Tracer is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man. His first appearance was in '' Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1''.

Fictional character biography

Tracer claims to be a "machine god" that the artificial intelligences of other machines created to worship, alleging that he becomes stronger over time since the more machines worship him the longer he operates. Testing his increasing powers, Tracer robs the

Bank of New York The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Fina ...

, holds off Spider-Man and escapes. Soon after, Tracer takes to the skies in his Flying Wing, claiming he had a bomb he would detonate if New York City fails to pay him a fortune. Spider-Man and Iron Man (Tony Stark) foil his scheme, but Tracer escapes again. The next night, Tracer infiltrates

Stark Tower The Stark Tower Complex is a fictional high-rise building complex appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA, the complex is named after its owner Tony Stark, who is the alter ego ...

planning to kill Spider-Man after learning from his machine worshipers that Spider-Man is living there. At the same time, Tracer uses his powers to cause cars to swerve out of control, entire computers grids to crash, and a giant robot to rampage throughout New York as a diversion. Posing as a reserve

Avenger Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

named "Tommy" on monitor duty while the other Avengers were busy dealing with Tracer's "machine revolt", Tracer converses with

Aunt May Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...

until Spider-Man returns and attacks him. During the battle, Tracer analyzes Spider-Man's DNA and determines that Spider-Man is in no condition to fight him. Vowing to rein in his mechanical worshipers and step off the path of divinity for the time being, his skin melts away, revealing his robotic body.

Powers and abilities

Tracer is a robotic life form capable of controlling virtually any machine. He can metamorphose his hand into a gun which fires homing bullets capable of zeroing in on specified targets and avoiding all other targets in their pursuit. He is also equipped with telescopic infrared vision and scanners which can estimate the age, weight, power and threat level of his targets. His fingertips contain hypodermic probes which can obtain DNA, tissue, skin and blood samples, instantly analyzed by his internal systems. He masks his true appearance with an unidentified flesh-like material.

References

{{reflist Characters created by Peter David Characters created by Mike Wieringo Comics characters introduced in 2005 Marvel Comics robots Marvel Comics supervillains