Maria Vasquez is the fifth Marvel character to use the codename Tarantula, but while earlier versions were villains, Maria was on the heroic side. She is a skilled fighter who wears a suit that has claws and spikes that are often tipped with venom. While she is a hero, Maria enjoys fighting and will kill opponents.

She was created by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Billy Tucci, who introduced her in Civil War Files #1 (September 2006). After her sister was killed in the Stamford Incident, Maria decided to become a hero to avenge her death. She joined the Heroes for Hire, and tragedy stuck again when Ricadonna hired ninjas to kill the team, and they murdered her father. Tarantula retaliated by killing all of the ninjas, then she went after Ricadonna, injuring but not killing him.

The Heroes for Hire were tasked with finding and stopping a group of thieves called the Death Cadre. The criminals used powerful exoskeletons to commit crimes, often causing a lot of damage and hurting people in the process. Tarantula and the Heroes for Hire then prevented the destruction of the Statue of Liberty, which was part of the Grim Reaper’s plan.

S.H.I.E.L.D. hired the team to travel to the Savage Lands and retrieve Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur. But when they returned, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t pay them until they dealt with a Hulk problem. Frustrated, Maria confronted S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Scorpion, causing tension between the two groups.

Maria had a burgeoning relationship with Shang-Chi, then fought with the team when Hulk returned to Earth and World War Hulk started. The team disbanded after that.