History: 
ALOE VERA
Real Name: Aloe Vera
Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-88131) extraterrestrial (Melmacian) mutated sentient plant
Occupation: CEO (Veracorp, International),
author, TV host, healthcare speaker;
formerly would-be world cleanser;
formerly non-sentient decorative plant
Group Membership: Veracorp, International
Affiliations: Florence Shumway, Gordon Shumway
(later aka ALF), Robert "Bob" Shumway
Enemies: None;
formerly Florence Shumway, Gordon Shumway (later aka ALF),
Robert Shumway, Melmacian defense (General
MelmacArthur, Pink Berets),
all of Melmac
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Melmac (Earth-88131)
First Appearance: ALF#7/2 (September,
1988)
Powers/Abilities: Aloe Vera is a chemically
mutated sentient enlargened succulent plant of semi-humanoid form and has
average intelligence and super strength. She no longer relies on roots for sustenance and is mobile via
her strong but flexible leaves, and she can quickly generate natural
antiseptic gel that she can squirt in large amounts at other beings,
encasing and immobilizing them, but not lethally. She has a biological
instinct to sanitize using her innate natural antiseptic gel and later developed a more maternal caring instinct. She once
demonstrated the ability to enlarge herself to sit atop a skyscraper
and shoot her gel to cover a helicopter, although this drained her of
energy and she quickly required liquid chemical nourishment.
Presumably, as a plant form, she is reliant on sunlight, but as a
succulent, less dependent on water than other plants.
Height:
Variable; usually about 4'6"
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Black
Hair: None
History:
(ALF#7/2 (fb) - BTS) - Melmacian Bob Shumway, the
father of the then toddler Gordon Shumway (later known as the
planet-lost ALF on Earth), kept a potted aloe vera plant in his hobby
chemical lab on Melmac where he researched growth hormones, splitting
atoms, as well as an antiseptic cream from the healing and sanitizing
properties of the gel found in aloe vera leaves.
(ALF#7/2
(fb)) - Bob's wife Florence and Gordon visited the lab, but the curious
Gordon clumsily caused a table of chemicals to fall that collided with
the aloe vera plant. The Shumway family escaped the chemical spillage,
although Gordon was upset at losing his rag-doll named Dali. But the
chemicals saturated the aloe vera plant, which explosively gained humanoid form,
sentience, speech and an instinct to sanitize using its natural gel.
Calling herself by her plant name, she dressed herself in a lab tunic
and smashed through a wall, encasing Bob in a giant blob of natural
sanitizing gel squirted from her arm-like leaves when he sought to stop
her. She went on a rampage, randomly squirting Melmacians as she
traveled. Meanwhile, Bob freed himself and alerted the authorities, who
sent military General MelmacArthur and the elite Pink Berets, but she
quickly immobilized them and tanks using her sanitary gel. Aloe Vera grew
to monstrous form and climbed to the top of a skyscraper, where she
squirted down helicopters, the occupants still able to parachute safely
away. But the effort greatly drained her strength so she returned to
the lab for chemical nourishment. However, Gordon had escaped his
parent's care and ran back to find his Dali dolly and found it in the
villainous plant's clutches. She initially menaced him, but Gordon
innocently rushed forward to reach for his doll, and hugged Aloe Vera
as he thanked her for finding Dali. This triggered a chemical change in
Aloe Vera and her maternal instincts took over. She kindly returned the
napping Gordon to his parents and took on a benevolent role as a
spokesplant for healthcare through herbal medicine. She also became a
television chat show host.
(ALF#7/2 (fb) - BTS) - Aloe
Vera's success led her to establish Veracorp, International with a
cosmetics firm and wrote an autobiography called "Roots", even developing an action figure
called Aloe Dolly. She maintained contact with the Shumway family.
(ALF#7/2
(fb)) - At one point, Aloe Vera visited the Shumway family and gifted
an Aloe Dolly action figure to the excited Gordon. Dali was forgotten
and thrown away.
(ALF#7/2) - Many years later, Gordon, now given the
moniker ALF and stranded on Earth after the destruction of Melmac,
related this adventure to his human friend Kate Tanner.
Comments: Created by Michael Gallagher, Dave Manak, Marie Severin.
The puns fly thick and fast in Marvel's ALF comic stories, so I won't explain everything. Suffice to say, the "action figure" Aloe Dolly is very likely a pun on the musical/book "Hello, Dolly!", while General MelmacArthur and the Pink Berets reference WWII US General MacArthur and the "Red Berets" paratroopers (actually maroon, but popularized in pop culture as red berets).
There seemed to be less puns in this story than
others. Perhaps the writer was keeping to healthy clean fun to get the
green light to grow more stories and branch into new directions,
establishing roots for future storylines.
More information on the history, taxonomy (yawn) and
the gel's health benefits of the Earth-bound aloe vera can be found on
its Wikipedia
page.
Details on the Melmacian alien species (according to the ALF television show) can be found on a Melmac fansite. No problem!
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Aloe Vera has no known connections to:
General MelmacArthur & the Pink Berets
General MelmacArthur was one of Melmac's finest military strategists and he led the elite Pink Berets troops against the rampaging Aloe Vera. However, she quickly immobilized them and tanks by encasing them in her natural sanitizing gel.
--ALF#7/2
images:
(without ads)
ALF#7/2, p3, pan3 (main image)
p3, pan6 (squirting gel)
p2, pan3 (in original potted plant form before
transformation)
p6, pan7 (kindly handing action figure to Gordon)
p4, pan3 (Pink Berets & MelmacArthur "charge!")
Appearances:
ALF#7/2 (September, 1988) - Michael Gallagher (writer), Dave Manak
(pencils), Marie Severin (inks), Sid Jacobson (editor)
First posted:04/25/2025
Last updated: 04/25/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™
and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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