Throughout his comic book appearances, his abilities have stemmed from the use of lifelike masks, holographic technology, and mutagenic enhancement, while his role in Spider-Man stories has varied from being depicted as a spy, hitman, and criminal mastermind.

The character made his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), portrayed by Numan Acar.

Dmitri Smerdyakov debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963), created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.

[7][8] The Chameleon is therefore the first member of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery based on issue publication date, excluding the Burglar who murdered Ben Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15.

Shortly afterward, Sergei (now known as "Kraven the Hunter") came to the United States, and the Chameleon set his old associate's sights on Spider-Man.

He allied himself with the Femme Fatales, the Scorpion, and the Tarantula to eliminate Spider-Man and the Black Cat, but escaped when his plan failed.

[32] When Ashley Kafka sneaks him into a basement to try to continue treating him, believing that he was close to a breakthrough when the court were preparing to put him on trial, the Chameleon escaped and attempted to convince Spider-Man that he was actually a hallucinating writer who had suffered a mental breakdown after his daughter's death in a car accident; Peter managed to break through this deception due to his own strength of will.

[35] After tricking Spider-Man to the bridge where Gwen Stacy's death occurred on the pretext of having kidnapped Mary Jane, the Chameleon declared his own loneliness and love for Peter.

[37] He later reappeared in his Chameleon identity as part of the Sinister Twelve villain team organized by Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin.

[42] Additionally, it was revealed in Super Villain Team-Up: MODOK's Eleven that his apparent insanity and demise years earlier were in fact well-crafted ruses designed so that he could fade into the background once more.

[43] The "One More Day" storyline ended with the removal of Peter and Mary Jane's timeline from all memories, as well as knowledge of Spider-Man's identity, including the Chameleon.

To complete his hired goal of bombing City Hall, he kidnaps Peter and takes his place working for Mayor J. Jonah Jameson.

[47] Various follow-up issues during The Gauntlet storyline show the Chameleon helping the Kravinoff family create an alliance of Spider-Man's enemies as well as Diablo.

[50] During Grim Hunt, he posed as Ezekiel Sims to get close to Spider-Man, intending to defeat him and bring him to the Kravinoffs to sacrifice as part of a ritual that will revive Sergei.

Using a lead gained when he took down Shocker, Spider-Man arrives at the Kravinoff Mansion where he captures the Chameleon, who reveals that the baby is still alive and is in the Lizard's clutches.

[56] The Chameleon then disguises himself as a tribal chief when he and Mysterio pull off a zombie pirate attack on some indigenous peoples, using robots of the other Sinister Six members.

[57] Chameleon and Mysterio pulled off this scheme as a diversion so that Doctor Octopus and the other Sinister Six members could infiltrate the Baxter Building to look for specific technology plans, while the Future Foundation were investigating the more obvious threat.

Both are interrupted by a transmission from Doctor Octopus, who activates the Octavian Lens blocking harmful UV rays from the sun to reinforce his offer.

[61] After Spider-Man and the Black Widow escape with Silver Sable's help, the Chameleon suggests that since the Sinister Six's remaining members had each received their $2 billion and had their criminal records expunged, they should just leave Doctor Octopus and his scheme; the others elect to stay on board, rather than make an enemy of Otto.

The Chameleon later gets involved with Mysterio in tricking Spider-Man's allies into thinking they were destroying Symkaria to give Doctor Octopus more time to complete the 200 satellites.

The Superior Spider-Man has been temporarily controlling their minds to redeem them for their crimes, forcing them to risk their lives doing heroic deeds against their will, then bringing them back to their containment cells after.

[72] As Spider-Man finds that some of the Jack O'Lanterns were unmasked to be Chameleon-like people, Finisher revealed to Teresa that Chameleon was adopted at a young age by Gustav Fiers.

Upon meeting up with Spider-Man, Teresa rejects Chameleon's insinuations and breaks the Clairvoyant, believing that she is a Parker first and foremost, and makes plans to track down Finisher.

[76] The belt buckle also contains a video receiver that enables the computer to analyze the appearance of anyone the Chameleon encounters so that it can duplicate their features using electrical impulses.

The Chameleon's costume consists of "memory material" that can be altered by electrical impulses from his belt to resemble the clothing of the person he is impersonating.

Although the Chameleon is not a scientific genius, during his increased lifespan he has been exposed to a wide array of sophisticated experimental technology, much of which he can apply in his schemes.

"[83] Jesse Schedeen of IGN ranked Chameleon 14th in their "Top 25 Spider-Man Villains" list, stating, "The fact that he’s been such a mainstay of Spidey’s rogues gallery ever since is a testament to his enduring appeal.

[89][90] Dmitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon appears in Kraven the Hunter, portrayed by Fred Hechinger as an adult[97][98] and Billy Barratt as a teenager.

Characters based on Dmitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon appear in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU):