Years ago when I was creating the cast of the Canadian Legion and the rest of the universe, many characters didn't make the cut, like Catman. Another was KING SPIDER.
Juan Saldana(whose name I just stole from an article on ethic diversity, thanks Zoe Saldana!)
http://tech.mit.edu/V129/N31/gallez.html
I wanted a character who had the power set of Spider-Man, without actually being a Spider-Man knock-off.
Juan was a simple family man in Guadalajara, Mexico. The son of farmers, Juan worked various jobs at the airport to support his wife and two children. But the neighborhood they lived in was far from safe, the people living there were not aware of the toxic chemicals being buried underneath their feet. Eventually Juan loses his entire family to different forms of cancer and tumors and he begins to investigate the strange waste trucks that drive through town every night. While investigating their lab, Juan is exposed to an artificially created strain of E.coli that had been modified with certain genes of the spider 'Nephila clavipes'. Juan grew very sick, his vision was shattered, making it impossible for him to see correctly. Strong spider-like silk began to secrete itself from his hands. His brother Michael, an engineer with MIT, after hearing about the death's of his family, flies the dying Juan to California where he is able to help his brother. Michael creates a helmet that realigns his brain functions, allowing him to see normally for hours at a time and gives him enhanced perception skills while wearing the helmet. With the ability to spin webbing and climb walls and with enhanced speed and skill, Juan takes to the streets, first to stop crime and later to gain revenge on the company responsible for the death of his family. And he only has two years to do it, the exposure to chemicals and radiation that killed his family has given him a life threatening brain tumor.
