The Hulk, often called The Incredible Hulk, is a Marvel Comics superhero. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Incredible Hulk #1 (May, 1962)

The Hulk is the alter ego of Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a genius in nuclear physics. As a result of exposure to gamma radiation, Banner often becomes one of a number of large, superhumanly strong, green or grey creatures.

Although the Hulk is classified as a superhero, he and Banner share a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-like relationship. In his most common incarnation, the Hulk has little intelligence and self-control and can cause great destruction. As a result, he has been hunted by the military and other superheroes and Banner considers the Hulk a curse.

Although an atypical superhero, the Hulk has consistently been one of Marvel’s most popular. In recent decades, comic book writers have portrayed the character as a symbol of inner rage and Freudian repression. The Hulk's existence has been explained as an aftereffect of child abuse and latent multiple personality disorder.

The Hulk has been featured in several mediums, most notably a popular late 1970s/early 1980s television series and a 2003 film.

History

Cover to The Incredible Hulk #1. Art by Jack Kirby.The Hulk was inspired by the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the dichotomy usually consisting of the simple minded and emotional brute who springs from a quiet intellectual. Indeed, in contrast to the quiet Banner, the most famous version of the Hulk is as a childlike persona who just wants to be left alone, but is continually forced to battle foes determined to hunt him down. This is somewhat similar to that of Universal Studios's 1931 film, Frankenstein, another major influence on the character.


History of the comic
In the first issue of The Incredible Hulk, the Hulk was supposed to be gray. However, the publishers of the time had difficulties with printing a consistent and clear shade of gray, so after the first issue they decided to make him green and that color stuck. Later in the series, in 1986, the Hulk reverted to gray, and remained that way until 1991.

In the origin story of the Hulk, Dr. Bruce Banner is a military scientist who has developed a new type of weapon called the "Gamma Bomb". As the bomb is being tested (in a fashion reminiscent of the Trinity atomic bomb test), Dr. Banner notices that a teenager, Rick Jones, has driven his car onto the test site. Banner races out into the open to bring the young man to safety, but the bomb explodes before he can reach safety himself. Banner is subjected to an incredible dose of gamma rays, and this is what causes him to transform into the rampaging Hulk. At first he becomes the Hulk when the sun goes down, but soon the more familiar transformation occurs whenever Dr. Banner becomes angry or emotional. This story has a strong Cold War subtext to it: in addition to the Gamma Bomb test, the Hulk is promptly captured in the first issue of the book and brought to a country which is presumably the Soviet Union (though the name "Soviet Union" was never used in the book, the story ended with a statement about the end of "Red tyranny"). Later revisions of the Hulk's origin (especially for the TV series of the 1970s and the animated TV cartoons of the 1980s and 1990s) remove the military subtext and make Banner a non-military scientist.

The plots of many of the earliest Hulk stories involve General Thunderbolt Ross continually pursuing the Hulk, with his "Hulkbuster" U.S. Army group at his side. Ross's daughter Betty is a love interest for Bruce Banner and often criticizes her father for going after the Hulk so relentlessly without regard to her feelings for the Hulk's alternate identity. General Ross's right-hand-man, Major Glenn Talbot, is also in love with Betty but is an honorable man and is torn between pursuing the Hulk and gaining Betty's love in an honest way. Teenager Rick Jones is the Hulk's first and only friend for a time. Later on, another teenager named Jim Wilson becomes the Hulk's friend.

The Hulk appeared in the premiere run of his own comic book series created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby during the early 1960s, at the same time as other famous Marvel characters including the Fantastic Four, Thor and Spider-Man. The initial Hulk series only ran for six issues before being cancelled by Marvel, due to low sales and the limited number of titles Marvel was then allowed to publish: in order to free space on the publishing schedule and give Spider-Man his own comic, The Hulk was cancelled. However, the character's brief run was popular enough to be noticed by creators Kirby and Lee. In interviews, Kirby stated that shortly after the official cancellation notice for the book was issued, he received a letter from a college dormitory stating that the Hulk had been chosen as its mascot. Kirby and Lee realized that their character had found an audience in college-age readers -- a demographic that had been entirely ignored by comic books until that time. This inspired them to keep the Hulk alive through numerous guest appearances in other comic books, and by adding him to the founding ranks of the Avengers.. The Hulk was then given a regular backup feature in Marvel's ongoing series Tales To Astonish. After several years, the Hulk's popularity was enough to cause the book to be renamed The Incredible Hulk, where its run continued until March 1999, at which point the series restarted with a new issue #1. The third and current Hulk series premiered in April 1999, with the title being returned to The Incredible Hulk with issue 12. The Hulk also was a long time member of The Defenders.


Early history of the character

Cover of The Incredible Hulk #181, featuring the first appearance of the popular X-Man Wolverine.The Hulk's personality and intelligence level has varied wildly over the years, even from his earliest days. In his very first issue, he is easily confused, and rather brutish. In his second, as well as assuming his trademark green skin color, he acts almost as an outright villain. In the third, he becomes the mindless thrall of Rick Jones, and in the fourth, Bruce Banner gains the ability to impose his personality over the Hulk - although this is short-lived, as the personality which later becomes associated with the Grey Hulk emerges in issue 5 and 6 (and this remains his dominant personality in many of the guest appearances he makes in other comics between cancellation of his series, and his reappearance in his own strip inTales to Astonish. Despite what some sources say, the personality of the Grey Hulk of Incredible Hulk #1 bears only a minor resemblance to the Grey Hulk/"Joe Fixit" of later years, showing none of the guile which would define that incarnation of the character.) The most famous incarnation of the character - the "Savage Hulk", who almost invariably spoke in the third person - would only appear gradually over the run in Tales to Astonish, with the trademark speech pattern finally appearing in TTA #66.

Later, due to a side-effect of a teleportation beam, Bruce Banner gained control of the Hulk's body, and the ability to transform at will. Gradually, though, he again cycled downward, losing intelligence and gaining aggression in Hulk form. Finally, due to the interference of the dream-demon Nightmare, Banner committed "psychic suicide," causing the Hulk to become a truly mindless, rampaging monster, which the sorcerer Doctor Strange banished to an inter-dimensional "Crossroads". While there, the "Savage Hulk" personality gradually reasserted itself, and finally Banner himself reemerged.

When the Hulk finally returned to Earth, Doc Samson, a green-haired scientist whose strength had been enhanced by a controlled dose of gamma radiation some years before, managed to capture the Hulk and split Banner and the Hulk into two separate beings by the use of a "nutrient bath". While Banner, finally free of his curse, was finally able to wed Betty Ross, Samson rebelled at plans to execute the again-mindless Hulk and accidentally freed the violent brute in attempting to prevent the execution. After much rampaging, it was discovered that Banner and the Hulk were dying from the separation, before the Vision managed to reunite them. This merger proved unstable, with Banner's head emerging from the Hulk's torso while the Hulk's personality flicked back and forth from "Savage" to "Grey" (although his color remained green). Finally, they got the Hulk back into the nutrient bath to stabilize him, but Rick Jones also fell in, emerging as a green, Savage Hulk-like creature, while Banner briefly emerged as a gray Hulk until the sun hit his skin, reverting him back to Banner.


The Peter David years

The Grey Hulk as "Joe Fixit"Shortly after the re-emergence of the Gray Hulk, writer Peter David took on the mantle of writing the Incredible Hulk, a role he would hold for almost twelve years. David had the craftily intelligent Grey Hulk ally with the Leader to restore the Leader's intelligence by draining Rick Jones' gamma power, in return for the Leader making it possible to allow him to remain the Hulk in both day and night (since the Grey Hulk now appeared during the night, and Banner during the day). While the first step was accomplished, an explosion meant the Leader escaped without having to make good on his promise. Soon after, the Hulk apparently died in a Leader-induced gamma bomb explosion, but actually escaped and took a job as a Las Vegas casino enforcer named "Mr. Fixit," working for casino boss Michael Berengetti, with no Banner to trouble him. For a time, he lived a hedonistic life, including a brief relationship with Marlo Chandler. When Banner reemerged, however, "Joe Fixit"'s life began to fall apart, since he could no longer appear in the daytime - with his problems helped along by the well-meaning Glorian, whose desire to turn the Hulk into a "noble, self-sacrificing individual" led him to a deal with the being Cloot (actually the demon Satannish), and the destruction of the Hulk's life, terrifying Marlo into dumping him and Berengetti into firing him. Finally, with the Hulk realizing that he'd go to the same Hell as Glorian was being dragged down to too, eventually, it boiled down to him and Cloot playing Craps for his & Glorian's souls: if the Hulk won, Cloot could never take him or Glorian. If he lost, Cloot got them both immediately. The Hulk rolled the pair of giant dice, over twice as tall as himself, and jumped to land as they bounced, to make them roll a double-6. As Cloot complained about the Hulk's "cheating" and tried to take Glorian anyway, Glorian's master, the Shaper of Worlds intervened, saying that with Cloot's deal broken, he had no power. Cloot vanished, swearing to get Glorian and the Hulk someday, and the Shaper warning the Hulk to think about his future life "and after."

Later, David expanded on an earlier story that established that Banner had an abused childhood which fostered a great deal of repressed anger which triggered a latent case of multiple personality disorder. The three dominant personalities are the quiet intellectual Banner, the Grey Hulk which embodies his more antisocial cunning side, and the Savage Hulk which embodies his inner child and repressed rage. Doc Samson, with the assistance of the Ringmaster, managed to prompt the merger of Banner's personalities into one apparently healthy personality which embodied Banner's intellect and conscience, the Grey's cunning and confidence and the Savage's color and strength. (Doc Samson would later claim, when something resembling the Merged Hulk emerged alongside his apparent component parts, that this was just another personality released from Banner's mind, who became known as the "Professor." However, since it was shown at the time of the merger that Samson had little control over the process, exactly how much truth there is to this remains unknown.) This "Merged Hulk" shortly thereafter joined up with the group known as the Pantheon, all of whom took their names from Greco-Roman mythology. The immortal leader and patriarch of the family, Agamemnon (from whom all of the other members were descended to some degree), and Ulysses convinced the Hulk to join them between his desire to do good in the world, and his desire to stick it to the US Government for years of hounding him by taking down a US-supported government with an abominable human rights record, among other things. As he joined, however, Delphi, the Pantheon's prophetess, saw "violence, death and pain, and a soul no longer sane" in the future: the Hulk laughing maniacally, while covered in blood.


The Merged Hulk, surrounded by other Pantheon membersThe Hulk spent some time with the Pantheon. The merger of personalities began to destabilize beginning with a battle with the Leader and the reanimated body of General Ross that led to both foes' deaths. As the Pantheon's home and headquarters, the Mount, crumbled around him and Delphi's vision of insane anger came true, the Savage Hulk came out in Banner's body, thanks to the Merged Hulk's feelings of helplessness, frustration, and rage. After this, the Hulk went into hiding for some time, hampered by the "Savage Banner" coming out whenever he got angry. Finally, in battle with the psychic creature Onslaught, he was once more physically separated into both Hulk and Banner. Banner went on to be teleported to the Heroes Reborn universe, and the Hulk left behind was not mindless but soulless, a mixture of the Fixit and Savage personae. The Hulk became a conduit of energy between the two universes, growing physically stronger, but coming ever closer to dying; meanwhile, Banner relived an altered version of his life, becoming a Hulk similar to the Savage Hulk again, in the other universe. Eventually Banner (along with the others who ended up in the other universe) returned home, and Banner was reunited with the soulless Hulk in the process, although the Hulk's personality was not significantly changed.

Finally, just as Banner looked like he was about to settle down with Betty, she died of gamma radiation poisoning. Although Banner and an again-resurrected General Ross believed the source of the poisoning to have been Betty's close relationship with Banner, it had actually been caused by the Abomination, who hated the Hulk for having kept him away from his estranged ex-wife. The Abomination was exposed and defeated in retaliation by the Hulk twice: first as the Professor, who saw reason to forgive the Abomination, and again as the Savage Hulk, who was manipulated by Ross into beating the Abomination nearly to death.

In 1998, Peter David followed up on a suggestion by his editor Bobbie Chase to kill the character of Betty Banner. When David went with this suggestion, executives at Marvel used this as an opportunity to push the idea of bringing back the Savage Hulk (who had not really appeared in the years that David had written the book). David disagreed, believing that there was limited story potential in doing this, and the disagreement quickly led to David and Marvel Comics parting ways. At this point, Peter David had written nearly every issue of The Incredible Hulk for almost twelve years. Interestingly, the author chose to use his final issue (which was the issue after the death of Betty) to summarize where he might have taken the character given the opportunity.


The third Hulk series
When Peter David left the Hulk, Joe Casey was brought in to serve as a termporary writer. During his short run on the series, he brought the character in the direction that Marvel had requested earlier (focusing on a mute Hulk), but met with little critical success. Casey soon found himself reluctantly ending the series (something which he pointed out in the final issue that he was somewhat uncomfortable doing) when John Byrne was brought back for a second run on the series, now retitled simply "Hulk" and renumbered back to issue #1, with Ron Garney doing the art.

Although Byrne spoke of his plans for the first year, creative differences between him and Marvel led to him leaving before his first year was up. Erik Larsen briefly filled scripting duties in his place, continuing the story of the Savage Hulk. Shortly thereafter, the title of the book was returned to The Incredible Hulk with the arrival of Paul Jenkins, who wrote a story arc in which Banner and the three Hulks (Savage, Gray and the Merged Hulk, now considered a separate personality and referred to as the Professor) were able to mentally interact with one another, each personality taking over their shared body for a time.

Jenkins had a fairly successful run for several years until he was replaced by controversial author Bruce Jones. Jones was initially lauded for his unusual take on the Hulk, which seemed to harken back to the Bill Bixby TV series (see below) to some extent. Jones' run featured Banner using yoga to take control of the Hulk as he was pursued by a secret conspiracy (later revealed to be led by The Leader) and aided by the mysterious Mr. Blue (later revealed to be the resurrected Betty Banner). As the series continued, Jones received criticism regarding the comparatively slow pace of his stories and his controversial re-interpretations of several of the characters. By the time he had left, Jones had written 43 regular issues of the series (plus the four-issue mini-series Hulk/Thing: Hard Knocks), making him the fourth most prolific Hulk writer (behind Peter David, Stan Lee, and Bill Mantlo).

The Hulk went into a temporary hiatus with the departure of Jones (filled primarily by the above-mentioned Hulk/Thing: Hard Knocks mini-series), after which Peter David returned as writer. David had initially signed a contract for the six-issue Tempest Fugit mini-series, but, with the series in hiatus, it was decided to make this story part of the regular book instead. Currently, David is signed for a year, including the (now five-part) "Tempest Fugit" story, with a longer run possible depending on sales.


Related characters
Bruce Banner has a cousin, Jennifer Walters, whom he once had to give an emergency blood transfusion when she was critically wounded. As a result, she takes on the Hulk condition as the She-Hulk. However, her form usually allows her to keep most of her original personality, albeit with more assertiveness and self-confidence.

The Incredible Hulk's main supervillain enemies include:

The Leader: A villain whose own exposure to gamma radiation makes him a super-intelligent genius with an oversized brain.
The Abomination: A Soviet spy who deliberately exposed himself to gamma radiation to become a reptilian version of the Hulk with his original personality and intelligence intact.
The U-Foes: A quartet of villains who participated in an attempt to recreate the same accident that created the Fantastic Four. When Banner discovered them in the middle of their scheme, he interfered with it to successfully save their lives. Although they survived and gained superpowers, they swore revenge on Banner for supposedly cheating them of the chance to gain even more power.
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Incarnations

The four main Hulk incarnations. Clockwise from top left: Bruce Banner, the Savage Hulk, the Grey Hulk ("Joe Fixit") and the Merged Hulk ("the Professor")Banner's Multiple Personality Disorder has spawned several distinguishable Hulks:


Bruce Banner
The core personality. Although on occasion he has been able to usurp the Savage Hulk's body, he has generally been limited to human form and strength. Banner is a genius and a talented scientist, possessing a mind so brilliant that it cannot be measured on any known intelligence test. However, he has often been emotionally repressed throughout his history, interspersed with periods of depression and acceptance of the Hulks.

When Banner was able to usurp control of the Savage Hulk's body, his inability to get as angry as the Hulk limited the strength level he could achieve.


Savage Hulk
The most well-known of the comic book Hulks and generally considered the strongest of all incarnations. This Hulk also was the one with the longest consistent tenure, despite not appearing for more than a year in a row since the early 1980s. The Savage Hulk diverged from Banner during early childhood, from the time when Brian Banner used to beat him. He possesses the IQ and temperament of a young child. He typically refers to himself in the third person, and often claims that he wants to be left alone in an attention-seeking way, and has frequent "Hulk [will] smash" temper tantrums. Banner's transformation into the Savage Hulk is generally triggered by Banner's anger.

The Savage Hulk is normally depicted as a green-skinned and heavily-muscled with a loping, ape-like gait. The mouth area of his face is greatly enlarged, and his nose is extremely short as a result. He rarely wears upper body clothes (which are almost always ripped off in transformation), but usually wears the remnants of Banner's trousers (which are often colored purple).

The Savage Hulk personality manifested in Banner's body three times - once while he was the "main" Hulk, a technique was tried to prevent Banner becoming the Hulk, but it backfired, causing the Savage Hulk to manifest in Banner's body. Later, when he twice broke free from the Merged Hulk, a psychic failsafe that the Merged Hulk subconsciously created caused similar results.

When Banner was separated from the Hulk and drawn into the Heroes Reborn universe, he became a Hulk which resembled the Savage Hulk there due to Franklin Richards reverting the heroes he placed there to the forms he was most familiar with. However, this was apparently not the true Savage Hulk persona.


Grey Hulk ("Joe Fixit")
The Grey Hulk personality briefly appeared (with green skin) towards the end of the Hulk's original series in the 1960s, and again re-emerged in the mid-80s with the grey skin which would become associated with this incarnation just prior to the start of the lengthy Peter David run. The character's most notable spell was as a Las Vegas enforcer called "Mr. Fixit". Berengetti, the man he was working for, referred to the Hulk as "Joe", so this was later combined to form "Joe Fixit".

Significant differences between the personalities of the original Grey Hulk and the version that emerged in the 1980s lead to some debate as to whether these are the same version of the Hulk. In early issues after the re-emergence of the Grey Hulk, the character is referred to as the original Hulk, so it is possible that these differences are simply a result of these being variations of the same personality, just as the Savage Hulk has gone through many variations. However, not all agree that these truly are the same character.

The Grey Hulk diverged from Banner during late adolescence or his college years, as the repressed Banner attempted to deny his sex drive. He has average intelligence, although he would occasionally display knowledge and intellectual ability that were normally associated with Banner. He is cunning, crafty, hedonistic, arrogant, and hard-to-reach, although he has a conscience he often tries to hide. He is the only Hulk who has both manipulated and actually attempted to be rid of Banner, as Banner has often attempted to "cure" himself of being a Hulk. For most of the "Joe Fixit" period, he would generally appear only at night. According to the Leader, the Grey Hulk persona of this period was strongest during the night of the new moon and weakest during the full moon, with the reverse holding true for Banner. There are indications that this is because of Banner's shame of this side of his personality: He only lets it come out when it is dark, and no one can see him. This is supported by the fact that the Grey Hulk has occasionally been "let loose" during the daytime.

This Hulk was grey-skinned for all but his earliest appearances, and is the smallest and weakest of the Hulks (although these are very much relative terms; he still towers over the average human). Otherwise, he looks like a less extreme version of the Savage Hulk, with normal length arms and less of a hunched back. He dresses in made to measure suits when he can. When left in Banner's clothes after a transformation, Banner's clothes are often left on in whatever condition they were in after transformation.

The Grey Hulk was romantically involved with Marlo Chandler for some time while Banner was "submerged" by sorcerers from Jarella's world. The two eventually broke up, and Marlo became involved with (and later married) Rick Jones.


Merged Hulk ("The Professor")
This Hulk was created by the merger of Banner and the two above Hulks. A later story would attempt to retcon this, with Doc Samson claiming that he just released another incarnation from Banner's mind. The veracity of this is in doubt, however, as Samson had been shown to have had little control over the merger process. This Hulk's most notable spell was as an associate, and later the leader, of the Pantheon.

This form is devoid of most of Banner's emotional hang-ups, but can still be prompted into insane range, as when he killed the Leader and later destablised enough for the Savage Hulk to remerge (albeit in Banner's form, due to a "psychic failsafe").

The Merged Hulk, or Professor Hulk, possesses Banner's intelligence, the Grey Hulk's cunning, and the Savage Hulk's strength. However, he also possessed Banner's detatchment, the Grey Hulk's arrogance, and a much lesser degree of the Savage Hulk's propensity for anger and mood swings. After the "Savage Banner" began to emerge, he was forced to restrain his rage to avoid becoming "helpless in mind and body".

The Merged/Professor Hulk is green-skinned, the tallest of the "main" Hulks, partially because, despite his exaggerated musculature, he looks basically like a scaled-up human and walks normally. He has a proportionally larger version of Banner's face, and always dresses in clothes appropriately sized for him (although he occasionally forgoes shirts and shoes).

This aspect of the Hulk is one of the most controversial. Peter David, who created this personality, considered him to be a true unification of the existing personalities. Paul Jenkins, who was the first author to refer to this personality as "the Professor", considered him a separate personality, able to co-exist and even communicate with the other existing personalities.

Peter David states that the personality for the Merged Hulk was originally modeled after Val Kilmer's role as "Chris Knight" in the film Real Genius.


The Maestro
The Maestro is a version of the Merged Hulk from a future timeline. He possesses all of the Hulk's mental and physical power at their full potency, and completely lacks any compassion or morality. The Maestro ruled his world, "Dystopia", until the time-travelling Merged Hulk sent him back in time to the detonation of the Gamma Bomb that first created the Hulk. The Maestro, at Ground Zero, apparently died, but would years later regenerate in a weakened state.


Other incarnations
There were a number of periods where the Hulk presented was neither of the Savage nor Grey Hulks, but showed clear traits of both, usually with green skin. Notable instances of these include:

Unleashed Hulk: During a fight with the villain Onslaught, Banner's persona was separated from the Hulks. As Banner went missing this Hulk became a nexus gateway to the "Heroes Reborn Universe" created by Franklin Richard's. This Hulk had a deteriorating physical condition and his strength levels were very erratic.
Post-Heroes Reborn Hulk: When Banner and the Unleashed Hulk were remerged, Banner's influence moderated the above Hulk somewhat, making him a more level-headed version of the Savage Hulk.
Other incarnations of the Hulk include:

Original Hulk: The first Hulk to walk the Earth. A comparatively malevolent and unintelligent creature who talked without using contractions, and who only appeared twice - once in Incredible Hulk (vol. 1) #1 with grey skin, and the following issue with green skin, although something impersonating this incarnation appeared recently in Incredible Hulk (vol. 3) #77 and #78.
Mindless Hulk: Created twice in quick succession when Banner was removed from the equation: first with a "psychic suicide", whereby Banner retreated deep into his mind, leaving the Hulk that remained violent, animalistic and incapable of speech, and secondly when Banner was physically removed by use of a "nutrient bath", with similar results.
Suppressed Rage Hulk: An incarnation that represents the guilt and rage that resulted from Banner's traumatic experiences, which never gained physical form.
Devil Hulk: A malevolent personality who attempted to usurp control during a period where Banner and all three primary Hulk personalities were active. This Hulk is the manifastion of his abusive father.
Monster Hulk: For a time, through the practices of yoga and mediation, Banner gained a measure of control over the Hulk. During this "bleeding of the minds", Banner could impose his will and mind over the Hulk to a certain extent, and used use some of the Hulk's physical strength in human form.
There have also been several occasions in which Banner possessed the Savage Hulk's mind ("Savage Banner"), or vice versa.


Powers and abilities
The Hulk possesses an incredible level of superhuman physical ability. His capacity for physical strength is potentially limitless, able to lift huge amounts or make leaps spanning several miles in his "Savage" or "Merged" forms. In most of his incarnations, and especially in the "Savage" incarnation, the Hulk's strength increases proportionally with his level of emotional stress, which is usually, though not always, quite high.

The Hulk has shown a high resistance to physical damage nearly regardless of the cause (whether it be artillery shells or falls from a great height), and has also shown resistance to extreme temperatures, poisons, and diseases. In addition, the Hulk's body can regenerate damaged or destroyed areas of tissue at an amazing rate, far faster than that of Wolverine's healing factor.

In addition to his power and healing ability, the Hulk has shown several supernatural abilities, including the ability to "home in" on the desert base where he was created and the ability to see ghosts, including the astral form of Dr. Strange. The former appears to have been caused by a connection with the spirit of the Maestro, whereas the latter may be caused by a fear that his father will return to haunt him.

Thor (often called The Mighty Thor,) is a Marvel Comics superhero, based on the thunder god of Norse mythology. The superhero was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (1962).

On a mission from his father, the king god Odin, Thor acted as a superhero while maintaining the secret identity of Dr. Donald Blake, an American medical doctor. Once Blake tapped his walking stick on the ground, it transformed into the magical hammer Mjolnir and Blake transformed into Thor. Thor often battles his adoptive brother Loki, another Marvel character adapted from a Norse god, and is a member of the all-star superhero group The Avengers.

Throughout the last 40 years, Thor has been a somewhat important Marvel character, although writers have varied in the degree of actual Norse mythology they implemented into the character's series.

Deviations from Norse mythology
The visual appearance of Marvel’s Thor is much different from that of the Norse god, as Marvel Comics' Thor is blond and usually clean-shaven. There are a number of other differences between Marvel Comics' version of Thor and the other Norse gods, such as undoing the death of Balder and giving Thor's lover, Sif, black hair.


Character Biography


Origin
According to the current version, Thor's history follows the traditional myth and later on, he abandoned his worshippers in disgust when they massacred a Christian mission; although he has been seen in flashbacks to have befriended many of his followers and personally guaranteed their passage into Valhalla, he and his other Asgardians have abandoned their roles as figures of worship.

Much later, his father Odin decided that Thor had to be taught humility, and so transformed him into Donald (Don) Blake, a human surgeon who was lame in one leg, and erased his memory. For years, Thor played the role of Don Blake who was a brilliant physician and lived upon Earth. Subsequently, Don Blake became Thor's human alternate persona. Eventually, Odin was satisfied that Thor had spent enough time as Donald Blake, and became Thor with no mortal trappings.

However, in Thor's first appearance (as shown left), long before the lifting of that spell, Odin planted a subconscious desire to go hiking in a specific wilderness area. Once there, aliens attacked and trapped Blake in a sealed cave with little hope of escape. Desperately, Blake tried to used a walking stick he found as a lever to remove the blocking rubble. When he struck the rocks, he triggered the special change spell of the stick and Blake was transformed into his true form of Thor and the stick became the uru war hammer Mjolnir. With his rediscovered power, he escaped the cave and defeated the aliens. With that, Thor dedicated himself to fighting evil.

As at that time, Thor had no memory of his true identity and history for some time, the character was depicted as a Norse version of Captain Marvel. That situation was reinforced with a new spell on the hammer that would change Thor back to Don Blake if he was out of physical contact of his hammer for more than 60 seconds which suggested that Don Blake was his true identity. Fortunately, Mjolnir was small enough to tuck in his belt so he would not have to continually hold the hammer to keep his Thor form. (It was later revealed that Donald Blake was a real person who had been placed into suspended animation by Odin; the real Blake was accidentally killed by Sigyn, who then created a duplicate of him that would reappear years later, believing itself to be the real Donald Blake.)



Protector of Midgard
Thor battles enemies such as his adoptive brother Loki, who has sworn to kill him. To that end, Loki created powerful minions like the Absorbing Man and the Wrecker and manipulated other enemies like Ulik of the Trolls to challenge the thunder god; one of these manipulations resulted in the formation of the superhero team called The Avengers, a team in which for years Thor has served as one of the core members. At the same time, Thor had a romance with his (Donald Blake's) nurse, Jane Foster, which Odin disapproved of; that attitude proved a source of constant frustation for Thor, who at one point even unsuccessfully appealed to Odin to allow him to bring Foster to Asgard.



This status quo in the comics was shaken up in the 1980s under the authorship of Walt Simonson, beginning with Thor's encounter with the monsterous yet noble alien called Beta Ray Bill. Thor was sent to encounter Bill at the request of SHIELD, who had observed Bill's ship destroy a star to refuel; SHIELD feared that the ship might do the same to the sun. During the subsequent fight, Thor lost contact with his hammer for too long, causing him to revert to Blake. Ignorant of the hammer's power, Bill picked up the cane and struck it in frustration against a wall, enacting its mystical enchantment. Being judged worthy to hoist Mjolnir in the process, Bill was transformed, gaining Thor's power (and a variant of Thor's costume) for his own, before being summoned to Asgard by Odin, who confused Bill with his son. Upon realizing his mistake, Odin retrieved Thor as well.

Bill claimed Mjolnir as a prize of fair combat, which Thor — being disadvataged by his reversion to Blake — naturally disputed. Odin had the matter settled by trial by combat in the volcanic World of Skartheim, "where even gods may perish." Bill won a close fight, but, though his ability to defend his people would have been greatly aided by Mjolnir's power, he did not feel it was right to claim a hammer forged for Thor. On hearing this, Odin worked out a compromise for the equally worthy warriors, with Bill receiving a close copy of Mjolnir called Stormbreaker and transferred the transformation spell to it so that Bill — whose altered form he despised and made him, essentially, a pariah to the people he had taken it to defend — could enjoy his original form when he wanted it, while Thor finally abandoned the Don Blake identity. Sif, who had become depressed and estranged from Thor, left with Bill.


The Surtur War
Soon afterward, the fire-demon Surtur would forge his sword, Twilight, and march on Asgard to light it with the Eternal Flame, with the intention of bringing an End to Everything. Odin summoned all of Asgard's warriors to the battle, including Bill and Sif. Loki was the only one not to respond. The armies of Asgard then left for Earth, to prevent Surtur and his armies from crossing Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. Having set light to New York though, Surtur tricked Thor into drenching the city in a rainstorm to extinguish the flame, creating a rainbow for a brief moment as he cleared it, allowing Surtur passage to Asgard, who then shattered Bifrost behind him. Thor teleported himself to Asgard, leaving Bill in charge of Asgard's armies in the fight that still raged on Earth, but Sif was stopped by Bill from following. Enraged, she lept further into the battle, vanishing as she fought a rearguard action. The rest of the army, aided by the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the Norn Queen's army, destroyed the portal Surtur's army came through, returning them to Muspelheim.

Meanwhile, Thor engaged Surtur at Asgard's gates, and was overwhelmed by the fire-demon. Upon his defeat, only Odin seemingly stood between Surtur and Armageddon. Soon, even Odin fell, and Surtur lowered his sword into the flame...

...to find nothing happened. He turned to find Loki taunting him over falling for such an illusion. Loki bought enough time for Odin and Thor to recover, then the three attacked Surtur in concert. Thor, realising just how much of Surtur's strength came from Twilight, managed to knock it from his hand, and Odin knocked the demon into Muspelheim, pledging to prevent Surtur's return as he fell with him.

In the aftermath on Earth, Sif was found badly injured, but recovered quickly with the help of the Asgardians' healing techniques and teleported to Asgard to find Odin gone and Thor as emotionally shattered as the remains of the Rainbow Bridge. He bade her to return to Earth and co-lead Asgard's warriors with Bill, until a way could be found to return them to Asgard. (Due to Bifrost's shattering, only Thor, Sif, Bill and the Enchantress were able to move directly from Earth to Asgard), while Thor left for the mountains to grieve. After his rescue from a Hela-engineeered avalanche by Tiwaz (unbeknowst to Thor, his great-grandfather Buri), he remained with Tiwaz at his insistence until he was recovered.

After, by the combined powers of Thor & Bill's hammers, the Asgardians were returned to Asgard to find Odin gone, Thor declined to take the throne that was his birthright, instead passing the regency to Balder the Brave.

Eventually, Odin was found, imprisoned by Seth, the Egyptian god of death and, with a few hiccups, remained the Lord of Asgard until his recent true death. Thor inherited the Odinforce. With his human side separated into another vessel, took the throne and began to rule Earth with an iron fist. His rule lasted for 200 years, until his son, Magni, finally convinced him of the wrongness of his actions. Thor returned to the past and gave his 200 years of memories to his younger self as a warning, before rejoining him with his human side, who then returned the Asgardians to the true Asgard.


Ragnarok


This situation would not last long, however. The Odinforce had become sentient and, appalled by what he saw in Thor's memories, left him. In addition, Loki recovered the Mould of Mjolinr and raised Surtur, who agreed to make new hammers using it as repayment for his return to life. Loki and his followers then proceeded to devastate Asgard, killing several and shattering Mjolnir in their first attack. Ragnarok was upon Asgard. Gradually, more and more fell until a desperate retaliation, aided by the return of Bill, stemmed the tide. Thor placed Bill in the leadership of Asgard, while he, followed by the Odinforce in the form of a child, underwent the trials Odin undertook as a young man, only more so: Thor sacrificed both his eyes for knowledge (Odin had lost only one eye) and spent a week dead hanging from Yggdrasil to gain the wisdom of the runes. At the end, he saw that the Ragnarok cycle was caused by the leeching of a group of self-styled "Gods to the Gods," known as Those Who Sit Above in Shadow, who depended on the Ragnarok cycle for their survival. Appalled at the thought that the Asgardians' sacrifices meant nothing, bolstered by the human side that was his birthright from his mother, and strengthed by Odin placing him in the Don Blake identity for years, Thor resolved to end the cycle at ANY cost.

His sight (though not his eyes) restored by the return of the Odinforce to him and the runic magic, Thor single-handedly devastated Valhalla, where the victorious Loki now resided. Thor ripped Loki's head off its body, attaching the still-living head to his belt. Thor then did the unthinkable, making a deal with Surtur: in return for the reforging of Mjolnir (he felt it appropriate for Surtur to be the one to remake it), he would blast a clear path for him to Asgard. The final battle unfolded, with Thor's only part the return of Beta Ray Bill to the Earth dimension. (Feeling that a non-Asgardian had no place dying in his race's final battle, Thor bade Bill to remember them.) When all lay dead, and Fenris had consumed the remains, Thor shattered the Fates' weave to prevent the cycle's continuation. Finally, uncertain of his future, he decided to "sleep the sleep of the gods."

"For awhile, at least..."





Abilities & Powers
Thor is the Norse god of thunder. As such, he controls storms, particularly rain and accompanying wind and thunder. Thor also possesses enormous strength, stamina, and endurance. Thor is immune to all terrestrial diseases due to his god-like physical constitution. He is a superb hand-to-hand combatant, even against other Asgardians. In fact, Thor is known to be the strongest of all Asgardians. He is very cunning and intuitive in battle, and what he lacks in genius he makes up with experience. Thor's uru hammer Mjolnir amplifies Thor's control over the elements, grants the user the ability to fly, and always returns to its master after being thrown. The hammer is mystically enchanted so that only those of worthy character can wield it. Thor and few others have ever been found so worthy.

Colossus (Piotr "Peter" Nikolaievitch Rasputin) is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, and a member of the X-Men. Created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975).

Colossus was born in the Ust-Ordynski Collective farm, near Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union to Nikolai Rasputin and his wife Alexandra Natalya Rasputina. He had an older brother, Mikhail Nikolaievitch Rasputin, and would later have a younger sister, Illyana Nikolaievna Rasputina. Piotr nick-named her "Snowflake" and grew very protective of her.

Rasputin was raised on a collective farm. A gentle young man surrounded by good people, even the revelation that he was a mutant did not ostracize him from his friends and family. So he was reluctant to go when Professor Charles Xavier recruited him for his second group of X-Men. He went nonetheless, taking the code name Colossus, reflecting the ability to transform his entire body into nearly indestructable "organic steel," in which he possesses unimaginable strength (lift-press 100 tons), near limitless stamina and the ability to survive without oxygen, food, or water.


Colossus injects himself with the cure.Colossus found friendship with the X-Men, and even love in an ongoing romance with Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat. They had a steady relationship for several years. Then, during the Secret Wars, Colossus had an affair with a healer who later was killed. Feeling guilty, Colossus broke up with Kitty when he returned home. The two made up later and are now friends, even though their relationship is currently platonic.

Colossus also felt great guilt when his sister Illyana proved to be a mutant as well, and was trapped in the dimension Limbo for several years of her life, emerging to become the heroine Magik.

Worse, when Illyana later died by the Legacy virus, and when his parents were killed crossing the border, his grief drove him to join their enemy, Magneto. Later, he realised his mistake and returned to the team, but he retained deep bitterness about the loss he had suffered throughout his life. He later joined Excalibur.

Death and resurrection

Colossus returns.When Beast finally developed a cure for the Legacy virus there was one problem; a mutant would have to give his life to activate the cure. Against the wishes of his fellow X-Men, Colossus injected himself with the cure so that no more mutants would have to die as his sister had. The X-Men found what appeared to be his lifeless corpse, and believed him dead.

In fact, an alien known as Ord abducted Colossus as he lay dying and resuscitated him. Ord kept Colossus imprisoned in a laboratory, using him as a guinea pig for tests to develop a 'cure' for the mutant gene. When the X-Men recently raided the lab, Kitty Pryde found and freed Colossus. Colossus then proceded to pummel Ord mercilessly.


Ultimate X-Men

Ultimate X-men #32.In the alternate history of the Ultimate X-Men series, Colossus was an arms dealer, sending the money back to his family in Russia. He joined the X-Men after he turned to steel in a barrage of gunfire, revealing that he was a mutant. In the Ultimate War crossover with The Ultimates, Colossus fought Thor and had the upper hand against the thunder god.


Superhuman Abilities
Colossus possesses the ability to transform his skin into a form of organic steel.

In this transformed state, Colossus' body gains 12 inches in additional height and his body mass is doubled to at least 500 pounds. The source of Colossus' gain in height and muscle mass is unknown, but possibly extradimensional.

While in his armored form, Colossus possesses vast superhuman strength. Upon first joining the X-Men, he was in his late teens and possessed sufficient strength to lift around 70 tons. As a fully grown man, Colossus' strength has probably reached it's peak and is sufficient to lift at least 100 tons.

Aside from having great strength, Colossus' armored form gives him a high degree of invulnerability to external physical attack. His armored form can withstand extreme temperatures of several thousand degrees in farenheit and anti-tank weaponry without sustaining damage. Colossus has demonstrated very little need, if any, to breathe while he is in his armored state and there's no known limit as to how long he can remain in this form.

Colossus cannot transform a single portion of his body into this armored state, he must either be completely transformed or remain within his normal state. If Colossus is rendered unconscious, he will automatically revert to his normal state. His armored state provides his muscles with a level of physical stamina much higher than that of ordinary human beings. Colossus' muscles produce such little fatigue poisons, he can potentially exert himself at maximum capacity for several days.

Wolverine (a.k.a. Logan; birth name James Howlett) is a Marvel Comics superhero, and member of the X-Men. The character first appeared on the last page of Incredible Hulk #180 (1974), with a full introduction in the following issue, Hulk #181. In the 1990s his popularity grew from obscure to a household name, perhaps as well known as Spider-Man.

A mutant, Wolverine possesses a regenerative healing ability that enhances his physiology in a number of ways including enhanced, animal-like, senses and reflexes. Additionally he has six claws, three of which extend and retract from the back of each hand. The foot long claws are laced with an unbreakable metal alloy adamantium, a substance also bonded to his entire skeleton.

Aptly named, Wolverine's intensely fierce nature helped forge the mold for comic book anti-heroes. His willingness to use deadly force, his efforts to come to terms with his questionable past and his angst-filled inner conflicts have become standard for anti-heroes. The character is a nonpareil master of combat who will not hesitate to meet lethal force in kind.

Wolverine was created by Len Wein and John Romita Sr., with some additional influence by Herb Trimpe. Yet the actual dimensions of the hero did not take shape until the celebrated creative talents of Chris Claremont and John Byrne, popularly remembered for their work on the X-Men, developed him. Frank Miller, usually remembered for his revitalization of Daredevil, deserves credit for establishing important nuances in the Wolverine limited series he co-wrote with Claremont, such as the memorable catch phrase, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice."

Wolverine first joined the X-Men roster in 1975 and has been featured in his own continuous solo series since 1988. He has been a central part of X-Men animated series and films.

Publication history

Cover of Incredible Hulk #181, featuring Wolverine's first full appearanceWolverine first appeared in Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974), in the final panel of an issue written by Len Wein and illustrated by Herb Trimpe. His full introduction was in the next issue, #181 (November 1974. He appeared in a costume designed by John Romita, Sr: yellow-and-blue spandex which didn't particularly resemble a true wolverine, sporting foot-long metal claws. His introduction left an ambiguous impression revealing little more than he was an agent of the Canadian government with superhuman powers. The basic facts about the character had not been established.

Wolverine next appeared in Giant-Sized X-Men #1 (1975), in which he joined the X-Men. Written by Wein and drawn by Dave Cockrum (who altered Wolverine's mask), the issue was successful enough to revive the title, starting with #94 (August 1975), drawn by Cockrum but written by Chris Claremont. Wolverine was initially overshadowed by the other characters, and Claremont even considered dropping the character later.


Cover to Uncanny X-Men #133. Art by John Byrne.Cockrum's replacement by John Byrne resulted in Wolverine's character being brought into focus. Himself a Canadian, Byrne did not appreciate the suggestion of dropping a Canadian character. One of his ideas involved creating Alpha Flight, a group of Canadian superheroes, who tried to recapture Wolverine due to the expense the Canadian government incurred in training him. Wolverine's murky past was gradually established, as was his unstable nature, which he tried to keep in check. Wolverine had a brief crush on Jean Grey (later revisited), the team leader Cyclops' girlfriend, and the two men often clashed over Cyclops' more cautious approach. Byrne designed a new, brown-and-tan costume for Wolverine, keeping the distinctive Cockrum-designed cowl. The new look succeeded and the readers' interest began to climb.

Following Byrne's departure, Wolverine remained with the X-Men, written by Claremont. By this point he was becoming popular with regular comic book readers, and appeared in his own mini-series Wolverine (#1-4 by Claremont and Frank Miller, September - December 1982) and in Kitty Pryde and Wolverine (#1-6 by Claremont and Al Milgrom, November 1984 - April 1985).

Wolverine graduated to his own ongoing series with Wolverine #1 (by Claremont and John Buscema, November 1988). Since then he has remained an active member of the X-Men, has appeared in his own series, and in several side series. Notable side stories include Weapon X (by Barry Windsor-Smith in Marvel Comics Presents #72-84, 1991), and Origin #1-6 (by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, Paul Jenkins and Adam Kubert, 2002), both of which filled in periods of his past.

Character biography

The first issue of the 1980s Wolverine mini-seriesWolverine first appeared as a Canadian superhero and government agent fighting theThe Incredible Hulk and the Wendigo, in order to halt the destruction in the wake of their battle. His superhuman endurance, enhanced manoeuvrability, and tactical guile proved to be a match for the two plodding powerhouses of vast superhuman strength, and he was able to fight both creatures to a standstill.

Soon Professor X recruited him to join a new team of X-Men, and he resigned from his position in Canada over his superiors' objections. Over the following year Wolverine was revealed to be a mutant whose skeleton had been laced with the unbreakable metal adamantium. Initially misanthropic and a loner, Wolverine often clashed with the X-Men's leader Cyclops. Given to berserker rages in combat, he slowly learned how to control his feral instincts. However, Wolverine is the X-Man most likely to permanently deal with adversaries who dispense lethal force.

It was revealed that he had forgotten much of his past: He had been transformed by a project called Weapon X, which had added the adamantium to his body. He had then been adopted by James and Heather Hudson into their project which eventually became Alpha Flight. Intended to eventually lead that team, when he departed to join the X-Men he precipitated James Hudson's adoption of the identity of Weapon Alpha (later Vindicator and then Guardian), and a lengthy and often hostile effort where Alpha Flight tried to bring Wolverine back to Canada, while Wolverine attempted to retain his freedom. Wolverine would eventually make peace with Hudson and Alpha Flight, while remaining a member of the X-Men.


Wolverine and Mariko. Cover to Uncanny X-Men #172. Art by Paul Smith.Complexity to their character was subtly implied over time: He could read and speak Japanese, he had a strong sense of personal honour, he became close friends with his teammate Nightcrawler, despite their many differences. He went by the name "Logan", without a surname, but it was unclear whether this was his real name. Wolverine briefly became interested in Cyclops' true love, Jean Grey, but the interest was never truly reciprocated. He later met and became engaged to Lady Mariko Yashida of a Japanese crime family. He was forced to kill her father in a duel and single-handedly destroyed his crime cartel. Mariko and Logan became estranged due to the strange honour customs of her family, and the manipulations of the villain Mastermind. Once they were finally reunited she was poisoned by Reiko, an assassin for the Yakuza. She requested Wolverine end her life quickly rather than let her die a slow and painful death from the toxin, and he obeyed. This changed Wolverine's character significantly, making him more disciplined and emotionally distant.

At some point in the 1990s the adamantium in Wolverine's skeleton was forcibly removed by the supervillain Magneto in a desperate battle. Following this another maniac, Genesis, kidnapped Wolverine and attempted to re-bond the metal to his skeleton. This was unsuccessful and caused Wolverine's mutation to accelerate out of control. He was temporarily changed into a semi-sentient beast-like form in which he knew greater physical power than ever before, at the price of part of his humanity. Genesis did not survive the battle following his failed experiment. Finally, the villain Apocalypse kidnapped Wolverine, brainwashed him, and had the adamantium rebonded to his skeleton successfully. Wolverine overcame Apocalypse's programming and returned to the X-Men.


Wolverine first uses his claws in Origin #2.Wolverine's early life has been revealed gradually over time. His time as a captive and subject of the Weapon X project has been revealed as a period when he was entirely at the mercy of feral instincts due to severe physical and psychological trauma inflicted upon him in by the program. Finally, the story of his childhood was told in the miniseries Wolverine: Origin. He was born James Howlett, the son of a wealthy Canadian. When his mutant powers - particularly his claws - developed, he was exiled by his grandfather and became a nomad. It is unclear how much Wolverine recalls about his past, as his memories have been extensively tampered with.

Today, Wolverine remains an integral part of the X-Men, He is also an officer of the mutant law enforcement agency the X-Treme Sanctions Executive (XSE), and he recently joined the The New Avengers alongside other famous Marvel Comics heroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man.


"Skrullverine"
A Skrull working for Apocalypse briefly replaced the real Wolverine to allow the real one to be kidnapped and brainwashed. Due to mental programming to allow him to take the place of the real Wolverine without alerting the X-Men's telepaths, he believed himself to actually be Wolverine.

The Skrull imposter of Wolverine was initially created as part of a program initiated by the Skrulls to impersonate Earth's heroes en masse, at the cost of the shapeshifting abilities of those used - instead they would be physically locked into the forms they were imitating, in addition to mental programming designed to make them believe they were the hero in question. Due to the limitations of the process and their technology, however, they could not duplicate most of the abilities in question (e.g., the fake "Nightcrawler" could only pretend to teleport by becoming invisible). After the Skrull homeworld was destroyed by Galactus, Apocalypse found some skrulls and put them to use, including using this process on one of them to cover while they kidnapped the real Wolverine. The limitations meant, however, that "Skrullverine" had no "healing factor" or enhanced senses.

The imposter took on Wolverine's heroic qualities and saved several members of the X-Men and the Mannites (super powered children) from being eliminated by Apocalypse's acolyte of Death. The Skrull impostor was killed by the acolyte of Death (who turned out to be the real Wolverine who had been brainwashed). His death was noble and heroic.


Powers and abilities

Wolverine from Wolverine Unleashed
Jim Lee, artist.Wolverine is a mutant with a number of both natural and artificial enhancements to his physiology. He regenerates and heals hundreds of times faster than a normal human. Thanks to this superhumanly regenerative "healing factor," he has been able to completely recover from injuries which would prove fatal to most humans, even those with superhuman abilities. Over the years, this has increased in potency to the point where he can regenerate organs such as eyes or large portions of flesh, but he cannot regenerate limbs, such as feet and arms, which have been completely severed.

Other benefits of the healing factor include an immunity to most toxins (except in massive doses) or diseases and greatly improved stamina (he can exert himself at peak levels for days before feeling fatigue). His healing factor retards his aging process to an unknown degree. It is strongly implied that he is well over 100 years old and yet his appearance and physique are unchanged since the peak years of his life (apparently over a century ago). However, the healing factor has also been hypothesized as the cause of his amnesia.

Wolverine also possesses superhumanly acute senses that are comparable to those of certain animals, enabling him to see and hear distant objects more clearly than a normal human, and identify and track someone purely by scent. Although this may be seen as a separate ability, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, an encyclopedia that was first produced by Marvel Comics in the 1980's, indicates that these heightened senses, which are only slightly less developed than those of Daredevil, are actually a result of his cellular regeneration.

Wolverine's physical appearance also displays number of animal - like mutations, most notably, two canine teeth among his others, and six retractable claws housed within his forearms, which he can release from behind his knuckles (causing bleeding that is rapidly healed by his healing factor). Although claws in the animal kingdom are made of keratin, Wolverine's are made of bone, (which may have been a scientific error on the part of the writer who first established this fact in the 1990's).

Wolverine's skeleton has been molecularly laced with nigh-indestructable metal Adamantium, including the claws housed in his forearms. Due to the adamantium coating (which also maintains the cutting edge), the limiting factor on what he can cut through is based upon his own strength, rather than the resiliency of the claws. The adamantium in his skeleton interferes with his bones' ability to produce red blood cells, but is compensated by his accelerated cellular regeneration. The enhanced tensile strength of his skeleton combined with his constant cellular regeneration grants him great physical strength. His blows are weighted (similar to using brass knuckles) due to the presence of this metal.

Skills
Wolverine has extraordinary hand to hand combat ability, and, alongside Captain America and Taskmaster, is considered one of the finest combatants on Earth. He is fluent in English, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Lakota, and Spanish. It is also known that he has knowledge of several other foreign languages. He is also an accomplished pilot and extremely well trained in espionage and covert operations. In more recent stories it has been revealed that Wolverine has some skills at computer hacking.


Ultimate Marvel Version
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Wolverine entered the story of Ultimate X-Men as a villain and an assassin who worked for Magneto. Unlike the original Wolverine, he made very quick, very seductive, advances toward Jean Grey, and originally was under orders to kill Charles Xavier. He eventually left a romantic involvement with Jean Grey to allow for Scott ( Cyclops) and Jean, to express genuine endearment toward one another.

Just like the original Wolverine, he possessed keen senses and rapid, almost instant, cellular regeneration. But it seems that numerous criminals had in mind to obtain his adamantium for their own purposes, since that is virtually the only protection from Wolverine's claws, unlike the otherwise rare and expensive formula developed by the government.

The Ultimate Marvel version of Wolverine's archnemesis, Sabretooth, was identical, except that in addition to his sharp nails and teeth, he possessed eight adamantium claws, four that retracted from the back of each hand, just like Wolverine. Sabretooth also was openly proud of his psychotic tendencies, and was Weapon X's only apparent voluntary mutant military officer. Wolverine also ended the terror of Sabretooth quite quickly, by decapitating him in Magneto's arctic headquarters, not relatively long after their initial encounter.

Wolverine also appeared to have an alternate origin as well. According to Captain America's account, he was James Howlett, an officer and a commando for the Canadian military during World War II. It is also claimed by Sabretooth that he had a wife and child, and Sabretooth proudly claimed responsibility for killing them, unlike the original Wolverine, who lived as a single man, (except in a possible future, where he married and had a child with Elektra).

Spider-Man, the alter ego of Peter Benjamin Parker, is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko who first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962. He has since become one of the world's most popular superheroes.

Spider-Man is the quintessential Marvel character--his gift of superpowers does not solve his emotional and personal problems; in fact, if anything, the gift only complicates his personal life more. Blessed with extraordinary, spider-like superpowers, Peter Parker is beset by the travails and problems of ordinary life. His powers give him the ability to do good, but seriously complicate his career and personal relationships. In spite of this, he feels a strong duty to continue his crusade against crime and corruption. The theme of the Spider-Man series is "With great power comes great responsibility."

The character expanded the dramatic potential of the fantasy subgenre by proving that a series with a strong focus on a more human character and his personal struggles was a viable basis for a successful series.

Spider-Man is tremendously popular and is perhaps the most recognizable superhero besides Superman and Batman. Throughout the years, he has appeared in a handful of animated series, a weekly comic strip and, recently, two very successful films.

Meanwhile, Marvel has published several comic book series featuring the character (most notably Amazing Spider-Man). The character has grown from shy high school kid to troubled college student to married man, but has always continued his mission as Spider-Man at all costs.

Creation of character
Various accounts of the character's creation have been given.


Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962), the first appearance and origin story of Spider-Man with cover art by Jack KirbyIn the 1980s, Stan Lee said that the idea for the series sprang out of the apparent increased teenage interest in the new Marvel comics characters, so he decided to create a character that could cater to them specifically. One of the influences for the character came from the pulp magazine, The Spider, and perhaps from an earlier minor spider-themed character, the Tarantula from DC Comics. In the Spider-Man movie DVD extras, Lee said he was inspired by seeing a fly climb up a wall. Originally, Lee assigned Jack Kirby to illustrate the story, but after seeing his designs, decided that Jack's style was "too 'larger than life'" for what he wanted. Lee turned to artist Steve Ditko, who found the concept particularly appealing and developed a visual motif that Lee found satisfactory.

Another version comes from Joe Simon and Steve Ditko, who say that the creation of Spider-Man was based on Simon's Silver Spider (http://www.simoncomics.com/jsmag.htm). They say (Comic Book Artist/Alter Ego, Winter, 1999) that Lee got the original Simon sketches from Kirby and presented them to Ditko, who recognized Simon's work and used it as the basis for Spider-Man. Kirby stated in an interview in Will Eisner's Spirit Magazine that Lee had minimal involvement in the creation of the character.

When Martin Goodman was presented with the concept, he was resistant to the unorthodox ideas of a teenage hero with troubled personal life, but allowed the character to be used as a cover story for a dying anthology title, Amazing Fantasy, since content mattered little for a title slated to be cancelled. The story was released in issue #15, and months later, the sales figures indicated that the cover story was unexpectedly popular. Goodman called for a regular series for the character to capitalize on this success.

Character history
Peter Benjamin Parker was born to Richard Parker and his wife Mary Fitzpatrick-Parker, both of whom were agents of the CIA and later of S.H.I.E.L.D. (a fictional secret agency). Their last assignment was the infiltration as double-agents of the organization of Albert Malik, who had taken on the name of Red Skull in the absence of the original. Albert found out about their plans and arranged a plane-crash that resulted in their deaths.

After his parents' death the infant Peter Parker was left in the care of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May (Richard's older brother Benjamin Parker and his wife May Reilly-Parker), who were both in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Ben immediately took to the role of the boy's father but May was at first reluctant. She still remembered her parents blaming her own birth for the destruction of their marriage, and she was afraid that Peter might signal the end of her own marriage. In time, however, she warmed up to Peter, who unexpectedly strengthened the couple's marriage. Though Peter was always loved by the aging couple he was unpopular among those of his own age. Over time he grew to be a rather lonely, timid teenager who showed more interest in his studies and science in general than in any kind of social life. He was often the target of jokes by more popular fellow students like Flash Thompson, the high-school's star athlete.

When he was 16 years old, the exceptionally bright Parker attended a science exhibit where he was bitten by a spider which had been irradiated. The spider bite gave Parker an array of superhuman powers, including the proportional speed, strength and agility of a spider, a so-called "spider-sense" that would warn him of impending danger, a fast-healing ability that allows him to quickly recover from injuries and poisons, and the ability to cling to walls. A lesser effect was the improvement of his eyesight. Originally near-sighted and bespectacled, he now has perfect vision.

In addition to his physical powers, Spider-Man used mechanical web shooters of his own design to spin webs in a variety of ways. The current Spider-Man continuity has given him organic web shooters as in the Spider-Man movies.

Though the death of a loved one is a commonplace motive for crime-fighting in comics, Spider-Man is driven by guilt rather than revenge. Initially, Parker designed a costume and adopted the identity of Spider-Man in order to win money as a wrestler. After being denied prize money for a match he'd won, he didn't try to stop a burglar who robbed the ringleader, figuring he didn't owe the ring any favors. But his beloved Uncle Ben was later killed by the same thug he had allowed to escape. Grieving that he'd failed to prevent Ben's death, he devoted himself to fighting injustice, driven by the lesson that "with great power comes great responsibility".

Spider-Man eternally tries to do the right thing, but is viewed with suspicion by many authority figures. He is often considered little more than a lawbreaker himself, thanks largely to a smear campaign by J. Jonah Jameson, publisher of the daily newspaper the Daily Bugle. Ironically, Parker works as a freelance photographer for Jameson, selling photographs of himself as Spider-Man.


Spider-Man #1. Art by Todd McFarlaneAs originally conceived by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Peter Parker was something of an everyman character. However, as with many characters spanning a lengthy publishing history and handled by multiple creators, Spider-Man's history is somewhat convoluted. He continued working as a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle and living with his elderly and somewhat fragile Aunt May until he graduated from high school. He enrolled in the fictional Empire State University where he befriended Harry Osborn, who was in fact the son of his arch-enemy the Green Goblin, and Gwen Stacy, with whom he would have a lengthy romance.

Stacy was eventually killed by the Green Goblin (The Amazing Spider-Man #121) after being thrown off a bridge. Spider-Man caught her with his webshooters, however Stacy still died. This left many readers confused as to how she actually died if Spider-Man caught her, and in Amazing Spider-Man #125 the editors were forced to clarify that "the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her. In short, it was impossible for Peter to save her. He couldn't have swung down in time; the action he did take resulted in her death; if he had done nothing she certainly have perished. There was no way out." They also explained that Gerry, Roy and Stan Lee had decided that she had to die because Peter Parker wasn't ready for marriage, and the relationship was too often off and on again. The Green Goblin, in the form of Norman Osborn, died soon thereafter in Amazing Spider-Man #122 when the Goblin aimed his remote controlled flier at Spider-Man in a misguided attempt to kill him. Instead of killing Spider-Man (who dodged out of the way), the flier fatally stabbed the Goblin in the stomach, pinning him to the wall.

Parker eventually wed long-time friend, Mary Jane Watson, an occasional fashion model and actress, though not before he engaged in lengthy on-again off-again relationship with semi-criminal Black Cat.

This marriage did not overly affect his career as a crime-fighter, until it was discovered that she was pregnant. This caused him to retire for a time, turning the mantle of Spider-Man over to Ben Reilly. After Reilly was killed by the Green Goblin and his daughter apparently stillborn, he returned to the role (an alternate version of his daughter who survived later got her own title, set 15 years into the future, titled Spider-Girl). Later, the stresses of his dual identity coupled with Mary Jane's tempestuous career as a model/actress and capricious editorial mandates led to the two separating. However, the two later reconciled.

Currently, Parker works as a science teacher at his old high school, lives in a Manhattan apartment, has reconciled with Mary Jane, and still receives the occasional visit from his Aunt May (who was at one point thought dead -- but the elderly woman who died was, in a widely-derided plot twist, revealed to be a "genetically-altered actress" who impersonated her while May was held captive by villains). Aunt May has since learned the truth about her nephew's secret identity. Recently, Spider-Man joined the latest incarnation of the Avengers, a superhero team operating in the Marvel Universe.


Powers and abilities
The irradiated spider's bite caused a variety of physiological mutations in Peter Parker's body that mirror the characteristics of a spider.

His physical strength, agility, and reflexes were greatly improved. His bodily tissues are substantially more durable and resistant to impact or trauma than an ordinary human, making it difficult to injure him, and his recovery time from injury is greater than that of an ordinary human. He is not bullet proof and his enhanced physical endurance is not accellerated to the point that it would be described as regenerative and is far inferior to that of the X-Man, Wolverine . In addition, his vision also lost its myopia.

Spider-Man also gained the ability to adhere to any smooth surface, allowing to him to support more than his own weight while on a vertical surface or upside down. He can also grip any solid object with any part of his body as long as it can accommodate the mass of the object. For instance, if he wanted to catch a ball, all he would really need is one fingertip to make contact. It has been theorized that his body can consciously attract the basic molecules of a solid object when pressed against it. Another idea is that this ability is similar to static electricity. In the live-action movies, Peter is shown to have barbed hairs or bristles, similar to those of real spiders, that extend or retract through his skin. However, the superhero has had trouble keeping his grip on heavily lubricated surfaces.

Spider-Man's agility and reflexes are far beyond a range attainable by human beings. His reflexes are instantaneous, allowing him to dodge single bullets provided they are fired at a reasonable distance from a low calibe gun that is not automatic. His agility is such that he can perform gymnastic feets no olympic gymnist could dream of duplicating. Few characters in the Marvel Universe can match Spider-Man's agility, with some exceptions such as Nightcrawler of the X-Men.

Spider-Man's most subtle power is his spider-sense. A form of clairvoyance or sixth sense, it unconsciously activates and alerts him to any threat to himself, manifesting as a tingling at the back of his skull. While it cannot tell him of the exact nature of the threat, Spider-Man can judge the severity of it by the intensity of the tingling. For instance, if an enemy passes by Spider-Man with no intention of interacting with him, the spider-sense would give a low signal indicating that he should be alert for a possible danger. On the other hand, if there is an immediate lethal physical danger to Parker such as a sniper is taking aim and about to fire for a kill shot, the spider-sense's tingling would take on an almost painful intensity to indicate a need to take extreme evasive action without hesitation.

The spider-sense not only alerts Spider-Man to threats to his physical safety, but it also warns him to threats to his privacy such as being observed while changing identities. Spider-Man also uses the spider-sense as a means to time his evasive maneuvers to the point where he can avoid multiple gunshots or machine gun fire. When combined with his superhuman reflexes and agility, this makes him an extremely difficult target who is almost impossible to shoot in combat. Extremely skilled martial artists taking Spider-Man on hand to hand often have better luck wounding him, although he is formidable in close quarters as well.

Although his spider-sense has saved his life innumerable times, Spider-Man has learned the hard way that it can be beaten. For instance, the Green Goblin once secretly attacked him with a gas that temporarily suppressed this perceptive ability, allowing the supervillain to shadow him and learn his secret identity. Additionally, the alien symbiotes Venom and Carnage are not recognized by the spider-sense. This gives the supervillains an edge that Spider-Man often has trouble countering.

The phrase "My spider-sense is tingling" has since become an ironic catch phrase in American pop culture.

In addition to his other amazing powers, Spider-Man has superhuman strength, and can lift 10 tons or more if he is under great stress or pressure. However, his strength is not as advanced as that of the Thing or the Hulk who have vast superhuman strength. Because of his strength, he can leap to great heights. Spider-Man can jump the width of a city block, or almost five stories straight up.

Quite apart from his physical abilities, Peter has always been brilliant with prodigious aptitude in the physical sciences. In the comics, he is an expert in chemistry and physics, but later pursues a graduate degree in biochemistry from Empire State University. In the recent films, he maintains his superb intellect with a mastery of physics and a degree from Columbia University. He is described as "brilliant but lazy" by one of his physics professors, Dr. Curt Connors, in Spider-Man 2.


Costumes

Ben Reilly as Spider-Man, showing his version of the costume.Although the details and proportions have changed somewhat over the years, with a few notable exceptions, Spider-Man's costume has remained fairly consistent. The standard costume is a form-fitting fabric covering his entire body. From the waist down it is dark blue, except for mid-calf boots with a black web pattern on a red background. From the waist up the fabric is the red-and-black web pattern, except for his back, sides, and insides of his upper arms, which are dark blue. There is a large red spider outline on his back, and a smaller black spider emblem on his chest. The mask has large white eyes rimmed with black, that allow him to see but hide his eyes. He is sometimes depicted with "under-arm webbing" connecting his arms to his torso.

Several alterations occurred when Ben Reilly replaced Peter Parker in the role. He placed more emphasis on the spider on the chest, making it large enough to cover the entire torso. Instead of a large red spider on his back, the web pattern and spider emblem were repeated there. The gloves had web-shooters on the outside, and the web design on the boots and gloves was partially replaced with dark blue.


The Black Spider-Man costumeThe most significant alteration to Spider-Man's costume came about in the mid-1980s, after his return from the Secret Wars. He appeared in an almost all-black costume, with a large white spider emblem on the chest and back, and with small white rectangles on the back of his hands. The costume turned out to be a living symbiotic creature, capable of generating its own webbing and improving most of Spider-Man's abilities. Spider-Man rejected the symbiote after finding out it was alive. He did, however, wear a non-living version of the black costume until the new occupant of the living costume, Venom, frightened Mary Jane so badly that she could no longer stand to see Peter in the non-living black costume.

Equipment
Although he is usually of limited financial means, Spider-Man has developed personal equipment that plays an important role in his superhero career.


Web-shooters
Spider-Man's web-shooters are one of the character's most distinguishing traits. They are wrist mounted devices that fire a fibrous adhesive very similar to material spiders use to construct webs. The trigger rests high in the palm and requires two taps to activate, so Peter can't accidently fire the shooter if he makes a fist or his hand hits the trigger.

The default setting has the adhesive threaded through a special mesh to take on a spider web like design. The substance dries almost immediately into a strong material that can support very heavy loads: into the one-ton range. Typical uses of his webs include creating long swing lines which he uses to travel through the cavernous chasms between the Manhattan high-rises. He can change the setting to a wide spray to ensnare criminals, and to form protective shields or nets. He can also form crude objects with a heavy application. In addition, when Spider-Man desires it, he can fire the web fluid as a straight liquid when he needs to use the substance's maximum adhesive strength. However, the default meshed spray generally allows for sufficient strength while being more versatile in its use and easier to remove when desired. The substance is formulated to dissolve after one hour which is generally sufficient time for Spider-Man's needs while ensuring the webs he makes do not cause undue litter. In addition, Parker can modify the fluid formulation to suit particular specialized needs when called for (this explains why the webbing sometimes conducts electricity, but can also be used as an insulator). The web-shooters can also be used to expel other liquids, using interchangeable cartridges, but are seldom used to do this.

In some versions of the character (such as the Spider-Man 2099 comic series and the popular Spider-Man movie series), the character generates webs organically from his own altered spider-like biology, instead of mechanical web shooters.

Lately, Spider-Man and Captain America crossed paths with a villain called the Queen. During this encounter, the Queen transformed Spider-Man into a human-sized spider. The end of the situation saw the Queen presumably dead and Spider-Man reverting back to human form. The transformatin, however, seemed to give Spider-Man organic web glands in his wrists. For now (until Marvel decides to retcon this), Spider-Man is able to produce webbing without the aid of his web-shooters.


Spider tracers
Spider-Man has also developed small electronic "spider-tracers" which allow him to track objects or individuals. The outer casing is shaped like a spider and is designed to cling to a target without attracting attention. While he originally threw his tracers at a target in the hopes that at least one hits, he later developed a wrist launcher which ejects tracers above the wrist while the web is fired from below to allow for more precise and reliable applications of the tracers.

Spider-Man originally used a small receiver device to follow the tracers. However, he eventually learned that he could tune the tracer signal frequency to his own spider-sense for more convenient use, but the receiver is still used as a back-up and long-range measure.


Other equipment
Spider-Man keeps his regular field equipment in a specially designed utility belt that contains his web fluid cartridges and his tracers.

It also carries his camera, which has an extended rear metal plate that allows him to use his web to position it without interfering with its functions. The camera also has an automatic shutter mechanism linked to an internal motion detector so it will take a picture whenever Spider-Man moves in front of the camera lens.

Finally, the belt contains a strong light called a Spider Signal that creates an image of his mask when activated. He typically uses it not only for a light source, but as a way of unnerving opponents and to call attention.

In addition, the Human Torch once helped Spider-Man build a car called the Spidermobile which had a paint job and modifications that follow his spider motif. Unfortunately, Spider-Man had never learned to drive and he crashed the car into the Hudson river soon after receiving it.

Also, in his days at the fictional Empire State University, Peter bought a motorcycle.

Iron Man is a Marvel Comics superhero. Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Don Heck, he first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39 (1963).

Iron Man possesses a suit of powered armor that enhances his strength, keeps him safe from external harm, and allows him to fly, via rocket jet boots. He has also created an array of add-on weapons that boost the armor's abilities. His secret identity is Tony Stark, a billionaire and military contractor, known for his playboy lifestyle. Other people who have assumed the Iron Man identity include James Rhodes, a close associate of Stark's.

A wealthy American industrialist of incredible ingenuity and inventive genius, Iron Man was originally an anti-communist hero. Throughout the character’s comic book series, technological advancement and national defense have been constant themes, but Stark has gained a more complex worldview and flawed character, as he battled alcoholism and personal failure.

Writers often portray Iron Man as a symbol of humanity's creativity as well as its frailties. He is often placed in contrast with his close friends Captain America and Thor, the former as a comparison between interventionist and cooperative attitudes, and the latter comparing science and the supernatural. Throughout most of his career, Iron Man has been a member of the all-star group The Avengers and has been featured in several incarnations of his own comic book series.

Rogue "Anna Marie" is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, and a member of the X-Men. She first appeared in The Avengers Annual #10 (1981).

Rogue is a mutant with the ability to temporarily absorb the memories and abilities of others, including superhuman abilities, via skin-to-skin contact. This transference usually causes the victim to fall unconscious and become weakened. The duration of this drain varies according to the length of time that the contact is maintained.

Rogue does not know her biological parents; she was adopted by a couple who lived on the Mississippi River. Rogue's childhood friend, Cody Robbins, kissed her in a moment of passion and excitement and, at that moment, Rogue's powers first emerged, although Cody fell into a coma from which he never awoke. Rogue had absorbed all his memories and even believed she was Cody for a while. In a fit of anger and guilt, Rogue ran away from home.

Rogue was adopted and raised by Mystique and Destiny, and was a member of their Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. During this time she encountered the superhero Ms. Marvel (a.k.a. Carol Danvers) and, through prolonged contact, absorbed her powers and memories permanently. As a result, Rogue has incredible strength, is near-invulnerable, and can fly. Rogue has, on rare occasions, demonstrated the psychic "danger sense" that Ms. Marvel had, although this ability has been largely forgotten.

Not long after, Rogue learned that she had no control over her powers: any skin-to-skin contact would activate her mutant power, whether she wanted it to or not. Desperate, she turned to Professor Charles Xavier and the X-Men (X-Men #171), and Xavier's charity towards all mutants led her to join the X-Men. Although her initial months with the team were rough, due to their friendship with Carol Danvers, she eventually became a trusted member.

Rogue had a brief romance with Magneto in Uncanny X-Men #274-275. Rogue has been in an on and off relationship with Gambit for years, and it was insinuated that they finally slept together in Uncanny X-Men #348. Cody Robbins, the first person to fall victim to Rogue's powers, was killed by Gambit's ex-wife Belladonna. Rogue has also been in relationships with Colossus (who is immune to her in his metal form) and Joseph (a now-deceased clone of Magneto).

It was eventually revealed that Mystique had two sons, the now-deceased anti-mutant politician Graydon Creed and Rogue's long-time teammate, Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler and Rogue consider themselves to be siblings, although the revelation has not particularly altered their friendship.

Rogue is one the few comic book characters whose real name has never been revealed. In the films X-Men and X2 her real name is Marie D'Ancanto, but this is not confirmed by the comics, and even the last name D'Ancanto was not explicitly mentioned onscreen. In fact, writer Chris Claremont, who co-created Rogue, has recently introduced a non-super-powered human character named Marie D'Ancanto in the series X-Treme X-Men, in which Rogue also appears. In this series, Rogue has taken up the alias of Anna Raven, though there is nothing to particularly indicate that this is her birth name (according to the new Rogue series, her real name is Anna Marie). Rogue has most likely taken up the name Anna Raven since Anna is her first name and Raven is the first name of Mystique, her mother (Mystique's full name is Raven Darkholme). In Ultimate X-Men #53, she reveals her real name to be Marianne.

In the more recent X-Men: Evolution the comic book series, Gambit appeared as a henchman of Magneto. He meets Rogue on the batlefeild but dosen't fight her. Rogue runs up to Gambit and he stares deeply into her eyes romantically, holds her hands, hands her a charged card and walks away. Rogue stares at the card, wakes from her daze and throws it away in fear. Gambit stalks the (19 year old) Rogue, untill she agrees to "find out about him." Shortly after a Gambit touches her cheek and to Rogues suprise nothing happens. Gambit's releasing energy ability and Rogues absorbing ability are canceled out and in time the two become lovers.

Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom) is a Marvel Comics supervillain. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 (1962).

A brilliant scientist, Doom was once a friend and colleague of the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards. However, he became embittered by his jealousy of Richards and scars he received on his face from an experiment gone awry (he has since donned an iron mask).

Doom is considered the arch enemy of the Fantastic Four, but has also been added to the rogue galleries of the Avengers, the Silver Surfer, Iron Man and Spider-Man. He is one of the comic book industry's recognizable and archetypal supervillains and many of his characteristics - his dominance over a small nation, his use of scientific genius for evil and his eerie name - have been endlessly copied and parodied

Character history
Victor was born to Werner von Doom, a noted Roma healer, and Cynthia von Doom, who was said to be a witch. His mother was killed when Victor was an infant. She had attempted to gain power to protect her gypsy tribe from persecution by the reigning authorities of Latveria. Unfortunately, she bargained with the demon Mephisto for power, and as is so often the case when dealing with demons, she was betrayed and killed. Later, Victor's father was hunted by the authorities for his failure to cure a Latverian baron's wife of terminal cancer. Werner von Doom died from exposure whilst fleeing and the young Victor von Doom was placed in the care of the remaining gypsy tribe. Victor vowed to make the entire world pay for his loss of his parents.


Dr.Doom's first appearance, cover to Fantastic Four #5. Art by Jack Kirby.While a child, he discovered his mother's magical artifacts and von Doom began his studies into the occult as well as developing his innate scientific abilities. His astounding reputation came to the attention of the dean of science at State University in America, and von Doom was offered a full scholarship. At State, von Doom first met both Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, two men who would go on to become his enemies in later years as Mister Fantastic and the Thing, respectively. Richards, in particular, represented a substantial threat to Doom's self-perceived superiority. Doom began conducting hazardous extra-dimensional experiments.

The focus of Doom's research was to construct a trans-dimensional projection device with which he could communicate with his dead mother. There was a flaw in the design which Richards pointed out to him, but Doom's pride prevented him from accepting Richards' advice and fixing the device before testing it. The machine worked perfectly for two minutes and 37 seconds, in which time Doom discovered that his mother was trapped in Mephisto's Hell. Then the device exploded, permanently marring his right cheek with a long, jagged scar. Other Marvel stories have advanced the idea that Doom is massively and permanently scarred all over his face. Whatever the truth about his appearance may be Doom refused to acknowledge his own fault in the matter and blamed Richards for the accident, finding it easier to believe that Richards had sabotaged his work out of jealousy than admit to his own imperfection.


Cover to Fantastic Four Annual #2. Art by Jack Kirby. Dr.Doom's origin is revealed.Doom was expelled from school afterward, and traveled the world searching for a cure for his scarred face. In some versions the scarring was not particularly bad, but Doom was overly sensitive about it as a symbol of his failure. Eventually Doom discovered a village of Tibetan monks amongst whom he lived for a number of years. They assisted him in crafting a suit of body armor that concealed his "deformity," in some versions of the story (small-scar Doom) seriously burning himself when he ordered the mask be put on while it was still red-hot. This suit would become his trademark, and thanks to his technological enhancements puts him on par in terms of personal power with most superheroes in the Marvel universe. He then returned to his homeland, overthrew the standing government, and crowned himself king. Ruling with an iron fist and an equally strong will, Doom began to redirect the small nation's resources to help him realize his goals.

Although Von Doom has significant scientific knowledge and ability, he lacks an advanced university degree. Von Doom apparently likes the sound of "Doctor Doom"; as the absolute ruler of a country, he simply started calling himself that. It has been suggested that Doom granted himself an honorary doctorate from a Latverian university, though he has never formally obtained a doctorate and considers it a mere technicality.


Goals
Doctor Doom is driven by three principal objectives: the destruction of Reed Richards, world domination, and the liberation of his mother's soul from the demon Mephisto's realm. He has so far achieved two of these aims. With the help of Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts and Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, he wrested his mother's spirit from Mephisto's grasp; a vital step in this process turned out to be tricking his mother into renouncing her love for Victor, and though it was difficult for him he was able to make that necessary sacrifice.

He has also achieved world domination several times, but has relinquished it for a variety of reasons, including boredom. When the world's mightiest heroes returned from the alternate Earth to which they had been shunted following their confrontation with the sentient psionic being Onslaught, Doctor Doom remained behind and conquered that planet, which he dubbed "Planet Doom." He was by most accounts a very good ruler, leading this world into a period of unparalleled prosperity. He eventually abdicated as ruler of Planet Doom and returned to Earth, finding the task of world domination to be tedious once it had finally been achieved. In a short-lived series of comics set in the year 2099, Doctor Doom was transported to that time from some point in our current near future and upon seeing the decrepit state of Latveria he becomes the President of the United States in order to curb the power of the megacorporations based there that were oppressing his people. As a side effect he begins improving the quality of life in the United States as well, reinstituting democracy and an effective non-corrupt police force.

Despite repeated attempts through the years, Doom has been unable to completely defeat Mister Fantastic. He has also been physically humiliated by the Thing and Doom has vowed to take revenge on both men. He has come close on several occasions; however, he has failed to win a decisive battle.

Doctor Doom's plans are fueled by his ego and his conviction that he is not only capable of world domination, but also worthy and deserving of it. While he is utterly heartless and places little value on the lives of others, he also follows a strict code of honor. Several times he has struck bargains with various characters in the Marvel Universe, and he has always upheld those bargains, honoring his word and following through with his promises to the letter. He is a cruel and ruthless dictator; yet while he rules his nation of Latveria with an iron hand and is willing to deliver swift and cruel punishments, he also treats his subjects fairly (as long as they acknowledge his absolute rule). This complexity has made him one of the more interesting characters in the Marvel Universe.


Adversaries
Even though the Fantastic Four consider Doom to be "their" villain, Doom actually pops up all over the Marvel Universe, casually stomping on anyone who gets in his way. He has faced the Avengers numerous times. Individual heroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man and Dazzler have become embroiled in his schemes. It's hard to avoid Doom if you have super-powers; he has even been able to steal the power of the Silver Surfer, Galactus and the Beyonder.


Powers and abilities
Doom's most dangerous weapon is his genius-level intellect. He is easily one of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe, consistently beaten by Reed Richards largely due to his own arrogance and egocentrism. Doom has constructed hundreds of devices, including a working time machine (the first of its kind on Earth), devices which can imbue people with superpowers, and many types of robots. His most frequently-used robots are his "Doombots," exact mechanical replicas of the real Doctor Doom. They look like him, talk like him, and even act like him. Individually, Doombots have an advanced A.I. program that causes them to believe themselves to really be Doctor Doom, and act as Doom unless in the presence of the real Von Doom or other Doombots. These imitation Dooms have been created to impersonate Doctor Doom when he either cannot be present or is unwilling to risk his own life (such as when confronting powerful foes). In order to prevent his duplicates from harming or out-performing him, Doctor Doom installs each Doombot with a dampener program that reduces all of its abilities when activated. This program is triggered whenever a Doombot enters Von Doom's presence or the presence of other Doombots. They are also, in a way, a plot device: often, if Doom is apparently defeated, acts out of character in a story, or even seems to die, "it was only a robot". Another common sight around Latveria are the purple-and-grey Warrior Robots, who resemble hulking humans in metallic armor and enforce Doom's laws.

Doom also possesses a good deal of sorcerous ability, able to fire blasts of mystical energy from his hands, create protective shields of magical energy, ensnare foes in bands of energy (the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak), and create portals to other planes of existence, such as Mephisto's hellish realm or the Dreamtime of the Australian Aborigines. Doom has also developed the ability to psionically transfer his consciousness into another nearby human being with whom he's made eye contact, a process which he learned from the alien Ovoids. However, Doom prefers his own body and only uses this transference power as a last resort.

Dr. Doom's iron-clad face is instantly recognizable to most of the world's population, a fact attributable to his infamous, high-tech, nuclear powered, computer assisted battle suit. Doom's first (and truly "original") set of armor was magically forged at a hidden monastery in the high mountains of Tibet; since then, his dark plated armor has been enhanced and repaired by normal technological means. Although a skilled practitioner of the mystic arts, Victor von Doom more often relies upon his armor for most of his powers. The armor is fashioned of a high-strength titanium alloy. Built into the right wrist is a video communicator, which he can use to stay in contact with all his bases from any point on Earth. To deal with those insignificant fools who would dare to touch Doom, the armor is built to generate a massive electric shock on command. The armor is equipped with twin jetpacks mounted at the waist which permit flight, though some suits contain a back-mounted single jetpack. Concussive bolts of force can be fired from the gauntlets and faceplate of the armor, though the mask only generates force blasts when it is not being worn. The suit's best defense is the force field generated by the armor, which has a maximum radius of eight feet (and so can encompass others); Doom cannot attack without lowering his force field. Infrared scanners in the helmet allow the wearer to detect heat sources, permitting night vision and the ability to see invisible persons (unless they do not give off or can somehow mask their heat signature). The armor is self-supporting, equipped with internal stores & recycling systems for air, food, water, and energy, allowing the wearer to survive lengthy periods of exposure underwater or in outer space. Optical scanners in the helmet allow the helmet's eyepieces to be used as high-powered telescopes, and parabolic ear amplifiers fitted inside the helmet allow Doom to detect extremely faint sounds and unusual frequencies within the audible range for humans. A thermo-energizer allows the armor to absorb and store solar and heat energy, and use it to power the armor's other systems; this system can only be used while the force field is deactivated. In addition, Doom often carries a pistol to dispose of weaker enemies whom he considers unworthy to kill with his armor's weaponry.

Captain America, the alter ego of Steve Rogers (in some accounts Steven Grant Rogers), is a Marvel Comics superhero. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941).

Captain America was the most prominent of a wave of patriotically-themed superheroes that American comic book companies introduced during World War II. With his sidekick Bucky, Captain America faced Nazis and Japanese troops during his 1940s heyday, but the hero faded into obscurity after the war.

In 1964, Marvel revived Captain America, revealing that he had fallen from an experimental drone plane into the North Atlantic in the final days of the war and spent the past decades frozen in a state of suspended animation. The hero found a new generation of readers as the leader of the all-star group The Avengers and in a new solo series.

Since then, Captain America has been a much more serious and less jingoistic hero. Writers have used the character to reflect the conflict between politics and ideology by placing him at odds with the United States government and angry and troubled about the state of the country. He considers himself dedicated to defending America’s ideals rather than its political leadership, a conviction summed up when Captain America confronted an army general who tried to manipulate him by appealing to his loyalty. Rogers responded, "I'm loyal to nothing, General.. except the Dream." (Daredevil #233, August 1986)

The character was one of the most popular characters that Marvel Comics (then known as Timely) had during the Golden Age of Comic Books. With World War II over and his main reason for existence (as a fictional war hero) receding into the past, the character's popularity faded. He was briefly revived in the mid-1950s as a blatantly anti-Communist superhero, but sales were poor. In the 1970s, that version would later be retconned away.

Character history

Origins

Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941), art by Jack Kirby.In current Marvel Universe history, Steven Rogers was a sickly American fine arts student specializing in illustration in the early 1940s before America's entry into World War II. He was disturbed by the rise of the Third Reich enough to attempt to enlist only to be rejected due to his poor constitution. By chance, an Army officer looking for test subjects for a top secret defense research project offered Rogers an alternate way to serve his country. The officer was looking for suitable test subjects for a top secret defense research project, Operation: Rebirth. This project consisted of developing a means to create physically superior soldiers and Rogers was deemed ideal.

Rogers agreed to volunteer for the research and after a rigorous physical and combat training and selection process, was chosen as the first human test subject. He received injections and oral ingestions of a chemical formula that was termed the Super Soldier Serum, which had been developed by the scientist Dr Emil Erskine (who was code-named Dr Reinstein). Rogers was then exposed to a controlled burst of "Vita-Rays" that activated and stabilized the chemicals in his system. Although the process was arduous physically, it successfully altered his physiognomy from its relative frail form to the maximum of human efficiency, including greatly enhanced musculature and reflexes.


Captain America Vol. 5, #5, together with fellow Invaders Namor and the Human Torch. Art by Steve Epting.Unfortunately, at this moment of triumph, a Nazi spy revealed himself and shot Erskine. Because the scientist had committed the crucial portions of the Super Solder formula to memory, it could not be duplicated. Rogers killed the spy in retaliation and vowed to oppose the enemies of America. Meanwhile, the United States government decided to make the most of their one super soldier and eventually made him a superhero who served both as a counter-intelligence agent and a propaganda symbol to counter Nazi Germany's head of terrorist operations, the Red Skull. To that end, Rogers was given a costume modelled after the American flag, a bulletproof steel shield, a personal sidearm and the name of Captain America. He was also given a cover identity as a clumsy infantry private at Fort Lehigh where he made friends with the teenage camp mascot, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes.

One night, Barnes accidentally learned of Roger's dual identity and offered to keep the secret if he could become his sidekick. Rogers agreed, and trained Barnes appropriately. Rogers also met President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who presented him with a new shield made from a chance mixture of iron, vibranium and an unknown catalyst. The alloy was indestructible, yet the shield was light enough to use as a discus-like weapon that could be angled to return to him. (Some sources erroneously describe the metal as an adamantium-vibranium alloy.) It proved so effective that the sidearm was dropped. Throughout World War II, Captain America and Bucky fought the Nazi menace both on their own and as members of the superhero team called the Invaders.

Rogers was not the first to be given the Super Soldier formula. It was revealed years later that while Rogers was still being assessed, some military members of the project felt that a non-soldier was not the right candidate and secretly gave Erskine's incomplete formula to Clinton McIntyre instead. However, this made McIntyre violently insane, and he had to be subdued and placed in cold storage. The criminal organization AIM would later revive McIntyre as the homicidal Protocide. (Captain America Annual, 2000).

The second man who was given the formula before Rogers was Isaiah Bradley, the only survivor of a group of African-American soldiers that the military experimented on with Erskine's cooperation in 1942. After the last two members of his group were killed, Bradley stole the costume meant for Rogers and invaded Germany on his own. He was captured, but eventually rescued and court martialed. He was imprisoned for 17 years in Leavenworth until he was pardoned by President Eisenhower. By the time of his release, the long-term effects of the formula turned Bradley into a hulking, sterile giant with the mentality of a 7-year-old. Rogers would not find out about Bradley until decades later (Truth: Red, White and Black, 2003). Patriot, leader of the Young Avengers, has been revealed to be the grandson of Isaiah Bradley.

According to files in the Weapons Plus program, a clandestine government organization that developed superhumans to combat and eventually exterminate mutants, Rogers was "Weapon I", the first living weapon of the program. However, Rogers was never given any such assignments, so the veracity of this information is uncertain (New X-Men #145, October 2003).


After the war
In the closing days of World War II in 1945, Captain America and Bucky tried to stop the villanous Baron Zemo from destroying an experimental drone plane. Zemo launched the plane with an armed explosive device on it, with Rogers and Barnes in hot pursuit. They reached the plane just before it took off, but when Bucky tried to defuse the bomb, it exploded in mid-air. The young man was killed instantly, and Rogers was hurled into the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. His body was not found, and he was presumed dead.

Fearing a blow to morale if the news of Captain America's demise was revealed, President Truman asked William Naslund, the patriotic costumed hero known as the Spirit of '76, to assume the role, with a young man named Fred Davis as Bucky. They continued to serve in the same roles after the war with the All Winners Squad, until Naslund was fatally injured in a battle with the android Adam II in 1946. With Naslund's death, Jeff Mace, also known as the Patriot, took over as Captain America, with Davis continuing to act as Bucky. However, Davis was shot and injured in 1948 and was forced to retire. Mace then teamed up with Betsy "Golden Girl" Ross, and some time before 1953 gave up his Captain America identity to marry her. Mace contracted cancer and died from it some decades later (What If? #4, August 1977).

In 1953, an unnamed man who idolized Captain America and had done his American History Ph.D. thesis on Rogers discovered some Nazi files in a warehouse in Germany, one of which apparently contained the lost formula for the Super Soldier serum. He took it to the United States government on the condition that they use it to make him Captain America. Needing a symbol for the Korean War, they agreed, and the man underwent plastic surgery to look like Steve Rogers, even assuming that name. However, the war ended and the project never went forward. "Rogers" found a teaching job at the Lee School, where he met Jack Monroe, a young orphan who also idolized Captain America. They decided to use the formula on themselves and became the new Captain America and Bucky, this time fighting the so-called Communist scourge (Young Men #24, December 1953).

Unfortunately, "Rogers" and Monroe did not know of and therefore did not undergo the "Vita-Ray" process. The imperfect implementation of the formula in their systems began to make them paranoid, and by the middle of 1954 they were irrationally attacking anyone they perceived to be a Communist. In 1955 the Federal Bureau of Investigation managed to hunt them down and placed them in suspended animation. The 1950s Captain America and Bucky would be revived years later after the return of Steve Rogers, go on another rampage, and would be defeated by the man they had modelled themselves after. (Captain America #153, September 1972).


The return of Steve Rogers

Avengers Vol. 1, #4 (March 1964), art by Jack Kirby.In Avengers #4 (March 1964), the Avengers discovered Steve Rogers's body in the North Atlantic, his costume under his soldier's uniform and still carrying his shield. Rogers had been preserved in a block of ice since 1945, which melted after the block was thrown back into the ocean by the Sub-Mariner, enraged that an Arctic tribe was worshipping the frozen figure. When Rogers revived, he related his last, failed mission in the closing days of the war. Rogers accepted membership in the Avengers, and although he soon adjusted to modern times well enough to eventually assume leadership of the team, he was plagued by guilt for not being able to prevent Bucky's death. He also undertook missions for the national security agency SHIELD, which was commanded by his old war comrade Nick Fury.

Captain America was once again given his own series (now in its fifth incarnation), which has lasted decades longer than its original run. The book initially enjoyed the artwork of Jack Kirby as well as a short run by Jim Steranko, and many of the industry's top artists and writers have worked on the book. The most notable stories often had a political tone to them. For example, during Steve Englehart's stint as writer, Rogers encountered his revived 1950s counterpart and dealt with the Marvel Universe's version of the Watergate scandal. This last story so severely disillusioned Rogers that he abandoned his Captain America identity in favour of one called Nomad only to reassume it to face the menace of the Red Skull, this time as a symbol of America's ideals rather than its government. During this time, several men tried to assume the Captain America identity, all without success. Jack Monroe, cured of his mental instability, would, years later, take up the Nomad alias. (Captain America #176-#183, 1974-1975).

In the 1980s, a similar story was written by Mark Gruenwald when Rogers chose to resign his identity rather than submit to the orders of the United States government and took the alias of "The Captain" instead. This extended story arc was intended to illustrate the difference of Captain America's beliefs from his replacement who was intended to illustrate the jingoistic attitude that the popular movie character Rambo embodied and which Rogers did not share. During this period, the role of Captain America was assumed by John Walker, the former Super-Patriot. When Rogers returned to his Captain America identity, Walker became the U.S. Agent (Captain America #332-#351, 1987-1989).

Some time after returning to the position of Captain America, Rogers narrowly avoided the explosion of a methamphetamine lab, but it triggered a chemical reaction between the drug and the Super Soldier serum in his system. To combat this reaction, the serum was removed from his system, and now Rogers had to train constantly to maintain his physical condition. (This storyline was partly prompted by reader concerns that Captain America was effectively the beneficiary of steroid treatments.)

However, the removal of the serum did not stop his system from deteriorating, and eventually Rogers's body began to break down. For a time, he had to wear a powered exoskeleton to keep moving and eventually had to be placed again in suspended animation. During this time, he was given a transfusion of blood from the Red Skull (who now inhabited a body cloned from Rogers's cells), which both cured his condition and restored the Super Soldier formula to his system. Captain America returned both to crimefighting and the Avengers (Captain America #425-#454, 1994-1996).

Recently, Rogers went public with his identity, and established a residence in Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.


Powers and abilities
Rogers has no superhuman powers. However, as a result of the Super Soldier serum, he was transformed from a frail and sickly young man into a "nearly perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning. Captain America is as strong, fast, agile, and durable as it is possible for a human being to be without being considered superhuman. Mentally, his battle experience and training has also made him an expert tactician and an excellent field commander, with his teammates frequently deferring to his orders in battle. Rogers's reflexes and senses are also extraordinarily keen, and he is skilled in unarmed combat and several martial arts. Years of practice with using his indestructible shield has made it practically an extension of his own body, and he is able to aim and throw it with almost unerring accuracy.

Rogers has used several shields over the years. His first shield was a badge-shaped one made of a bulletproof experimental alloy, which was then replaced with the disc-shaped indestructible one. When he returned from suspended animation, Tony Stark "improved" the shield by incorporating electronic and magnetic components in it so that Rogers could even control it in flight. However, Rogers soon discarded the additional components because he found that it upset the balance of the shield.

When Rogers gave up the costume and shield to John Walker and became the Captain, he used a pure adamantium shield provided, once again, by Stark. Rogers returned this shield to Stark, however, when he discovered that it had strings attached; Stark had hoped that Rogers would not interfere in his efforts to retrieve his Iron Man technology from others by force. Rogers then turned to the Black Panther, who provided him with a vibranium shield. When Rogers reassumed the Captain America identity, he regained his indestructible shield along with his costume.

Rogers has also used two energy shields, during periods when the indestructible shield was unavailable - a cool-temperature plasma shield which was later on reconfigured to become a photon shield, both provided by SHIELD technicians. The photon shield worked by creating a force field whose frequency mimicked a vibranium matrix, being able to store and return energy in the same way. Both energy shields were controlled by an emitter in the uniform's gloves, expanding only when needed. Despite all these, however, Rogers has always returned to using the indestructible shield that is most associated with him.

Benjamin Jacob "Ben" Grimm aka The Thing is a fictional character from the Marvel Universe, a founding member of the superhero team the Fantastic Four under the guise of the superstrong Thing. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 (1961). His trademark cry of "It's clobberin' time!" is one of the most recognizable catchphrases in all comics.

The cantakerously lovable, cigar-smoking native of the Lower East Side is popularly recognized as being the alter-ego of Kirby. Pilot Ben Grimm accompanied by long-time friend and scientist Reed Richards, his fiancee Susan Storm and her brother Johnny Storm took an experimental ride into the upper atmosphere of Earth where they were unluckily pelted by a cosmic ray storm. Upon crashing down to Earth each of the four learned that they had developed fantastic superpowers. Grimm had been transformed initially into a lumpy orange thing, and later into the more familiar massive orange humanoid pile of slightly jagged earthy rock. Richards proposed the quartet band together to use their new abilities for the betterment of humanity and Grimm, in a moment of self-pity, adopted the superheroic sobriquet of the Thing.

Trapped in his monstrous form Grimm was an unhappy yet reliable member of the team. He trusted in his friend Reed Richards to one day develop a cure for his condition. However, when he encountered blind sculptress Alicia Masters, Grimm developed a subconscious resistance to being transformed back to his human form. Fearing that Masters preferred him to remain in the monstrous form of the Thing, Grimm's body rejected various attempts by Richards to restore his human form lest he lose the love of Masters. His subconscious fear kept him in his rocky form and Grimm remained a stalwart member of the Fantastic Four for years. He left the team when he opted to remain on an alien planet where he could control his transformation to and from his rocky superpowered form. Upon returning to Earth he learned that Masters had become romantically involved with his partner Johnny Storm while he was absent. Grimm wallowed in self-pity for a time but eventually returned to his surrogate family and even became the leader of the Fantastic Four for a time.

After being further mutated into a more monstrous rocky form and briefly being changed back to his human form, Grimm has once more returned to his traditional orange rocky form. He remains a steadfast member of the Fantastic Four and one of the most easily recognizable characters of the Marvel Universe.

According to interviews, writer Jack Kirby had intended Ben Grimm to be sort of an alter ego of himself. However, as was usual for comic-book characters of that era, no religion was publicly mentioned. A recent issue of the Fantastic Four made the news - especially many major American Jewish newspapers - when Grimm was revealed to be Jewish in the 2002 issue "Remembrance of Things Past".

Although The Thing has always been closely identified with the Fantastic Four, he did appear as a solo character in a bizarre early-1980s spinoff of the animated series The Flintstones entitled Fred and Barney Meet The Thing. For this series, the origin of The Thing was changed. Now, he was a teenager named "Benjy" Grimm who was able to change himself into The Thing with the use of a magic ring. Despite the title of the series, The Thing hardly ever encountered the Flintstones characters.

Strength Level
After his transformation, The Thing possessed superhuman strength sufficient to lift(military press) about 5 tons. His strength has increased considerably over the years and is now capable of lifting about 85 tons under optimal conditions.


Superhuman Powers
The Thing possesses superhuman strength, speed, endurance, and durability. The mutagenic, specific-frequency cosmic ray bombardment caused his musculature, bone structure, internal organ composition, soft-tissue structure and skin to greatly increase in toughness and density as a rock like substance. The Thing can exert himself at high levels for about a day before the buildup of fatigue poisons in his blood impairs his strength. His reflexes have remained at their above average human levels despite his greater mass. The Thing's lungs are of greater volume and efficiency than a normal man, enabling him to hold his breath underwater for up to nine minutes. The Thing's five senses can withstand greater amounts of sensory stimuli than he could when he was a normal human being, with no reduced sensitivity.

The Thing's body is able to withstand temperature extremes from -75 to 800 deg. Fahrenheit for up to an hour before exposure or heat prostration occurs. He can withstand the effects of armor-piercing bazooka shells (15 pounds of high explosives) against his skin with no injury. He is still susceptible to colds, disease, and emotional stress.

Unlike in the case of the Hulk, the Thing has suffered no loss in intelligence or change in personality in his transformation to his monstrous form.

In Neil Gaiman's 1602, his power is associated with the classical element of earth.

Trivia
The Thing's alias as Blackbeard the Pirate originates with one of the first issues of the Fantastic Four comic book, in which Doctor Doom (making his debut appearance) sends The Thing, Mr. Fantastic and Human Torch back in time to retrieve Blackbeard's treasure. Through misadventure, however, it is The Thing who actually becomes known as Blackbeard.

Omega Red possesses a variety of superhuman attributes as a part of both genetic mutation and artificial enhancements granted to him by the Soviet government. Omega Red possesses superhuman strength, endurance, and a high degree of resistance to physical injury. If injured, Omega Red's body can recover with superhuman speed and efficiency and will recover from a few moments to a few hours, depending upon the severity of the injury.

He also possesses the ability to secrete an odorless pheremone that has the ability to weaken anybody within his immediate vicinity. The pheremone has never been given a name and is sufficient to render his targets unconcsious, or even to die, if exposed to the pheremone for a long enough period.

The Soviet government implanted one retractable tentacle within each of Omega Red's arm composed of carbonadium, the Soviets' attempt to recreate the artificial alloy known as adamantium. These tentacles are often used by Omega Red as weapons, such as using them as whips, which when combined with his great strength make them highly efficient weapons. His favorite tactic is to use these coils to ensnare his opponents and, while they're wrapped within his coils, he is able to literally drain them of their life energy. The carbonadium tentacles are highly durable, but are not as durable as adamantium.

This vampiric effect is essential to Omega Red's continued health since the carbonadium implants, while great offensive weapons, slowly poison Omega Red and he is required to regularly drain the life energy of a person, or perhaps taking small amounts from larger numbers of individuals, in order to temporarily sustain his immune system.

In order to stablize his condition, Omega Red requires the "carbonadium synthesizer", a device that was stolen by Wolverine, Maverick, and Sabretooth during their final mission together as "Team X" sometime during the 1960s. It is because of his need for the carbonadium synthesizer that Omega Red has continuously sought out these three individuals over the years, believing they may know of its whereabouts.

Magneto (real name unknown, alias "Erik Magnus Lehnsherr"), is a comic book character and mutant in the Marvel Comics universe. He has at various times been a supervillain, a superhero, and an anti-hero, and in his role as a villain - arguably his most famous role, though not his most complex - he is the primary antagonist of the X-Men. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The [Uncanny] X-Men #1 (1963).

Magneto is a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp. As a young boy, with his power over magnetism not yet developed, he and his family were persecuted for being Jewish. Magneto witnessed the murder of his family by the Nazis during the Holocaust. He alone survived and was sent into the camps.

Magneto has since been tormented by the fact that, had he only been aware of his full powers at the time, he could have put a stop to the entire process; the entire Nazi military would not have presented an insurmountable challenge to Magneto in his prime. However, since he was malnourished and sickly while in the camps, he may not have been in a condition to use his powers even if he was aware of them.


Magneto with Magda.After World War II, he married the gypsy Magda, a fellow survivor of the Nazi death camps (the two had managed to escape beforehand), and sired a daughter, Anya. Magneto consciously used his mutant abilities for the first time to protect Magda and himself from a fire. Unfortunately he was unable to rescue his daughter from the blaze due to his inexperience coupled with interference from a mob of angry humans. He unleashed his powers to decimate the human crowd in revenge. Terrified by Magneto's powers, Magda left him.

Months later Magda would discover that she was pregnant and would die giving birth to the mutant twins Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, under the auspices of the artificially evolved cow midwife named Bova at the foothills of the demonically empowered Wundagore.

While searching for his wife during this time, Magneto, realising that his name was known to his pursuers, paid a forger named George Odekirk to create the cover idendity of "Erik Magnus Lehnsherr" for him. His true name remains unknown.

Magneto made his way to the newly created nation of Israel. There he befriended Charles Xavier while working at a psychiatric hospital near Haifa that tried to help traumatized Holocaust victims. Neither revealed to the other the fact that he was a mutant. The two held lengthy debates hypothesizing what would happen if humanity were to be faced with a new, super-powered, race of humans. The two friends revealed their powers to each other when they prevented Nazi Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and his HYDRA agents from obtaining a large cache of Nazi gold. Magneto had presumably killed Strucker by dropping the cave in on him, but Strucker somehow managed to survive and resurfaced much later. Realizing that his and Xavier's views on mutant-human relations were incompatible, Magneto left with the gold.

Rise of Magneto
Magneto's experience in the death camps has shaped his outlook on the current situation that mutants face in the Marvel Universe. Determined that such atrocities will never be committed against mutant-kind, he is willing to use deadly force to protect mutants. He has several times expressed the belief that mutants (whom he calls Homo superior) will eventually become the dominant life form on the planet. He constantly wavers between wanting to exist in harmony with Homo sapiens, wanting a separate homeland for mutants, and wanting to enforce his superiority over all humanity. Magneto's status as hero or villain is a complex one. His methods are often extreme, but his goals are often noble at their root.


Magneto's debut in The [Uncanny] X-Men #1. Art by Jack Kirby.Magneto came to the public eye with an attack on the American military base at Cape Citadel (his first comic book appearance, in X-Men #1). He was thwarted by his old friend Xavier's mutant students, code-named the X-Men. He briefly conquered the tiny South American nation of San Marco after forming the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (which included his children Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch, though their familial ties were unknown to all three at the time). He invaded in the hopes of establishing a mutant homeland there, but was thwarted by the X-Men. He went on to create an orbital base of operations in an asteroid which he dubbed "Asteroid M", in which he and his mutant followers had hollowed out a large habitat for themselves.

Dabbling in genetics, Magneto created an artificial humanoid whom he named Alpha the Ultimate Mutant. Unfortunately, as often happens with artificially created creatures, Alpha rebelled against his creator. Alpha reduced Magneto to infancy using his powers. Magneto was placed in the care of Xavier's former love interest, Professor Moira MacTaggert, at Muir Isle. It was later revealed that MacTaggert tinkered with the infant Magneto's genetic code, in an attempt to remove any genes that might cause him to become the "evil" mutant he would become in adulthood. She claimed that she had hoped to cure both Magneto and her own young son, Kevin, of the problems and dangers that their mutancy caused them. However, any genetic tampering lost it's effect once Magneto first activated his powers again. Later, Magneto was eventually found at Muir Island and restored to early adulthood by the alien Shi'ar agent Davan Shakari, who normally goes by the code-name "Erik the Red".



Redemption
Magneto returned to his attempts at global conquest. He has been opposed time and again by the X-Men and a number of other heroes. In his most audacious attempt to conquer the world he threatened the governments of the world with earthquakes and volcanic activity. Though he had no qualms about sinking a Russian submarine killing all aboard after the submarine had attacked and then raising a volcano in the city of Varykino as an object lesson, he did give time for a mass evacuation before lava swept over the city. Likewise, he was shocked when he physically struck down the adolescent X-Man Kitty Pryde in battle. Remorseful at how he had almost killed such a young girl, Magneto put an end to his attempt at world conquest and retreated to rethink the path his life had taken.

Magneto found himself allied with Professor Xavier and the X-Men when a group of heroes and villains were abducted to an alien world to participate in the Secret Wars. He was next called upon to aid the X-Men in battling the nearly omnipotent yet frustratingly short-sighted being, the Beyonder. His association with the heroic team softened his views on humanity and Magneto surrendered himself to the law in order to stand trial for his past crimes. A special tribunal was organized and Magneto intended to abide by whatever verdict was brought. The trial started well for Magneto, as the tribunal chose to strike all charges against him from prior to his "rebirth", deeming that this had constituted a figurative death of the old Magneto. However, it was then interrupted by the attack of Fenris, the twin children of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Fenris was defeated but Professor X was brought to the point of death due to the strain of battle and previously sustained injuries. Xavier asked Magneto to take over his school and the X-Men. Xavier told Magneto that doing so would make amends enough for his past crimes, although Xavier was at this point an observer at the trial and had no authority to do so. Magneto agreed and chose not to return to the courtroom. Instead he took over Xavier's school under the assumed identity of Michael Xavier, Charles Xavier's cousin, and was a fugitive from justice.


Magneto comforts Magik.Though Magneto made a substantial effort as the headmaster to the New Mutants and an ally to the X-Men, his tenure was disastrous. He was forced to deal with the death of all of the younger students, the New Mutants, and their traumatic return to life after being slain by the godlike Beyonder. He was manipulated by the White Queen, mutant headmaster of the rival school the Massachusetts Academy, battled legally recognized heroes such as The Avengers and the Supreme Soviets, was unable to prevent his students Roberto Da Costa and the alien Technarch Warlock from running away from the school, saw the death of the young mutant student Douglas Ramsey and witnessed on national television the apparent death of all of the senior X-Men. Feeling that desperate measures needed to be taken, Magneto forged an alliance with the X-Men's enemies The Hellfire Club and went so far as to oust longtime co-chair Sebastian Shaw in order to establish himself as the Hellfire Club's Grey King.

Seeing that mutantkind was to be confronted with far more perilous times than ever before, Magneto began seeking allies in order to protect mutants from humanity. Towards this end he participated in the "Acts of Vengeance" alongside such established villains as Doctor Doom, the Wizard and the Mandarin. He also confronted Red Skull, an unrepentant Nazi war criminal, on whom Magneto took revenge by entombing him alive. He worked alongside the American intelligence agent Nick Fury as well as a number of Russian operatives in order to re-establish peace in the Savage Land. Tired of the constant state of strife, Magneto built a second orbital base where he hoped to live a life of quiet seclusion. He was by this point a figurehead for the cause of mutanthood and was sought out by a number of new mutants calling themselves the Acolytes.


Avalon and Genosha
After this, Magneto set his sights significantly lower than world conquest; he sought only a haven for mutantkind. He first attempted to make the orbital base known as Avalon such a haven but was opposed by the governments of the world and the X-Men. The X-men did not know if Magneto was returning to his villainous ways or not, and so they confronted Magneto. At the time the X-men were divided into the Blue team and the Gold team. Xavier made the mistake of sending the Blue Team, led by Cyclops, who had never trusted Magneto, not even when Magneto had reformed (Cyclops actually quit the team in protest over Xavier's forgiveness of Magneto).

Without giving Magneto a chance to explain himself, Cyclops ordered the others to attack. During the battle Wolverine (who had been friends with Magneto when Magneto had been on the team) attempted to kill him, much to Magneto's shock. With the exception of Rogue, none of the X-Men were any different.


Xavier mindwipes Magneto. Art by Andy Kubert.Feeling betrayed by his former allies, Magneto fled. He later discovered how Moira had tampered with his mind when he had been de-aged as a child. Magneto felt enraged, feeling that his redemption had been a lie. Though it was revealed that the genetic tampering had lost its effect when he had first used his powers after being re-aged, the damage had been done. He became the X-Men's enemy once more.

Later, the United Nations Security Council, in response to a resurgent Magneto, voted to activate the "Magneto Protocols" - a satellite network (in slightly lower orbit than Avalon), which skewed the Earth's magnetic field enough to prevent Magneto using his powers within, preventing him from returning to the planet's surface. In response to the activation, Magneto generated a massive electromagnetic pulse, not only destroying the satellites, but deactivating every electrically powered device on Earth within eleven minutes. The X-Men responded, hacking into Avalon's own systems to teleport a small team to the station (aided by Colossus, who had joined Magneto) and engaged him in battle. Finally, Wolverine launched a killing strike at him, leading Magneto to respond by ripping the adamantium from his bones, enraging Xavier to the point where he mindwiped his former friend, leaving him comatose (an action which later led to the creation of Onslaught).

Magneto then remained in this state in Avalon, worshipped by his Acolytes, under the leadership of Exodus, until Avalon itself was destroyed; during the destruction, Colossus placed him in an escape pod, sending him back to Earth. This pod was intercepted by Astra, a former ally of his who now desired his death. She cloned him, and when the clone was ready, she restored his mind, since she felt there was no point in killing him unless he knew it was her doing it. After a pitched battle, Magneto triumphed over the clone, sending him crashing into a Mexican barn. However, weakened by this, he went into hiding, while the clone became known as Joseph and eventually joined the X-Men.


Cover to Magneto Rex #1, featuring Magneto with Rogue and Quicksilver. Art by Brandon Peterson.Magneto then took this time to plan, since the world believed Joseph to be the real Magneto. He engaged in a pair of brief diversions, first posing as "Erik the Red" and revealing Gambit's past crimes to the X-Men, resulting in Gambit's expulsion (although he was later re-admitted); then, when his true identity was on the verge of being discovered by Sabra and Gabrielle Haller, killing Odekirk to prevent this.

Following this, he constructed a machine with which to amplify his powers and blackmail the world into creating a mutant nation. The X-Men and Joseph - who had fallen under Astra's control again - opposed him, but even as the X-Men defeated him (leaving his powers severely depleted as a result of over-strain), and Joseph sacrificed his life to restore the Earth to normal, the United Nations, manipulated by Alda Huxley (the United Nations mutant affairs officer), ceded the island nation of Genosha, which had no recognised government, to Magneto. Magneto ruled that nation for some time with the aid of many who had previously opposed him, including Quicksilver, Polaris, and the founder of the Acolytes, Fabian Cortez.

Despite the UN's hopes that Genosha's ongoing civil war between humans and mutates would destroy, or at least occupy him, Magneto managed to crush all opposition to his rule, and rebuilt the nation, building an army of mutates dedicated to his cause, with yet more mutants coming from all over the world to seek sanctuary in Genosha.

Eventually, he managed to use the Genegineer's equipment to fully restore his power. Intending to declare war on humanity, Magneto captured Professor X, using him as a symbol with which to rally his troops. Jean Grey recruited a new lineup of X-Men to assist Cyclops and Wolverine in rescuing Xavier and defeating Magneto. Taking the opportunity to get his revenge, Wolverine attacked the defeated Magneto, leaving him with serious injuries and crippling him for a time.


Xorn and Magneto
Soon after this, Genosha was decimated by yet another rogue mutant -- Cassandra Nova Xavier, Charles Xavier's previously unknown dead sister, who Xavier had killed in the womb. Magneto and 16 million mutants who were gathered at Genosha were reported deceased. Months after the event, a team of X-Men searching in the debris found what was apparently a recording of Magneto's last words. Mutant-supremicist ideas, attributed to him, became wide-spread in the mutant community, with some holding him as a martyr of the mutant cause.


Kuan-Yin Xorn, posing as Magneto, kills Jean Grey.Meanwhile, the mutant known as Xorn had joined the X-Men after being rescued from captivity in China. Xorn was said to be a Chinese mutant with a "star for a brain", and wore a face-concealing metal helmet with a skull-like motif. He also possessed nebulous healing powers, although the only time he was shown to heal anyone was when he deactivated a number of microscopic Sentinels and simultaneously restored Professor Xavier's ability to walk. He eventually removed the helmet, revealing Magneto's face beneath; it was alleged that Xorn never existed, and was simply an identity conceived wholly by Magneto. Having "exposed his deception", he then schemed to destroy the X-Men and reverse the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field, increasing his power with the use of a mutant drug called "Kick". He recruited the Special Class and Esme from the Xavier School to serve as his Brotherhood of Mutants, though most eventually turned against him. Before being decapitated by Wolverine, "Magneto" killed Jean Grey using a lethal electromagnetic pulse that caused her to have a massive stroke and devastated much of New York City.

Some time later, the X-Men found another Xorn, who identified himself as Shen Xorn and revealed that the "Magneto" who devastated New York was Kuan-Yin Xorn - his brother - and said that he believed that someone else was controlling his brother. Who, as yet, remains unknown.

Emergence from hiding

Magneto returns.With the launch of a new Excalibur series, Xavier met up with the real Magneto, who was actually alive. Xavier had with him Kuan-Yin Xorn's corpse. When asked who was in it, Xavier explained how the imposter had killed over 5,000 people (including Jean Grey). Magneto was shocked and angry that people thought he was capable of committing such an act.

Xavier: The latest death count in New York is 5,000. Slaughtered simply because they weren't mutants, as a demonstration of will and power.
Magneto: And they think me capable of such a thing? Do you think me capable of such a thing?
Xavier: Well, you do have a certain... reputation.
Magneto: Not for THIS!
Xavier and Magneto are now trying to rebuild and bring order to the island nation. They seem to have put aside their differences and rekindled their friendship.


The Future
This coming summer of 2005 will feature a mega crossover event in the Marvel Universe known as The House of M. Featuring both the Astonishing X-Men and the New Avengers, the storyline involves Magneto's return to villainy with his daughter Scarlet Witch by his side.


Powers and abilities
Arguably the most powerful man on the planet, Magneto is a mutant with the superhuman power of magnetokinesis. He can shape and manipulate magnetic fields that exist naturally or artificially, allowing him to lift and move heavy objects, control ferrous particles in the atmosphere, and even alter Earth's magnetic field. It is unclear, however, whether he must draw magnetic force from outside himself (if so, then he can do so over vast distances).

Although Magneto's primary power is magnetism, he seems to have some ability to project or manipulate any form of energy that is related to magnetism. He can fire bolts of electricity and create enough intense heat as infrared radiation to destroy a metal door, as he is able to manipulate the entire electromagnetic spectrum. In addition, he can create an anti-gravity field, and does so whenever he levitates a non-magnetic object. However, Magneto almost always uses only magnetism since it is more difficult for him to manipulate other forms of energy.

Magneto's ability to wield his superhuman powers effectively is dependent upon his physical condition. When severely injured, his body is unable to withstand the strain of manipulating great amounts of magnetic forces.

Magneto is an expert on genetic manipulation and engineering, with knowledge far beyond that of contemporary science. He is considered to be a genius in these fields. He can mutate humans in order to give them superhuman powers, or create adult clones of human beings and then manipulate the genetic structures of these clones during their development. He has created artificial living beings, designed magnetically-powered skycraft and spacecraft, complex robots and computers, and magnetically-powered generators.

Magneto is a skilled strategist and has more than a rudimentary knowledge of hand-to-hand combat.

The Human Torch is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Universe associated with the Fantastic Four. The Human Torch first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The Torch's real name is Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm, though he is mostly referred to as Johnny Storm.

As a result of the cosmic ray exposure during the space flight he took with his sister, Susan, along with Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, Johnny gained a spectacular set of powers. Namely, he can harmlessly envelop himself in flame at will, which allows him to fly, shoot flame offensively, and absorb heat energy.

As the youngest member, he has proved the most impetuous and was given to many of the concerns of teenagers. This includes a playfully antagonistic relationship with Ben Grimm (the Thing). This hit a low point when Johnny fell in love with Ben's old flame Alicia Masters and married her, only to learn that she was a Skrull imposter named Lyja. The Human Torch is also friends with Spider-Man, who tried to join the Fantastic Four early in his career.