Carlos LaMuerto, aka the Black Tarantula, was a villain who sought control in New York City then turned into an antihero that worked with Daredevil. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #419 (January 1997) as a creation of Tom DeFalco and Steve Skroce.

The moniker of Black Tarantula passes from father to son in the LaMuerto family with powers inherited via a potion that had been taken by their ancestor. Through those powers, Carlos is a well-honed martial artist and very intelligent man who can project energy beams, has a healing factor, is super strong, and has super-speed.

Carlos originally operated in Argentina before moving to New York where he quickly conflicted with crime lord Rose. He hired Bloodscream and Roughouse to help him wrest control over Rose’s territory in New York. Rose then went to fellow crime lord Don Fortunato in the hope of getting his help, but Black Tarantula countered with his own offer to form an alliance. Fortunato agreed to side with Black Tarantula if he would prove himself by defeating Spider-Man and taking his mask. Though Black Tarantula won the fight with Spidey, he didn’t kill him because he realized that the hero was trying to rescue a child.

He reappeared later in prison at Ryker’s Island where Bullseye stabbed him in the chest with a playing card. Once Black Tarantula was released from prison, he asked Matt Murdock to help him find work. First, he worked with Dakota North as an investigator, but Black Tarantula wanted to be more involved in crime stopping. He joined Daredevil in a fight against the yakuza, that included a gang member named Little Loco who used to work for Black Tarantula. The would-be hero stopped the gang and killed Little Loco then dropped off their money at a church.

Black Tarantula tried to help White Tiger when she was being attacked by the Hand, but she ended up killing Black Tarantula during the battle. The Hand resurrected Black Tarantula to be their assassin, and sent him out to attack Daredevil, White Tiger, and others. He and the other assassins were defeated by Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Master Izo.

When Matt Murdock became the leader of the Hand, Black Tarantula and White Tiger became his main lieutenants. As New York was gripped by chaos, White Tiger ordered Black Tarantula to execute looters. He was reluctant to carry out the order, so White Tiger, who was possessed by the Hand, stabbed him. Though she left him for dead, Black Tarantula survived and received aid from Night Nurse.