The fun of the Dark Avengers concept is in giving readers the chance to see heroes with a darker edge -- and it's hard to get any darker than an ancient god of evil and murder. Ai Apaec was a fun concept explored briefly in Spider-Man-tangential comics before finding a home in Dark Avengers.
While it was a concept with a lot of potential, it just didn't seem to go anywhere. Whatever happened to Marvel's most murderous Spider-Man?
Originally inhabiting the jungles of South America, the being known as Ai Apaec the Decapitator was a deity worshipped by the Moche of Peru. Apaec's lower half is that of a giant spider, while his inhuman upper half is topped with a Medusa-like head of snakes. Venomous fangs also erupt from his mouth.
As if his appearance didn't drastically remove him from the lovable Peter Parker, Ai Apaec was also imprisoned by the U.S. Government. Apaec was so deadly he could only be contained in a specially-built super prison known as the Special Containment Center, surrounded by others who were just as demented and dangerous.
To most people, such environs would be befitting of nightmares -- but Norman Osborn saw it as an opportunity. When he was arrested and imprisoned alongside Apaec, the former Green Goblin immediately began planning his escape.
Apaec was none too eager to stay imprisoned himself and when an ally of Osborn's triggered an escape plan, Apaec seized an opportunity to grab onto a nearby guard and threatened him into opening his cell. The end result was that Apaec, Osborn and several others were freed.
The catch was, they had to work together in order to remain free. Seeing as the prison was underwater, the escapees needed a submarine to escape -- and when the submarine exploded, it may have spelled death for them all if not for Apaec's quick thinking and a cocoon of webbing.
The murder god happily parted ways with his new allies to once again haunt the jungles of Peru, but he wasn't forgotten. Norman spent his life obsessing over those with spider powers and when he decided to form a new team of Dark Avengers, he knew Ai Apaec would be the perfect fit. Using a miracle drug to modify his genes, Apaec took the form of a six-armed Spider-Man clad in a black suit similar to Peter's black duds. His arms fired webs and he crawled the same as the the classic hero, but his creep factor multiplied by about a thousand.
Ai Apaec was a villain-turned-antihero with a lot of potential, but the Dark Avengers team did not ultimately last long. He battled with the New Avengers (including coming to blows with the real Spider-Man), was recruited by Luke Cage to save the Thunderbolts and went on a mission to a pocket reality where New York was consumed by a war among the heroes. It was in the latter mission that Pym particles shrunk Apaec to the size of an actual spider and his diminutive size kept him on the sidelines for much the rest of the story.
It's a shame, because the story proved to be one of Apaec's last in close to a decade of continuity. Shortly after returning to the real New York, Apaec's teammate Toxic Doxie stepped on him, crushed him and seemingly killed him.
Given his status of godhood, it would be easy enough for Apaec to return, but as of yet he's a chillingly cool concept that has barely been explored. He may seem dead, but knowing something like Ai Apaec ever existed should be enough to have anyone navigating the jungles of Peru looking over their shoulders a bit more carefully.