Mr. Immortal
Encyclopedia
Mr. Immortal is a comic book
character
, a mutant
superhero
in Marvel Comics
' main shared
universe
. He is the leader of the Great Lakes Avengers
and first appeared in the pages of the Avengers West Coast in 1989.
made up of heroes with abilities far less powerful and consequential than their better-known peers. Their base of operations is Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, which appears to be their shared birthplace.
Mr. Immortal possesses the superhuman ability of immortality
. Before her untimely death, his teammate and sometimes lover Dinah Soar
was the only one able to calm him down when he was revived, as he was prone to fits of rage upon returning to life. This unique ability has always given him the courage to try daring, reckless life-endangering stunts and he is quite ready to sacrifice himself for the rest of the team. It has also left him in frequent states of depression by having to watch his loved ones die around him. He discovered his ability after attempting suicide several times. He is quoted as saying, "All you're threatening me with is death. And dying's what I do best!"
regularly appeared to him. Deathurge first appeared before Craig shortly after his birth and the untimely death of his mother. His mother made Deathurge promise that he would look after Craig, and he has done so ever since in his own unique way. Craig would dub Deathurge, "D'urge", and the two became the best of friends. His father believed Deathurge to be an imaginary friend, but Deathurge was quite real, and constantly urging Craig to endanger his life by, for example, playing in traffic. Each attempt at the boy's first death was averted and Craig wrote it off as: "Just playin' with D'urge, daddy."
On Craig's 8th birthday, Deathurge had once again goaded Craig into a daring stunt, first setting his house on fire, and then telling Craig to hide under the house, while it was burning down. Craig was ultimately saved by the firemen, but he was forced to see Deathurge take his father to the afterlife. Deathurge stopped visiting Craig afterwards, and Craig was moved into a new home.
on the table.
Once more Deathurge appeared, revealing that he was in fact real. Grief-stricken, Craig begged Deathurge to take him as well as Terri, but Deathurge refused and departed again. Craig wanted to kill himself as well, and his first suicide attempt was jumping off a building, only to find he had survived. Every successive suicide attempt (from dynamite to drowning) failed as well, and to his surprise, Craig found out he couldn't die.
Response to the ad he then placed could be called relatively successful, as the Great Lakes Avengers were formed, with its founding members Mr. Immortal, Flatman
, Doorman
, Big Bertha
, Dinah Soar
and Leather Boy. They would come into contact with the West Coast Avengers
, where they were even able to convince Hawkeye
and Mockingbird
to join them. They fought the occasional supervillain, but mostly spent their time playing cards.
Over that time, Craig would develop a loving relationship with Dinah Soar, as he was also the only one who could understand her language. It turned out that Craig and Dinah were soul-mates and he was her ageless-love, as she herself also possessed a degree of immortality.
Craig was close to calling the GLA quits, when the real Avengers were disassembled
and Craig happily rejoiced that they were now the real Avengers. In their following outing against Maelstrom
, Dinah Soar was killed, and Deathurge appeared to take her away to the afterlife. The former friendship between him and Deathurge was now truly over.
Mr. Immortal would meet Deathurge again at Dinah Soar's funeral, where Deathurge expressed his regret, showing that he had truly come to love Craig as something of a son. Craig himself was enraged at Deathurge, having taken away all that Craig had ever cared about, so he attacked Deathurge, but received only a sound thrashing.
Craig was able to return the favor when Deathurge appeared to take away Monkey Joe and appeared in the form of a squirrel, leaving him in a vulnerable state. It was then that Deathurge revealed to Craig what his destiny was: to outlive everyone as the one true immortal, and then learn the grand secret that will reveal itself at the end of things. Craig wasn't an average Homo s. superior mutant, but rather, Homo s. supreme: a being that has evolved past death itself; therefore, he was the ultimate human. Deathurge, by taking away some of his loved ones, tried to prepare Craig, so that he could truly live to that destiny, and the villain Maelstrom was at the point that he could very well take that purpose away, ending the universe, in its entirety, prematurely and usurping Craig's destiny for himself. Learning his role as Homo s. supreme in the grand scheme of things gave Mr. Immortal a new incentive to live and he set out to stop Maelstrom and save the universe.
The GLA stormed Maelstrom's base, and it was ultimately Mr. Immortal who was able to save the universe, although at the cost of his friend Doorman (although Doorman would be instantly resurrected as Deathurge's replacement). Coming close to Maelstrom, Mr. Immortal was able to play on his feelings, that ultimately Maelstrom would be the one left alone, and that was the grand secret of things. Horrified by the thought, Maelstrom wanted a way out, and Mr. Immortal offered him one: suicide.
Not knowing that Mr. Immortal would be able to come back from the injury, Maelstrom killed himself like Craig had done, and Craig was able to push the button that stopped the machine Maelstrom had created to achieve the destruction of the universe. The GLA saved everybody, but gained no recognition and were even forced to drop the Avengers name, but the group persevered, becoming the GLX (Great Lakes X-Men).
mistakenly attempted to apprehend them for violating the Act, only to be defeated by the GLC and informed that they had already registered.
Craig has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes that appear on the cover of the comic book Avengers: The Initiative
#1.
Deadpool refuses to leave the GLC's home, injuring those who try to kick him out. Mr. Immortal helps kick Deadpool out by simply living far into the future; there he encounters a time traveling Squirrel Girl
and convinces her she needs to return to the past and evict Deadpool. Squirrel Girl comes back and does exactly that.
. Once he reaches the point of death, he regenerates from any and all injuries, often returning to life almost immediately. When non-fatally injured, he heals at a normal human rate; those injuries will rapidly heal the next time he dies, however. He has recovered from being shot, stabbed, drowned, crushed, exploded, poisoned, decapitated, irradiated and incinerated. Upon reviving, he is often extremely enraged due to the pain of death; before her death, Dina Soar's voice could bring him out of this state. He has also apparently stopped aging.
Deathurge once explained to Mr. Immortal that he is a mutant, but not Homo sapiens superior, the traditional Marvel
mutant
who has simply taken the next step in evolution, but rather a man who has evolved past death itself, and is therefore H. sapiens supreme. He has been told that he will be around until the end of the universe itself, to be revealed at the end its final secret.
As seen during certain fights (such as in Avengers West Coast #46 and Great Lakes Avengers #4), Mr. Immortal appears to have a certain degree of acrobatic skills that seems to be unrelated to his H. sapiens supreme powers. He had at least a little training by Hawkeye & Mockingbird during the short period when they were members of the "Great Lakes Avengers".
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character
Character (arts)
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...
, a mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
in 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...
' main shared
Shared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
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...
. He is the leader of the Great Lakes Avengers
Great Lakes Avengers
The Great Lakes Initiative, originally known as The Great Lakes Avengers , are a fictional superhero team that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters were first introduced in West Coast Avengers vol. 2, #46 , and were created by John Byrne.-Publication history:The team...
and first appeared in the pages of the Avengers West Coast in 1989.
Profile
Mr. Immortal is the leader and founder of the Great Lakes Avengers, a regional offshoot of the 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...
made up of heroes with abilities far less powerful and consequential than their better-known peers. Their base of operations is Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, which appears to be their shared birthplace.
Mr. Immortal possesses the superhuman ability of immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
. Before her untimely death, his teammate and sometimes lover Dinah Soar
Dinah Soar
Dinah Soar is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:Dinah Soar was born in the Savage Land. Her lineage is never revealed; we don't know if she was a mutant or of alien descent....
was the only one able to calm him down when he was revived, as he was prone to fits of rage upon returning to life. This unique ability has always given him the courage to try daring, reckless life-endangering stunts and he is quite ready to sacrifice himself for the rest of the team. It has also left him in frequent states of depression by having to watch his loved ones die around him. He discovered his ability after attempting suicide several times. He is quoted as saying, "All you're threatening me with is death. And dying's what I do best!"
Boyhood friendship
His immortality is something he has had to cope with since the start of his life, as the cosmic entity DeathurgeDeathurge
Deathurge is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He is a wraith-like superhuman entity who served as the herald and agent of Oblivion. He first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One #71.-Fictional character biography:...
regularly appeared to him. Deathurge first appeared before Craig shortly after his birth and the untimely death of his mother. His mother made Deathurge promise that he would look after Craig, and he has done so ever since in his own unique way. Craig would dub Deathurge, "D'urge", and the two became the best of friends. His father believed Deathurge to be an imaginary friend, but Deathurge was quite real, and constantly urging Craig to endanger his life by, for example, playing in traffic. Each attempt at the boy's first death was averted and Craig wrote it off as: "Just playin' with D'urge, daddy."
On Craig's 8th birthday, Deathurge had once again goaded Craig into a daring stunt, first setting his house on fire, and then telling Craig to hide under the house, while it was burning down. Craig was ultimately saved by the firemen, but he was forced to see Deathurge take his father to the afterlife. Deathurge stopped visiting Craig afterwards, and Craig was moved into a new home.
A new life
His new father, a Mr. O'Doughan, was an abusive man, but Craig persevered, in large part thanks to the daughter the O'Doughans already had, a girl named Terri. She became his first real friend, and this would ultimately develop into love. The couple moved out and Craig had to work long and hard, but he kept going until the day Terri committed suicide, leaving only a suicide noteSuicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message that states the author has died by suicide, and left to be discovered and read in anticipation of suicide....
on the table.
Once more Deathurge appeared, revealing that he was in fact real. Grief-stricken, Craig begged Deathurge to take him as well as Terri, but Deathurge refused and departed again. Craig wanted to kill himself as well, and his first suicide attempt was jumping off a building, only to find he had survived. Every successive suicide attempt (from dynamite to drowning) failed as well, and to his surprise, Craig found out he couldn't die.
Mr. Immortal and the GLA
Seeing the amazing potential of having superpowers, Craig found his calling and decided that he would become a superhero. He then took the identity of Mr. Immortal. On his first outing as a superhero, trying to foil a bank robbery, Craig was shot and left for dead. He decided it might be best to form a team, so his abilities could actually be useful.Response to the ad he then placed could be called relatively successful, as the Great Lakes Avengers were formed, with its founding members Mr. Immortal, Flatman
Flatman (comics)
Flatman is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in the pages of the Avengers West Coast in 1989.-Great Lakes Avengers:...
, Doorman
Doorman (comics)
Doorman is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe that first appeared in the pages of the Avengers West Coast in 1989.-Fictional character biography:...
, Big Bertha
Big Bertha (comics)
Big Bertha is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, notably as a member of the Great Lakes Avengers. The character was created by John Byrne and first appeared in West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #46 .-Fictional character biography:Not a lot is known of...
, Dinah Soar
Dinah Soar
Dinah Soar is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:Dinah Soar was born in the Savage Land. Her lineage is never revealed; we don't know if she was a mutant or of alien descent....
and Leather Boy. They would come into contact with the West Coast Avengers
West Coast Avengers
The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The team first appear in The West Coast Avengers #1 and was created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall.- Publication history :...
, where they were even able to convince Hawkeye
Hawkeye (comics)
Hawkeye , also known as Goliath and Ronin, is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57 and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck. Hawkeye joined the Avengers in Avengers Vol. 1 #16 Hawkeye...
and Mockingbird
Mockingbird (Marvel Comics)
Mockingbird is a fictional character, a superhero in the who first appears in the Ka-Zar story in Astonishing Tales #6 written by Gerry Conway and pencilled by Barry Smith...
to join them. They fought the occasional supervillain, but mostly spent their time playing cards.
Over that time, Craig would develop a loving relationship with Dinah Soar, as he was also the only one who could understand her language. It turned out that Craig and Dinah were soul-mates and he was her ageless-love, as she herself also possessed a degree of immortality.
Craig was close to calling the GLA quits, when the real Avengers were disassembled
Avengers Disassembled
"Avengers Disassembled", referred to in some participating series as "Disassembled", is a crossover event between several Marvel Comics series. The general idea is that the major heroes are assaulted, not just physically, but emotionally...
and Craig happily rejoiced that they were now the real Avengers. In their following outing against Maelstrom
Maelstrom (comics)
Maelstrom is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Marvel Two-in-One #71 , and was created by writer Mark Gruenwald.-Fictional character biography:...
, Dinah Soar was killed, and Deathurge appeared to take her away to the afterlife. The former friendship between him and Deathurge was now truly over.
Mr. Immortal would meet Deathurge again at Dinah Soar's funeral, where Deathurge expressed his regret, showing that he had truly come to love Craig as something of a son. Craig himself was enraged at Deathurge, having taken away all that Craig had ever cared about, so he attacked Deathurge, but received only a sound thrashing.
Craig was able to return the favor when Deathurge appeared to take away Monkey Joe and appeared in the form of a squirrel, leaving him in a vulnerable state. It was then that Deathurge revealed to Craig what his destiny was: to outlive everyone as the one true immortal, and then learn the grand secret that will reveal itself at the end of things. Craig wasn't an average Homo s. superior mutant, but rather, Homo s. supreme: a being that has evolved past death itself; therefore, he was the ultimate human. Deathurge, by taking away some of his loved ones, tried to prepare Craig, so that he could truly live to that destiny, and the villain Maelstrom was at the point that he could very well take that purpose away, ending the universe, in its entirety, prematurely and usurping Craig's destiny for himself. Learning his role as Homo s. supreme in the grand scheme of things gave Mr. Immortal a new incentive to live and he set out to stop Maelstrom and save the universe.
The GLA stormed Maelstrom's base, and it was ultimately Mr. Immortal who was able to save the universe, although at the cost of his friend Doorman (although Doorman would be instantly resurrected as Deathurge's replacement). Coming close to Maelstrom, Mr. Immortal was able to play on his feelings, that ultimately Maelstrom would be the one left alone, and that was the grand secret of things. Horrified by the thought, Maelstrom wanted a way out, and Mr. Immortal offered him one: suicide.
Not knowing that Mr. Immortal would be able to come back from the injury, Maelstrom killed himself like Craig had done, and Craig was able to push the button that stopped the machine Maelstrom had created to achieve the destruction of the universe. The GLA saved everybody, but gained no recognition and were even forced to drop the Avengers name, but the group persevered, becoming the GLX (Great Lakes X-Men).
Civil War/The Initiative
All of the Great Lakes Champions have registered with the United States government as required by the Super-human Registration Act, as revealed when the mercenary DeadpoolDeadpool (comics)
Deadpool is a fictional character, a mercenary and anti-hero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, Deadpool first appeared in The New Mutants #98 Deadpool (Wade Winston Wilson) is a fictional character, a mercenary and...
mistakenly attempted to apprehend them for violating the Act, only to be defeated by the GLC and informed that they had already registered.
Craig has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes that appear on the cover of the comic book Avengers: The Initiative
Avengers: The Initiative
Avengers: The Initiative was a comic book series from Marvel Comics. Written by Dan Slott and Christos Gage with artwork initially by Stefano Caselli, Steve Uy and Harvey Tolibao, the series dealt with the aftermath of Marvel's Civil War crossover Avengers: The Initiative was a comic book series...
#1.
Deadpool refuses to leave the GLC's home, injuring those who try to kick him out. Mr. Immortal helps kick Deadpool out by simply living far into the future; there he encounters a time traveling Squirrel Girl
Squirrel Girl
Squirrel Girl, real name Doreen Green, is a fictional character and superhero in the . Her first appearance was in Marvel Super-Heroes #8 , in a story plotted and drawn by Steve Ditko and scripted by Will Murray. Her ability to control squirrels is surprisingly powerful and has allowed her to...
and convinces her she needs to return to the past and evict Deadpool. Squirrel Girl comes back and does exactly that.
Powers and abilities
Mr. Immortal is immortalImmortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
. Once he reaches the point of death, he regenerates from any and all injuries, often returning to life almost immediately. When non-fatally injured, he heals at a normal human rate; those injuries will rapidly heal the next time he dies, however. He has recovered from being shot, stabbed, drowned, crushed, exploded, poisoned, decapitated, irradiated and incinerated. Upon reviving, he is often extremely enraged due to the pain of death; before her death, Dina Soar's voice could bring him out of this state. He has also apparently stopped aging.
Deathurge once explained to Mr. Immortal that he is a mutant, but not Homo sapiens superior, the traditional Marvel
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...
mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
who has simply taken the next step in evolution, but rather a man who has evolved past death itself, and is therefore H. sapiens supreme. He has been told that he will be around until the end of the universe itself, to be revealed at the end its final secret.
As seen during certain fights (such as in Avengers West Coast #46 and Great Lakes Avengers #4), Mr. Immortal appears to have a certain degree of acrobatic skills that seems to be unrelated to his H. sapiens supreme powers. He had at least a little training by Hawkeye & Mockingbird during the short period when they were members of the "Great Lakes Avengers".
List of deaths
Mr. Immortal has been "killed" numerous times, each time walking away unscathed in the end. A list of these incidents contains:- Automatic gunfire to the chest
- Hurling himself from high buildings
- RadiationRadiationIn physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
exposure - Crushing by Terminus
- Burning by the Human TorchHuman Torch (Golden Age)The Human Torch, also known as Jim Hammond, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics-owned superhero. Created by writer-artist Carl Burgos, he first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 , published by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics....
- Flying building debris, courtesy of GravitonGraviton (comics)Graviton is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Avengers #158 and was created by Jim Shooter and Sal Buscema....
- Gunshot, decapitation and explosion by DeadpoolDeadpool (comics)Deadpool is a fictional character, a mercenary and anti-hero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, Deadpool first appeared in The New Mutants #98 Deadpool (Wade Winston Wilson) is a fictional character, a mercenary and...
- DynamiteDynamiteDynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
explosion - Drowning
- Consuming gallons of lethal substances
- Gunshot to the head
- Energy blast, courtesy of MaelstromMaelstrom (comics)Maelstrom is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Marvel Two-in-One #71 , and was created by writer Mark Gruenwald.-Fictional character biography:...
- Self-impaling on giant novelty scissors
- Getting his neck snapped
- Getting impaled by rods
- Self-inflicted gunshot to head
- Bear trap, cannon, chainsaw, piranhas, ferrets, spear, and python left as trap for teammate Tippy-Toe
- Decapitation by Deadpool
- ShurikenShurikenA shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
from Deadpool - What he claims as alcohol poisoning from drunkenness inducer
- TelevisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
remote controlRemote controlA remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
driven into his head by Deadpool