MICROWAVE

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human technology user

Occupation: Protestor, potential criminal

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Unidentified utilities executive (loosely)

Enemies: She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), Rich Franklin, Richard Rory

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California

First Appearance: Savage She-Hulk I#16 (May, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: Having no paranormal powers of his own, Microwave wore a suit of "mobile microwave transmission armor" that could channel ambient microwave energy and fire it into harmless broad beam emissions, or into destructive concentrated single beam blasts. A large microwave emitter dish was mounted on the armor's torso, and additional smaller circular blasters were mounted on the wrists; the function of the disks mounted on the armor's calves was unrevealed.

For unspecified reasons, the man himself was a supporter of microwave technology (see comments); judging by his opinions of Jennifer Walters (see headshot), he seemed to have misogynistic tendencies.

Height: Unrevealed (5'10"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black

History:
(Savage She Hulk I#16 (fb) - BTS) - A few years earlier, near a Los Angeles public housing project, a microwave emitter tower was built atop a day-care center; some of the residents of the housing project linked their health issues to the tower, including Rich Franklin, who was losing his eyesight due to cataracts.

(Savage She-Hulk I#16) - Very little is known about the man later to be called Microwave (see comments), but he attended a Los Angeles city assembly debate concerning the microwave tower. Supporting the pro-microwave commission, he observed a demonstration of a suit of microwave armor powered by this tower -- when a beam from the armor cooked an egg in its shell, causing the egg to explode, he thought to himself that he'd like to pull that same trick on some of the opposing "loud mouthed, cry-baby eggheads, like that lady lawyer" (referring to Jennifer Walters, the attorney whom the residents had hired to request the tower's removal).

   When Jennifer Walters and Rich Franklin spoke of the hazards of microwaves, he heckled them, eliciting laughter from others attending the debate. In view of the possible danger of the tower, one of the council members--a doctor--made a motion for the tower to be dismantled; but no one else seconded his motion, so it was decided that the tower would remain in operation -- the future Microwave stood up and congratulated the assembly members for "showin' this uppity feminist [again, referring to Jennifer Walters] who's boss".

   After the meeting, Jennifer assured the residents that she'd file an injunction to stop the tower; but the future Microwave overheard her and insulted her -- he received a punch in the jaw from Rich Franklin for his remark.

   Late that evening, he broke into the utility sub-station and stole the Microwave armor, then he went to Jennifer Walters' home in the suburbs, where he secretly bombarded Walters and her then-boyfriend, Richard Rory with low-level microwaves, causing the two of them to suffer from headaches, dizziness, and nausea.

   But Jennifer spotted Microwave's shadow outside her house, so she transformed into the She-Hulk and attacked. Microwave continued bombarding her with higher doses of microwave radiation, but after a short skirmish, She-Hulk ripped the armor off him. Refusing to accept defeat, Microwave bragged that he had boosted the tower's output to as high as it would go -- concerned about the safety of the children at the day-care center, She Hulk departed and raced to the tower.

   By early sunrise, She-Hulk arrived at the day-care building, and although weakened by her battle with Microwave, she managed to climb the tower, despite her remaining strength being sapped the closer she got to the transmission dish; with one final effort, she ripped the tower down, and ensured the children would be safe when the day-care center opened that morning.

Comments: Created by David Anthony Kraft and Mike Vosburg.

Not much is known about Microwave, his motivations or his reasons to support the tower. His story was basically a lesson on microwave energy. Theoretically, he could return after having someone like the Tinkerer (Phineas Mason) restore and repair the armor.

My guess is that he had something to do with building the microwave tower, as well as the armor, since he seemed to be familiar with the technology.

Along with his real name never being revealed, he was never actually referred to as "Microwave" in the story, but I guess it's as good of a moniker as any.

And with that chin (see headshot), Microwave reminds me of a young Jay Leno.
--Ron Fredricks

New and additional images plus the sub-profiles by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by Will Uchtman. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Microwave should not be confused with:

Rich Franklin has no known connections to:

Rich Franklin

   He lived in a low-income public housing project in Los Angeles, where he worked as the building's custodian/caretaker. A few years earlier, a microwave tower was built atop a nearby day-care center; shortly after the tower went up, Franklin began to get headaches, so he went to his doctor and was diagnosed with cataracts... the kind one gets from microwaves.

   Franklin read up on microwaves and learned how dangerous they could be, so he told his fellow residents, and they began holding protests against the tower, but it didn't do any good. Worried that the children in the day-care center were slowly being killed by the radiation from the microwave tower, Franklin warned the housing director, city commissioners, and the power company about the health hazards, but they only laughed at him.

   One night, in desperation, Franklin went to the rooftop of the deserted day-care building (a difficult task for him, as his poor eyesight from the cataracts made it hard for him to see at night) -- he carried a bundle of dynamite, and he planned to blow up the tower; but just as he lit the fuse, Franklin was stopped by the She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), who tossed the dynamite into the sky, where it exploded without doing any damage. Franklin told the She-Hulk his reasons for wanting to destroy the tower, but the sound of approaching sirens distracted the She-Hulk, and Franklin made his getaway.

   The next day, Franklin went to the office of attorney Jennifer Walters (whom Franklin's doctor had recommended), seeking her legal help in having the tower removed.

   After the She-Hulk had defeated Microwave, she destroyed the microwave tower, which the super-villain had boosted to unleash a lethal output -- Franklin happened to be walking by at the time, and he thanked the She-Hulk before she left.

   Shortly afterward, the police arrived to investigate the tower's destruction -- when questioned, Franklin told a white-lie and denied having any knowledge of the incident ("Sorry, but I don't see so good anymore -- cataracts, y'know -- from exposure to the rays that tower was broadcastin'!").

--Savage She-Hulk I#16

unidentified utilities executive

   His Los Angeles-based company had put up a microwave tower on the rooftop of a day-care center; but residents of a nearby low-income housing project were experiencing health issues that they believed were caused by the microwaves, and they wanted the tower to be removed.

   He later received a visit from attorney Jennifer Walters, whom the residents hired to represent them. He assured Walters that many government and industry studies had conclusively proven that microwave communications were safe and efficient.

   To ease the fears of the housing residents, he attended a city assembly debate with an assistant clad in a suit of "mobile microwave transmission armor"; he had the assistant demonstrate the power of microwaves by cooking an egg inside its shell. Then he had the assistant blanket everyone in attendance with a low-power beam -- although this caused some panic among the attendees, the executive showed them that his radiation-measuring device indicated there was no harmful radiation present ("It's like taking a warm bath!").

   But one of the audience members later stole the armor to become the super-villain Microwave (see comments), who battled the She-Hulk.

After the She-Hulk destroyed the microwave tower, the executive told the president of the housing project that he would have the tower rebuilt at a less conventional location, where people were fewer...and more ignorant.

(Comment: Although he's listed as an affiliate of Microwave, it's only because the villain supported the microwave tower, and they were not otherwise associated. And my guess is that the executive had that armor built to give his company a microwave-based spokesman/mascot, sort of like Reddy Killowatt.)

--Savage She-Hulk I#16

images: (without ads)
Savage She-Hulk I#16, p16, pan1 (main image - Microwave)
Savage She-Hulk I#16, p13, pan5 (headshot - unidentified man who would become Microwave insults Jennifer Walters)
Savage She-Hulk I#16, p16, pan2 (headshot - Microwave)
Savage She-Hulk I#16, p18, pan1 (Microwave fires microwave beam at She-Hulk)
Savage She-Hulk I#16, p4, pan4 (Rich Franklin tells She-Hulk about hazards of microwave tower)
Savage She-Hulk I#16, p12, pan3 (at city assembly debate, Rich Franklin tells everyone that microwaves gave him cataracts; Jennifer Walters [background])
Savage She-Hulk I#16, p9, pan5 (unidentified utilities executive)
Savage She-Hulk I#16, p11, pan2-4 (unidentified utilities executive, with unidentified assistant wearing microwave transmission armor)

Appearances:
Savage She-Hulk I#16 (May, 1981) - David Anthony Kraft (writer), Mike Vosburg (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Michael Higgins (letters), Mary Jo Duffy (editor)

First posted: 08/01/2002
Last updated: 07/25/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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