VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN

Real Name: Victor Frankenstein

Identity/Class: Human mad scientist;
    citizen of Switzerland;
    18^th century and possibly early 19^th century A.D.

Occupation: Scientist

Group Membership: The (von) Frankenstein Family (not a team, but a grouping);

Affiliations: Henry Clerval, Igor, Justine Moritz, Robert Walton I and his crew;
    formerly an unidentified woman (with whom he fathered the child from whom Victoria Frankenstein was descended);
    presumably at least formerly M. Waldman and a M. Krempe and other professors at the University of Ingolstadt (see comments);
    Cornelius Agrippa (source of inspiration)

Enemies: The Frankenstein monster;
    indirectly Justine Moritz (as he allowed her to die because he was afraid to reveal the existence of the monster)

Known Relatives: Elizabeth Frankenstein (nee Lavenza; wife; sister by adoption, deceased);
    Anna Eleonora Munchmeyer (paternal great-grandmother, deceased), Johann Philip Dippel (paternal great-grandfather, deceased);
    Konrad Dippel (aka Baron von Frankenstein; paternal grandfather, deceased); Anna Catharina Muller (paternal grandmother, deceased);
       two paternal uncles (all presumably deceased), five paternal aunts (all presumably deceased) - see Konrad Dippel's profile for possible identifications of these relatives;
    Beaufort (first name unrevealed, maternal grandfather);
    Alphonse Frankenstein (father, deceased), Caroline Frankenstein (nee Beaufort, mother, deceased);
    Ernst Frankenstein, William Frankenstein (brothers, deceased);
    unidentified offspring and grandchild (ancestors of Victoria);
    Victoria von Frankenstein (apparent great-granddaughter; see comments in her profile);
    Vincent von Frankenstein (great-grandnephew, deceased), Lenore von Frankenstein (great-grandniece-in-law),
    Basil Frankenstein (great-great-grandnephew, deceased);
    Ludwig von Frankenstein and Basil Frankenstein II (great-great-great-grandnephews);
    Veronica von Frankenstein (great-great-great-great-grandniece), Basil Frankenstein III (great-great-great-great-grandnephew);
    Jason von Frankenstein (uncertain relationship, deceased);
    Maximilian Frankenstein (Maximilian von Katzenelnbogen, distant relative);
    other Frankensteins (and other Frankensteins as yet undefined, including Nina Frankenstein and her father, Ursula Frankenstein, Frankenstein/Son of Frankenstein and many others)

Aliases: Baron von Frankenstein

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    perished at sea aboard the Arctic waters;
    formerly the Frankenstein home in Geneva, Switzerland (also where he was born);
    formerly the University of Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany;

First Appearance: Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus (1818);
    (Marvel, possible, see comments) Silver Surfer I#7 (August, 1969);
    (Marvel, confirmed) (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (January, 1973)

Powers/Abilities: Victor had no superhuman power or special abilities.

    However, he was an extraordinary genius with extensive knowledge of biology, chemistry and perhaps alchemy. He had great skill as a surgeon, sufficient to perform vascular and nerve grafts. He was able to graft various body parts from multiple human corpses into a complete being (apparently anastomosing numerous vessels and nerves); bring this composite being to life via a combination of chemicals and electricity, at least; discover a means of preventing cellular deteoriation in the bodily parts he used; and to overcome the human body's tendency to reject allografts (transplants from another being of the same species). Despite having a brain, his creations lacked any memories of the brain's original host.
    He proved to be able to replicate the process at least once, in a female subject.

    Victor was driven by curiosity and impatience, and despite his relentless work to bring his creation to existence, upon seeing the being reanimated, he was instantly overcome with horror and revulsion. He did sometimes feel guilty for having abandoned his first creation, but he was nonetheless willing to slay another creation after having brought it to life.

    Victor owned and was experienced with handguns, and he was also experienced in driving a dog sled and surviving in the frigid arctic waste.

History:

(The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb) - BTS) -  In his first two years at the university, Victor worked himself to the verge of exhaustion yet earned the admiration and respect of the finest scientific minds in Europe. ((Frankenstein Monster#18 (fb) - BTS / Unpublished Shamrock and Peregrine story, episode#2 (fb) - BTS) - Via a liaison with a woman while in college, Victor von Frankenstein had  a child outside of wedlock. The granddaughter of that child was Victoria Frankenstein (see comments). (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb)) - One of Victor's professors advised him, "It is as important to learn patience as it is to learn fact. But you will now see that...now that we begin the dissection of human cadavers." (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb) - BTS) -  On the contrary, with each lesson, Victor became more and more impatient to delve ever deeper into the mysteries of the human body.  (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb)) - By the end of his third year, Victor believed that he knew more than his teachers and thus was prepared to embark on his mission to create life. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb) - BTS) -  Victor dropped out of school. (Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus) - Alphonse wrote to Victor, "You must pardon me, if I regard any interruption in your correspondence as a proof that your other duties are equally neglected." ((The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb)) - Victor collected numerous corpses, robbing graves, collecting hanged men from the gallows, etc. and then dragging them up the stairs to his secluded laboratory. (Frankenstein Monster#16 (fb)) - Victor was assisted by Igor in graverobbing the parts used to create the Monster from graves.

. (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4) - Victor embarked on experiments at reanimating dead human bodies to discover a means for human immortality. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb) / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4) -  Combining various limbs and organs from numerous sources, Victor eventually constructed a complete, giant human form. (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4) - Victor's extraordinary genius enabled him to discover a means of preventing cellular deteoriation in the bodily parts he used, and to overcome the human body's tendency to reject allografts (transplants from another being of the same species). (Frankenstein Monster#16 (fb) - BTS) - The process to revive the monster apparently involved lightning/electricity. ((The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb)) - After six months of labor, Victor gave the form a final injection of an unidentified chemical; he was initially frustrated with his seeming failure, but the creature soon revived, and his excitement turned to horror as his large and monstrous creation approached him menacingly. (Frankenstein Monster#16 (fb)) - Igor was also present during the Monster's creation, although his subsequent fate is unrevealed. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb)) -  When his creation refused to listen to his commands and made only primitive sounds, Victor fled, locking himself in his bedroom. Eventually passing out from exhaustion, Victor eventually awakened to find the monster standing over him.      As the monster apparently attempted to communicate with gestures and guttural sounds, Victor blocked this out and instead decided that the monster must be destroyed. Eventually distracting the monster with a candelabra, Victor fled in a blind panic into the rainy night until he collapsed in utter exhaustion.     He was eventually found by his father's friend Herncy Clerval, who brought the delirious Victor to his hotel room; hovering on the brink of death for many weeks, Victor was cared for by Clerval until eventually reviving. Clerval then informed Victor that he had received a letter that same day from Elizabeth, noting that William Frankenstein had been murdered.      Additionally, Clerval explained that Alphonse's young ward, Justine Moritz, had been charged with the murder. .

. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb)) - Victor accompanied Clerval back to Geneva to be with his family, although all along he wondered about the monster, correctly suspecting that it had murdered William and framed Justine.     Both Elizabeth and Alphonse would not have believed Justine to be guilty, but Alphonse noted how Justine had been found clutching William's pendant, a few feet from where William had been murdered.      Victor argued that perhaps the killer had placed the pendant in Justine's grasp, and as Alphonse replied that the courts had dismissed the possibility, Victor apparently observed the monster's face just outside of his window. Victor rushed out but found the monster missing and considered that the tracks indicated that he had gotten away.     Learning that Justine was to be hanged, Victor traveled to the prison in hopes of freeing her. However, upon seeing her having accepted her fate and realizing that tell his story would condemn himself as some kind of lunatic, he left her to her fate, and the next day, she was hanged.     Witnessing this, Victor wondered whether he himself was actually to blame for the deaths of Justine and William.     The following morning, Victor packed and departed into the mountains, climbing higher than he had ever climbed before, seeking refuge from the horrors of his existence while knowing that the only escape was death for himself or for his creation.      When his legs grew eary, he sought refuge in a cave and started a fire, but after he stared into flames for until early morning, he was confronted by his monstrous creation who -- having learned to speak -- announced that he must die.     Briefly driving the monster back with fire, Victor reached his rifle and shot his creation. Minimally affected, the monster lifted Victor into the air, dismissing his attempts to explain by telling him to look at his monstrous appearance, and that the only explanation would be his (the monster's), and after he had told it, Victor would die. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#2 (fb)) - When Victor cursed the monster as a wretch and told him to kill him, as he deserved no better fate, the monster considered that if Victor wanted to die, then he would instead make him live to suffer as the monster had. As Victor wept uncontrollably, the monster noted that Victor felt sorry for himself, but that he, the monster, had suffered a thousand times greater because of Victor.     The monster then related his history following his departure from Victor's laboratory, including his being hated and attacked by people and animals.

.      Victor noted that he was not without sympathy for the creature, but asked why he had slain poor William and Justine instead of him directly.      The monster told him that that would have been too easy for him and because he wished Victor to create a mate for him. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#2 (fb) / Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#37 (fb)) - Initially refusing, Victor eventually agreed, in part because the creature had vowed to leave him in peace, dwelling far from the haunts of men, if he complied and in part out of guilt for having created the creature and a feeling of owing it a companion.     They returned to Victor's laboratory (in the vicintiy of the Swiss Alps), and they spent weeks raiding graveyards each night and returning with a fresh corpse that contained an organ vital to the task.     When Victor became too busy in the laboratory to continue the grave-robbing, the creature was happy to offer its services.      After six months, with a fresh heart the only remaining piece to be found, the monster returned with a still warm corpse, and Victor realized that the creature had murdered the woman.     Though sickened by the monster's actions and his own involvement in the matter, Victor worked on. Hours later, Victor implanted the "still-beating heart" (see comments) into the composite female body he was building.     With the task completed, Victor insisted the creature depart as he prepared to revive his new creation, threatening to destroy her if the monster refused. He then injected this creation with his formula and then removed the bandages.      When the female creature revived and began shambling across the room, however, Victor was overcome with the fact that he had doubled his crime against God and man.     Grabbing a knife, he repeatedly stabbed the intended bride of the monster, telling her that he was sparing her from God's wrath for her unnatural existence.       After Victor had slain his newest creation, though bone-weary and both physically and mentally drained, he left the room and disappeared into the night. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#2 (fb) - BTS) - After finding his slain would-be bride, the monster was encountered by Henry Clerval, who had come seeking Victor.      Vengefully killing Clerval, the monster took his bride's corpse and departed.

. . (The Monster of) Frankenstein#2 (fb)) - After Victor returned and found Clerval's corpse, he was arrested by constables who had been informed of his depature early that morning by a cleaning lady. Unable to speak in his own defense, Victor was charged with Clerval's murder and taken to jail, wondering all the while it wasn't just that he die for his creation's crime. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb)) - At his hearing, beside himself with grief, Victor was unable to defend himself. When the landlady identified him as Clerval's killer, he was bound over for trial. As he was being led away, he went mad and confessed to the crime, asking that they not take him to jail but rather hang him and be done with it.     For months, Victor languished in prison, haunted by the image of his murderous creation. As many as a dozen times a day, he would awaken from a fitful sleep, screaming. He grew emaciated from exhaustion and poor health. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb) - BTS) - Alphonse spoke with the woman who had testified that she had seen Victor leaving the laboratory in which Henry had been found. The woman admitted that she had seen another leave the laboratory, and Alphonse wrote a letter detailing this. ((The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb)) - Alphonse met with Victor in his prison cell, telling him of the letter that would free him as soon as court accepted it. Alphonse thanked God that he sped him to Victor's side to lift this burden from him.     Finally enjoying a restful sleep that night, Victor was awakened when the monster shattered the wall of his prison. Victor told the creature to kill him if he sought vengeance, but the creature told him that he would have his revenge in a manner ten times more horrible than death.      He advised Victor that -- for killing his bride -- his revenge would have the same form and that he would be with him on his wedding night.      The following day, Alphonse achieved Victor's release, and he took the strangely pensive Victor on a coach bound for their family mansion.     When they reached their home, Victor's melancholy lifted upon being reunited with his fiance', Elizabeth. Alphonse told Victor he had not seen him so happy in years, and and Victor replied that it was "the powers of the magic elixir called love." Before retiring for the evening, Alphonse told them that he prayed that they would have glad tidings for him on the morrow.     Elizabeth told Victor that his father was right and that the time had come for them to be together, which was what Alphonse had always dreamed of and what she had anticipated as well. Perhaps seeing the shock and fear on Victor's face (relating to the monster's threat), Elizabeth told him that if he had changed his mind about her, he need only say so.     Victor assured her that the thought of her what was had kept him existing for the past years, that he loved her more than life itself and that they would be married, no matter what.     As Victor embraced Elizabeth and they set a wedding date, neither of them was aware that the monster stood outside the window and watched them. Victor hoped against hope that he could escape the monster's threat.     A few days later, Elizabeth and Victor were married, although even then and during the farewells that followed, Victor's every thought was on a method in which he might foil his creation's plans for vengeance.      First, Victor determined to spend their wedding night in a tiny village miles away, accessible only by sea, and as they left Geneva for that secluded spot, he felt almost confident that there was no way the creature could follow.      But when they arrived that evening, night had fallen, and Victor was overcome by a sense of grim foreboding. Elizabeth asked what made him seem so preoccupied, and he told her that he was just concerned with the security, and that he was going to check the house while she prepared to retire.

Armed with pistol and candelabra, Victor searched for his creation at the dock, certain he would have to arrive by water if at all. ((The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb) - BTS) - However, the creature, having swum the entire distance, emerged some distance upshore, approached the chalet, shattered the window into their room, covered Elizabeth's mouth and nose with his hand and suffocated her. Disturbed by this murder, the monster fled moments before Victor's return.   ((The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb)) - Having been relieved that he ruled out any threat, Victor was distraught to enter the boudoir to find her still form. Praying she had merely fallen asleep, he rushed to her side. His worst fears confirmed, he craded her head and rocked back and forth before crying out like a wounded animal.

Watching from outside another window, the monster felt sympathy rather than triumph, and he fled into the night, overcome with revulsion for the act he had committed.      After Elizabeth's burial, Victor stayed by her grave for nearly three days. ((The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb) - BTS) - Devastated by the news of Elizabeth's death, Alphonse fell ill. ((The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb)) - Regaining control of himself, Victor returned home to Geneva and was informed of his father's condition. Victor stayed by his father's bedside until Alphonse died three days later.      Shortly after Alphonse's funeral, Victor -- unable to bear yet another loss -- was placed in an asylum for several months, but he recovered with the all-consuming goal of destroying the monster and gained his release.

Gathering his belongings, Victor set forth on his quest, trodding deep in the snow-capped Alps, seeing and needing no one for weeks. After a month without a trace of his quarry, he finally caught a glimpse of the creature via his telescope.      For months, Victor pursued his creation tirelessly, stopping in every town and village to see if the creature had been spotted. The creature, however, aware of Victor's pursuit, led him ever further north, allowing him to stay just close enough to keep him on the trail. Appreciating this and the danger of the Arctic wastes, Victor maintained his resolve to catch and kill the creature, acknowledging that he, too, would likely die in the bargain.     Near the point of collapse, Victor reached the last outpost of the Arctic Circle's edge, which the creature had recently raided. Victor purchased a sled, some dogs and supplies for a week, promising the owner of the trading station that the creature would never trouble him again.      Though weakened by exposure, Victor set out, knowing full well he had perhaps less than a week to accomplish his mission before falling victim to the elements.     However, despite the deadly cold Arctic winds and a nearly-exhausted food supply, Victor continued beyond two weeks, his burning lust for revenge pushing him onward.      Finally discovering and tracking giant footprints, Victor confronted the creature, pulled his pistol and vowed his death, only for an ice break separated them with an ever-widening channel of frigid water. As Victor's ice floe floated out to sea, he futitely cursed the creature, refusing to believe that all of his suffering had been in vain.

(Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus / The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb)) - The ice floe carrying Victor was spotted by the crew of Robert Walton's ship, and he was brought aboard. Despite Victor appearing to be doomed, Walton fed and cared for him. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb) - BTS / (The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb)) - Victor related his history with the monster to Robert Walton, who took down his story in a series of letters that would be passed down through his family. ((The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (fb) - BTS) - The day after Victor's death, the creature climbed aboard Walton's ship, apparently sensing that Victor had cheated death on the ice floe. Walton told the creature he was too late, as the "poor, tormented man" had died the day before, after which the creature jumped into the Arctic waters, seeking to end his own existence. (The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (fb) - BTS) <1898> - Seeking and discovering the frozen form of the monster, Robert Walton IV told the young cabin boy Sean what his great-grandfather had told him of Victor Frankenstein and his monster.

Comments: Created by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.
    Adapted by Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog.

    The regular test is mostly limited to that which has been included in Marvel stories. As I have not read the Frankenstein novel, I have supplemented the Marvel information from the original stories in italics, based on checking a few websites, such as study.com, the Mary Shelley Wiki and Wikipedia.
    If you have read the novel and can provide any corrections or supplemental information, please share.
    It is important to note that if it was not included in the Marvel stories, it is not confirmed as having happened in Reality-616.
    You can get more detail from reading the original novel!

•     In the original novel, Victor left Geneva and studied at the University of Ingolstadt, which is in Bavaria, Germany.
•     (Monster of) Frankenstein#1 had Victor studying at University of Geneva.
•     The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4 entry on Frankenstein's monster noted Victor to be a "brilliant student in the biological sciences and the heir to a baronetcy in Ingolstadt, Switzerland." It also listed the monster's place of creation as Geneva, Switzerland.
•     The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #4 Frankenstein's monster entry noted to be a Victor to be "a brilliant student in chemistry and the biological sciences at the University of Ingolstadt and the heir to a Swiss barony." It also listed the monster's place of creation as Ingolstadt, Bavaria, now in West Germany.
•     The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005 Frankenstein's monster entry noted Victor to have been a University of Ingolstadt student. It lists the monster's place of "birth" as Castle Frankenstein, Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany
•     The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover (and the subsequent softcover ) #4 repeats the information from the Horror handbook.
•     I think the fact that the original handbook repeated the information from Monster of Frankenstein, but everything since has listed the information from the original novel can be taken as clear evidence that the University of Ingolstadt is the correct information.

Creation of the monster (location, means)

•     As far as I can tell, the novel had the monster created and brought to life in Victor's laboratory, which was based out of the University of Ingolstadt. And it was an injection of Victor's formula that brought the monster to life.
       In the original Mary Shelley novel, Victor was in Ingolstadt when he created the monster. After his work turned out the way it did, he had a nervous breakdown and was taken back home to Geneva. The monster, having found some of Victor's papers in the clothes he stole to wear, followed him there.
  
•     (Monster of) Frankenstein#1 had the monster created and brought to life in Victor's laboratory, which was based out of the University of Geneva. The monster was bandaged head-to-toe, and it was an injection of Victor's formula that brought the monster to life.
•      Monsters Unleashed I#2 had a flashback of of Victor working on the monster, which was bandaged head-to-toe, and he was preparing to give it an injection in a small room with a fireplace and a candelabra.
•      Frankenstein (Monster)#16 had a flashback that first added in the assistant Igor to the mix and also first showed electricity/lightning to have been part of the process that brought the creature to life. Being raised up above the building to receive the lightning makes it seem like it may have taken place in a castle rather than just a small laboratory, but it wasn't clearly shown to be a castle, either.
  Regardless, I believe Igor, lighting and castle elements were all derived from the movie versions, rather than the original story. See Igor's profile for more information of this character's origins.
  
•     The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4 Frankenstein's monster entry noted the monster to have been created in Geneva, Switzerland. It noted the the monster was brought to life via chemical means.
  
•     Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #4 Frankenstein's monster entry noted the monster to have been created in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, now in West Germany. It noted that the creature was brought to life using means that remain unrevealed.
•      Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#37 showed Victor working by himself in a small laboratory. The specific method of reanimation is unrevolved, but there did not seem to be any means of lifting the creature above the roof for a lightning strike, and the creature had bandages falling off of it as it approached Victor.
  
•     The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition#15 Frankenstein's monster entry noted the creature to have been created in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Western Germany. It noted that the creature was animated via an undisclosed procedure involving electricity.
•      Spider-Man Unlimited I#21 mostly just has a one panel flashback of the partially bandaged creature confronting Victor
  
•     The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005 Frankenstein's monster entry listed the monster's place of "birth" as Castle Frankenstein, Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. It noted that he was aided by an "unspecified assistant" and that the creature was "somehow" brought to life.
•     The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover (and the subsequent softcover ) #4 repeats the information from the Horror handbook.
•      Fear Itself: Fearsome Four I#2 shows Victor and an assistant using electricity in the revival of the creature. It also identifies the location as Lake Geneva and the date as 1812 A.D., which is clearly off.
  
•      As I continue through Frankenstein family and the (Monster of) Frankenstein and Frankenstein (Monster) issues, I will keep track of the Frankenstein Castle appearances and references to Victor having been there or not.
  
  The (apparently) original Castle Frankenstein, on the northern edge of the Magnet mountain on the banks of the river Rhine, in the territory of Hesse/Hessengau (now apparently Darmstadt, Germany)--Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#37
  

CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN - Bavaria--Frankenstein (Monster)#6

CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN - Geneva, Switzerland--Silver Surfer I#7

CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN - Transylvania; involved with Sporr--Tales of Suspense I#11

Frankenstein or von Frankenstein?

    Some further discussion from our own Loki:

    Have you ever noted anywhere that when Ludwig watches a movie of his ancestor creating monsters in SILVER SURFER I#7, it's likely Basil being portrayed in the film, since movie cameras didn't exist before then?
    Stan intended it to be Victor, I'm sure, but that was obviously a no-prize winning mistake. :-)
    --Jean-Marc Lofficier

--Given Victor's genius, it is possible that he had developed a method of recording his experimentation and that his descendants later translated that into a form to be viewed via a modern film projector.
But I do prefer the idea that the film was Basil and that Ludwig made the mistake of thinking it was Victor.
Further, the person pictured in Silver Surfer I#7 had white hair...
--Snood

    Creatures on the Loose#12 has an unidentified but elderly descendent of the original Frankenstein ordering around his servant, another kyphotic Igor (he does not resemble Victor Frankenstein's Igor and is presumably just another Igor). When this Frankenstein dies, the lonely Igor uses his master's texts to create a new Frankenstein-esque monster to be his servant via a brain his previous master had kept preserved. However, this is ultimately revealed to be the brain of the "original Baron Frankenstein," and this monster orders around Igor as his servant.
    By "original Baron Frankenstein," the almost certainly meant Victor, but "the original" would have preceded Victor by over a millennium, such as Arbogast von Frankenstein or one of his ancestors. Or it could have been Konrad Dippel.
    But, assuming that they did mean Victor, if the person was a direct descendent of Victor, then he would have been an ancestor of Victoria Frankenstein, who was descended from an out-of-wedlock affair Victor had in college. Victor did not have any children via his wife, Elizabeth.
    If this Frankenstein was from the main line of subsequent Frankensteins, he would be descendent of Ernst von Frankenstein. The time period was not given, but it would seem to have been either early 20^th Century or somewhere in the 19^th Century.
    But, most importantly...was this the fate of Victor Frankenstein? He died at sea in the Arctic after suffering from frigid cold, exhaustion, and probably dehydration and malnourishment.
    It seems pretty unlikely that his brain could have been properly preserved...but, stranger things have happened...maybe magic, time travel, etc., was involved.

    Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death  features a Frankenstein who has transplanted his brain into his own son. This Frankenstein was a college roommate with Phineas Randall, and he had his own monster, but the continuity doesn't fit for Victor or his monster. Phineas Randall would have been at university in the latter half of the 19^th century, nearly a century after Victor's death. The story took place perhaps in the late 1930's, and so this Frankenstein may have been a close relative of Basil Frankenstein or his father. Victor's monster was frozen at this time, and he didn't get thawed until the modern era, which the sliding timescale has brought into the 21^st Century.

Per Wikipedia:

• Percy Shelley, Mary's husband, served as a significant influence for the character. Victor was a pen name of Percy Shelley's, as in the collection of poetry he wrote with his sister Elizabeth, Original Poetry by Victor and Cazire. There is speculation that Percy was one of Mary Shelley's models for Victor Frankenstein; while a student at Eton College, he had "experimented with electricity and magnetism as well as with gunpowder and numerous chemical reactions", and his rooms at the University of Oxford were filled with scientific equipment.^[ Percy Shelley was the first-born son of a wealthy, politically connected country squire, and a descendant of Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet of Castle Goring, and Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel. As stated in the novel, Frankenstein's family is one of the most distinguished of the Genevese republic and his ancestors were counselors and syndics. Percy Shelley's sister and Frankenstein's adopted sister were both named Elizabeth.
  

• Victor Frankenstein was born in Naples (according to the 1831 edition of Shelley's novel) to a Swiss family from Geneva. He was the son of Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort, who died of scarlet fever when Victor was 17. He describes his ancestry thus: "I am by birth a Genevese; and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic. My ancestors had been for many years counsellors and syndics; and my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation." Frankenstein has two younger brothers – William, the youngest, and Ernest, the middle child. Frankenstein falls in love with Elizabeth Lavenza, who became his adoptive sister (his blood cousin in the 1818 edition) and, eventually, his fiancée.

  As a boy, Frankenstein is interested in the works of alchemists such as Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus, and he longs to discover the fabled elixir of life. At the age of fifteen, he loses interest in both these pursuits and in science as a whole after he sees a tree destroyed by a lightning strike and a scientist explains the theory of electricity to him. It seems to him as if nothing can really be known about the world, and he instead devotes himself to studying mathematics, which he describes as "being built upon secure foundations."^[13] However, at the University of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Frankenstein develops a fondness for chemistry,^[13] and within two years, his commitment and scientific ability allow him to make discoveries that earn him admiration at the university. He then becomes curious about the nature of life and his studies lead him to a miraculous discovery that enables him to create life in inanimate matter.

Timelines

Victor's timeline in the novel according to custom-writing.og/blob/frankenstein-summary

• 1792 – Victor creates the Monster.
  After gathering the body parts from a graveyard in the Summer, Victor uses them to make a living creature.
• May to June 1794 – The creature murders Victor’s brother and his maid.
  Victor discovers the terrible error he made in constructing the Monster five days after learning of William and Justine’s deaths.
• August 1794 – Victor creates another Monster.
  Victor and his first creation discuss the Monster’s killings. The Monster states that he feels incredibly lonely, which makes him violent. Victor begins creating a female companion.
• 1796 – Victor destroys the female Monster.
  Victor reconsiders his plans to create another Monster, ultimately killing his second project. The creature, driven by rage, resolves to ruin Victor’s life and plans retribution on the evening of Victor’s wedding.
• 1797 – The creature kills Victor’s best friend and his wife.
  Monster uses all means at his disposal to forge his revenge for the death of his female companion.
• 1798 – Victor dies after falling into Arctic waters.
  In an effort to kill the creature he made, Victor Frankenstein sets out for the frigid waters of the Arctic. Victor develops pneumonia, which makes him sick. He passes away not long after the boat arrives at land.

By my understanding, on Earth-616, in the Marvel Universe, there is minimal timeline for the monster's creation, other than it being consistently late 18^th century (except Fear Itself: Fearsome Foursome#2, which lists it as 1812 A.D. and is presumably just wrong).

Per the novel, Victor was like 17-18 when he left for college, and then it was at the end of his third year that he dropped out of school and began his project of creating the monster.

(Monster of) Frankenstein #1 noted that it took Victor 6 months to create his monster and bring it to life.

Based on that, Victor would have been 20-22 when the monster was created, which would be 1780-1782.

So, given that we have a published date with nothing to contradict it, Marvel's timeline looks to be about a decade earlier than the novel's timeline.

That's what I would go with until something in-story contradicts the existing information.

Per https://www.litcharts.com/lit/frankenstein/characters, two of Victor's professors at the University of Ingolstadt were identified

Miscellaneous:

   Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#37 reported that the monster's slaying of William was in response to Victor's slaying of the intended Bride of the Monster, but the original story and Marvel's Frankenstein series both showed that the monster had killed William before coercing Victor to create his bride.

    If Victor implanted the still-beating heart from the woman that the monster had allegedly murdered into the "Bride of Frankenstein," that would mean that the woman was still alive and that it was actually Victor who killed her.

    Victor Frankenstein originally was covered within the von Frankensteins profile, first posted 01/06/2002. The von Frankensteins profile attempted to be all-encompassing, but it is limited in terms of breadth and depth. Hopefully profiling each of the Frankensteins individually will allow superior coverage...

The profile was posted on Mary Shelley's 228^th birthday, August 30, 2025.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Victor Frankenstein should be distinguished from:

• any other (von) Frankensteins (see relatives, but there are also many referenced in the comments of the von Frankensteins family profile and/or the the Frankenstein monster's profile.
  

Appearances:
Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus (1818) - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (writer)
Silver Surfer I#7 (August, 1969) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Sal Buscema (inks)
Creatures on the Loose#12/2 "Master and Slave" (July, 1971) - Alan Hewetson (writer), Syd Shores (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
(The Monster of) Frankenstein#1 (January, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), Mike Ploog (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
    The cover of the comics says "The Monster of Frankenstein" (or Frankenstein monster in the latter issues) but the indicia says only "Frankenstein," so that is the actual title of the comic.
(The Monster of) Frankenstein#2 (March, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), Mike Ploog (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
(The Monster of) Frankenstein#3 (May, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), Mike Ploog (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
(The Monster of) Frankenstein#4 (July, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), Mike Ploog (penciler), John Verpoorten (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed#2 (September, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (script), John Buscema (penciler), Syd Shores (inker), Roy Thomas (editor)
Frankenstein#16 (May, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Bob McLeod (inker), Len Wein (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#4 (April, 1983) - Mark Gruenwald (editor/head writer/designer), Michael Carlin (associate editor/designer), Peter Sanderson & Mark Lerer (co-writers), David Cody Weiss, Joanne Harris, Bob Simpson, Roger Stern (researchers), Nestor Redondo (Frankenstein's monster penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #4 (March, 1986) - Mark Gruenwald (writer/producer), Peter Sanderson (writer/researcher), Eliot Brown (technical illustrator), Val Mayerik (Frankenstein's monster penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Howard Mackie (assistant editor)

Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme#37 (January, 1992) - Jean-Marc Lofficier, Roy & Dan Thomas (writers), Geof Isherwood (artist), Mike Rockwitz (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition I#15 (February, 1992) - Len Kaminski, Peter Sanderson, Glenn Herdling, Murray Ward (writers), Keith Pollard (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)

Spider-Man Unlimited#21 (August, 1993) - Chris Colden (writer), Mike Deodato Jr. (penciler), Joe Pimentel (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005 (October, 2005) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Sean McQuaid, Barry Reese, Michael Hoskin, Ronald Byrd, Mark O'English, Anthony Flamini, Stuart Vandal, Chris Biggs & Eric J. Moreels (writers), Boris Vallejo (Frankenstein's monster artist), Michael Short (assistant editor), Mark D. Beazley (associate editor), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#4 (September, 2008) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Madison Carter, Mike Fichera & Stuart Vandal (coordination assistants), Sean McQuaid, David Wiltfong, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, Chad Anderson, Mike Fichera, Jacob Rougemont, Madison Carter, Mark O'English, Michael Hoskin, Eric J. Moreels, Chris Biggs, Gabe Shechter, Al Sjoerdsma, Rich Green & (writers), Boris Vallejo (Frankenstein's monster artist), Brian Overton (copy editor), John Denning & Cory Levine (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editor)

Fear Itself: Fearsome Foursome#2 (September, 2011) - Brandon Montclare (writer), Simon Bisley, Ryan Bodenheim, Ray-Anthony Height & Don Ho (artists), John Denning (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (senior editor)------->

First posted: 08/30/2025
Last updated: 09/29/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

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