MAN-MONSTER
Real Name: unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human mutate/cyborg
Occupation: Career Criminal
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Empowered by Dr. Thraxton;
former pawn of Richard Raleigh/Disruptor; Enemies: Richard Raleigh/Disruptor,
Spider-Man (Peter Parker) Known Relatives: None Aliases: Smasher (name in Amazing
Spider-Man) Base of Operations: Richard Raleigh's
townhouse, Manhattan, New York City Appearances: Spectacular Spider-Man I#1
(July, 1968); (retold with modifications in Amazing Spider-Man
I#116-118 (January-March , 1973) Powers: Super-human strength and
durability (@ Class 25). He was ten feet tall, and
single-mindedly destructive. He glowed due to the ionic energy
flowing through his bloodstream. He had circuitry implanted
within his headband that caused him intense pain when activated.
This could be activated via remote control by Raleigh. (SpecSpdm I#1)-Raleigh had the Man-Monster
rampage through Manhattan, destroying billboards and other images
of Raleigh. This was done in order to make it appear that the
Man-Monster was an agent of the criminal underworld, hopefully
causing Raleigh to gain further support since the mob was against
him. Spider-Man encountered the Man-Monster, and seemed unable to
make a dent in the rampaging brute. Spider-Man had to stop
fighting to save some men working on one of the billboards, and
the Man-Monster escaped. Raleigh had Thraxton empower the Man-Monster
even further, and make him more easily controlled. Thraxton gave
the Man-Monster a head-band that enabled Raleigh to give the
Man-Monster excruciating agony at the touch of the button.
Raleigh sent the Man-Monster to kill George Stacy, who was
investigating the past history of Raleigh. Spider-Man prevented
the murder, and realized that the Man-Monster was Raleigh's agent
after seeing the hatred in his eyes when he saw Raleigh's
billboard. Spider-Man led the Man-Monster back to
Raleigh's townhouse. Raleigh, infuriated that his plans were at
risk of discovery, began pushing the Man-Monster's
pain-stimulator, incessantly, attempting to push him to destroy
Spider-Man. However, Raleigh overloaded and short-circuited the
headband, freeing the Man-Monster from Raleigh's control. The
Man-Monster took his revenge, crushing Raleigh's skull and
killing him wiht a single blow. Spider-Man continued to attack
the Man-Monster, fruitlessly, until he managed to locate his one
"vulnerable spot" (the back of his neck). Nothing
seemed to happen at first, but then the Man-Monster dropped over,
dead. Comments: Created by Stan Lee and John
Romita, sr. In case you didn't know, there were two issues
of a magazine called Spectacular Spider-Man in 1968. This was a
separate book from the series which ran from Peter Parker: The
Spectacular Spider-Man, which ran from 1976-1998. I'm not quite sure why they revised and retold
this story. The original was in black-and-white. Attempts were
made to update the story into the chronology of the time, such as
eliminating all references to Captain George Stacy, and even
having Spider-Man wear his costume shop mask from Amazing
Spider-Man#113. For the continuity buffs, this story EITHER takes
place between AmzSpdm59+60, or 155+119, depending on the version.
However, the second version doesn't really fit, as Richard
Raleigh was dead at the time of the re-telling (not that that
ever stopped anyone before). Clarifications: Smasher is not to be
confused with: Appearances: Last updated: 07/23/04 Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know. Non-Marvel Copyright info
History:
The Man-Monster was originally a small-time hood who agreed to
submit to the experiments of a Professor Thraxton in exchange for
money and the promise of power. Thraxton was employed by Richard
Raleigh, who was running for mayor of New York City. Raleigh had
Thraxton mutate the man into a powerful fom under his control.
This involved the infusion of ionic energy and cybernetic
implants.
Dr. Thraxton had
been shunned by the medical profession for his experiments in
bio-chemistry. His knowledge and his willingness to work outside
the law and ethics attracted the attention of Raleigh. Thraxton
empowered the Man-Monster and designed the headband control. He
tried to stop Raleigh from abusing the control, to no avail.
After the Man-Monster killed Raleigh, Thraxton attempted to flee
out of his emergency corridor, but he was killed in the
collapsing townhouse.
Spectacular Spider-Man I#1 (July, 1968) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), John Romita (pencils), Jim Mooney (inks)
Amazing Spider-Man I#116-118 (January-March , 1973) - Stan Lee & Gerry Conway (writers), John Romita (pencils), Jim Mooney, Tony Mortellaro & John Romita (#117-118) (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
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