antagonist in the *Marvel's Spider-Man* series. An old enemy of Spider-Man, Shocker was a career criminal in New York City armed with a battle suit that sent out shock waves.

In first game, Shocker appears as a boss battle when he is hired by Martin Li to rob a bank for the Inner Demons. In *Marvel's Spider-Man 2*, he is mentioned as a background character, as one of the supervillains sought out by Kraven the Hunter.

## History

### Early history

Herman was born in New York City around the year 1976. He was one of the first supervillains that Peter Parker fought as Spider-Man, and one of the first able to hold his own as Peter was then only used to criminals with conventional weapons. Peter's fight with Shocker led to the first celebratory headline in the *Daily Bugle*, but also caused the Flatiron Building to be destroyed and hurt several innocents in the process.

At some point prior to *Marvel's Spider-Man*, Shocker was arrested.

### *Marvel's Spider-Man*

After being recently released on parole, Shocker was approached by the Inner Demons, and threatened into robbing bansk for them. In "A Shocking Comeback", Spider-Man quickly caught and stopped him, and during the chase, he was tight-lipped about the Demons.

In "Financial Shock", Shocker had escaped capture, and robbed a bank. Spider-Man again caught him partway through, where this time, he let slip that those who hired him were masked, and had threatened to kill him. He also indicated he was much more scared of them and did not trust the police to protect him if he surrendered. Spider-Man defeated him, and he was locked up in the Raft for good.

### *Marvel's Spider-Man 2*

Two years later, Sergei Kravinoff selected Shocker as a target in his Great Hunt in New York City. Kraven hunted him and fought Shocker in a survival duel and eventually overpowered and killed Shocker by stabbing him with a blade into his sternum. Kraven after the fight described him as "nearly something" who "wasn't trying to prove himself superior, only fighting for survival" but that "wasn't good enough". In "Good Men", Mary Jane Watson found Kraven's recording and Shocker's equipment, while also taking pity on the latter and privately stating that he didn't deserve to die.

## Characteristics

Shocker is taciturn and has a quick temper. Spider-Man describes him as unintelligent, and lacking personality and emotions. Shocker demonstrates clear irritation with Spider-Man's quips and interference and is a man of few words. Despite this, in contrast to many of Spider-Man's enemies, Shocker does not seem to bear a grudge against him, preferring to avoid fighting him unless he has no choice. Shocker demonstrates deep fear of the Inner Demons, something Spider-Man noted to be rare for him. Additionally, though he was willing to reform on parole, the fear for his life drove him back to criminality; this corroborates MJ's assertion that Shocker fought primarily for survival.

A gifted autodidact, Shocker wears a full-body battle suit that is equipped with vibro-shock units of his own design to create high-pressure air blasts. The suit allowed him to throw long range punches of varying strength, capable even of shattering concrete. He could also use the gauntlets to increase his agility: By pointing them into the ground and activating the gauntlets, he could use them to launch himself in the air high enough to travel across rooftops.

## Original appearance

For more background of Herman Schultz throughout comic book history, see **all appearances of Shocker** and the **original appearance of Herman Schultz** on the **Marvel Database**
In the comics, Shocker has appeared as one of the members of the Sinister Six. The character made his debut in *Amazing Spider-Man* #46 (March 1967).

## Citations

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 *Marvel's Spider-Man* menu § "Herman Schultz / Shocker"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "A Shocking Comeback"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Financial Shock"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man 2* script § "Good Men"

## References

* Insomniac Games (2018). *Marvel's Spider-Man* [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 4.
* Insomniac Games (2023). *Marvel's Spider-Man 2* [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 5.