The Tinkerer (Phineas Mason) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary of the superhero Spider-Man and the father of Rick Mason. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 (May 1963). The Tinkerer is generally depicted as a genius in engineering who is able to create gadgets and other devices from nothing more than spare parts left over from ordinary household appliances. While in his initial appearances he sought to personally eliminate Spider-Man, more recent storylines depict him under the employ of other supervillains, whom he supplies with his gadgets for their personal vendettas against Spider-Man or other heroes. Since his introduction in comics, the character has been adapted into several other forms of media, such as animated television series and video games. The Tinkerer made his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), portrayed by Michael Chernus. Publication history The Tinkerer is a character that was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, as part of the original publication of The Amazing Spider-Man and made his first initial appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 (April 1963), opposing Spider-Man as a villain. It would, however, be several years before he would return, and made his second appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #160 (September 1976), once again opposing Spider-Man in a losing effort. The Tinkerer would be mentioned in The Amazing Spider-Man #182 (July 1978). This was his first mention in the publication as a supporting side character to the other villains. Fictional character biography Criminal career Phineas Mason is a brilliant inventor and technician who designs advanced weaponry for criminals and sometimes undertakes crimes of his own. As the "Terrible Tinkerer", he runs an underground fix-it shop disguised as a radio repair shop. On at least one occasion, a potential customer gained the inventor's attention by presenting a transistor radio and telling Mason that "I've got a radio that just can't carry a tune". The Tinkerer's original scheme involved the employment of a team of petty has-been stuntmen and thugs. They specialized in placing bugs into radios and blackmailing state officials and politicians. The Tinkerer tried to present himself as an alien to confuse his pursuers by leaving behind a mask that looked like his face when he escaped from