ARNOLD PODUNK

Real Name: Arnold Podunk

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Vice-President of Hi-De-Ho Toys, toy designer

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Major Violence

Enemies: Atomic Lou (Lou Messmer), Fight Man (Frank Mantle), Massive Globula (Morgan Schenk), Plug-In Maniac (Herschell Muller)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Arnie" (called this by Fight Man at least but he may not like it)

Base of Operations: Hi-De-Ho Toys plant, Rosedale, USA (possibly Mississippi? - see comments)

First Appearance: Fight Man I#1 (June, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Arnold Podunk presumably has decent skills at toy design and business, being the vice-president of a toy company.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'6")
Weight:  Unrevealed (approximately 140 lbs)
Eyes:  Unrevealed (never clearly shown)
Hair: Black (balding)

History:
(Fight Man I#1 (fb) - BTS) - In his role as Vice-President of Hi-De-Ho Toys, Arnold Podunk had multiple encounters with the Delta City-based would-be superhero known as Fight Man, who tried to convince Podunk to make action figures based on his likeness. Podunk repeatedly rejected such propositions.

(Fight Man I#1) - On a morning when Podunk was already stressed out from a delayed project, Fight Man,desperate for a source of income, arrived once again with sketches of his ideas for a Fight Man action figure and a scrapbook containing pictures of his old enemies, who he thought could also be used to fill out a toy line. Podunk admitted that, a decade ago, it could have been possible to market a line of such toys but that Fight Man was now so unpopular that it would never happen.

    Fight Man continued to argue his case until a trio of supervillains consisting of the Plug-In-Maniac, Atomic Lou and the Massive Globula smashed through the roof of the office to attack Fight Man. A destructive fight ensued, after which Fight Man successfully defeated his foes. Podunk attempted to lambaste Fight Man for the damage done to his office and the Hi-De-Ho plant but Fight Man had noticed that Podunk was willing to manufacture a Major Violence action figure and was insulted.

     Calling Violence a "Texas Loser," Fight-Man asked what Violence had they didn't have, and Podunk replied, "Popularity? Proper grammar? Friends?"

Podunk continued to yell at Fight Man as he sulked and left.

    Later that day, a clip of Podunk appeared on a WGMB news broadcast about the incident at the plant, in which he said he wished the villains had killed Fight Man.

Comments: Created by Evan Dorkin and Pam Eklund.

    It's worth noting that there is a real "Delta City" in Mississippi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_City,_Mississippi) though it is far from the urban area of the comics. It has a population under 100, so that must not be it, right? But then there IS also a Rosedale, Mississippi and it is very near where that small Delta City is. All we see of Rosedale in the comic is the Hi-De-Ho factory so we don't get a very good look at the size of the place. Checking out Rosedale on Google Earth reveals a small place (though larger than the real Delta City) but it does have a couple of industrial locations, so a toy factory wouldn't seem utterly out of place. In the Fight Man comic, the news story is covered by television network called WGMB, which again could just be a fictional joke network, but there is a real WGMB and it is based in Louisiana. If I understand that Wikipedia page correctly, it does have affiliates in Mississippi. Major Violence is identified as a Texas-based hero in a way that seems to confirm that Fight Man is not in Texas (he says something like "that Texas jerk," which he wouldn't use as a descriptor if he was in the same state) but the fact that he seems to have met Major Violence could be evidence that they both come from Southern states, which is another point in favor of Mississippi, though not a super strong one. On the topic of Texas, Fight Man also is reported as getting in a fight one time with a bunch of Dallas Cowboys fans. Not sure how that affects anything. Anyway, we don't know for sure where in America Rosedale is, but I think Mississippi is a realistic option if we assume that, in the Marvel Universe, Delta City is a sprawling metropolis instead of the tiny batch of a few homes it is in our world.

    This profile was completed 02/25/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event to represent Fight Man's stories and characters.

Profile by Patrick D Ryall.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Arnold Podunk has no known connections to:

Hi-De-Ho Toys


Hi-De-Ho Toys was a toy manufacturing company with offices and a plant in Rosedale. Among their many products were a parodic line called the Dysfunctional Family Circus and a licensed action figure based on the superhuman figure known as Major Violence. On one occasion, the plant was the scene of a fight between Fight Man and three of his enemies, which caused a lot of destruction.

--Fight Man I#1

Images: (without ads)
Fight Man I#1, p9, pan3 (Arnold Podunk, main image)
Fight Man I#1, p9, pan5&6 (Arnold Podunk, headshot)
Fight Man I#1, p9, pan1 (Hi-De-Ho plant)
Fight Man I#1, p16, pan5 (Major Violence action figures)

Appearances:
Fight Man I#1 (June, 1993) - Evan Dorkin (writers/penciler), Pam Eklund (inker), Fabian Nicieza (editor)

First Posted: 09/30/2026
Last Updated: 07/19/2026

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. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters