On your side, brother? For eons this family has spurned me. Shunned me. Brought me nothing but pain. I renounce my inheritance! From this day forth... I fight on the side of the righteous! 
- —Karn[src]
Quick Answers
What is the significance of Karn's mask in the Earth-001 universe?
How does Karn differ from other members of the Inheritors in the Spider-Man Earth-001 series?
What is the relationship between Karn and the Master Weaver in the Marvel universe?
Why is Karn considered a unique character in the Earth-001 Spider-Man series?
What is Karn's role in the Inheritors' evil acts in Marvel's Earth-001 universe?
History
Karn was a member of the Inheritors, a family of totemic hunters obsessed with killing those possessing spider-powers across the Multiverse. Having never really fit in with his family, he only hunted as they did in order to survive - all the while secretly despising such murderous ways, preferring to create rather than destroy. Blamed by his father, Solus, for his mother's death, Karn was thusly condemned for eternity to wear his mask.[3]
All the Inheritor's wicked deeds culminated with their grand attempt to hunt and destroy all those they deemed 'Spider-Totems' across all realities and times; a task in which they were aided considerably by the Master Weaver, his abilities exploited whilst being held captive on the Inheritor's homeworld, Earth-001. Karn hunted in the hope of earning a place back among his family.[3][4]
Spider-Verse
Karn had killed four different Spider-Men (the Spider-Man of Earth-772, the Spider-Man of Earth-10919, the Spider-Man of Earth-58163, and the Spider-Man of Earth-14132) before being discovered by the Superior Spider-Man. Tracking the energy of Karn's Staff, he set out to save spider-powered beings from Karn and recruit them to kill him.[5]
While hunting the Spider-Man of Earth-2818, he was ambushed by Octavius' team of spider-totems. Despite being outnumbered and weakened, Karn still had the upper hand. He was suddenly joined by his estranged brother and sister Brix and Bora, who were attracted by the concentration of totems and tried to steal the Hunt from him. Their bickering caused the heroes to escape.[3] Karn was later seen killing the Spider-Wolf. He then called out to Solus, asking if the lycanthropic being was enough of a tribute and if he could finally return home. Solus then commanded the Weaver to send Karn to another, more challenging world.[6]
When Karn attempted to devour Spider-Ma'am, he was confronted by Anya Corazon, Spider-UK, Ashley Barton, Paviitr Prabhakar, and Spider-Punk. Disarmed, Karn rebuked their attempts to reason with him as they revealed intimate details about his history and asked him to join them. Spider-Army stated that they could come up with a method for Karn to survive without killing and fulfill his lifelong desire of traveling the Multiverse, recording the beauty of the different dimensions. Spider-Army then reveal that the Master Weaver gave them the scroll which contains all the information regarding him and the other Inheritors, stating that while Karn could use the information of the Weaver's betrayal to undermine them and be taken back in by his family, he'd never be truly accepted. Karn acknowledged the truth in their words, asking if they could truly forgive him for the atrocities he committed and warning them that his hunger might be uncontrollable, but thanking them for giving him new hope. Spider-Army allowed him to drain a non-lethal amount of life-force from each of them to satiate his hunger, and Karn agreed to join them against his family.[4]
After the Inheritors were defeated and exiled to Earth-3145, and the controller of the Web of Life and Destiny, the Master Weaver had been killed[7] It was revealed as well that the Master Weaver was none other than Karn's future self. According to totemic script on the Inheritors' sacrificial knife, any person with spider powers could become the Master Weaver, but the only way for the Master Weaver to escape their duty is through death. Silk nearly accepted the responsibility, but Karn stopped her and decided to take his place.[1]
Master Weaver
As the Master Weaver, Karn initially struggled with untangling the Web of Life and Destiny, though he eventually managed to repair it.[8] When Kaine was resurrected, Karn provided him with a replica of his Scarlet Spider costume and tasked him with finding out what was causing the Carrion Virus plague sweeping across multiple realities and putting a stop to it.[9]
When one reality's Doom 2099 clashed with his past counterpart from another reality, it broke the time itself and caused a multiversal crisis, with countless universes colliding in the Timestream Entanglement. Above Tokyo in the 2099 reality, a temporal rift was created by the Entanglement, and the Master Weaver planned to use its energy to strengthen the Web of Life and Destiny from an an island he suspended above Tokyo, one of the "Spider-Islands". His disciple, Spider-Zero had concerns about her master's actions and was leading the effort to stitch the rift closed for good. The Master Weaver did not handle disobedience well, so he banished Spider-Zero from the Spider-Islands. Still, Spider-Zero was ready to do whatever necessary to save the day and earn back her rightful spot on the Web.[10]
When his siblings escaped their prison, Verna traveled to Loomworld and confronted her brother. Karn tried to stop his sister, but was told that his connection to the Web of Life had transformed him into a Spider-Totem, enabling her to consume him.[11] His corpse was afterward devoured by Spiders-Man, who commented that it "tastes like bacon."[12]Attributes
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Powers
Karn possesses a variety of superhuman attributes as a result of his unique physiology:
- Life-Force Absorption: Karn's primary power is the ability to absorb the life force energy of other living creatures, thereby granting himself superhuman physical abilities. Even though Karn can absorb the energies of virtually any being, he must occasionally renew himself by feeding upon pure forms of animal-related superbeings from one of the four categories that make up his own, unusually pure, DNA such as animal, insect, human, and bird. Once Karn has touched a human, he is able to sense that person's life force across great distances.
- Superhuman Strength: Karn possesses superhuman strength that varies according to how recently he has fed and on what kind of source. Karn has shown the ability to destroy very dense objects with relative ease.[5]
- Superhuman Speed: Karn can run and move at speeds that are beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete.
- Superhuman Stamina: Karn's musculature produces less fatigue toxins than the fatigue toxins of human beings. While his stamina depends upon he's fed, Karn can physically exert himself at peak capacity for at least several hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him.
- Superhuman Durability: Karn's body is tougher and more resistant to certain types of injury than the body of a human being. It is known that Karn can withstand great impact forces, notably when he was electrocuted, hit by a swinging tree and fell down a cliff yet was barely fazed.[5] He is also able to withstand gunshot and knife wounds with little injury. He has shown to be immune to fire.[3]
- Superhuman Agility: Karn's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Karn's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are superior to those of the finest human athlete.
- Immortality: Karn is functionally immortal in the sense that he is immune to the effects of aging and all known diseases.
As the Master Weaver, Karn spins the Web of Life and Destiny.
- Portal Creation: As The Master Weaver, Karn was able to create a sort of inter-dimensional portal that connected to the various alternate reality and sent people to another reality that they want.[13]
Paraphernalia
Weapons
Transportation
Notes
- The ending of the Spider-Verse portrayed the Master Weaver as Karn's future self, implying that Karn would have been in a Time-Loop and was destined to eventually meet his end as shown in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 3) #14. However, Karn was subsequently killed at the start of Spider-Geddon, thus making the previous Master Weaver a divergent version of him.
Trivia
- Karn was voiced by Matthew Mercer in Spider-Man Unlimited and by Andrew Kishino in Marvel Rivals.
See Also
- 31 appearance(s) of Karn (Earth-001)
- 2 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Karn (Earth-001)
- 5 minor appearance(s) of Karn (Earth-001)
- 6 mention(s) of Karn (Earth-001)
- 3 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Karn (Earth-001)
- 42 image(s) of Karn (Earth-001)
- 10 quotation(s) by or about Karn (Earth-001)
- 10 victim(s) killed by Karn (Earth-001)
- 1 item(s) used/owned by Karn (Earth-001)
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 3) #15
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Spider-Geddon Handbook #1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Superior Spider-Man #33
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Spider-Verse Team-Up #3
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Superior Spider-Man #32
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 3) #11
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 3) #14
- ↑ Web Warriors #1–11
- ↑ Clone Conspiracy #2
- ↑ Marvel Rivals
- ↑ Spider-Geddon #2
- ↑ Spider-Geddon #4
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #21
- ↑ Spider-Man Unlimited (video game)
- ↑ Spider-Geddon Handbook #1
- ↑ Spider-Geddon Handbook Vol 1 1