FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER
Real Name: None
Identity/Class: Human, composed of composite of
multiple human corpses;
Existence disbelieved by general public
Occupation: Caretaker, guardian, wanderer
Group Membership: None;
formerly Legion
of the Univing, an unidentified arctic tribe of outcasts;
possibly the First
Line (see comments)
Affiliations: Charles
Barnabus, Berserker
android, "Bride
of Frankenstein," Elsa
Bloodstone, Ulysses
Bloodstone, Ralph Caccone, Children
of the Damned, Sean Farrell, Veronica
Frankenstein, Victoria
Frankenstein, Iron Man (Tony Stark), James,
Judith
Klemmer, Lenore,
Man-Wolf (John Jameson), N'Kantu
(the Living Mummy), Peregrine
(Alain Racine), Eric Prawn, Lissa
Russell, Shamrock
(Molly Fitzgerald), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Robert Walton IV, Werewolf
(Jack Russell), Julia Winters;
formerly Ivan;
former pawn of Kang (Nathaniel Richards)
Enemies: Avengers (while under Kang's
control), Brotherhood
of Baal, Carmen and Marguerita Burnemissza, Henry
Clerval, the Colonel
Blackstone and his giant spider, Dracula
(Vlad Tepes Dracula), Drako, Dreadknight,
Elizabeth
Frankenstein, Victor
Frankenstein, Vincent
Frankenstein, William
Frankenstein, I.C.O.N.
(Cardinal,
Indigo,
Lilac,
Rainbow/Ludwig
von Frankenstein, Werner
Schmidt, Silver
Monster, Zandor),
Ivan, Jigsaw
Monster, Dr.
Walston Kraft and the Frankenclones, Lord
Nosferatu and his Nosferatu vampires, Master
(James Sinoda), "Father" McCauley and his monsters, Derek
McDowell, Ludwig
von Shtupf, Owen
Wallach;
formerly Berserker
android;
possibly Rumor
Known Relatives: Victor Frankenstein (creator)
Aliases: Adam, Frank, "Frankenstein," Frankenstein Monster, Handsome, Monster of Frankenstein
Base of Operations: Castle Frankenstein, Ingolstadt, Bavaria, western Germany (site of creation)
First Appearance: Frankenstein (1818);
Marvel Comics: X-Men I#40 (January, 1968)
Powers/Abilities: The Monster has superhuman strength (Class 10) and durability; he is immune to aging and conventional disease, has extraordinary resistance to pain, and heals from most injuries. Magical energies, such as Bloodgem fragments, have sometimes amplified his powers greatly. Intense cold may send him into suspended animation, and he possesses an irrational fear of fire.
Height: 8'
Weight: 325 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History:
(Monster of Frankenstein I#1 (fb) / Frankenstein Monster
I#16) - In the late Eighteenth Century, Victor Frankenstein (a brilliant
student in chemistry and the biological sciences at the University of
Ingolstadt and the heir to a Swiss barony) embarked on experiments to
create artificial life. Frankenstein hoped to create a new species of
humanoid life, and by doing so, to learn how to reanimate the dead and
thus discover a means for human immortality.
Frankenstein was horrified by his monstrous creation, and
doubly so when it refused to obey him, and instead advanced on him.
Frankenstein tried futilely to destroy the Monster, but managed to
distract it with fire, and fled.
(Monster of Frankenstein I#2 (fb)) - The Monster wandered the woods for days, eventually killing a bear for food and warmth (I believe that's its pelt he continues to wear). He eventually wandered near a village, where he learned how to speak from its inhabitants. In secret, he helped provide for one of the families. He saved an old blind man from a wolf, and then befriended him, but when the rest of the family came back, they assumed the Monster was attacking the old man, and drove him off. Enraged at his own existence, the Monster sought to bring pain to its creator, and killed his brother, William Frankenstein.
(Monster of Frankenstein I#1-2 (fb)) - The Monster found
Victor Frankenstein again and coerced him into creating a mate for him,
in the same fashion as his own creation. The Monster assisted in the
gathering of corpses to build his mate, and when his patience began to
fade, he even killed a woman to speed the process. Frankenstein again
succeeded in his creation, but after seeing his creation shambling
around the room, he realized what he had done. Frankenstein slew the
would-be "Bride of Frankenstein" and fled before the Monster could
discover it.
The Monster found the body just as Frankenstein's friend,
Henry Clerval, arrived to check on him. The Monster slew Clerval and
fled into the wild again.
(X-Men I#40 / Monster of Frankenstein I#3 (fb)) - The Monster continued to follow and torment Frankenstein, and eventually murdered Elizabeth, Frankenstein's bride, on the very night of their wedding. Frankenstein eventually recovered from this tragedy and set out to slay the Monster himself. The Monster confronted Frankenstein near the Arctic Circle, but Frankenstein fell through a crack in the ice into the icy waters. The Monster learned that Victor had been rescued aboard a ship led by Robert Walton; however, by the time he caught up to him, Victor Frankenstein had died.
(Monster of Frankenstein I#4 (fb)) - The Monster met up with and befriended a tribe of misshapen outcasts in the Arctic wilderness. The tribe was eventually slain by another, who overcame the Monster with sheer weight of numbers, and left him for dead. The Monster recovered, but soon after fell into the arctic waters, where he sank and entered a state of suspended animation.
(Monster of Frankenstein I#1-4) - In January, 1898, the Monster was found, still frozen in ice, by Robert Walton IV, the great-grandson of the man who had encountered it in the past. Walton brought the form aboard his ship, where it eventually thawed. The crewmen were fearful of and attacked the Monster, who responded by slaying all of them except Walton, Sean Farrell (a young shipmate), and Canute (Walton's guide). Harsh weather conditions and the destruction of their ship had badly injured the three survivors. The Monster brought them to the former home of the outcasts and tried to save them, but one by one, they all perished. Before he died, Robert Walton told the Monster that there was another living Frankenstein.
(Monster of Frankenstein I#5) - The Monster saved a woman, Lenore, who was being burned at the stake by her village. The Monster fell in love with her, but she soon disappeared. He found a werewolf attacking a nearby village and assumed it had taken Lenore as well. After he killed it, he found that the werewolf actually was Lenore.
(Legion of Monsters: Werewolf I#1/2 (fb) - BTS) - Frankenstein's Monster came to live in seclusion in the cellar of an unidentified priest. The priest allowed him to live in peace and kept his existence secret.
(Legion of Monsters: Werewolf I#1/2) - Other priests
instructed the priest giving sanctuary and a home to the Frankenstein
Monster to have the Monster take care of Father McCauley, who was posing
as a priest and killing others to make his own Frankenstein-esque
monsters. Frankenstein's Monster read McCauley's notes and learned what
he had done. McCauley offered the Monster to join his family, but the
Monster declined, revealing his intention to end McCauley. McCauley sent
his monsters to destroy Frankenstein's Monster, but he destroyed all but
one of them. The most powerful one, an immense giant, threatened to
destroy him, but the Monster grabbed a torn electrical cable and touched
the monster's head with it, blowing both that monster and McCauley
apart.
Returning briefly to the priest, the Monster then slew him
for pushing him back into a life of violence.
(Frankenstein Monster I#6) - Returning to Ingolstadt in search of the last Frankenstein, the Monster ran afoul of a crazy Colonel, who captured people to feed to a giant spider. The Monster slew the spider, and flooded the base of the Colonel, possibly killing him, as well.
(Frankenstein Monster I#7-11) - The Monster saved a gypsy
woman, Carmen, from Drako, a lust-crazed kyphotic (hunchback) --this
earned him the friendship of Carmen's grandmother, Marguerita, who
welcomed him into their gypsy troupe of performers. Marguerita promised
to bring the Monster to the last Frankenstein, whom she claimed was
dead. She had him open a cave sealed by an immense rock and pry open a
giant tomb to prove it to him. However, instead of the last
Frankenstein, the tomb contained Dracula. Marguerita revealed herself to
be a vampire, and removed the stake from Dracula, resurrecting him.
The Monster slew Marguerita, and after an inconclusive
struggle, Dracula (weak after his period of...death) fled to refuel. The
Monster was soon after captured by the village tribe to be burned at the
stake, but he broke free and returned to Carmen. Carmen, however, was
also a vampire, and bit into his neck. He knocked her away and then slew
her, but in the process, his larynx was damaged, rendering him mute. The
Monster caught up to Dracula, used a cross to prevent him from entering
his coffin as the sun came up, and then staked the weakened vampire
lord. Frankenstein: 1, Dracula: 0
Then no sooner had the Monster slayed Dracula, he
encountered Vincent Frankenstein. The Monster sought to kill Vincent,
but the monstrous Ivan (another giant kyphotic man) defended him . Ivan
proved to be stronger than the Monster and subdued him, long enough for
Vincent to reveal his plans to give the Monster a new, more normal body.
Vincent's plan involved a brain transplant, which he'd never tried
before, but was quite hopeful. In addition, Vincent planned to place
Ivan's brain into the Monster's body. Nonetheless, circumstances
(anesthetic drugs, an inability to speak, and perhaps a lot of
not-too-brightness), conspired to foil the plans, and Vincent ended up
shooting and seemingly killing Ivan. Vincent's wife, also named Lenore,
died in childbirth, and her mid-wife, Betty, blamed Vincent for leaving
her. Betty killed Vincent, and the Monster (who had no idea another
Frankenstein had been born) wandered off again.
(Frankenstein Monster I#12, pg.1-5) - The Monster, while wandering the mountains, was attacked by a pack of wolves.
(Avengers I#131, 132, Giant-Size Avengers#2) - The Monster was pulled out of time into the realm of Limbo, to serve in Kang's Legion of the Unliving against the Avengers. Under Kang's control, the Monster attacked Don Blake, smacking him around a few times, before he turned into Thor and put a quick stop to that. As time went on (or the equivalent, in Limbo), Kang's control over the Monster faded. The Monster stopped a still-controlled Wonder Man from destroying the Vision, and was eventually returned to his own time.
(Frankenstein Monster I#12, p6-23) - The Monster defeated
the wolves, but fell off a cliff and again found himself in suspended
animation in the icy waters below.
In the second half of the Twentieth Century, an oil tanker ran into an
iceberg, which contained the frozen body of the Monster. The crew hauled
it aboard the tanker and thawed the Monster out. The ship's medics
planned to turn their find over to the authorities, but Chad (the
crewmen who had first seen the Monster) had other plans. Chad and his
brother Billie (who owned a carnival) clocked the guard from behind and
stole the still-comatose Monster. Billie paid Chad well for the find,
and he featured the inert Monster in a tank in his carnival, where it
was seen by Derek McDowell, who recognized the Monster for what it
really was.
(Monsters Unleashed I#2) - Derek's girlfriend attempted to destroy the Monster to keep him from it, but she only killed herself in the process. The Monster rampaged through the carnival until subdued by a bazooka shell.
(Monsters Unleashed I#4) - Derek McDowell obtained the Monster and revived it. McDowell's partner, Dr. Owen Wallach, was dying, and so McDowell sought to use the Monster to obtain a healthy body into which he could transfer Wallach's brain. The Monster, despite McDowell's control-electrodes, couldn't quite get it, and kept smashing the skulls of his victims, rendering them useless. McDowell finally transferred Wallach's brain into the Monster itself. Wallach was not pleased, and used his new monstrous form to strangle McDowell and then throw him into the harbor. Wallach planned to find a new body for himself. Meanwhile, the Monster's brain hung out in a jar.
(Monsters Unleashed I#5/8) - Wallach (in the Monster's body) sought a new, normal and healthy body for himself. He targeted a trapeze artist, James, and forcibly took him from the circus in which he worked. He used the Molecular Transposer (a device of his own creation, able to electronically transfer the brain of one person into another), planning to swap his own body for that of James. However, while he was held inert in the transfer process, one of his laboratory rats escaped, ran up James's leg, and underneath the transfer helmet. Instead of his intended switch, Wallach's brain was switched with the rat's body. The rat, disoriented in the Monster's immense frame, swatted (but didn't kill) James, and then smashed its old body, killing Wallach in the process. The rat/Monster then broke out of the laboratory and went on a rampage in the city of Manhattan.
(Monsters Unleashed I#6) - Another psycho, known as the Master (James Sinoda), sought the body of Frankenstein's Monster for his own purposes. Possessing some training in voodoo, the Master somehow revived the dead and decayed form of McDowell, and sent it (still possessing its own mind and will) back to retrieve the Monster. Unaware of what had gone on while he was dead, Derek found the unconscious form of James, and used Wallach's Molecular Transposer to transfer his mind with James's. Derek, now in a strong and healthy form, used a tranquilizer gun to subdue the Monster, and brought it back to the laboratory. Derek used the Transposer to remove the new brain from the Monster (thinking it was Wallach's), and return its own brain to its rightful body. Derek was bewildered when he saw the tiny brain (from the rat) that had been transferred out of the Monster's body. He was intently trying to figure it out when the Monster removed itself from its restraints, and smashed Derek from behind, killing him again. (The rat's brain presumably remains within the nutrient tank in that laboratory)
(Monsters Unleashed I#7) - The trapeze artist James, now trapped in the decomposed form of McDowell, befriended the Monster. The Master manipulated James, causing him to lead the Monster to his own base. After introducing himself to the Monster, the Master removed his influence from James, returning the body to its previously dead state.
(Monsters Unleashed I#8) - The Master attempted to coerce the Monster to join his band of freaks to gain revenge on Julia Winter, a girl who rebuffed his advances in the past. The Monster refused, but was subdued by several drugged darts, and forced to watch as the Masters' army of "Freaks" kidnapped the woman and prepared to disfigure her. The Master's Freaks turned on him after learning he was not truly deformed at all. The Monster broke free from his restraints and rescued Julia, leaving the Master and his Freaks in the collapsing building.
(Monsters Unleashed I#9) - The Monster carried Julia Winter to safety, and wandered through town, getting into all kinds of trouble. During his adventure, he fell in love with Julia, and imagined she loved him, too. When she woke up and saw him standing there, she threw rocks at him and ran away.
(Monsters Unleashed I#10) - The Monster wandered aboard a train, where he seemingly foiled an assassination attempt on the president of the USA. It turned out to be a decoy...the president wasn't really there. He met and befriended a young woman aboard the train, and she guided him to help stop the would-be assassins. The woman accepted him for what he was, and good-naturedly named him as "Handsome." Knowing he would have trouble with the authorities, she sent him away before they reached the station, and she was killed when the train was blown up, the final plan of the unwitting assassins.
(Legion of Monsters I#1) - The Monster followed a girl dressed as a princess into a costume party, where he fit right in. At this party, he got into a mock struggle with a guy dressed as a wolfman, had his first (and second through sixth) tastes of alcohol, and enjoyed a dance with a pretty woman (for about two seconds, when he fell down on the dance floor). However, as his luck would have it, the woman's husband later murdered her and framed the Monster. The Monster escaped the party and killed the man, who was costumed as a jester.
(Marvel: The Lost Generation#5) - (see comments) - Sometime during the 1960s, "Frank" was a part of the super-hero group known as the First Line. In one adventure, he helped defeat Rumor, who was using the goddess Venus in a plot to take over the youth of America. This struggle involved them with Captain Hip and Sunshine, and brought Frank into another conflict with Thor. Further detail in a full profile on Frank
BTS - At some point, the Monster apparently became allies with Ulysses Bloodstone.
(Frankenstein Monster I#12, p.26+27) - The Monster returned to the streets of Manhattan.
(Giant-Size Werewolf I#2) - The Monster overheard talk of Danton Vayla, a Los Angeles-based cult-leader claiming to be able to perform transmigration of souls. He stowed away on a train to L.A. and encountered the Brotherhood of Baal, the cult serving Vayla. The cult-leader understood the Monster's desire to gain a normal body and offered to perform the transmigration process on him. Unknown to the Monster, the process required the sacrifice of another human, and the Brotherhood of Baal had captured Lissa Russell as their intended sacrifice; this brought them into conflict with Jack Russell, the Werewolf, who came to rescue her. The Monster initially overpowered the Werewolf, but after learning what Vayla had planned (including placing his demon-lord into the Monster's body), he saved the Werewolf from Vayla's sacrificial blade. The Monster slew Vayla and was joined by the Werewolf in attacking the cult. The resultant battle brought down the cult's mansion, but the Monster, the Werewolf, and Lissa Russell all escaped.
(Frankenstein Monster I#13-15) - The Monster stowed away
on a plane and returned to Manhattan, where he met and befriended Ralph
Caccone. Ralph learned who the Monster really was, and brought him home
to meet his dad, a geneticist whom he thought could grow a normal body
for the Monster (cloned from another person's cells). However, his
father's experiments had gone awry (a direct result of sabotage by
Ralph's mother) and resulted in the formation of the Jigsaw Monster,
which slew both of Ralph's parents. The Frankenstein Monster fought off
the Jigsaw Monster, and the two subsequently encountered two separate
factions, each of which wanted the Monster: Eric Prawn, a private
investigator hired by Veronica Frankenstein, and the organization ICON:
the International Crime Organizations Nexus.
ICON used force (and threats against Ralph) to make the two come to a
warehouse, the base of Operation:
Marauder. ICON was in the business of world takeover, and had
begun a plot to create an army of undead warriors for this purpose.
Their warriors were somewhat lacking in the intellect department, and
they wished to open of the Monster's head and check out his brain, to
see why he was different from their undead servants. Prawn broke into
the warehouse and attacked the warriors of ICON, at the same time as did
the Jigsaw Monster, who had tracked down the Frankenstein Monster and
wished revenge for its previous pain. In the ensuing struggle, the
warehouse was destroyed, as was Operation: Marauder.
(Marvel Team-Up I#36-37) - Baron von Shtupf (the Monster
Maker) teleported the Monster to his castle (apparently somewhere in the
Balkans). The Monster Maker sought to create an army of super-powerful
warriors, based on the results of his dissection of a number of
superhumans he would capture. His next target was Spider-Man, who joined
forces with the Monster to break out of the castle. The Monster and
Spider-Man joined forces with Judith Klemmer, agent of SHIELD (Supreme
Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division) to take
down von Shtupf.
In the meantime, von Shtupf had acquired a third potential
victim--the Man-Wolf--which resulted in a three-way struggle between the
heroes. Eventually, however, Spider-Man and the Monster confronted and
captured von Shtupf. Spider-Man brought in the Man-Wolf, and the Monster
wandered off, apparently returning to Castle Frankenstein II.
(Unpublished Shamrock & the Peregrine story, part 3 (fb) - BTS) - While Frankenstein's Monster was living at Castle Frankenstein under Victoria Frankenstein's protection, ICON scientist Lilac recovered and rebuilt the Berserker, suppressing the independence it had previously displayed through its friendship with the Monster. Using the robot, Lilac seized the castle and imprisoned Victoria. She subjected the castle's other creatures to lethal experiments, then dismembered the Monster in an attempt to extract the secret of immortality from his genetic code. His head remained alive, connected to scientific apparatus, while the separated portions of his body were kept in vats and on operating slabs.
(Unpublished Shamrock & the Peregrine story, part 3) - Investigating ICON, Shamrock, Peregrine and Veronica Frankenstein entered the castle. After Veronica freed Victoria, the two women released the captured heroes from Lilac's operating slabs. During the ensuing battle, Peregrine drove the Berserker against the door of Lilac's inner laboratory, which accidentally opened to expose the Monster's dismembered remains. Shamrock appealed to the Berserker's memories of its friendship with the Monster, enabling it to overcome Lilac's control. The robot turned on Lilac, who retreated into damaged machinery and was fatally electrocuted. Victoria and Veronica immediately undertook to reconstruct the Monster.
(Unpublished Shamrock & the Peregrine story, part 4 (fb)) - Victoria and Veronica successfully reassembled and restored the Monster. He joined Shamrock, Peregrine and the Berserker in resolving to end ICON's persecution, and documents recovered from Lilac's files directed them to the organization's headquarters in the Swiss Alps.
(Unpublished Shamrock & the Peregrine story, part 4) - Arriving at ICON's headquarters with his allies, the Monster called on Rainbow to reveal himself. The criminal leader emerged as Ludwig Frankenstein, who explained that he had survived his encounter with the Silver Surfer and created ICON to further his pursuit of immortality. Ludwig had targeted Victoria upon learning that she possessed Victor Frankenstein's secrets. He then presented his Silver Monster, an artificial creature whose protective skin reproduced the molecular composition of the Silver Surfer's, and ordered it to kill the intruders while preserving the original Monster's head for further experimentation.
(Unpublished Shamrock & the Peregrine story, part 4) - When the Silver Monster struck down the Berserker, Frankenstein's Monster attacked in defense of his friend. The two creatures grappled with sufficient force to break through a wall of the headquarters and continued their battle in the snow outside. Although the Monster contested his opponent's strength, his blows could not injure its protected body, and the Silver Monster eventually beat him unconscious. Ludwig ordered his creation to remove the Monster's head, but the Berserker intervened and was likewise struck down.
(Unpublished Shamrock & the Peregrine story, part 4) - While Peregrine carried the Silver Monster into the air, Shamrock roused Frankenstein's Monster and the Berserker and explained how to overcome their opponent. When Peregrine dropped the creature, the two allies pinned its face into the snow until it lost consciousness through oxygen deprivation. Ludwig then attempted to escape using a concealed jet belt. The Monster moved to stop him, but Shamrock held him back, trusting Peregrine to intercept the fugitive, which he promptly did. With Ludwig captured and S.H.I.E.L.D. summoned to secure ICON's headquarters, the Monster departed to return to the peace of Victoria's castle. Peregrine assured him that his and Victoria's secrets were safe, and Shamrock wished him peace.
(Iron Man I#102 (fb)) - The Monster was residing with Victoria and the Children when she took in and nursed back to health Bram Velsing, a man who had crossed Dr. Doom and subsequently had a grotesque mask "bio-fused" to his face. Velsing, however, had plans of his own, and took Victoria hostage, forcing the Monster and the Children to obey him.
(Iron Man I#101-102) - Iron Man was shot down while flying over Yugoslavia and crashed a short distance from Castle Frankenstein II. He was taken back to the castle by the Monster and the Children, in hopes that he could stop Velsing, who was now calling himself the Dreadknight. Velsing, however, ambushed, subdued and bound Iron Man and the Monster. The Dreadknight then tortured Victoria, trying to force her to give him the notes of her ancestor, Victor Frankenstein (which she didn't have). The torture of Victoria pushed the Monster too far, and he broke his restraining chains, freeing Iron Man in the process. Iron Man battled the Dreadknight and knocked him from his airborne steed, and the Monster kicked away the Dreadknight's handhold, causing him to fall some distance and smack his head on the stone steps of the castle.
(Dr. Strange III#37 - BTS) - The Monster stayed with Victoria for a time, but had "gone his own way" by the time Victoria took in Borgo, who encountered Dr. Strange as the "Frankensurfer."
BTS - The geneticist Dr. Walter Kraft came upon the idea of creating an army of clones of the Frankenstein Monster (he even had it figured out how they'd all be just like him, despite the fact that the Monster was made of pieces of many separate people). Kraft somehow located Ivan, the Monster's old sparring partner from the 19th Century. By revealing his plan, and promising to transfer Ivan's mind into one of the Frankenclones, Kraft obtained Ivan's allegiance.
(Spider-Man Unlimited#21 (fb) ) - Ivan located the Monster at Castle Frankenstein II, convinced him that Kraft could make him into a real man, and took him to Kraft's Swiss castle. (Ivan returned to Castle Frankenstein and imprisoned Victoria Frankenstein to prevent her from interfering).
(Spider-Man Unlimited#21) - Kraft succeeded in making an
army of Frankenclones without the Monster's knowledge. Spider-Man flew
to Alps to cover a story on Kraft and the International Council on
Cloning and Genetic Research. Uncomfortable about the whole clone thing,
Peter knew something was up after running into the Monster and Ivan, who
threatened him while he was snooping around Kraft's castle. Spidey
traveled to Castle Frankenstein, where he found and freed Victoria, and
learned what had been going on. He next investigated Kraft's lab and
found the Frankenclones. Spidey told the Monster what was going on, but
Ivan tried to stop them from investigating any further. Realizing it
must all be true, the Monster battled Ivan, eventually breaking his neck
and killing him...for good this time!
Spidey showed the Monster the Frankenclones, but Kraft
then activated the clones to try to prevent them from putting a halt to
his plans. Furious, the Monster set the lab on fire, and Spidey pulled
him out just before the whole place blew up. The Monster left Peter to
return to Castle Frankenstein, as Kraft pulled himself from the wreckage
of the castle, swearing revenge.
(Bloodstone I#1-4) - Acting as caretaker of the magical
possessions of Ulysses Bloodstone, Adam encountered Elsa Bloodstone, and
explained who her dad really was. He gave her a choker with a fragment
of the Bloodgem on it, which grafted itself to her neck. Adam
encountered Elsa on a mission to Egypt, where they and N'Kantu the
Living Mummy, stopped the demon Rakses. Adam finished off Rakses,
cracking his head off with a shovel.
Adam was decapitated by a group of vampires seeking
Charles Barnabus (another vampire and the executor of the Bloodstone
estate), but that was only a minor inconvenience. Adam reattached his
head and assisted Elsa in rescuing Barnabus and stopping the plot of the
Nosferatu vampires.
(Ghost Rider VI#33 - BTS) - Deacon and Blackout considered the Monster as a possible agent in their fight against Ghost Rider (Blaze).
Comments: Created by Mary Shelly.
Adapted to Marvel Comics by Gary Friedrich and Mike
Ploog.
When the Monsters Unleashed storyline (entitled "Frankenstein 1973", and then "1974") was written in the 1970s, it was presumably supposed to take place in modern continuity. Nonetheless, the Monster never encountered anyone from the modern age of comics (or any other age, for that matter!). Dr. Strange's "Book of the Vishanti" history of the Frankensteins places the stories in the modern era, but there are other incorrect facts in the history as well, including the death of Borgo (who was still alive). Other than that, there is nothing to tie those stories to the modern era, and so there's no reason it couldn't have taken place decades before Fantastic Four#1.
Frank of the First Line, introduced in
Marvel: The Lost Generation#5, bears a strong resemblance to
Frankenstein's Monster: he has grey skin, dark hair, superhuman strength
and durability, a distorted voice, and a childlike disposition,
appearing easily confused. Rumor refers to him as both "the First Line's
monster" and "the monster." However, these similarities do not establish
that he is Victor Frankenstein's original creation. Frank did not
participate in the First Line's final battle against the Skrulls in
Marvel: The Lost Generation#12, so that encounter provides no reason to
presume him dead.
Official Handbook entries have been inconsistent on this
point: the First Line's profile identified Frank as Frankenstein's
Monster, while the Monster's own profile described the connection as
unknown. Snood, who was the Handbook's head writer at the time,
clarified that the official position was that Frank might be a creature
created in the manner of Frankenstein's Monster, or simply a being with
similar features and abilities who adopted the name Frank because of
those similarities. Whether he is Victor Frankenstein's original
creation remains unrevealed; earlier references identifying him as
"Frankenstein's Monster" did not adequately distinguish between these
possibilities. For further information, see Ron Fredricks' profile of Frank.
John Kaminski also suggested that Frank's involvement with a superhero
team in the 1960s might have been an in-joke referencing Dell Comics'
short-lived 1966 Frankenstein series, in which the Monster became a
superhero with the civilian identity of millionaire playboy Frank N.
Stone. This remains a suggested connection rather than a confirmed
explanation of Marvel's character.
In the origin flashback in Monster of Frankenstein#1, Victor Frankenstein worked solo, while in Frankenstein Monster I#16, he was shown working with an unspecified assistant. See further down for the discussion of Frankenstein's possible assistant, Igor (or Fritz).
I've got no idea how long the Monster was active after its creation before freezing the first time. Monster of Frankenstein I#2 makes this odd statement, (in reference to 1898, the time of the story) "Four decades have passed since the brute's blasphemous creation by a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein...and now, having been encased in ice for nearly a century, once more the Monster walks!"--??? I don't know...from reading the story, it seems like maybe 5-10 years, not forty, if that's what it's supposed to have meant.
I always wonder what the original writer had planned. Moench's last issue was FM#17, after which it was taken over by Bill Mantlo, who introduced Victoria Frankenstein. There was a next issue blurb for FM#19, which never happened. The plot was picked back up again in Iron Man, by Mantlo, but there's a definite gap in the storyline. I'm curious as to where Moench was going with the plot. By the way, in FM#18, Ralph blew up the helicopter of the agents of ICON who had been trailing them, putting some resolution to that plot.
Chris Golden did some good research on the Monster for the Spider-Man Unlimited story, but he apparently did not know that the Monster and Spidey had met before (MTU#36, 37), because they didn't remember each other. Pete never had his Spider-Man costume on, so I can see how the monster wouldn't recognize him. But the Frankenstein monster...you'd think Peter wourld remember meeting him.
For the record, while they don't own the character, Universal Studios, along with the family of the late Boris Karloff, jointly own aspects of their version of the Monster, which is why Marvel's (and most other companies') version doesn't really resemble the most widely accepted look (though his appearances as Frank and Adam kinda push it).
While it's possible that Adam's reference to his and Dracula's meeting with Abbott and Costello could actually have taken place, Will U. feels that Adam was just being flippant, and was joking about the movie versions based on the two, not their actual adventures.
John Barber confirmed that the Legion of Monsters story was to have taken place late 19th to early 20th Century, after the Monster's first revival from suspended animation.
...also, supplemental information courtesy
of Per
Degaton:
"There are a few Timely/Atlas Frankenstein stories that
may or may not be part of continuity
Marvel Tales#96 (June 1950)-"Return of the Monster", courtesy
of Prime Eternal.
Blonde Phantom#14 (Summer 1947): At Frankenstein's Castle, transported from Europe to America, a man calling himself Baron Frankenstein (he resembles the Monster) kills the castle's new owner. This man, a descendant of the Monster's creator, seeks the Frankenstein treasure. The Blonde Phantom defeats the Baron and finds the treasure in his ancestor's coffin in the castle's secret laboratory.
Mystery Tales#18 (March 1954): An expert on Frankenstein believes that Frankenstein never created the Monster. In Austria's Frankenstein Castle, from the caretaker, he finds out that the Monster created Frankenstein, and the caretaker created the Monster and others.
Marvel Tales#106 (April, 1952): The first horror film made in the actual Frankenstein castle in Germany goes into production. Boris, set to play the Monster, is killed by the real Monster. The Monster stalks the director until both of them fall into quicksand.
Strange Tales I#10 (September, 1952): John Kent finds proof that the Monster created a son for himself and hid the son's features behind a rubber-style mask. Traveling to the Frankenstein castle, Kent sees the Monster running towards him. He falls off of a cliff. The Monster removes Kent's mask....Kent was his son....
Menace#7 (September, 1953): The Monster, after digging for years, emerges on the surface. He frightens a woman, whose husband tries to scare him with a torch. When a fire starts, the Monster saves the couple. Villagers see and attack the Monster. The Monster, dejected, returns to hiding.Creatures on the Loose#12 (July, 1971) This story, in particular, has Igor (the assistant to Dr. Frankenstein's descendant) see his master die. Igor, tired of being a servant, decides to create his own monster...but ends up using the "brain of the original Baron Frankenstein". This new monster turns Igor into his slave.
- Incidentally, the original Shelly novel had no character called Igor...nor did the 1931 Karloff film. In the 1931 Karloff film, "Henry" Frankenstein got served by a hunchback called Fritz. So where did Igor come from if Fritz served as the name of the hunchback in the 1931 film? In the 1939 film Son of Frankenstein, with Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi played Ygor, a shepherd who had gotten hanged for grave-robbing, but survived disfigured. In 1942, Lugosi returned to the role of Ygor in Ghost of Frankenstein...and at the end of the film, Ygor's brain got placed in the body of the Monster. (He went blind due to his blood type not matching the optic nerves of the Monster's, hence the source of the image of the Frankenstein Monster walking around lumbering with his arms extended forward. Lugosi played the Monster in the next film, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943), since Ygor now was the Monster!).
Suspense#20 (July, 1952) had William Frankenstein (! he died in the novel, but I presume this one to be different than the novel's brother of Victor) trying to build a good creature.
Chamber of Darkness#7/3 (October, 1970) features a Frankenstein-like mad scientist, creating a Frankenstein Monster-like creature named Manaak. After confirming that he is smarter than any human, and immune to injury, age, and disease, Manaak decided that he didn't need his "master."
"I Made A Monster" in Journey Into Mystery I#9 (June, 1953): A jilted scientist makes a Frankenstein-like Monster to kill the woman who rejected him.
--GammatotemAny other thoughts?
They're all stretching it, but any writer with an ounce of determination could make it happen--Snood
..and:
"From the People's Almanac, page 847, David
Wallenchinsky and Irving Wallace editors page 848
12. What was the late Boris Karloff's monster's name in the 1931
Frankenstein movie?
When Dr. Frankenstein brought his
man-made monster to life, he impulsively named him "Adam".
Some film buffs argue that the film they've seen again and again did
not have this pronouncement, and indeed, Universal admits that the
naming was cut out of many belated releases because virtually all
who'd seen the movie referred (wrongly) to Boris Karloff as
"Frankenstein".
The significance of the name Adam was
that, in the Bible and the Koran, the first man the Deity created was
named Adam, and the monster was Frankenstein's first creation. (That
was
my assumption on the name "Adam," as well!-Snood). I
have heard that Mary
Shelley may have used the name Adam in the body of the original
novel to refer to the monster, but I cannot be sure, as Mary Shelley
actually wrote two versions of the novel, with the latter being a
fix-up released around 1831(?). The original version of the novel was
a bit crudely written."
I have no idea if the Monster is part of public domain, or whether anyone owns the rights to it. If anyone can tell who/if anyone does, I'll happily credit than and make note of that.
Brazilian Marvel tales! "Frankenstein" started off as
a simple translation of the Marvel comic book, but the last issues
were all-Brazilian, with stories by Ruben Francisco Lucchetti and
drawings by José Menezes, Mário Lima and Júlio Shimamoto. "A Múmia
Viva" ("The Living Mummy" from the "Supernatural Thrillers" title)
started having Brazilian stories with #6, again written by R.F.
Lucchetti and drawn by José Menezes, Mário Lima and Shimamoto.
"Lobisomem" (i.e. "Werewolf by Night") also published stories by
Shimamoto and by Flávio Colin..."
--Mike Feldman
Quiof Thrul comments:
The character in the Monster of Frankenstein I#16 (May, 1975) is definitely Igor, although Fritz appeared in the 1931 film, he has an older origin, first appearing in the play Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein (1823) by Richard Brinsley Peake. The name Ygor/Igor originated in the movies. However, it seems Universal doesn't own the rights to him, as he's considered a public domain character, becoming a stock mad scientist's assistant.
In Capitão Mistério Apresenta - A Múmia Viva#16 (1979), Shimamoto wrote and illustrated a story where Kharis faces Frankenstein's Monster.
In Mestres do Terror#8 (1982), published by Editora D-Arte, Rubens Lucchetti wrote a story starring Frankenstein's Monster, with art by Rodolfo Zalla-one of the publisher's founders, alongside Eugênio Colonnese. In this narrative, the Monster is revived by an assistant of Doctor Frankenstein. Although the name is not mentioned, it is possible to speculate that it was Fritz or Igor. Interestingly, the character is not portrayed as hunchbacked.
First appearance image cleaned up by Ron Fredricks.
New images and Shamrock/Peregrine script update by MarvellousLuke.
Profile by Snood.
Clarifications:
Frankenstein's Monster should be distinguished from:
Images: (without ads)
(Frankenstein Monster main image)
Monster of Frankenstein I#1, Cover (Frankenstein Monster's creation)
(Bride of Frankenstein)
(Frankenstein Monster b&w)
(Frankenstein Monster head shot)
(Frankenstein Monster head shot 2)
Bloodstone I#1, p17, pan2 (Adam body shot)
Bloodstone I#1, p17, pan3 (Adam head shot)
Appearances:
X-Men I#40 (January, 1968) - Roy Thomas (writer), Don Heck (pencils),
George Tuska (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#1 (January, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer),
Mike Ploog (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#2-6 (March-September, 1973) - Gary Friedrich
(writer), Mike Ploog (pencils), Mike Ploog (#2-3) & John Verpoorten
(#4-5), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed I#2 (September 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), John
Buscema (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#6 (October, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer),
Mike Ploog (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#7 (November, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer),
John Buscema (pencils), John Verpoorten (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#8 (January, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer),
John Buscema (pencils), John Verpoorten (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#9 (March, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer),
John Buscema (pencils), John Verpoorten (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed I#4-5 (February-April, 1974) - Gary Friedrich
(writer), John Buscema (pencils), Syd Shores (#4) & Win Mortimer
(inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#10 (May, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer), John
Buscema (pencils), Frank Giacoia & Mike Esposito (inks), Roy Thomas
(editor)
Monster Unleashed I#6 (June, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik
(artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#11 (July, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer), Bob
Brown (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster Unleashed I#7 (August, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik
(artist), Tony Isabella (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#12 (September, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer),
Val Mayerik (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster Unleashed I#8 (October, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val
Mayerik (artist), Tony Isabella (editor)
Giant-Size Werewolf I#2 (October, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Don
Perlin (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#13 (November, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer),
Val Mayerik (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Giant-Size Avengers#2 (November, 1974) - Steve Englehart (writer), Dave
Cockrum (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster Unleashed I#9 (December, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val
Mayerik (artist), Tony Isabella (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#14 (January, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Val
Mayerik (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster Unleashed I#10 (January, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Val
Mayerik (artist), Don McGregor (editor)
Avengers I#131-132 (January-February, 1975) - Steve Englehart & Roy
Thomas (#132) (writers), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Staton (inks), Roy
Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein I#15-18 (March-September, 1975) - Doug Moench
(writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Klaus Janson (#15), Bob McLeod
(#16-17), Val Mayerik (#18) & Dan Adkins (#18) (inks), Len Wein
(editor)
Marvel Team-Up I#36 (August, 1975) - Gary Conway (writer), Sal Buscema
(pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Len Wein (writer)
Marvel Team-Up I#37 (September, 1975) - Gary Conway (writer), Sal
Buscema (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Len Wein (writer)
Legion of Monsters I#1 (September, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Val
Mayerik (pencils), Dan Adkins & Pablo Marcos (inks), Tony Isabella
(editor)
Iron Man I#101 (August, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), George Tuska
(pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Iron Man I#102 (September, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), George Tuska
(pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Unpublished Shamrock & Peregrine story for Marvel Comics Presents by
RJM Lofficier
Spider-Man Unlimited I#21 (August, 1998) - Christopher Golden (writer),
Mike Deodato Jr. (pencils), Joe Pimentel (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Marvel: The Lost Generation#5 (October, 2000) - Roger Stern & John
Byrne (writers), John Byrne (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio
(editor)
Bloodstone I#1 (December, 2001) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
(writers), Michael Lopez (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Mike Marts
(editor)
Bloodstone I#2 (January, 2002) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
(writers), Michael Lopez (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Mike Marts
(editor)
Bloodstone I#3 (February, 2001 - March, 2002) - Dan Abnett & Andy
Lanning (writers), Michael Lopez (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Mike
Marts (editor)
Bloodstone I#4 (March, 2002) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers),
Michael Lopez (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Legion of Monsters: Werewolf I#1/2 (April, 2007) - Scottie Young
(story & art), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor), John Barber (editor)
Ghost Rider VI#33 (2009) - Jason Aaron (writer), Tony Moore (artist), Axel
Alonso (editor)
First Posted: 01/04/2002
Last updated: 10/11/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
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