THE NEOGENIC NIGHTMARE
Chapter XIII
Shriek of the Vulture is about the parasitic refusal to age — the terror of time turned predatory. Adrian Toomes drains youth like currency, stealing vitality to pay off the debt of mortality. When he siphons Spider-Man’s strength, leaving Peter old and frail, the episode reframes villainy as hunger: not for power, but for more life. Toomes isn’t chasing glory. He’s running from the clock.
Neogenics, the promise that began as cure, curdles into instrument — aliases, lab intrusions, youth drained from Dr. Connors, Debra endangered, Harry targeted. Corporate contempt (Norman’s dismissal of Toomes) births revenge; the university’s pursuit of advancement opens the door to predation. Every institution that claims progress becomes a corridor for crisis. The shriek isn’t only Toomes’ battle cry. It’s the sound of ethics torn.
Shriek of the Vulture is the caution: shortcuts to vitality don’t restore the soul. Peter’s weakened pursuit, Debra’s shaken trust, Connors’ vulnerability — each reveals the cost of denying time its truth. Toomes can steal youth, but he cannot reclaim meaning. The episode ends with the question still humming: if you could outrun age by taking it from someone else, what part of you would be left to live?
At Oscorp’s boardroom, Norman Osborn dismisses Adrian Toomes’ visions of age reversal and gravity defiance as absurd, urging a merger that would erase Toomes Aerodynamics. Toomes, listening in by telephone, seethes at the insult. His fury births the Vulture. Taking to the skies, he drains the youth of a child, restoring his own vitality. Spider-Man witnesses the horror and gives chase, but the Vulture escapes, already preparing his assault on Osborn.
At the Toomes Grant ceremony, Dr. Curt Connors and Empire State University are honoured, with Debra Whitman appointed as Connors’ assistant. Yet beneath the applause, jealousy stirs — Debra resents Flash Thompson’s closeness to Felicia Hardy. Peter departs, only to find Norman under attack at Oscorp. As Spider-Man, he intervenes, battling the rejuvenated Vulture until the stolen youth fades and Toomes reverts to his frail form. Rather than pursue, Peter captures his face on camera, enlarging the image to confirm the truth: Adrian Toomes is the Vulture.
At the Neogenic lab, Toomes arrives under the alias “Arthur Avis,” feigning authority. Peter warns Debra of his deception, but she dismisses him as bitter, casting him and Flash out. Flash, humiliated, lashes out at Peter. When Connors later meets Toomes, he is immobilised and drained of youth, leaving the scientist helpless. Vulture, restored once more, sets out to kidnap Harry Osborn, but Spider-Man intercepts him, forcing the villain to retreat as his stolen vitality ebbs away.
Debra, finally realising Peter’s warning was true, contacts him after seeing the Vulture from her lab window — but she too is drained, her body aged into frailty. Spider-Man rescues Connors, while Flash discovers Debra transformed into an old woman. Her youth returns, but Vulture strikes again, attempting to drain Flash. Spider-Man intervenes, yet the battle turns. Vulture overpowers him, draining not only Peter’s youth but also his superhuman strength.
ROGUE’S GALLERY
THE VULTURE
Adrian Toomes was introduced as one of Spider-Man’s earliest foes in Amazing Spider-Man #2, a brilliant electronics engineer whose discovery of an electromagnetic harness allowed him to fly and granted him enhanced strength. Betrayed by his business partner and consumed by bitterness, Toomes turned to crime, using his invention to become the Vulture. His age and frailty contrasted sharply with his newfound power, making him a villain defined by resentment and the refusal to grow old.
In the comics, the Vulture has remained a recurring adversary for decades, often embodying themes of greed, mortality, and revenge. He has fought Spider-Man countless times, sometimes alone, sometimes as part of villainous teams like the Sinister Six. Toomes’ obsession with youth and vitality became central to his character, with storylines exploring his attempts to drain life energy from others to restore his own. Despite his age, he has proven to be one of Spider-Man’s most enduring enemies, his cunning and ruthlessness ensuring he never fades into irrelevance.
The Vulture has appeared in numerous adaptations beyond the comics. He was a recurring villain in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, where his youth-draining powers were emphasised, and later in The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008), reimagined with a sleeker design and sharper menace. His most high-profile appearance came in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), where Michael Keaton portrayed Adrian Toomes as a salvage worker turned arms dealer, grounded in realism yet retaining the thematic core of a man driven by resentment and survival. This cinematic version elevated the Vulture to mainstream recognition, proving that even Spider-Man’s older, less flamboyant villains could be reimagined with depth and menace.
The Vulture endures because he represents the fear of time itself. Unlike villains born of science accidents or cosmic power, Toomes is a man who refuses to accept the natural decline of age. His wings are not just a weapon — they are defiance, a refusal to fall. In Spider-Man’s world of youthful energy and resilience, the Vulture is the shadow of inevitability, reminding Peter Parker that even heroes cannot escape the march of time.
Curt Connors wins the Toomes Foundation grant in this episode. Adrian Toomes, aka the Vulture, made a cameo episode at the end of the previous episode.
Flash mentions the events of The Spider Slayer to Spider-Man.
Amazing Spider-Man #387, printed in 1994, serves as the basis to this story.
Broken glass is shown in this episode, usually a no-go under censorship rules. The burning skyscraper in this episode led to it (and the finale) being censored for some time after the real-life events of September 11th 2001.
Thwip Quip: On the Vulture: “Who is this flying flamingo?”. Also the self-deprecating “Saved by Flash Thompson. How embarrassing.”
X-Cess Minutiae 
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