Anansi is a fictional character appearing in

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, based on the

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

folktale character of the same name. The character first appeared as an unnamed god in ''

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

'' #398 by

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor (comic book), Thor'', ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...

and

Ron Frenz Ronald Wade "Ron" Frenz (born February 1, 1960) is an American comics artist known for his work for Marvel Comics. He is well known for his 1980s work on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', particularly introducing the hero's Venom (character), black cos ...

and made his named appearance in ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' (vol. 2) #48 by

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski, known as J. Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is known as the creator of the science fiction televi ...

and John Romita Jr.

Fictional character biography

Anansi was a member of the Vodu, deities worshipped by the tribes of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. According to

Ezekiel Sims Ezekiel "Zeke" Sims is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring Spider-Man and Silk (character), Silk; versions of the character from Multiverse (Marvel Comic ...

and the

Ashanti tribe The Asante, also known as Ashanti in English (), are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine mi ...

in Ghana, Anansi was the first

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

who used his powers to travel through Africa. Anansi made a deal with the Sky God, Nyame, offering his eternal service in exchange for more enlightenment and, after transmitting his power and knowledge to the Great Web, vanished. His temple was then used by

Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of ...

to defeat the totemic wasp entity, Shathra and was then used as a battle arena, when Peter and Ezekiel started fighting to appease the totemic entity Gatekeeper. During the infestation of Manhattan Island, Anansi was disguised as a pest specialist known as A. Nancy and visited

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

at his workplace. Hercules helped Nancy to sneak into

Arachne Arachne (; from , cognate with Latin ) is the protagonist of a tale in classical mythology known primarily from the version told by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE). In Book Six of his epic poem ''Metamorphoses'', Ovid recounts how ...

's apartment to steal her Tapestry. After that, Nancy was attacked by Elektra who stole the tapestry, but left Nancy alive even though

Baba Yaga Baba Yaga is a female character (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) from Slavic folklore who has two contrasting roles. In some narratives, she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, ...

had ordered her to kill him. In the 2024 event '' Blood Hunt'',

Blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

(who was possessed by

Varnae Varnae is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Perry (author), Steve Perry and Steve Bissette, the character first appeared in ''Bizarre Adventures'' #33 (December 1982). Varnae is a v ...

) transforms

Miles Morales Spider-Man (Miles Gonzalo MoralesAhmed, Saladin (w), Garrón, Javier (a). ''Miles Morales: Spider-Man'' #1 (2018) Marvel Comics (New York). ) is a superhero and the third predominant Spider-Man to appear in American comic books published by M ...

into a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

. He is unable to be completely cured, but he and all other vampires gain immunity to sunlight. Later, Miles meets with Anansi, who offers to cure him.

Other versions of Anansi

* In '' Spider-Man: Fairy Tales'', a version of Anansi appears, where he faces several gods during his quest. * During the "

Spider-Verse Spider-Verse is a comic book series issued by Marvel Comics since 2014. Its first major event/storyline started on November 5 in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2014) No. 9 along with an individual issue named ''Spider-Verse Team-Up''. This event ...

" event, a version of Anansi is recruited by Spider-UK into joining the Spider-Army to battle the Inheritors.

Anansi in other media

Anansi appears in ''

Spider-Man Unlimited ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' is an animated television series produced by Saban Entertainment which features the Marvel comic book superhero Spider-Man and serves as a follow-up to '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series''. ''Unlimited'' premiered in 1 ...

''.

References

External links

* * * *
Anansi
at Comic Vine {{Marvel Comics deities Spider-Man characters Characters created by Tom DeFalco Characters created by Ron Frenz Comics characters introduced in 1988 Marvel Comics deities Marvel Comics male characters