CLAY BRICKFORD

Real Name: Clay Brickford

Identity/Class: Human, citizen of the United States

Occupation: Government employee, formerly; miner

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Mayor of Isolation, Missing Link, Rom, Roxxon

Enemies: Hulk (Bruce Banner), Thunderbolts (Atlas/Eric Josten, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Moonstone/Karla Sofen, Songbird/Melissa Joan Gold)

Known Relatives: Belinda Brickford (wife), Clay-boy Brickford (son), Allison Brickford (daughter), and Jimmy-Jack Brickford (son) (see comments)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile throughout the United States;
                                  formerly Isolation, New Mexico;
                                  formerly Lucifer Falls, West Virginia

First Appearance: Incredible Hulk II#179 (September, 1974)

Powers/Abilities: Clay Brickford possesses no known superhuman abilities. He has extensive, hands on experience in mining. Brickford has some experience in handling and shooting firearms. He has taught himself how to use a Geiger counter. Clay Brickford is a religious man.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'0")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 190 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:

(Incredible Hulk II#179 (fb) - BTS) - Clay Brickford, his wife Belinda and their children lived in Lucifer Falls, an Appalachian mining town in West Virginia. Brickford worked in the mines.

(Incredible Hulk II#179 (fb) ) -  One day, Clay and his family encountered the recently reconstituted and amnesiac Missing Link. Believing him to be a human with deformities, they took him in. Over time, the Link, now called Lincoln, became part of the family. The Brickfords helped him learn English and he eventually joined Clay in the mines. They had no idea Lincoln was giving off ever increasing amounts of radiation.

(Incredible Hulk II#179) - Clay and his family encountered Bruce Banner in the woods and offered him the same hospitality as their other boarder Lincoln. Banner stayed with the Brickfords for several days until he noticed Clay's youngest son Jimmy-Jack fall ill with what he recognized as symptoms of radiation sickness.

(Incredible Hulk II#179 - BTS) - Unbeknownst to Clay or the others, Banner got hold of a Geiger counter and determined that Lincoln was the source of intense radiation. He figured he had no choice but to confront the kind, simple minded being with his findings. One day after work in the mines Banner tried to explain to Lincoln what was going on, but he got pushed down a shaft for his trouble. The stress caused Banner to change into the Hulk who recognized the Missing Link and attacked. During the fight, the Link's internal radiation levels flared up, causing a massive explosion that destroyed most of the mining complex.

(Incredible Hulk II#179) - Clay Brickford and his fellow miners helped Lincoln free himself in the aftermath of the explosion. They took their friend back home, unaware his radioactivity had now returned to safe levels.

(Rom I#29 (fb) - BTS) - Life returned to normal for Clay and the Brickfords. The mines reopened and Lincoln resumed working there until one day the ground began to crack and toxic fumes started to leak out from underground. Soon people became deathly ill. Because of this mysterious affliction a great number of people moved out of Lucifer Falls.

(Rom I#29 (fb) ) - Clay reasoned that the toxic fumes from the mine had to be radioactive. After teaching himself how to use the Geiger counter left behind by Bruce Banner, he confirmed his suspicions but he incorrectly assumed the Hulk had returned to their town and was hiding out in the mines. Lincoln, suspecting he was actually the cause of the radiation, offered to go down in the mines to look for the Hulk. In reality, he stayed there to protect the townspeople. Over time, he generated so much radiation no one in town was safe. Everyone left except for the Brickfords who kept waiting for their friend, only to slowly succumb to the effects of radiation poisoning. 

(Rom I#29 - BTS) - The rising radiation levels in Lucifer Falls attracted the attention of Rom who visited the abandoned town to check on possible Dire Wraith activity.

(Rom I#29) - In the center of the ghost town, Rom ran into Clay Brickford who initially mistook the glistening Space Knight for an angel. Rom quickly set him straight and offered his help, though Clay believed he and his family were beyond help. Rom accompanied Brickford to his house where Belinda was keeping watch over their children who were near death. Rom quickly used his energy analyzer to determine the cause of their illness and then switched to the neutralizer to instantly cleanse and cure Clay and his family.

(Rom I#29) - Clay told Rom of the monster in the mines, which he believed was the Hulk, and of their friend Lincoln. Rom offered to go down and look for their friend while Clay and his family waited outside.

(Rom I#29 - BTS) - In the mines Rom soon located the Missing Link who revealed that the Hulk was never the cause of the trouble. However, the Link mistook Rom's attempts to help him with the neutralizer as an act of hostility and attacked. In the ensuing altercation, the mines collapsed but not before Rom drained the Link of his excess radiation which in turn cause his amnesia to return.

(Rom I#29) - Realizing the Brickfords truly cared for 'Lincoln', Rom decided to keep the nature of their friends' identity to himself. Clay and his family welcomed Lincoln back with open arms and vowed to find themselves a new home.

(Thunderbolts I#34 (fb) - BTS) - With Lucifer Falls all but empty, the Brickfords were forced to move from town to town while Clay looked for work. The Brickfords were eventually forced to turn Lincoln over to the authorities. Over time, the Brickford children repeatedly required hospitalization because of the radiation poisoning. With no medical insurance, it nearly wrecked the family. Eventually the Brickfords settled in Isolation, New Mexico.

(Thunderbolts I#34 (fb) - BTS) - When Roxxon tapped Isolation as a potential site for their new geothermal exploration facility, Brickford was chosen to spearhead the lobbying effort to help secure the deal. Clay's efforts payed off and he helped oversee the construction of the facilities, slowly rebuilding his life as a member of the community. However, his traumatic experiences with the Hulk still lingered.

(Thunderbolts I#34) - Brickford overheard people in Tommy's Diner discuss a news story about the Thunderbolts publicly announcing they'd be bringing down the Hulk. This immediately set him off, angrily vowing that the monster wouldn't be ruining his life again. As he stormed off, he failed to notice Bruce Banner was sitting at the diner.

(Thunderbolts I#34 - BTS) - The Thunderbolts tracked Bruce Banner down to Isolation. They decided to have Moonstone casually approach him to try and reason with him.

(Thunderbolts I#34) - Brickford's anger turned to frustration when he arrived at the Roxxon site only to hear from the mayor that they'd suspended construction because of the Hulk. Clay told the mayor of his experiences with the monster and what it had cost his family. The mayor promised him that halting construction was only a temporary safety measure and offered to buy him lunch. As fate would have it, Brickford bumped into Banner at the same diner.

(Thunderbolts I#34) - He instantly flew into a rage and belted Banner, causing him to change into the Hulk. The Thunderbolts stood ready to engage the behemoth and Brickford decided to follow them as the fight moved across town. He lurked in the shadows, waiting for his moment to strike. He got his chance when prolonged exposure to the gas from one of Hawkeye's anaesthetic arrows caused him to revert to Bruce Banner on top of a highway overpass. Brickford was ready to shoot Bruce who offered no resistance. But a second before Brickford pulled the trigger, Banner was hit by one of Hawkeye's arrows, causing him to drop off the overpass and land on the roof of a passing truck. Unable to finish the job, Clay Brickford screamed in frustration. 

Comments: Created by Len Wein, Herb Trimpe, Jack Abel.

Clay Brickford is one of those minor supporting characters that really adds a lot to the texture of the Marvel universe. We're led to believe the Hulk never killed anyone, but Brickford's story tells us that he has definitely ruined a lot of lives. In a way, he's not dissimilar to Sam Burgh, the Hadleyville assassin.

The Clay Brickford we see in Thunderbolts bears little to no resemblance to his earlier appearances. His accent is gone and his hair has gone from rusty brown to blonde. Maybe that's an unrevealed aftereffect of Rom's neutralizer... Though Clay's flashback in that issue conveniently leaves out his Rom appearance. Copyright issues trump continuity, it seems.

We never learn how many children Clay has. He introduces three of them, but Belinda is clearly holding a baby when they first show up in Incredible Hulk I#179. Sadly, it seem obvious what happened to the newborn considering the effects prolonged exposure to the Missing Link's radiation had on its siblings.

Also: long held grudges are rarely rational, but it is a little odd that Brickford blames Bruce Banner for what happened to his family. All he did was figure out their family friend Lincoln was radioactive and slowly killing them. In a way, they're only alive because of the Hulk.

Profile by Norvo

CLARIFICATIONS:
Clay Brickford should not be confused with

• Clay Bickford corrupt land owner - Red Wolf I#9
• Clay Quartermain, SHIELD operative - Strange Tales I#163
  
• or any other "Clay" or "Brickford" characters

The Brickford family

 
Clay Brickford and his wife Belinda lived in the rural mining town of Lucifer Falls, West Virginia. Belinda stayed home to raise their children Allison, Clay-boy and Jimmy-Jack. One day, they encountered a misshapen, simple minded man and welcomed him into their home. The Brickfords tutored him and named him Lincoln, unaware he was actually the Missing Link, a primitive hominid mutate who gave off increasingly lethal doses of radiation. Lincoln's radiation levels increased again not too long after the incident with the Hulk. As a result, the entire Brickford family contracted a lethal dose of radiation poisoning. The radiation caught the attention of Rom, who came to Lucifer Falls to investigate. He used his neutralizer technology to rid the Brickfords of their illness. Though they initially appeared healthy, the Brickford children required frequent hospitalization over the years. The Brickfords slowly traveled west as Clay continued to look for work.The family eventually settled down in Isolation, New Mexico.

-- Incredible Hulk II#179, Rom I#29, Thunderbolts I#34

Images: (without ads)
Incredible Hulk II#179 p8, pan7 (main image)
Rom I#29 p9, pan4&5 (radiation poisoning)
Rom I#29, p23, pan5 (brings Lincoln home)
Thunderbolts I#34, p5, pan6 (furious at the Hulk)
Thunderbolts I#34 p20, pan7&8 (chases Bruce Banner)
Rom I#29, p10, pan4&5 (Brickford family)

Appearances:
Incredible Hulk II#179 (September, 1974) - Len Wein (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Rom I#29 (April, 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Chic Stone, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Al Milgrom & Rick Magyar (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Thunderbolts I#34 (January, 2000) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First Posted: 04/19/2023
Last Updated: 04/19/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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