Herman SchultzShocker

Salvaging a Bad Situation

Herman Schultz’s criminal career began back when he was an employee for Adrian Toomes’ salvage company. Toomes’ company was working on cleaning up the remnants of alien technology left after the Chitauri invasion of Manhattan, dubbed the Battle of New York. Before Toomes’ workers could get too far into the job—which Adrian Toomes had invested a large amount of money in—Damage Control arrived on the scene and claimed official jurisdiction.

Now out work and financially ruined, Toomes and his men, including Schultz, secretly kept some Chitauri tech they’d already salvaged and embarked on a criminal career. Backed by Toomes’ ingenuity and crew member Phineas Mason’s talent for engineering and harnessing the alien parts for new advanced weaponry, Toomes’ crew sold their powerful weapons to the highest bidder. They were able to continue their illegal activity as they stole more technology left behind from other Super Hero battles.

One crew member, Jackson Brice, took to wearing a vibro-shock gauntlet and was the first person to dub himself “Shocker.” Ultimately, though, it was Schultz who was destined to continue on with that weapon and identity.

Shock the System

Schultz, like Jackson Brice before him, wears a specialized shock emission gauntlet. It was designed by Phineas Mason. With the gauntlet, Schultz generates and releases powerful electric shock blasts that propel targets away or ground them for capture. Because of the force produced by the gauntlet, Schultz can also deliver super-powered punches, capable of moving objects as large as a school bus.

Everything Was Great Until…

Aside from the government bureaucrats that took his job, Schultz’s main pain is the quirky Queens-based costumed vigilante known as Spider-Man. After all, the weapons business was booming and Toomes’ crew was operating in the shadows until Spider-Man stuck his nose into their affairs and started shining a spotlight on them.

Crewmates

Aside from Jackson Brice, who is a bit of a loose cannon, Schultz’s friends and allies are his tight-knit crew of former salvage workers—including their leader Adrian Toomes, and trusted men like Phineas Mason and Randy Vale.

Bad Vibes

While meeting with a potential buyer named Aaron Davis, Herman Schultz and Jackson Brice drew the attention of Spider-Man after Brice lit up the sky when enthusiastically demonstrating the power of a gun made from the arm of an Ultron sentry robot. Spider-Man intervened during the transaction, and Schultz and Brice tried to flee the scene in a van, eventually calling Toomes for assistance. Toomes swooped in, wearing his flying exo-suit, and thwarted Spider-Man, allowing his men to escape.

Once back at their hideout, Toomes chastised Brice for his cockiness and stressed the importance of anonymity and being discreet during their sales. During his lecture, he accidentally killed Brice with a Chitauri gun, thinking he’d picked up the Anti-Gravity Gun. Shaking it off, Toomes gave Brice’s shock gauntlet to Schultz and declared that Schultz was the “Shocker” now.

Next, Schultz and Randy Vale took a scanner to track down a Chitauri Energy Core lost during their van escape. Their search brought them to Midtown School of Science and Technology, where Peter Parker placed a Spider-Tracer on Schultz. This allowed him to track Toomes’ crew to Maryland and stop the robbery of a Damage Control truck.

After the failed heist, Schultz and Toomes met with Mac Gargan on the Staten Island Ferry for an arms deal—an event once again broken up by Spider-Man. Schultz was momentarily restrained by Spidey’s web-shooters, but Toomes freed him. Both fled after a Chitauri Gun sliced the ferry in half, escaping shortly before Iron Man arrived to help those onboard the boat.

After Toomes figured out that Spider-Man was Peter Parker—who was bringing Toomes’ own daughter, Liz, to their school homecoming dance—he called Schultz and had him go to the school to make sure Peter didn’t try to leave to stop Toomes from robbing a Stark cargo plane.

Prepared for Parker to pursue Toomes, Schultz ambushed Peter, punching him with his Shocker gauntlet when the boy was leaving the school—and before he had finished putting on his makeshift Spider-Man suit. Peter dropped one of his web-shooters in the assault and Schultz dominated Peter until Ned, Peter’s friend, grabbed the discarded web-shooter and webbed Schultz to the side of a school bus.