Ken Ellis

Origin

Little has been revealed of Ken Ellis' early life prior to becoming a reporter, but as a reporter at the Daily Bugle though, Ellis managed to make his first big splash was during the public debut of Ben Reilly, a clone of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) who decided to be a hero just like his "brother" was. Following a pitched battle between Reilly and Venom, Ellis wrote an article that claimed the new arachnid superhero was called the "Scarlet Spider" and he went on to describe him in great detail.

Over time, Ellis has earned a reputation as a talented, albeit sometimes arrogant, writer whose aggressive pursuit of stories earns him equal amounts of praise and trouble.

Creation

Ken Ellis was created by Terry Kavanagh the writer and Steven Butler the artist. His first appearance was in 1994's Web of Spider-Man #118.

Major Story Arcs

Separation Anxiety

When Eddie Brock was separated from the alien symbiote that made him into Venom, Ellis tracked Brock down to the government facility where he was being held in the hopes of scoring an exclusive story. Despite being able to infiltrate the facility by pretending to be a scientist, Ellis' cover didn't last long. Before he could be escorted off the premises though, the Five Symbiotes attacked the facility in order to take Brock. Ellis pretended to be Brock's doctor so that he could follow his story, but Scream knew his ruse and simply took Ellis along as a hostage. While they were both hostages, Ellis tried his best to interview Brock, but with little success. Ellis later managed to patch Brock up after he'd gotten shot while escaping the Five Symbiotes and running afoul of some street thugs. When government forces arrived for Brock, Ellis was ordered to drop his investigation. He relented, but only because the ordeal between Brock and the Five Symbiotes wasn't what he had originally set out to investigate - though Ellis still intended to get an exclusive with Brock one day.

The Skull Jackets

In one of his earliest assignments after reaching the position of full-time staff writer at the Bugle, Ellis crossed paths with the mercenary, Skull-Jacket, who knocked him out with one of his trademark dart weapons and stole a sample of Ellis' RNA. Thanks to the help of the NYPD's Detective Marcella Cellanos, Ellis was able to track down Skull-Jacket and put Spider-Man on his trail before the mercenary could use his RNA to impersonate him and ruin Ellis' reputation.

The Heroic Green Goblin

Ellis also had a unique relationship with the short-lived heroic incarnation of the Green Goblin - secretly Phil Urich, the nephew of fellow Bugle reporter Ben Urich. The Green Goblin frequently antagonized the reporter, but also saved his life when Ellis' snooping accidentally made him a target of Joystick.

Sticky Situations

Recently Ellis fell into a confrontation between Spider-Man and Deadpool while digging up info on corruption in the U.S. Military. Luckily for Ellis, he survived the encounter and received some much needed help from Cable and Deadpool in gaining important evidence in order to complete his story.

Brand New Day

After the Daily Bugle was bought by Dexter Bennet and renamed the DB!, Ellis continued to work there, even despite it being transformed into a scandal magazine.

Characteristics

Occupation: Reporter

Base of Operations: New York City

Height: 5 ft 10 in

Weight: 165 lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Powers & Abilities

Ken Ellis is a professional journalistic, and as such he has great investigative skills. He goes to virtually any lengths to get the scoop on his story, sometimes even if that means infiltrating restricted government facilities or risking his neck in dangerous situations. He also has a useful talent for coming up with a memorable moniker for a costumed hero or villain, or an eye-catching headline.