MacDonald Gargan was a failing private investigator that was turned into the Scorpion with financial help from J.Jonah Jameson. He became the host of the Venom symbiote and was part of Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers. After it was taken by the US Government and he became The Scorpion once again.

During Big Time Mac returns, now separated from the symbiote, in a new scorpion outfit created by Alistair Smythe and is now working with his Insect Army. To get revenge on Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and his astronaut son John once again. They attack the launch site where John is flying the Vertex shuttle into orbit which will meet up with a Horizon Labs space station. Spider-Man appears and weblines to a shuttle that just took off but Smythe has locked down the controls and rigged its booster rockets to explode before it leaves the atmosphere and to make matters worse, the evolved Scorpion appears to kill Spider-Man. With the help of the New Avengers, Spider-Man saves John but Smythe sends his Insect Army after Jonah's loved ones. Spider-Man uses a device that jams all of Smythe's minions' enhanced senses but disables his own Spider-Sense in the process. After Spider-Man defeats the Scorpion, he goes to check on the others but Smythe appears and kills Marla Jameson. Spider-Man then defeats Smythe and for the first time, Jonah refuses to blame Spider-Man and blames himself instead.