CRYPTO-MAN

Real Name: None

Identity/Class: Terrestrial robot

Occupation: Engine of destruction

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Jasper Whyte (creator); unnamed scientist (rebuilt him)

Enemies: Hulk (Bruce Banner), Jarella, Thor

Known Relatives: Inapplicable

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Currently unknown; formerly Santa Fe, California; Manhattan, New York

First Appearance: Thor I#174 (March, 1970)

Powers: The Crypto-Man possesses great strength and durability, the extent of which is dependent on the energy being fed to it. Its first incarnation possessed half of Thor's power (Class 50); it later doubled that, and eventually went to an even higher level of power than that. It possesses only minimal reasoning skills, and either follows its programming to destroy or to capture objects or beings.
Whyte preferred to supervise and control the Crypto-Man in its immediate vicinity, while its later user preferred remote control. He could see via the Crypto-Man's eyes, and speak via its voice. He could boost its power from a distance as well.

History: (Thor I#174(fb)-BTS) - The Crypto-Man was constructed by Dr. Jasper Whyte to be the first in an army of Crypto-Men, with which he could take over the world.

(Thor#174) - Whyte ambushed Thor with a "Hypno-Stun Ray" and then used another of his devices to siphon half of Thor's power from him. Whyte transferred the stolen power into the Crypto-Man and then sent him on a rampage through the streets of Manhattan. As planned, this drew the attention of Thor, who was now at half-strength. The Crypto-Man stunned Thor and wandered off. Jasper could not control his excitement, and confronted the dazed Thor, claiming victory for himself and admitting his actions. Thor and Whyte followed the Crypto-Man to the new Atomic Power Electric Complex, which it was to take control of, so that Whyte could hold the city hostage. However, Whyte's mother was a patient of Don Blake, and Thor reminded Jasper that he would be putting his mother at risk with his actions. Whyte was devastated by this realization, and when he saw the Crypto-Man getting too close to the reactor core, he rushed the robot and overloaded its circuits with his control beam. The overload caused an explosion which killed Whyte. With the robot's power cut, Thor felt his full strength return to his limbs.

(Incredible Hulk II#205(fb)-BTS) - An unnamed scientist found the remains of the Crypto-Man and brought them to Santa Fe, California. The man not only repaired the robot, but also managed to fully double its power.

(Hulk#205) - The scientist reactivated the Crypto-Man and sent it to steal something from a bank vault. After its mission, the robot encountered Bruce Banner and Jarella on the streets of Santa Fe. The scientist, viewing its surroundings via the Crypto-Man's sensors, recognized neither of the two, but did mistakenly presume that her green skin indicated that Jarella had similar power to the Hulk, who had been recently seen in that area. He directed the Crypto-Man to capture her, so that he could siphon her power into it.
Of course, Banner turned into the Hulk, and the two powerful creatures battered each other. In the course of their struggle, a building collapsed, and Jarella was crushed while protecting a young boy caught in the path of its fall. As the Hulk rushed to try to uncover her, the Crypto-Man saw an opening and smashed the Hulk from behind. Big mistake. Running away would have been a much better option. The Hulk, enraged beyond belief, savagely attacked the Crypto-Man. His controller fed more and more power into the Crypto-Man, but to no avail, and the Hulk eventually shattered the robot into pieces. The power feedback caused the scientist's equipment to explode, killing him, and maiming his body beyond all recognition.

Comments: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee and Jack "King" Kirby.

The Hulk actually ducked the car thrown by the Crypto-Man, which collapsed the building that killed Jarella. Fortunately, the Hulk is too dim to have realized that, and so neither he nor Banner suffer from the guilt of "Gwen Stacy syndrome."

Per Degaton adds: I was checking hulklibary.com, and it turns out that Jarella gave her life in vain, because it turns out that the little boy she saw was only an illusion created by the Dark Gods! This is revealed by the Watcher in What If I#23. (see Earth-Hulk was a Barbarian)