History:
SPONGE
Real Name: Merriam Sorensen
Identity/Class: Alternate reality (New Universe) human, former paranormal
Occupation: Former C.I.A. operative, lab assistant, patient
Group Membership: Formerly C.I.A., the Clinic for Paranormal Research's Therapy Group D (Bazooka, Mutator, Scrap Iron, Squirm, Thrust)
Affiliations: Charlotte Beck, Jacob Burnley, Captain Manhattan, Chrome, Michael Crawley, the Cure (William Wexler), Dementia, Lenore Fenzl, Ben Harrington, Emily Harrington, Jill Harrington, Stephanie Harrington, Interface, Dave Landers, Mutator, Tanis Newhouse, Randy O'Brien, Scrap Iron, Scuzz, Shock, Thrust, Jeff Walters
Enemies: Mr. Bertolutti, Deadweight, Irene Dobish, Famileech, Pit Bull, Philip Nolan Voigt, the Wardogs
Known Relatives: Mr. Sorensen (father)
Aliases: "Auntie Em" (nicknamed by Jill Harrington), "Merri" (nicknamed by Stephanie Harrington)
Base of Operations: Soho, Manhattan, New York, USA;
formerly Camp Peary, Maryland, USA;
formerly the Clinic for Paranormal Research, south of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
First Appearance: (unidentified) Kickers, Inc. I#5 (March, 1987);
(identified) D.P.7 I#17 (March, 1988)
Powers/Abilities: Sponge's skin and body tissue could absorb all liquids and gases up to ten gallons. She could also breathe underwater. Sponge could expel the moisture stored up in her body by emitting it through her pores or other orifices. Sponge's parability was passive, meaning her body would constantly absorb moisture in her immediate vicinity. However, she could also wield her parability in aggressive manners, such as by draining moisture from the bodies of other humans, inflciting her victims with instant dehydration.
Because of the nature of her parability, Merriam was particularly susceptible to diseases born in water.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'4")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 115 lbs.); formerly variable
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
History:
(D.P.7 I#18 (fb) - BTS) - Merriam Sorensen is the daughter of the president of the Menasha Corporation. She grew up enjoying the benefits of his wealth. Merriam was used to spending large amounts on her credits cards as her father paid the bills.
(D.P.7. I#19/The Clinic) - Following the White Event on July 22, 1986 caused by the Star Brand, Merriam Sorensen was one of many people who discovered they had paranormal abilities. On November 2, 1986, Merriam went to the Clinic for Paranormal Research in Wisconsin to receive help in controlling her parability. She was placed in Therapy Group D and took the nickname "Sponge."
(Kickers, Inc. I#5) - On November 2, 1986, Merriam entered a tank of water so the Clinic's professionals could test her parability. The test was seen by members of Kickers, Inc. who were being given a tour of the Clinic by director Philip Nolan Voigt.
(D.P.7 I#17) - Sponge was invited by Sally Gallagher to join a new women's group at the Clinic; at the first meeting Dementia, Interface and Charlotte Beck joined them. Sponge saw Dave Landers pass by in the hall and called out to him, as she was developing a crush on him. Although Charlotte was hesistant to join the women's group, Sponge joined the others at an assembly held by Clinic director Tanis Newhouse later that day. When director Newhouse declared all the Clinic's special interest groups would be ended and the members returned to their original therapy groups, a riot broke out. As a security guard, Dave was trying to halt the riot so Sponge attempted to help him, using her parability to blast water at Scuzz, putting out his fiery "Scorcher" parability. The riot ended when Lenore Fenzl used her parability to paralyze everyone in the room.
(D.P.7 I#18) - On December 23, 1987, Sponge found Dave cleaning up broken glass outside the Clinic and went to help him. As snow was falling, her body quickly absorbed the moisture. She mentioned she'd heard people call Dave "Mastodon" and he admitted it was a nickname Scuzz gave him; she told him she thought he was a teddy bear. The next morning, Merriam invited Dave and his friends Randy and Charlotte to sit with her at breakfast. When they discussed the absence of their friend Jeff Walters, fellow patient Mutator told them he'd seen Jeff run out the previous night after news reports about Pittsburgh, which had been destroyed. After discussions, Dave, Randy, Charlotte and Lenore Fenzl decided to go after Jeff aboard Dave's Winnebago; Sponge insisted on accompanying them so she could spend more time with Dave. Merriam supplied winter clothing that she bought with her credit cards and offered to cover the group's expenses during their adventure. Sponge was oblivious to the fact that Dave didn't want her in their group as he found her fawning over him tiresome.
An hour after leaving the Clinic the group discovered Mutator had snuck aboard the Winnebago, wanting to help Jeff; they decided to permit him to remain with them. As they neared Pittsburgh they found increased military checkpoints and decided to leave the Winnebago behind. Not wanting to travel the last 40 miles on foot, Charlotte schemed to capture an Army truck with Sponge. Sponge pretended to have a broken ankle so the truck's drivers would disembark to help evacuate her; once she could touch them, Sponge drained moisture from the soldier's bodies, dehydrating them immediately. She claimed confidently that the soldiers would recover but in reality she hadn't practised that aspect of her parability very often. They continued in the Army truck but eventually encountered so much debris on the road they decided to venture ahead on foot. Unfortunately they reached the edge of the Pitt -- a vast crater -- and the entire group fell in.
(D.P.7 I#19) - Sponge reminded Charlotte to use her parability and Charlotte saved everyone by sticking them to the edge of the Pitt. Randy used his Anti-Bodies to start ferrying them to the top of the Pitt but the one carrying Sponge encountered Jenny Swensen, piloting the Spitfire armor. Spitfire mistook the Anti-Body for an aerial threat. The Anti-Body set Sponge down on the ruins of a building. Mutator later climbed up and helped Sponge down from the building, although Sponge cringed at being touched by him. After learning the group weren't threats, Spitfire helped them rescue Dave and Jeff, who had both almost been consumed by lava at the bottom of the Pitt.
(D.P.7 I#20) - With Dave traumatized by his ordeal, the group carried Dave and Jeff to a basement to care for them. Charlotte, Merriam, Lenore, Randy and Jenny huddled together under a blanket for warmth. They were interrupted when one of Randy's Anti-Bodies alerted him that Mutator was in danger on the surface. Merriam joined Jenny, Lenore and Charlotte to find Mutator being threatened by a gang of scavengers called the Wardogs. It had begun snowing and Merriam began absorbing additional moisture but she proved no help as the others fought the Wardogs or their leader Pit Bull. When Pit Bull seemed to have been stunned by a grenade Jenny threw, Merriam apologized to her for not helping. When Jenny observed that Merriam had slimmed down, Merriam admitted she'd "leaked" during the fight. When Pit Bull revived, Merriam ran in terror back to where Randy, Dave and Jeff were, leading Pit Bull directly to them. Dave was unconscious but Merriam awoke him by splashing him with water from her hand. Dave barely managed to outfight Pit Bull but then Merriam, Dave and Randy were surrounded by U.S. Army soldiers who ordered them to surrender.
(D.P.7 I#23 (fb)) - In Army custody, Merriam was approached by Ms. Dobish of the C.I.A., who was building a team of female paranormal operatives. Merriam agreed to join the C.I.A. and was tranferred to a training facility in Langley, Maryland, where she was soon reunited with Charlotte and Lenore, who had both been likewise recruited.
(D.P.7 I#23) - On April 24, 1988, Merriam participated in a training session in which she and Charlotte wore protective clothing that Lenore's light couldn't penetrate. The two of them sparred with Lenore but Lenore proved more adept in hand-to-hand combat and outfought them, then removed their masks, knocking them out with her light. Later, Lenore met with Merriam and Charlotte in their quarters to tell them Jenny Swensen was with the C.I.A. but her body was mutating as a metallic substance covered her skin. Merriam was distressed to hear this and worried that she could have picked up something infectious from the Pitt as Jenny had. Lenore resolved to find Stephanie Harrington and enlist her aid for Jenny's sake.
(D.P.7 I#24) - Lenore returned with Stephanie and her family as Stephanie agreed to join the C.I.A., although her parability couldn't reverse Jenny's transformation. As Stephanie proved a quick study at martial arts, Merriam congratulated her when she bested two armed men in combat.
(D.P.7 I#26) - On August 4, 1988, Merriam, Jenny, Stephanie, Charlotte and Lenore were sent on their first field mission for the C.I.A., in which they were dispatched to investigate a supposed "biological weapon" that had been accidentally released into the Amazon jungle of Brazil. Merriam found it difficult to be in the jungle as she was constantly absorbing moisture from the air. Unknown to the five women, the "weapon' was actually the horrific paranormal the Famileech, an amoeba-like creature that consumed humans, adding to its mass. The women found the remains of a village the Famileech had devastated and made camp nearby. That night, the Famileech attacked them. Merriam used her parability to draw moisture out of the Famileech, making it wither when it attempted to grab her. She feared that the water might be infected like the fluids from the Pitt that altered Jenny, but continued to use her parability, even as the Famileech surrounded her. By creating a pocket of water, Merriam kept herself alive by drawing oxygen through the water. When the Famileech left, it abandoned the portion of its mass where Merriam had concealed herself and Jenny set her free. However, Lenore was seemingly killed by the Famileech. Merriam and the others spent hours looking for Lenore but failed to find her and had to return to the USA on their own.
(D.P.7 I#27) - Merriam participated in a debriefing about their mission in Brazil but it went poorly as Stephanie accused the agency of withholding valuable information while the agency's Mr. Bertolutti accused them of failing in their mission. The debriefing was ended prematurely to let all involved cool off.
(D.P.7 I#28) - On September 19, 1988, Merriam and Charlotte helped Stephanie recover her children from her husband Chuck, who had kidnapped them. Afterward, Jenny met them and asked them to join a C.I.A. mission in Manhattan to investigate Philip Nolan Voigt, who was running for President. Merriam was not keen to visit Manhattan as it had receive considerable pollution from the Pitt, but she joined the mission. The next day the four women (plus Stephanie's children) started to monitor Voigt's campaign headquarters but Voigt teleported into their room and placed them under his mental control, telling them not to report anything about him to their superiors, tell no one of meeting him and vote for him in November. On September 22, 1988, Dave Landers and Randy O'Brien arrived in Manhattan and confronted Voigt, both immune to his mind powers. Instead of fighting them, Voigt ordered Charlotte, Stephanie, Jenny and Merriam to attack Dave and Randy. Merriam fought Dave, at first using her parability to dehydrate and weaken him. Later, Stephanie opened a water hydrant so Merriam could absorb the extra moisture and blast Dave with a jet of water. Once both men had been beaten, Voigt warned Dave and Randy if they took action against him he would order the four women to kill themselves.
(D.P.7 I#29) - Merriam took a job in Voigt's campaign office in order to monitor him, not realizing Voigt had complained to the C.I.A. about their operation. The agency cut them loose and their former boss Irene Dobish hired the assassin Deadweight to kill them. On November 1, 1988, Merriam left her job for a date with Dave. Although Dave was mostly interested in asking Merriam about Stephanie, Merriam realized if she refused to talk about Stephanie Dave probably wouldn't have any interest in her at all. When Deadweight attacked the others at their apartment, Merriam returned with Dave and faced the assassin. Deadweight was finally stopped when Stephanie's son Ben used the killer's discarded sniper rifle to shoot him.
(Star Brand I#18) - Merriam was playing with Jill at the apartment when Stephanie, Dave and Jenny brought the Star Brand wielder Jacob Burnley to meet her, Randy and Charlotte. Randy and Dave secretly informed Jacob of the threat against the lives of the four women posed by Voigt and Jacob agreed to confront Voigt for them.
(D.P.7 I#30) - On December 15, 1988, Merriam had Charlotte cut her hair just as Jenny, Stephanie and the children returned to the apartment to tell of their encounter with the super hero Captain Manhattan. The following day, Merriam joined her friends at Rockefeller Plaza to see the Christmas tree lit. Members of the Para-Troop gang attempted to steal the tree in order to draw out Captain Manhattan for a fight. Merriam helped Stephanie look after her children while Dave, Randy and Jenny helped save Captain Manhattan. Afterward they invited Captain Manhattan to the apartment for a Christmas party. Dave arrived at the party dressed as Santa Claus and gifted Stephanie with a trip back to Sheboygan. Stephanie kissed Dave, upsetting Merriam.
(D.P.7 I#31) - On January 2, 1989, Dave returned to Manhattan with Michael Crawley and Scuzz, whom Dave was trying to deprogram from the White Eventist cult. Merriam was elated to see Dave back. Although Dave failed to deprogram Scuzz, when he opened up to Merriam about how he felt, she brought up her feelings for him. Thinking he'd lost any chance of being with Stephanie, Dave decided to start a relationship with Merriam.
(D.P.7 I#32) - On February 29, 1989, Merriam was making breakfast for Dave while he told her about a newspaper article on the Cure, a paranormal with the parability to remove other people's parabilities. Just as Dave was leaving the apartment for work, Stephanie and the children returned, having been unable to return to their lives in Sheboygan. Merriam grew immensely jealous of Stephanie and first suggested she visit the Cure, become a normal human and go back to Sheboygan. When Stephanie doubted that would solve her problems, Merriam accused Stephanie of coming back to get between her and Dave. Stephanie denied the accusation but agreed to leave. When Dave came home and learned Stephanie had left, he set after her. Merriam put a goodbye note on Dave's door then left.
Merriam went to Jacob Isaacsen Middle School, where the Cure was offering to remove parabilities through a lottery system. Merriam was the first lottery winner and the Cure placed his hands on her, removing her parability. With all her excess weight gone, Merriam left the school in delight, not even looking at Dave, who was also in the audience.
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald, Paul Ryan and Danny Bulanadi.
The Clinic profile in D.P.7 I#19 identified Sponge as the woman seen in the tank in Kickers, Inc. I#5.
I think it's a bit odd that Merriam was set up as Dave's second love interest while looking so similar to Stephanie; the haircut she received in D.P.7 I#30 was long overdue.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Sponge should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
D.P.7 I#28, page 17, panel 4 (main)
D.P.7 I#32, page 1 (face)
D.P.7 I#18, page 3, panels 3-5 (water absorption)
D.P.7 I#28, page 26, panel 5 (water blast)
Appearances:
Kickers, Inc. I#5 (March, 1987) - Tom DeFalco (plot), Mark Gruenwald (script), Paul Ryan (penciler), Sam DeLarosa (inker), Michael Higgins (editor)
D.P.7 I#17-20 (March-June, 1988) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Howard Mackie (editor)
D.P.7 I#23-24 (September-October, 1988) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Howard Mackie (editor)
D.P.7 I#26-32 (December, 1988-June, 1989) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paul Ryan (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Howard Mackie (editor)
Star Brand I#18 (March, 1989) - John Byrne (writer, breakdowns), Tom Morgan (finishes), Howard Mackie (editor)
First posted: 10/27/2026
Last updated:
10/26/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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