Michael Bingham

> You are the fake! I'm the original. They made me. I'm not a false Spider-Man, afraid to act, afraid to do what's necessary. My hands are covered in blood, and I'm the Blood Spider. Yes, that is my true name! Blood Spider!
>
> Blood Spider, Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover

**Michael Bingham** is a mercenary and assassin working for the Kingpin. At the time, Bingham was obsessed with Spider-Man to the point where he became convinced that he was the real Spider-Man and that the hero was actually an imposter. As the **Blood Spider**, Bingham went on a bloody rampage across New York City determined to prove once and for all that he was the true Spider-Man.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Bingham is about 5'10", slim and wiry like Spider-Man. He is covered with a defined layer of muscle, he has a low forehead with thick eyebrows, a wide nose, and thin bloodless lips.

### Personality

Michael Bingham, despite his pitiful beginnings, is an emotionally detached sadist who believes the world owes him and that he is the "rightful" Spider-Man. Gaining his abilities from medical experiments by Oscorp, Bingham saw a friend die from these experiments and realized he felt nothing for him, before killing two other patients who bullied him. Eventually naming himself "The Blood Spider", Bingham enters Wilson Fisk's services and proved to be dangerous beyond Fisk; to ruin Spider-Man's reputation, Bingham dresses as him to terrorize New York; kills a teenager; blows up a restaurant, killing eleven people in a staged hostage scenario, including a friend of Peter Parker, using one as human ammo; and murders a district attorney. At one point Bingham considers killing a baby, only not going through with it due to the trouble it'd cause him. Bingham plans on taking control over both Fisk and Norman Osborn by stealing blackmail material and beating Fisk to a pulp to show power over him.

### Powers and abilities

#### Physiology

As a result of medical experimentation (of which he was the sole survivor), Michael Bingham has nearly identical abilities to Spider-Man. He discovered his strength when he smashed Zane's head into the floor, and he beat Assistant District Attorney Abe Remzi to death. He can jump considerable distances and climb walls, and he has enhanced reflexes.

While his muscles and skeletal structure were enhanced by the medicine, his shoulder gets dislocated every time he uses his web-shooters, which are stronger and more clunky than the original's. He also lacks his "impostor's" Spider-Sense.

#### Fighting skills

Bingham moves just like Spider-Man, but he punches like a boxer. He learned to fight from his mother's "friend," Rick, but he learned on his own that fighting was less about footwork and more about "pounding fists and elbows and knees," and "knocking people down and kicking their faces."

Bingham is capable of stealth, as he landed behind Andy from 30 or 40 feet up without making a noise.

Bingham has some proficiency with firearms, as he used a gun to shoot and kill Andy.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 11
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 35
3. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 3
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 7
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 32
6. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 17
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 26
8. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 28
9. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 18
10. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 24
11. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 22
12. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 21
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover* Chapter 4