The Fly
Real Name: Richard Deacon
AKA: The Human Fly, The Fearsome Fly
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man Annual 10
Died In: Amazing Spider-Man 276, at the hands of The Scourge
What's His Problem? A petty crook shot while trying to escape the police and Spider-Man, Richard Deacon stumbled onto the lab of scientist Harlan Stillwell. Demanding that Stillwell heal him by giving him super-powers, Deacon was microsurgically altered and imprinted with the genetic coding of a common housefly. Surviving the impromptu operation, Deacon promptly embarked on a super-criminal career as the fearsome Fly.
Powers: Deacon had the proportionate strength of a fly (approximately forty times that of a normal human) as well as its superhuman speed, endurance and reaction time. His fingers and toes secreted an adhesive which allowed him to cling to most surfaces, and his transparent wings enabled him to hover or fly at will; the wings could also generate hurricane-force winds, emit a high-pitched buzz or produce a powerful shock wave by vibrating in opposition to each other. His huge, lidless, multi-faceted eyes gave him 360-degree omni-directional vision that enabled him to see around, above and below himself at all times, making it almost impossible to attack him by surprise.
Favorite Quote: "Instincts I can't control make me crawl like an insect! I'm drawn to feast on refuse! I've become disgusting, newspaperman! Disgusting!" (Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man 86. Deacon spills his guts after lapping up J. Jonah Jameson's spilt soda.)
Heroes He Kept Running Into: The Fly seldom escaped Spider-Man's web (go figure); he also bugged the Black Cat, Moon Knight and Spider-Woman.
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: Most folks would just as soon swat the dastardly Deacon as look at him.
Most Despicable Act: Deacon got his super-criminal career off to a truly scummy start by killing his benefactor, Harlan Stillwell (Stillwell eventually turned up alive, if not well--editor Jeanne). The freakish Deacon later tried to murder the other people he held responsible for his transformation, namely Spider-Man and Stillwell's associate, J. Jonah Jameson.
by Sean McQuaid
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