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The Chameleon is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The...

The Chameleon is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko; the Chameleon is the first member of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery, based on issue publication date, excluding the burglar who murdered Ben Parker. (Supercharger was the first Spider-Man supervillain chronologically.) The Chameleon was born a Russian citizen named Dmitri Smerdyakov. In his youth, he was a servant and half-brother to Kraven the Hunter, Sergei Kravinoff, and eventually became a minor associate to one Gustav Fiers. Although Dmitri and Sergei were friends, Sergei was often abusive to him, leading to a combination of admiration and resentment towards Kravinoff from Smerdyakov. Eventually, Smerdyakov emigrated to the United States of America. As he had made a talent for himself during his youth, impressing his brother by impersonating friends and neighbors, he assumed an even more impressive disguise: the identity of the Chameleon. During his first known criminal outing, he impersonated Spider-Man, though he was exposed and arrested. Shortly afterward,