FUNGI FUNGI
Real Name: Unrevealed (see comments)
Identity/Class: Unrevealed; likely human mutate (see comments)
Occupation: Nazi agent, scientist (probably - see comments)
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Nazis
Enemies: Bucky (James Buchanan Barnes), Captain America (Steve Rogers),
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Master of the Green Mist
Base of Operations: A ruined castle in a swamp near Porsden, Germany (see comments)
First
Appearance: Captain America Comics#31 (October 1943)
Powers/Abilities: Fungi's body was composed of
thick vegetation, apparently similar to matted vines or moss; blunt
impacts sink into his form with causing any real injury, but sharp ones
can pierce his exterior, releasing the gas that fills his interior and
deflating him; Captain America assumed that this killed him, but may
have been mistaken, given Fungi's abnormal physiology, and it is
possible that he might have "reinflated" given time. If, as seems
likely, his form was similar in consistency to his membrane duplicates,
then he would have been resistant to gunfire too, as bullets ricocheted
off the first membrane deployed.
Fungi was faster than his form might suggest,
swift enough to outrun Captain America, and also exceptionally strong,
lifting the 240 lbs. Cap over his head with ease. Despite referring to
himself in the third person and talking as if humanity was another
species at times (see comments), he was apparently a gifted
scientist.
Height: 6'3" (by estimation)
Weight: Unrevealed (see comments)
Eyes: Green (no visible pupils or irises)
Hair: None
Moss/grass: Green
History:
(Captain America Comics#31
(fb) - BTS) - Fungi was a scientist working for the Nazis to develop new
weapons for them (or perhaps Fungi was the weapon the scientist
developed - see comments). Based in a castle in a swamp near the
town of Porsden, he was composed of humanoid vegetation, apparently
lacking any actual human body parts within, his mossy frame instead
filled with a green mist harmless to animal life but which was lethal to
plant life a few hours after initial exposure. Seeing the potential this
weapon might have if used against Allied farmland, Fungi tried for
several weeks to get Nazi High Command to view his discovery, but was
initially ignored until desperation at their failing efforts against the
Allies finally convinced them to grasp at any straws they could. Despite
this initial skepticism, Hitler and his subordinates were impressed at
Fungi's demonstration and ordered a trial attack on the United States;
given this choice of initial target, Fungi was warned to be wary of
Captain America potentially intervening. Perhaps because of how
potentially devastating Fungi's green mist might be if the creature
turned it against the Axis instead, Hitler swiftly grew afraid to
disagree with Fungi, something that became clear to the soldiers ordered
to serve Fungi. Fungi began storing a stockpile of his green mist
extracted from his swamp and created weedy membranes that resembled his
own body to house the gas when it was to be deployed.
(Captain America Comics#31) - Only a few
days after being given the green light Fungi oversaw the first test run
of the green mist, flying a camouflaged dirigible from Germany to
America and dropping one of the mist-filled Fungi doppelganers by
parachute over a region of farmland. Spotting the figure dropping from
the sky U.S. troops (including Captain America and Bucky in their secret
identities of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes) working at the farm opened
fire on it, but the bullets bounced off its fibrous structure, then, as
it neared the ground, it began to dissolve, unleashing its contents. The
soldiers swiftly donned gas masks, but after the mist dispersed they
discovered that even those caught without masks had been unharmed.
Investigating the parachute, they found a note from Hitler, boasting
that the mysterious plant figures had been released throughout their
"decadent democracy" and demanding the Allies surrender or die. Given
the lack of injury caused, those who had witnessed the attack were
perturbed at the seemingly empty threat, but dawn the next day unveiled
the true extent of the danger, as a spout of green mist rose from the
spot where the figure had landed, and from that location a mass of
swamp-like mud was radiating out at terrifying speed, killing all
plant life and engulfing any living creature too slow to flee. The first
to witness this devastation, Rogers raised the alarm in time to save the
bulk of his fellow soldiers, but some were swallowed up by the mud,
dying horrific deaths. After a while the mudslide ended, but not before
devastating miles of farmland, leaving in its place a swathe of bubbling
swamp.
Meanwhile Fungi's dirigible had moved on to its next target, the rich
farmlands of California. His subordinates deployed more of the membranes
until they ran out of green mist, unaware that Captain America and Bucky
had tracked down the dirigible and covertly boarded it. The pair
witnessed Fungi informing his adjunct to return to the swamp for more
mist, and rather than confronting the Nazis immediately the two heroes
chose to hide on the vessel so they could eliminate the source of the
weapon permanently. The two stowaways managed to remain hidden for
several hours, long enough for the dirigible to reach Europe, before a
soldier they had taken prisoner managed to raise the alarm. Fungi led
the charge as his troops confronted the intruders, and pursued them to
the top outer surface of the dirigible as the pair raced to parachute
off the vehicle. As Fungi battled the pair Captain America was knocked
out, and then both Americans were thrown off the blimp when it hit an
air pocket. Back on the dirigible Fungi learned from his men who the
invaders had been, and angry that they had escaped him ordered the
vehicle to be landed at the first opportunity, insisting that Captain
America had to die at his hands. On the ground they soon found the two
heroes' abandoned parachutes, and pursued them through the countryside
until Cap and Bucky escaped them by swimming across a deep river.
Fungi returned to Porsden, and the next day
attended a rally in his own honor. While listening to a speaker singing
his praises as a real Nazi and true Aryan Fungi spotted Cap and Bucky
disguised in stolen Nazi uniforms at the edge of the crowd, and raised
the alarm. Again giving chase personally Fungi nearly caught up to the
pair but they hijacked a Nazi staff car and sped off. Now confident that
the two Americans would come to him, Fungi set a trap at his castle, and
sure enough that night the pair tried to sneak in. They found the gate
open and unguarded, but once they were inside the castle's outer walls
Fungi ordered his men to turn on their spotlights, illuminating the
intruders. Surrounded and with multiple heavy machine guns trained on
them, the pair surrendered, and were taken to the castle wine cellar,
where they were tied to two of the casks. Fungi came down to dispose of
them personally once he finished his preparations for his next dirigible
attack, but the pair managed to topple the casks, break themselves free
and attacked Fungi's guards. Though struck by a falling cask during this
fracas Fungi swiftly rallied and managed to take Cap by surprise while
the hero was finishing off the last guard, getting a powerful blow in
before Bucky smashed the foul flora from behind with a gun; to the
youth's surprise, the weapon sliced down through the villain's back as
if he was boneless. Fungi fled, and Cap pursued, leaving Bucky to guard
the unconscious guards lest they wake and sound the alarm. Cap located
the hostile herbage in the lab where Fungi was extracting gas from the
swamp to create his green mist. Moving with lightning speed Fungi
snatched the hero and hoisted him aloft, then hurled him down, intending
to smash him off the stone floor, but the acrobatic American twisted as
he fell and landed on his feet, then began raining blows down on Fungi,
until finally one smashed the monster back into a table littered with
glass retorts and beakers. Glass sliced into Fungi's body, freeing the
mist within, and Cap watched with shock as Fungi deflated like a
punctured balloon until he was apparently dead. Commandeering Fungi's
dirigible, the two heroes escaped back to Allied territory, confident
that the threat of the Green Mist had been ended.
Comments:
Created by Syd Shores and Vince Alascia.
It's never revealed exactly what Fungi is.
Given the mention of a scientist who has developed a weapon, it would
seem likely that Fungi is said scientist, and that his research somehow
transformed him into his vegetable form. However, he also talks about
himself in the third person and as if he doesn't know much about human
society ("Captain America. Fungi has been told to beware of this
American."), so it's possible he was the creation of the scientist,
though that then begs the question where the scientist went and how
Fungi became smart enough to run his operation. Or perhaps he's an
extraterrestrial or Inhuman; either option would explain his form and
apparent newly acquired understanding of human civilization. Given
there's some resemblance to the much later Man-Thing (okay, only really
that both are swamp based planet men), perhaps he was a Nazi scientist
researching recreating the Super Soldier Serum while working in a swamp;
after all, that's what happened to Ted Sallis.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Fungi has no known connections to:
|
To deploy his Green Mist, Fungi used fibrous vegetative membranes that, when inflated with the mist, resembled himself. He then dropped these via parachute over Allied farmland. They were resistant to bullets, but dissolved either upon making contact with the ground or slightly above the surface, unleashing the mist. Though this caused no immediate reaction, a few hours later (whether time dependent or triggered by the first sunlight of a new dawn was unclear) the spot where they landed would begin spouting the Green Mist, triggering the generation of copious amounts of mud that flooded the surrounding region, killing plants and drowning animals caught in its path. It was unrevealed how Fungi created
these membranes, though it seems likely he grew them, nor was it
revealed why they were seemingly lifeless facsimiles while his
apparently identical form was alive and sentient. --Captain America Comics#31
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images: (without ads)
Captain
America Comics#31, p7, pan2 (main image)
Captain
America Comics#31, p, p14, pan6 (face)
Captain America Comics#31, p15, pan2 (rear view)
Captain America Comics#31, p17,
pan1 (blow passing down Fungi's back, revealing his
unusual (lack of) interior anatomy)
Captain America Comics#31,
p18, pan1-4 (apparent demise)
Captain
America Comics#31, p1, pan 1 (membrane)
Appearances:
Captain America Comics#31 (October
1943) - writer, pencils, inks, editor
First Posted: 04/25/2025
Last updated: 04/25/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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