Thomas Ludlow Hallaway (New Earth)

Thomas "Tom" Ludlow Hallaway
Mainstream Universe‎, 1986‎-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Thomas "Tom" Ludlow Hallaway
Other Aliases	The Spider
Relatives	Spider (son, deceased), I, Spyder (son), Linda Dalt (wife)
Affiliation	Freedom Fighters, Seven Soldiers of Victory, All-Star Squadron
Base Of Operations	Keystone City
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Married
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6' 1"
Weight	195 lbs (88 kg)
Eyes	Brown
Hair	Brown
Origin
Universe	New Earth
Creators	Paul Gustavson
First Appearance	Crack Comics #1 (May, 1940)
Appearance of Death	Shade #3

History

Origin

The Spider was, in reality, playboy Tom Hallaway. Hallaway had tired of seeing criminals have their own way harassing and murdering honest citizens, so he adopted the guise of The Spider to settle the score. Some say, however, that he did not become the Spider out of an altruistic motive, but rather because he was a nasty person in general - a smuggler, a kidnapper and a murderer - and used the guise of a superhero as a cover to help him eliminate the competition.

Though originally based in St. Louis, he was a member of the Ludlow clan from New England. The family inadvertently ran up against the Shade. The family had a history of ill-gotten gains, having originally amassed their vast wealth by killing off their partners in a business enterprise.

Freedom Fighters & Seven Soldiers of Victory

He was a member of both the Freedom Fighters and the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The final case of the Seven Soldiers had the Spider betraying them to their old enemy, the Iron Hand (who had created the cosmic menace known as the Nebula Man). The Spider killed the Vigilante's friend Billy Gunn, but was stopped by the Crimson Avenger's partner Wing, who went on to save the day against the Nebula Man (though at the cost of his own life).

Shade

With the only people who knew him to be a criminal gone, the Spider continued his heroic facade. He became the hero-in-residence of Keystone City after the Flash retired. Unfortunately, his Ludlow heritage caught up with him, as did The Shade. The Spider had been planning to face the Shade for quite a while and had a plan to defeat the immortal. He had saved fragments and shreds of The Shade's shadow substance with the intention to plant them on the scene of a double murder, that of Jay Garrick and his wife Joan. The Spider hoped to lessen The Shade's power by keeping him captive near a roaring fireplace, but the added light only increased the shadows, and The Shade created arrow-casting monsters that quickly turned The Spider into a pincushion of black arrows. The Shade got out in time to prevent the Garricks' murders, and even convinced his old enemy, The Flash, to leave him out of the spotlight on the case.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Archery
  

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Bow

Transportation

• The Black Widow

Weapons

• Spider Seals: Custom arrows which had a flat disc on the end he shot at thugs' hands to disarm them.

Related

• 7 Appearances of Thomas Ludlow Hallaway (New Earth)
• 4 Images featuring Thomas Ludlow Hallaway (New Earth)
• Quotations by or about Thomas Ludlow Hallaway (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Thomas Ludlow Hallaway (New Earth)

Footnotes

Freedom Fighters member This character is or was a member of the Freedom Fighters, a team of American super-heroes who fight threats to the nation and its ideals under the leadership of Uncle Sam. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Freedom Fighters members" category.

Seven Soldiers of Victory member This character is or was a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, or the Seven Soldiers in any of its various incarnations, created during World War II and later, it returned to battle time-traveling, dimension-spanning mysteries and monsters. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Seven Soldiers of Victory members" category.