Mercurio the 4-D Man
Encyclopedia
Mercurio the 4-D Man (abbreviation of four dimensional - a feature of Mercurio's home world) is a fictional character
that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics
. Mercurio first appears in Thor #208 (vol. 1, Feb. 1973) and was created by Gerry Conway
and John Buscema
.
. Witnessing a transformation from Blake to Thor, Mercurio siphons off some of the magical energy in an attempt to transport his body across space to Earth. The process is only partially successful as the right side of Mercurio's body is turned red and his normal fire-generating ability is changed to ice (on the left side only). Mercurio then battles Thor and the Warriors Three
in an attempt to complete his transformation, but is quickly defeated and encased in molten iron by Thor.
Several weeks after returning to Gramos, Mercurio leads an army to find the God Jewel, a gem containing enough energy to sustain Gramos forever. The God Jewel, however, proves to be sentient and evolves into a humanoid form called Xorr
, and is capable of sucking the life energy from any source. Coincidentally, Thor and several allies are also seeking the God Jewel as it has imprisoned two Asgardian goddesses, Sif and Karnilla
. With Thor's help Xorr is defeated, and Mercurio retrieves several fragments of the God Jewel for use on Gramos.
Although Gramos is saved, Mercurio develops a desire to conquer, and attempts to trick Captain Marvel
into visiting Gramos and building the Omni-Wave Projector - a device capable of emitting energies on a galaxy-wide scale. Captain Marvel's cosmic awareness, however, warns him of the trap and after defeating Mercurio he returns to Earth.
Mercurio was later seen as a prisoner on the laboratory-world of the Stranger
. With the other captives, Mercurio escaped and attacked the Stranger, and Mercurio was defeated by the Whizzer of the Squadron Supreme
.
Some time later, Mercurio was among the extraterrestrial criminals exiled to Earth when it was transformed into a maximum security prison planet. In an attempt to escape, he again donned his Karl Sarron alias and lured Captain America to the Statue Of Liberty, with the goal of using the Captain's shield to power up a machine to teleport off the planet. Sensing a trap, and hoping the device could help remove all the aliens from Earth, Captain America played along until he had an opportunity to foil Mercurio's plans. During the battle, Cap regained his shield, causing the machine to overload. Mercurio began to overload as well, and though Captain America implored him to release the energies by using his powers, Mercurio neglected to do so, causing his apparent demise in an explosion.
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...
that appears in comic books published by 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...
. Mercurio first appears in Thor #208 (vol. 1, Feb. 1973) and was created by Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
and John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
.
Fictional character biography
Mercurio is a native of the planet Gramos, a world threatened with extinction when a gravitational distortion blocks out all sunlight. In a bid to save Gramos, Mercurio was chosen as a government psycho-explorer to project his consciousness across the galaxy to Earth, where he takes control of a wealthy landlord and uses his resources to build a device to siphon off Earth's electro-magnetic field. Mercurio also detects strange energies coming from the offices of Dr. Donald Blake, the alter-ego of the Thunder God ThorThor (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....
. Witnessing a transformation from Blake to Thor, Mercurio siphons off some of the magical energy in an attempt to transport his body across space to Earth. The process is only partially successful as the right side of Mercurio's body is turned red and his normal fire-generating ability is changed to ice (on the left side only). Mercurio then battles Thor and the Warriors Three
Warriors Three
The Warriors Three are a group of fictional characters who served as supporting cast members in Thor, published by Marvel Comics. The Warriors Three is made up of the Asgardians Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg...
in an attempt to complete his transformation, but is quickly defeated and encased in molten iron by Thor.
Several weeks after returning to Gramos, Mercurio leads an army to find the God Jewel, a gem containing enough energy to sustain Gramos forever. The God Jewel, however, proves to be sentient and evolves into a humanoid form called Xorr
Xorr the God-Jewel
Xorr the God-Jewel is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.Six million years ago, a humanoid race covered its planet with a nuclear force shield for protection when its sun went nova. The planet wandered through space after the nova occurred, and somewhat slowly contracted to a fraction of...
, and is capable of sucking the life energy from any source. Coincidentally, Thor and several allies are also seeking the God Jewel as it has imprisoned two Asgardian goddesses, Sif and Karnilla
Karnilla
Karnilla is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe.-Fictional character biography:Karnilla the Norn Queen is a sorceress and the Queen of Nornheim...
. With Thor's help Xorr is defeated, and Mercurio retrieves several fragments of the God Jewel for use on Gramos.
Although Gramos is saved, Mercurio develops a desire to conquer, and attempts to trick Captain Marvel
Mar-Vell
Captain Marvel is a fictional character owned by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and designed by artist Gene Colan and first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) is a fictional character owned by Marvel Comics. The character was created...
into visiting Gramos and building the Omni-Wave Projector - a device capable of emitting energies on a galaxy-wide scale. Captain Marvel's cosmic awareness, however, warns him of the trap and after defeating Mercurio he returns to Earth.
Mercurio was later seen as a prisoner on the laboratory-world of the Stranger
Stranger (comics)
The Stranger is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics.The Stranger first appeared in X-Men #11 , and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.-Fictional character biography:...
. With the other captives, Mercurio escaped and attacked the Stranger, and Mercurio was defeated by the Whizzer of the Squadron Supreme
Squadron Supreme
The Squadron Supreme is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Squadron Supreme first appeared in Avengers #85 - 86 The Squadron Supreme is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Squadron Supreme first...
.
Some time later, Mercurio was among the extraterrestrial criminals exiled to Earth when it was transformed into a maximum security prison planet. In an attempt to escape, he again donned his Karl Sarron alias and lured Captain America to the Statue Of Liberty, with the goal of using the Captain's shield to power up a machine to teleport off the planet. Sensing a trap, and hoping the device could help remove all the aliens from Earth, Captain America played along until he had an opportunity to foil Mercurio's plans. During the battle, Cap regained his shield, causing the machine to overload. Mercurio began to overload as well, and though Captain America implored him to release the energies by using his powers, Mercurio neglected to do so, causing his apparent demise in an explosion.