This article is about a comic book character. For the unrelated short story, see The Mindworm (short story)

The Mindworm (short story)

"The Mindworm" is a short story by science fiction author Cyril M. Kornbluth, first published in 1950. It combines the themes of mutant power, telepathy and ancient superstition.-Plot summary:...

.

The Mindworm (William Turner) is a 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...

 character and a former enemy of 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...

. The character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #138.

Fictional character biography

Mindworm was a superhuman mutant with limited telepathic powers who was briefly a minor enemy of Spider-Man. He had an oversized cranium and was extremely intelligent.

C.M. Kornbluth

Cyril M. Kornbluth

Cyril M. Kornbluth was an American science fiction author and a notable member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner and Jordan Park...

 published a science fiction short story in 1950 with the title The Mindworm. The center character was a mutant who fed (fatally) on others' emotions. The Marvel character of that name has very similar abilities. He is also mentally ill, suffering from severe debilitating chronic depression and light dementia

Dementia

Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...

.

Born a freak with superhuman powers, William Turner accidentally killed his mother through his unconscious vampiric psionic feeding, which caused his father to go into emotional shock and run in front of a car. The effect of this incident was extremely traumatic for young William as he deeply cared about both of his parents and did not even know he was a mutant when the incident occurred. It was revealed that his mutation was a result of an experimental compound being stored near the hospital where he was born. After the death of his parents, he was sent to an orphanage

Orphanage

An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...

, where he protected himself from bullies with his powers. People soon started calling him "Mindworm". While in the orphanage, William managed to self-educate himself to a considerable degree, being quite brilliant.

After he grew up, he moved into a small shack on the outskirts of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where he secretly fed off of the emotions of local tenants, but not to the degree of fatally injuring them. Flash Thompson

Flash Thompson

Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 ....

 lived in an apartment near him. Later, Peter Parker had to move in with Flash, and so Mindworm attempted to feed off Parker. However, Parker was able to resist Mindworm with his strong mind. Mindworm eventually physically attacked Parker, but Spider-Man gave him a severe blow to the head, which completely stunned Mindworm and allowed the police to imprison him. Mindworm never emotionally drained his victims to the point of killing them and had no other way to sustain himself.

Mindworm once attempted to avenge himself on Spider-Man, but when he fought Spider-Man in a dream he realized all of his criminal actions were spawned from his anguish over his parent's deaths. Finally, he befriended Peter and adopted the motto "With great power comes great responsibility."

Unfortunately, Mindworm's impressionability and loneliness were later exploited by criminals who used him to assist in a robbery and he was again imprisoned. This time, while in prison, Mindworm began to exhibit signs of extreme mental illness. When he was released, he could not work or sustain himself and became homeless. He was preyed upon by local hoodlums and not wanting to use his powers to injure others he would not defend himself. Spider-Man noticed Mind-Worm's plight but was unsure how to help him. Before Spider-Man could act, Mindworm was killed by a street gang.

Powers and abilities

Mindworm was a mutant with the ability to drain mental energy from humans around him. He could also read minds and was moderately telepathic. His psionic abilities manifested themselves in several ways, such as being able to cast vivid illusions, fire destructive "mind waves" at his enemies, invade dreams, and he could drain mental energy to the point of death. He could also augment his physical strength to temporarily enhanced levels by absorbing psychic energy. He even made himself strong enough to fight Spider-Man at one time.

His severe mental illness and the destructive nature of his mutation inhibited him from ever being able to properly educate himself to a degree that corresponded with his mental superiority. He was once also highly physically athletic.

MC2

In the MC2 universe, Mindworm is shown to, curiously enough, be alive and well, using his powers to impersonate celebrities. He is recruited by the Hobgoblin

Hobgoblin (comics)

The Hobgoblin is the alias of several fictional characters that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known Hobgoblin is Roderick Kingsley. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #238, and was created by Roger Stern and John Romita, Sr...

 in his crusade to become the new Kingpin

Kingpin (comics)

The Kingpin is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Kingpin is one of the most feared and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe. The character is a major adversary of Daredevil, the Punisher, and Spider-Man...

 of crime in Amazing Spider-Girl

Spider-Girl

Spider-Girl is a superheroine in Marvel Comics' MC2 universe. The character was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz as the teenage daughter of Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson, and first appeared in What If #105...

#13. After attempting to betray his employer in Amazing Spider-Girl #18., Mindworm is put out of action by the activation of a subcutaneous bomb at the base of his neck, secretly implanted by the Hobgoblin.

External links

• Mindworm on the Marvel Universe Character Bio Wiki