Freak (Marvel Comics)
Encyclopedia
Freak is the name of three fictional characters in the Marvel Universe
. Most villains known as Freak are associated with Iron Man
, while the most recent version appears in The Amazing Spider-Man
.
, a friend of Iron Man
(Tony Stark).
#74-76 (February–April 1966), by Stan Lee
and Gene Colan
. He appeared as the Freak again in Iron Man #3-4 (July–August 1968), #26 (June 1970), and #84-85 (March–April 1976).
had become desperately ill, doctors tried to cure him using a cobalt
ray machine powered by Stark's experimental "Enervator" device. Instead, Happy was mutated into a giant, savage, nearly mindless, superhumanly strong humanoid known as Freak. Though he was restored to his normal self, Hogan would turn into the Freak several times after being exposed to cobalt on several occasions.
#67 (April 1974), by Mike Friedrich
and George Tuska
.
, when he was badly injured in a fight with Thor
. Stark decided to use the Enervator on Eddie in a desperate attempt to save him. Though Stark took precautions to prevent the device from transforming Eddie into a monstrous creature, he failed and Eddie became a new Freak. Iron Man tried to subdue him, while simultaneously protecting him from the police. He was able to knock the Freak out with a few nerve punches, and when he was unconscious he reverted to human form and Dr. Donald Blake was able to operate on Eddie to save his life.
Eddie has not transformed into the Freak since this incident.
. A drug addict named "Freak" is chased down by Spider-Man
after he attempted to steal from the poor at the soup kitchen Spider-Man's Aunt May
works at. He stumbles into a laboratory owned by Curt Connors
and injects himself with animal gene fluids, thinking they were crystal meth. Freak then began to form a chrysalis around his body, emerging as a skinless monster. After being shot at by police, he falls into the sewer and forms another chrysalis. Emerging as an animal hybrid, and completely bulletproof, Freak tracks Spider-Man by his scent. After a violent confrontation, Freak gives in to his addictions, and finds a meth lab
. Spidey follows him, and during the ensuing fight, the building is set ablaze. Freak is caught under the flaming debris, but survives and creates a new chrysalis, which has made him fireproof and even stronger. Freak emerges as an armadillo-like creature, and again tries to kill Spider-Man. When Connors arrives with the quicklime necessary to incapacitate Freak, Spider-Man tricks him into thinking Connors has drugs. Freak tears open the bags, and is covered in the quicklime. He again forms a chrysalis, with Spider-Man pouring quicklime over it, to permanently incapacitate him. The chrysalis is taken by a hazmat crew, which is later revealed to be an Oscorp research group.
Freak is next seen cut open and hooked up to machines in an Oscorp lab where scientists are using his unique abilities to cure various diseases. Norman Osborn injects him with a sample of the Anti-Venom antibodies to create "super-venom," a virus capable of killing millions with a single drop. He then uses the super-venom to re-power Mac Gargan who was "cured" of his symbiote by Anti-Venom. Norman also mentions that Freak is incapable of becoming high now because his body adapted to his drug addiction by removing the pleasure center of his brain. In the confrontation between Spider-Man and Osborn, Osborn activates the building's self-destruction, with Freak still inside. A search afterwards by Oscorp found "no signs of life", which made the team reason that Freak was killed, with Osborn immediately retorting "Idiot. Think about it for a second."
During the "Origin of the Species" storyline, Freak is informed by Doctor Octopus to join his supervillain team where he exchange for securing some specific items for him. Freak went after Spider-Man for Menace's infant. He ended up colliding with Vulture
(Jimmy Natale) before Rhino
showed up. Spider-Man goes on a rampage against the villains after the infant was kidnapped from him by the Chameleon, and Spider-Man defeats the Freak.
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...
. Most villains known as Freak are associated with 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,...
, while the most recent version appears in The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
.
Happy Hogan
The first Freak is an alter-ego of Happy HoganHappy Hogan
Harold "Happy" Hogan, is a fictional character who appears in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in books featuring Iron Man.-Fictional character biography:...
, a friend 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,...
(Tony Stark).
Publication history
Happy first appeared as the Freak in Tales of SuspenseTales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
#74-76 (February–April 1966), by Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and Gene Colan
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules "Gene" Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series...
. He appeared as the Freak again in Iron Man #3-4 (July–August 1968), #26 (June 1970), and #84-85 (March–April 1976).
Fictional character biography
When Happy HoganHappy Hogan
Harold "Happy" Hogan, is a fictional character who appears in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in books featuring Iron Man.-Fictional character biography:...
had become desperately ill, doctors tried to cure him using a cobalt
Cobalt
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....
ray machine powered by Stark's experimental "Enervator" device. Instead, Happy was mutated into a giant, savage, nearly mindless, superhumanly strong humanoid known as Freak. Though he was restored to his normal self, Hogan would turn into the Freak several times after being exposed to cobalt on several occasions.
Publication history
Eddie appeared as the Freak in Iron ManIron 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,...
#67 (April 1974), by Mike Friedrich
Mike Friedrich
Mike Friedrich is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series Star*Reach, one of the first independent comics...
and George Tuska
George Tuska
George Tuska , who early in his career used a variety of pen names including Carl Larson, was an American comic book and newspaper comic strip artist best known for his 1940s work on various Captain Marvel titles and the crime fiction series Crime Does Not Pay, for and his 1960s work illustrating...
.
Fictional character biography
Eddie was wearing the Iron Man armorIron Man's armor
Iron Man's armor is the fictional powered exoskeleton worn by the fictional Tony Stark when he assumes his superhero role of Iron Man. The first version of the armor was created by Stark with the help of Ho Yinsen....
, when he was badly injured in a fight with Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
. Stark decided to use the Enervator on Eddie in a desperate attempt to save him. Though Stark took precautions to prevent the device from transforming Eddie into a monstrous creature, he failed and Eddie became a new Freak. Iron Man tried to subdue him, while simultaneously protecting him from the police. He was able to knock the Freak out with a few nerve punches, and when he was unconscious he reverted to human form and Dr. Donald Blake was able to operate on Eddie to save his life.
Eddie has not transformed into the Freak since this incident.
Freak (Spider-Man villain)
The third Freak was a villain that first appeared in Spider-Man: Brand New DaySpider-Man: Brand New Day
"Brand New Day" is the title of a run of comic book storylines in The Amazing Spider-Man, published by Marvel Comics in 2008. It chronicles the start of Spider-Man's adventures in the aftermath of the big status quo change in the "One More Day" storyline, and continues afterwards into "Spider-Man:...
. A drug addict named "Freak" is chased down by Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
after he attempted to steal from the poor at the soup kitchen Spider-Man's Aunt May
Aunt May
May Reilly Parker-Jameson, commonly known as Aunt May, is a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared as May Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15...
works at. He stumbles into a laboratory owned by Curt Connors
Lizard (comics)
The Lizard is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and enemy of Spider-Man. The Lizard first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 , and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
and injects himself with animal gene fluids, thinking they were crystal meth. Freak then began to form a chrysalis around his body, emerging as a skinless monster. After being shot at by police, he falls into the sewer and forms another chrysalis. Emerging as an animal hybrid, and completely bulletproof, Freak tracks Spider-Man by his scent. After a violent confrontation, Freak gives in to his addictions, and finds a meth lab
Clandestine chemistry
Clandestine chemistry is chemistry carried out in secret, and particularly in illegal drug laboratories. Larger labs are usually run by gangs or organized crime intending to produce for distribution on the black market...
. Spidey follows him, and during the ensuing fight, the building is set ablaze. Freak is caught under the flaming debris, but survives and creates a new chrysalis, which has made him fireproof and even stronger. Freak emerges as an armadillo-like creature, and again tries to kill Spider-Man. When Connors arrives with the quicklime necessary to incapacitate Freak, Spider-Man tricks him into thinking Connors has drugs. Freak tears open the bags, and is covered in the quicklime. He again forms a chrysalis, with Spider-Man pouring quicklime over it, to permanently incapacitate him. The chrysalis is taken by a hazmat crew, which is later revealed to be an Oscorp research group.
Freak is next seen cut open and hooked up to machines in an Oscorp lab where scientists are using his unique abilities to cure various diseases. Norman Osborn injects him with a sample of the Anti-Venom antibodies to create "super-venom," a virus capable of killing millions with a single drop. He then uses the super-venom to re-power Mac Gargan who was "cured" of his symbiote by Anti-Venom. Norman also mentions that Freak is incapable of becoming high now because his body adapted to his drug addiction by removing the pleasure center of his brain. In the confrontation between Spider-Man and Osborn, Osborn activates the building's self-destruction, with Freak still inside. A search afterwards by Oscorp found "no signs of life", which made the team reason that Freak was killed, with Osborn immediately retorting "Idiot. Think about it for a second."
During the "Origin of the Species" storyline, Freak is informed by Doctor Octopus to join his supervillain team where he exchange for securing some specific items for him. Freak went after Spider-Man for Menace's infant. He ended up colliding with Vulture
Vulture (comics)
The Vulture is the name of six comic book supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The best known Vulture in the Marvel Universe is Adrian Toomes, an elderly enemy of Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 .-Golden Age Vulture:In Young Men #26, a scientist...
(Jimmy Natale) before Rhino
Rhino (comics)
The Rhino is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr., the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #41 The Rhino (Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich) is a fictional character that appears in comic...
showed up. Spider-Man goes on a rampage against the villains after the infant was kidnapped from him by the Chameleon, and Spider-Man defeats the Freak.