| “ | Hihihi...a careless move. Now I have you. Araña in Spanish...means spider. Fits me perfectly, don't you think...? | „ |
| ~ Araña to a captured Cain |
Strider Araña, also written Arana, is a minor antagonist from the Strider series. He hails from the Strider Hiryu manga, appearing in Chapter 4 as one of two members of Matic’s personal unit. He also appears in the Strider NES adaptation as a common enemy encountered in the Africa and Australia stages.
History[]
Araña is a member of the Striders and a Special-A Rank agent who joined Matic in his rebellion against Director Kuramoto. He's known among Striders for styling himself after spiders, using a sharp filament in ways similar to a spider's web and keeping tarantulas on his being as pets. He and Strider Kubira were assigned the mission to protect the Amazon Research Institute, as the ZAIN host computer predicted that Hiryu and Cain would target it next in their crusade against Enterprise. Araña arrived first and prepared a wire zone trap in the nearby jungle, then left for a high cliff in order to observe. Kubira soon joined him and the two discussed Hiryu and his skills. When the laboratory blows up, Kubira leaves to face Hiryu but Araña remains behind, confident in his trap.
Hiryu and Cain are soon caught up in Araña's wire zone, which Cain quickly recognized before they were sliced apart. Araña then ambushes them and manages to ensnare Cain. Using Cain as hostage Araña screams at Hiryu to reveal himself, and Hiryu eventually does much to Cain's lament. Araña notices Hiryu appears unarmed, but Hiryu tells him his Cypher is right behind him, surprising Araña as the weapon comes flying back at him. Unable to dodge it, Araña is dealt a fatal blow and Hiryu reclaims his Cypher.
Dying, Araña requests Hiryu to let his spiders leave and asks him one last question: why they stood so close to the lab's explosion. Upon hearing Cain's explanation that they planned on using the assist airships sent by Enterprise to pick-up any injured personnel in order to infiltrate their headquarters, Araña burst out laughing and finally dies.
Personality[]
Araña is an arrogant and confident Strider, showing a cocky attitude about his strategies and dismissing the warnings of his comrade Kubira, who knew of Hiryu's incredible strength and skills from their time together during training. Araña didn't paid particular interest to his comrade's explanations and instead remained certain that he'd be able to defeat both Hiryu and Cain with his tactics.
Araña was known to keep several tarantulas as pets, and they were visible crawling all over his body. He was very attached to them and went out of his way to request Hiryu to release them on his deathbed. Although an efficient and ruthless killer, he seemingly took his defeat and inminent death very gracefully, even asking Hiryu and Cain to explain their plans to carry them into Hell as "a souvenir", and having a hearty laugh at Cain's plans to infiltrate Enterprise.
Powers and Abilities[]
Cunning and skilled, Araña has a preference for setting traps and ambushing his target instead of engaging in direct confrontations. He fights using a thin and sharp filament or cutting wire with great dexterity, using it similarly to a spider's web to cling and hang upside-down from high places, as well as being able to ensnare targets without the wire cutting into them. The filament is sharp to the point that it got a bird bisected merely by it flying into one of them.
Araña mainly uses the wire to setup traps in open areas, forming "trap zones" in the form of wire cages where his targets would unknowingly walk into and die. His filaments are so thin they are almost invisible to the naked eye, making them extremelly deadly to anyone if not spotted in time.
Araña is also seen wielding a large rifle with him, although he's unable to use it before Hiryu takes care of him. His appearance on the NES video game, however, have him using the gun to shoot at the player from high positions, hanging upside-down with the use of his wire.
Trivia[]
- Araña's name is intended to be written as the Spanish word for "spider", something he points out to Cain in the manga.
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 Villains
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Strider Hiryu (1988 manga) & NES adaptation Strider (1989) Strider 2 Strider (2014) Organizations | ||