Cobalt Man
Encyclopedia
Cobalt Man is a fictional
supervillain
in the Marvel Comics
universe
.
and penciller Werner Roth
in X-Men
#31 (April, 1967).
The character subsequently appears in X-Men #34 (July 1967), #79 (December 1973), The Incredible Hulk #173-175 (March–May 1974), The Defenders #42-43 (December 1976-January 1977), Hulk: Nightmerica #1 (August 2003), Avengers/Thunderbolts #1 (May 2004), and Civil War #1 (July 2006), in which he died. He appeared posthumously in Marvel Spotlight Civil War: Aftermath #1 (March 2007).
A Skrull
version of Cobalt Man, for the Secret Invasion
storyline, appears in Captain Marvel #2-3 (February–March 2008).
Cobalt Man received an entry in the Marvel Legacy: The 1970s Handbook #1 (2006).
. He sought to use this as a weapon and built a cobalt suit of armor in imitation of Iron Man
's, and called himself the Cobalt Man. At the time, Ralph's younger brother Ted Roberts was dating Jean Grey
. Ralph Roberts took Ted, Jean, and Scott Summers
on a tour of his lab, and when he showed Ted his armor he became destructive, and when Scott and Jean fought the Cobalt Man he buried them under rubble. As he was becoming more unstable, the X-Men
fought and defeated him, and he realized that the armor was too dangerous to use. However, Tyrannus
soon kidnapped him to force him to build a giant super-cobalt robot. The X-Men fought Tyrannus and rescued Roberts and returned him to the surface world.
He later achieved superhuman size and power due to radiation. This ends up slowly killing him; addled, he decides to show the world the dangers of nuclear power by destroying himself and the city of Sydney, Australia. In a confrontation with the Hulk, he seemingly dies, safely away from the Earth. While on a mission with Egghead
's Emissaries of Evil
, he appeared to have been killed in a nuclear explosion
.
Some time later he was later revealed to have survived the explosion.
Apparently, the original Cobalt Man was one of the many villains that escaped from The Raft
prison during New Avengers #1-3 (January - March 2005). In an appearance which was widely previewed (first in New Avengers: Illuminati #1; May 2006) but which was originally produced as part of Civil War
#1 (July, 2006), the New Warriors
located Cobalt Man hiding in Stamford
with other escaped convicts. The New Warriors were part of a reality show and decided to take down the villains. During the ensuing conflict, Nitro
used his powers to demolish the entire neighborhood, causing the death of hundreds of men, women and children, most of the New Warriors, and apparently Cobalt Man as well beginning the events of the Civil War
storyline.
Ralph Roberts seemingly returned from the dead in the 2007-08 Captain Marvel mini-series, but it is revealed that this is really a Skrull
impostor. When interrogated by Captain Marvel on the Skrull's Secret Invasion
plans, the Cobalt Man Skrull tells Captain Marvel that he is not the real Captain Marvel.
During the Dark Reign
storyline, Hercules
travels to the Underworld and Cobalt Man is among the dead characters in Erebus
. Due to outside forces, this section of the afterlife was chaotic and breaking down. It is clarified that Cobalt Man and the other dead had a chance of returning to life by winning at gambling games.
/Thunderbolts
six issue mini-series, Tony Stark
infiltrated the Thunderbolts as Cobalt Man to learn their intentions and agenda. Eventually, Stark revealed his true identity and tossed the Cobalt Man armor away.
fanatics who had fabricated copies of the Cobalt Man armor with plans to make the heroes look bad in public.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
.
Publication history
Cobalt Man was created by writer Roy ThomasRoy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and penciller Werner Roth
Werner Roth (comics)
Werner Roth was an American comic book artist, perhaps best known for immediately succeeding Jack Kirby on Marvel Comics' X-Men....
in X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
#31 (April, 1967).
The character subsequently appears in X-Men #34 (July 1967), #79 (December 1973), The Incredible Hulk #173-175 (March–May 1974), The Defenders #42-43 (December 1976-January 1977), Hulk: Nightmerica #1 (August 2003), Avengers/Thunderbolts #1 (May 2004), and Civil War #1 (July 2006), in which he died. He appeared posthumously in Marvel Spotlight Civil War: Aftermath #1 (March 2007).
A Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
version of Cobalt Man, for the Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008....
storyline, appears in Captain Marvel #2-3 (February–March 2008).
Cobalt Man received an entry in the Marvel Legacy: The 1970s Handbook #1 (2006).
Fictional character biography
Ralph Roberts was an inventor who had been studying the effects of nuclear radiation involving cobaltCobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
. He sought to use this as a weapon and built a cobalt suit of armor in imitation of Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
's, and called himself the Cobalt Man. At the time, Ralph's younger brother Ted Roberts was dating Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
. Ralph Roberts took Ted, Jean, and Scott Summers
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
on a tour of his lab, and when he showed Ted his armor he became destructive, and when Scott and Jean fought the Cobalt Man he buried them under rubble. As he was becoming more unstable, the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
fought and defeated him, and he realized that the armor was too dangerous to use. However, Tyrannus
Tyrannus (comics)
Tyrannus is an immortal supervillain in the Marvel Universe. He first appeared in Incredible Hulk vol. 1 #5 , and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.-Fictional character biography:...
soon kidnapped him to force him to build a giant super-cobalt robot. The X-Men fought Tyrannus and rescued Roberts and returned him to the surface world.
He later achieved superhuman size and power due to radiation. This ends up slowly killing him; addled, he decides to show the world the dangers of nuclear power by destroying himself and the city of Sydney, Australia. In a confrontation with the Hulk, he seemingly dies, safely away from the Earth. While on a mission with Egghead
Egghead (comics)
Egghead is the name of two fictional Marvel Comics villains. The original first appeared in Tales to Astonish #38. He is also the arch-nemesis of super-hero Henry Pym. The second first appeared in Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1.-Elihas Starr:...
's Emissaries of Evil
Emissaries of Evil
The Emissaries of Evil is a name used by three different fictional team of supervillains in the Marvel Universe.-Under Electro:The first Emissaries of Evil was recruited by Electro in a plot of revenge against Daredevil for previous defeats. This group consisted of Gladiator, Stilt-Man, Leap-Frog,...
, he appeared to have been killed in a nuclear explosion
Nuclear explosion
A nuclear explosion occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from an intentionally high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion based weapons have used a fission device...
.
Some time later he was later revealed to have survived the explosion.
Apparently, the original Cobalt Man was one of the many villains that escaped from The Raft
The Raft (comics)
The Raft is a fictional island prison facility in New York City for psychopathic superhuman criminals appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics...
prison during New Avengers #1-3 (January - March 2005). In an appearance which was widely previewed (first in New Avengers: Illuminati #1; May 2006) but which was originally produced as part of Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
#1 (July, 2006), the New Warriors
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
located Cobalt Man hiding in Stamford
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
with other escaped convicts. The New Warriors were part of a reality show and decided to take down the villains. During the ensuing conflict, Nitro
Nitro (comics)
Nitro is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in Captain Marvel #34 and was created by Jim Starlin....
used his powers to demolish the entire neighborhood, causing the death of hundreds of men, women and children, most of the New Warriors, and apparently Cobalt Man as well beginning the events of the Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
storyline.
Ralph Roberts seemingly returned from the dead in the 2007-08 Captain Marvel mini-series, but it is revealed that this is really a Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
impostor. When interrogated by Captain Marvel on the Skrull's Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008....
plans, the Cobalt Man Skrull tells Captain Marvel that he is not the real Captain Marvel.
During the Dark Reign
Dark Reign (comics)
"Dark Reign" is a 2008–2009 crossover comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It deals with the aftermath of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, which led to a shift of power in the Marvel Universe toward Norman Osborn. The title "Dark Reign" refers to Osborn's rise to national power and the...
storyline, Hercules
Hercules (Marvel Comics)
Hercules is a fictional character that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Journey into Mystery Annual #1 and was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby....
travels to the Underworld and Cobalt Man is among the dead characters in Erebus
Erebus
In Greek mythology, Erebus , also Erebos , was often conceived as a primordial deity, representing the personification of darkness; for instance, Hesiod's Theogony places him as the first five beings to come into existence from Chaos...
. Due to outside forces, this section of the afterlife was chaotic and breaking down. It is clarified that Cobalt Man and the other dead had a chance of returning to life by winning at gambling games.
Iron Man impostor
During the 2004 AvengersAvengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
/Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts (comics)
The Thunderbolts are a Marvel Comics superhero team, which consists mostly of former supervillains. The group first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #449 , and was created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley.-Publication history:...
six issue mini-series, Tony Stark
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
infiltrated the Thunderbolts as Cobalt Man to learn their intentions and agenda. Eventually, Stark revealed his true identity and tossed the Cobalt Man armor away.
Cobalt Men
A group of men in Cobalt Man armor attacked Speedball and a group of trainee Avengers when they visited Stamford. They were all defeated by Speedball who unleashed a powerful energy blast that disabled their armor. A local police officer revealed that the group were some pro-Norman OsbornGreen Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
fanatics who had fabricated copies of the Cobalt Man armor with plans to make the heroes look bad in public.
Powers and abilities
Initially, Roberts wore the Cobalt Man armor to gain Iron Man-like abilities, including flight, superhuman strength (it multiplied his strength 100x) and durability, recoil beams, etc. The armor (at least the second version) also had oxygen tanks and could protect its wearer from the vacuum of space.External links
- Cobalt Man at Marvel.com
- Marvel Database Cobalt Man entry