Silas Thorne

Silas Thorne was the brother of Las Vegas magnate Cassandra Mercury, as well as the owner of Forbidden City, a casino which competed with Cassandra's much more popular Mercury Rising. In an attempt to discredit Cassandra's casino, Silas had gunmen attack the lobby of Mercury Rising, and then pointed a group of novice vigilantes called the Web Spinners towards Cassandra, causing another scene.[2] Following Hydra's empire during which Las Vegas was almost destroyed, Silas continued antagonizing his sister,[3] despite her having previously found out he was behind the attacks on her casino.[2] Thorne hired the Hornet to target a shipment of food meant for Mercury Rising, which Cassandra had turned into a temporary shelter for the victims of Hydra's destruction, claiming she was hoarding the food and giving it only to her guests.[3] After fighting the Hornet to protect the shipment, the Scarlet Spider confronted Silas. Disgusted by Thorne's willingness to jeopardize innocent people for the sake of his feud against Cassandra, the Scarlet Spider beat him up to a pulp with the warning to leave Mercury alone.[4]