Chameleon (character)
The Chameleon (Dmitri Smerdyakov; Russian: Дмитрий Смердяков) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963). The Chameleon is the first ever antagonist of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He is a master of disguises who is known for his ability to impersonate virtually anybody. The character is also the half-brother of Kraven the Hunter. This relationship helped evolve him as a major villain compared to his original depiction of being just a solo villain in the original issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. He has also been a member of the Sinister Six and the Sinister Twelve at various points in his history.
| Dmitri Smerdyakov The Chameleon | |
|---|---|
Dmitri Smerdyakov / The Chameleon. Textless cover to Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: Chameleon Conspiracy #1 (June 2021). Art by Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy, and Brian Reber. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Steve Ditko (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dmitri Nikolayevich "Anatoly" Smerdyakov |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations | Sinister Six Kravinoff Family Sinister Twelve Exterminators HYDRA KGB |
| Abilities |
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Since his original introduction, the character has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products, including feature films, television series, video games. The character made his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), portrayed by Numan Acar. Fred Hechinger is set to appear as the character in the upcoming Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Kraven the Hunter (2024).