One of the oldest, most sinister of the villains in the Spider-Man universe is the Vulture, AKA Adrian Toomes. An engineer from Staten Island, Toomes turned to a life of crime after finding out his business partner had been embezzling funds from their joint enterprise—clearly the logical decision in such an event. While not an actual bird, Vulture utilizes a special anti-gravitational harness to fly and a green-feathered suit to enhance his avian appearance. Toomes, a maniacal madman with little to no remorse, has given Spider-Man quite a lot of trouble over the years.
Sinister Start
Toomes grew up as an orphan on Staten Island, where he was raised by his older brother Marcus. As an adult he became a petty criminal and spent some time on the run with his lover, Cheryl. After an alleged run-in with legendary crime lord Tristram Silver, Toomes went straight, and went into business with entrepreneur Gregory Bestman, founding B&T Electronics. Their business thrived, as Toomes designed their products and Bestman handled the finances.
One day, Toomes had a breakthrough on an electromagnetic flying harness and excitedly burst into Bestman’s office so he could show his partner the device. Bestman was not there and Toomes discovered his supposed friend had been stealing funds from the company. He confronted Bestman and, having no legal recourse, was fired.