Tarantula

History
Libana ben-Jamal (better known as Tarantula) was born in Beirut as the second child of islamic political leader Akkad ben-Jamal and his wife Senia. When the civil war broke out, Senia fled to the United States with her daughter and took her maiden name, Tarek. She raised her daughter as an American, working hard to put Tarantula through College. No-one was more proud than Senia, when Libana graduated with a Bachelor in Political Science. The girl was predicted a great future in broadcasting - sadly it was not to be.

Shortly after graduation, Senia Tarek was killed in a shoot-out between two gangs. The shock triggered Libana's latent powers.Stricken with grief, she decided to return to Libanon and find her father. She did find her father, who was now a high-ranking officer in Hamas. She also found her half-brother, Udal, and met a man called Kamal Biari. Libana joined Hamas to be with her father and brother, and a few months later she married Kamal Biari.

Libana - who had now taken the name Tarantula to hide her true identity - undertook several missions for Hamas, where her super-human strength came in handy. But after her third mission, she was struck by another tragedy. Her father, Akkad ben-Jamal, and her half-brother Udal ben-Jamal, were both killed by an Israeli missile. Bent on revenge, Tarantula attacked and destroyed a border post, killing three Israeli soldiers (an act later blamed on Hamas rebels). While on the mission, Kamal Biari was killed in an Israeli raid.

Disillusioned with Hamas and filled with hatred of the West (who had aided Israel in the first place), Tarantula returned to the United States, where she founded the Ta'reen Syndicate. She soon recruited other mutants - Bodycount, Myst, Fatal, Bat and Jinx - and began working for hire as an assassin and terrorist.

Strength Level
Tarantula possesses superhuman strength enabling her to lift (press) up to 20 tons.

Superhuman Powers
Tarantula apparently has the ability to mentally control the flux of inter-atomic attraction between molecular boundary layers. This ability to affect the attraction between surfaces is limited to Tarantula’s body (especially concentrated in her hands and feet) and another object, with an upper limit of several tons per finger. She can use this ability even through her costume’s gloves and boots.

Tarantula’s superhuman strength enables her to leap to great heights. The limits of her leaping abilities are as yet unknown.

Limitations
See above.

Weapons
None.

Special Skills
Tarantula is an excellent leader, and is fluent in six languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Hebrew, and Russian).