Origin

Cold Arms

Carlyle was a criminal who'd been convicted of fraud, forgery, extortion, racketeering, assault, and an assortment of other crimes under various different names throughout his life. He eventually managed to get hired as an image promotor for the Nexus Corporation, but only because they hadn't thought to check too deeply into his background. Carlyle's image boosting however, was all flash and no substance, with him spending more money than the company had available in order to simply make it seem more powerful than it actually was. When the Nexus CEO found out the company's figures didn't add up, he checked further into Carlyle's background and discovered just what kind of man had been hired. Confronted by the CEO, Carlyle calmly killed him and covered up the murder in order to indirectly gain control of the Nexus Corporation.

Hoping to escape his sinking ship with as much plunder as he could before everything came to light, Carlyle considered his options and eventually thought of Doctor Octopus, and the freedom and power that could come with his mechanical arms. Luring Doc Ock to Nexus with a phony position as a cybernetics consultant, Carlyle managed to incapacitate him and then had the company's scientists examine Doc Ock's mechanical arms in order to complete Carlyle's new version of it. Drunk on the power of his new toy, Carlyle left Doc Ock to die as he went out to do as he pleased. Doc Ock proved more formidable than Carlyle had anticipated however, as he managed to free himself using the mind-link he shared with his mechanical arms, ensuring an impending confrontation between the two.

Creation

Carlyle was created by J. Michael Straczynski , John Romita Jr ., and Scott Hanna.

Major Story Arcs

Arms and the Men

Tracking Carlyle down, Doc Ock sought to make Carlyle pay for stealing his work. In the esuing battle, Carlyle's version of Doc Ock's arms proved to be technologically superior, but Doc Ock had years of experience on his side, making the battle quite even-sided. Having heard of the battle on the news, Spider-Man arrived hoping to stop Doc Ock's rampage, only to find himself faced with both Doc Ock and Carlyle. Although Spider-Man had plenty of experience fighting Doc Ock and his arms, he was unprepared for just what Carlyle was willing to do with his. Tearing through the walls of the hotel they'd been battling in, Carlyle sought to bury his two foes and countless civilians while he escaped the approaching authorities to look for hostages. Spider-Man and Doc Ock momentarily teamed up to save the civilians, but once they were out of the way, Doc Ock left Spider-Man to be buried in the rubble.

Until the Stars Turn Cold

Arriving at a nearby movie studio, Carlyle ended up coming across Mary Jane, who was an actress there, and Aunt May, who had come with Peter to visit, and he ended up making them both part of his bundle of hostages. Deciding that the authorities needed to know he was serious, Carlyle planned to kill Aunt May, deeming her the most expendable due to her age. Thanks to the timely intervention of Doc Ock however, Aunt May was saved and the battle between Carlyle and Doc Ock resumed. Having freed himself from the rubble, Spider-Man arrived soon as well, but Carlyle soon proved too much for his wear foes. Deciding that Carlyle was worth more of his enmity, Doc Ock told Spider-Man of how he'd managed to break open part of Carlyle's armor, leaving a possible weakness. Taking Doc Ock's advice, Spider-Man found the crack in Carlyle's armor and quickly emptied his webbing inside it, causing it to expand, immobilizing Carlyle, and trapping him in his own armor.

Carlyle was afterwards taken away by the authorities.

Powers and Abilities

Before gaining his full-body armor, Carlyle was already an adept con-artist and thief, making him considerably devious, manipulative, and calculating.

Carlyle's armor was made of high-density steel which was shown to stop close range handgun fire, as well as several blows by Doc Ock's mechanical arms.

The armor's main features were the six extendable arms that portruded from its back. These arms were largely based on Doc Ock's original design, but had been enhanced with modern technology. All six of the arms had laser-assisted targeting systems, could extend to about three times their original length, and were strong enough to tear down concrete walls, as well as hold Carlyle aloft. Further alterations of Doc Ock's original design include the fact that two of the six arms ended in electrical tazers, while the four remaining appendages had their own extendable mini-tentacles, which could function as finger-like devices, as well as harden enough to become like knives.

Although the armor offered virtually full-body protection, it did not have a helmet - most likely due to Carlyle's desire to be recognized.

Other Media

Carlyle appears as "Carlyle the Mad Bomber" in the Spider-Man 3 video game, where he is voiced by Neil Ross. He's portrayed as a mad bomber who was originally a wealthy industrialist whose business was destroyed when J. Jonah Jameson posted stories in the Daily Bugle that got City Hall to investigate him. Fueled with revenge, he and his hired henchman go on a bombing spree.

Carlyle's appearance in the game is slightly based off Turbo Jet, a villain who appeared in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series.