As a revolutionary terrorist and government operative, Anton Miguel Rodriguez is expelled from his small organization after murdering a guard without reason during a robbery. This is when Anton went on to the other repressive side of the government where they created the identity of the Tarantula for him and to serve as his country's counterpart to Captain America. He clashes with Captain America and Spider-Man and the Punisher.

He is hired by the Brand Corporation to kill Spider-Man. In an attempt to bestow him with spider powers, he is injected with a mutagenic serum and placed in an electrolyte bath. Unfortunately for Rodriguez, Will o' the Wisp disrupts the mutagenic process, causing Tarantula to start transforming into an actual giant tarantula.

Rodriguez remains relatively humanoid at first (at the least, he functions on a bipedal level). However, after several more skirmishes with both the Wisp and Spider-Man, he rapidly continues to mutate into fully arachnid appearance. Horrified and disgusted with what he has become, he leaps off of a tall building, begging for the police officers gathered below to kill him. In a hail of gunfire, Rodriquez strikes the street below and dies.