MONSTER

Real Name: Larry Rambow

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: unrevealed, possibly laboratory assistant

Affiliations: Fantastic Four (Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic)

Enemies: Fantastic Four (Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic)

Known Relatives: Dr. Zolten Rambow (father)

Aliases: The Monster in the Streets

Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York

First Appearance: Fantastic Four I#105 (December, 1970)

Powers/Abilities: As the Monster, Rambow absorbed heat and other forms of energy. He was surrounded by a sphere of raw energy that destroyed all it touched. He could project bursts of this same energy type. His energy also neutralized most other forms of energy and negated the function of electronic equipment.
    In this form, he was virtually mindless, and attacked anything in his proximity.

Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 225 lbs.

 

History:
(Fantastic Four I#106(fb)) - Larry sought to help his father in the development of a device that could neutralize any weapon and thus make war impossible. Wearing a suit of armor designed by his father to protect him in case anything went wrong, Larry was nonetheless exposed to a powerful atomic blast when oxygen leaked into the test chamber and ignited the test energy. Larry was surrounded by destructive energy which left him virtually mindless, and he staggered from the blast site out into the city.

(Fantastic Four I#105) - The explosion and Larry's subsequent rampage attracted the attention of the Invisible Girl. Larry's father arrived seconds later and tried to convince everyone that the "Monster" might an alien that could be trying to communicate with them. As the Torch flew overhead, his powers began to fade. Pulling back, he saw the "Monster," recognized it as the likely cause, and attacked it. His flame blasts were ineffective and he fell to the ground when his flame died out, drained by the Monster's energy. Sue formed a force field to try to contain the Monster while Johnny headed back to the Baxter building to recruit Reed to figure out how to stop the Monster.

 

(Fantastic Four I#106) - The Monster soon overwhelmed Sue's force field, causing her to collapse. Reed arrived in time to shield Zolten from his rampaging son, and on questioning Rambow, Reed figured out he knew more than he was letting on. Zolten revealed the whole truth, and Reed then reminded him that they had always had the policy of making a failsafe device. The Torch took Zolten back to his lab to retrieve the device, while Reed contained the Monster, subjecting himself to its deadly power. When Zolten returned, Reed started to set the machine, but then collapsed from his injuries. Zolten activated the device, which successfully returned Larry to normal. Larry's mind began to clear, and he commented that he felt like he was awakening from some terrible nightmare. As his father collapsed from stress, Larry rushed to his side and accompanied him to the hospital.

 

Comments: Created by Stan "The Man" Lee, "Jazzy" John Romita, and John Verpoorten.

    Fortunately, we had the ultra-genius of Reed Richards on hand to remind Zolten that he had designed a failsafe device to reverse the process of mutation on Larry. Man...I NEVER would have thought of that!
    That's like:
    "The water is flooding over the sink!"
    "Turn off the water!"
    Now that's some quality thinking!

The Thing was out of action for most of these two issues as he was in the midst of a delicate procedure designed to return him to normal.

The University at which Rambow worked was a short distance from the sight of the battle in mid-town Manhattan, but it could have been Empire State University or a number of others.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:

 

 

Dr. Phillip Zolten Rambow

A professor at an unspecified University and an old colleague of Reed Richards, he sought an end to war. He decided that if he could design a device that would neutralize any weapon, which would thus make any war impossible. As he prepared for his final test, he designed an armored suit that could protect its wearer like a portable bomb shelter. Rambow used his own son Larry as a test subject, but though the settings were all correct, a small oxygen leak in the chamber caused the energy to ignite and explode. When he awakened, Larry was gone.

    Zolten tracked Larry to Manhattan, where he tried to convince the Fantastic Four and others to subdue his peacefully, but neglected to reveal his involvement. Finally Reed suspected there was more than he was telling, and he divulged the full truth. Reed then reminded him of their old policy of always having a failsafe device in case something went wrong, and the Torch flew him back to his lab and grabbed the device. Reed set the device, but then collapsed from injuries incurred while fighting Larry, and Zolten activated the device. It successfully restored Larry to normal, and Zolten collapsed from the strain. He was taken away in an ambulance.

    --Fantastic Four I#105 (106(fb), 105, 106

images: (without ads)
Fantastic Four#105, Cover (main image)

Other appearances:
Fantastic Four I#106 (January, 1971) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), John Romita (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks)

Last updated: 02/18/04

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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