Calypso first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #209 (October 1980), created by writer Denny O’Neil and artist Alan Weiss. She was introduced as an ally and lover of Kraven the Hunter, a notorious big game hunter who had a personal vendetta against Spider-Man. Calypso seemed to enjoy driving Kraven into fits of rage and furthering his hatred of the web-slinger, which ultimately led to Kraven’s suicide in the classic “Kraven’s Last Hunt” storyline.

Calypso’s real name is Calypso Ezili, and she is of Haitian nationality. She is a voodoo priestess who utilizes magic potions to manipulate and control others, especially animals. She also has a fascination with necromancy, the dark art of raising the dead. She sacrificed her younger sister to increase her powers, and later attempted to resurrect Kraven using various methods.

Calypso has clashed with Spider-Man several times, often using the Lizard, a reptilian alter ego of Peter Parker’s friend Curt Connors, as her pawn. She also crossed paths with Daredevil, Brother Voodoo, and Simon Garth, a self-aware zombie. She was seemingly killed on multiple occasions, but always managed to cheat death through her magic or by transferring her spirit into an amulet.

One of Calypso’s most notable storylines was “Torment”, the opening arc of Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man series in 1990. In this story, Calypso used her potions to enhance the Lizard’s strength and savagery, and to inflict Spider-Man with intense pain and hallucinations. She also revealed that she had a connection to Spider-Man’s black costume, which was actually an alien symbiote that had bonded with him before. Calypso claimed that she had encountered the symbiote in Haiti, and that it had influenced her actions ever since. Spider-Man eventually overcame Calypso’s torment and defeated her and the Lizard, but not without suffering physical and psychological trauma.

Calypso’s final appearance was in The Spectacular Spider-Man #249-253 (1998), where she succeeded in resurrecting Kraven using a ritual that involved sacrificing his son Alyosha. However, Kraven was enraged by what Calypso had done, and rejected her. He then stabbed her in the chest with a knife, killing her for good. Spider-Man arrived too late to stop him, but managed to save Alyosha from dying.

Calypso has also appeared in other media besides comics. She was voiced by Susan Beaubian in the 1994 Spider-Man animated series, where she was depicted as a former lover of Kraven who helped him become a superhuman hunter using a mystical serum. She also appeared in the video game Spider-Man 3 (2007), voiced by Angela V. Shelton, where she was an ally of Sergei’s half-brother Dmitri Smerdyakov, aka Chameleon. She used her voodoo powers to create illusions and zombies to fight Spider-Man.

Calypso is a fascinating character who has added a touch of horror and mysticism to the Marvel Universe. She is a formidable foe for Spider-Man and anyone who crosses her path. She is also a tragic figure who was corrupted by her obsession with power and love. Whether she is alive or dead, Calypso is not someone you want to mess with.