(Spider-Woman
III#4 - (fb)) - 700 years ago, Gray Dolman came into possession of a
mystically-empowered spindle, which granted him mystical powers and unnaturally
long life.
GRAY DOLMAN
Real Name: Gray Dolman
Identity/Class: Magically altered human (active between 1300s and present day)
Occupation: Mystic, antiques collector
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Flesh & Bones (Donna & Bess Bliss)
Enemies: Iceman (Bobby Drake), Morris Maxwell, Override (Greg Herd), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spider-Man/Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin), X-Men
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Shadrac, Shadraq
Base of Operations: The center of the Earth;
formerly a condemned building in Greenwich Village
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man II#2 (February, 1999)
Powers/Abilities: Thanks to his lengthy possession of a mystical spindle, Dolman possessed a portion of each of the gifts bestowed by the Gathering of Five: immortality, knowledge, power, death, and madness. This allowed him to project bolts of mystical energy and extended his life immensely, allowing him to retain his youth for 700 years. He was able to locate both the spindle and anyone empowered by the Gathering of Five. Dolman was also able to control Greg Herd, who had been transformed into Shadrac by the Gathering of Five, although he did not display the ability to control any of the other participants in the ceremony.
While in the form of Shadrac, Dolman possessed superhuman strength and resistance, and was constantly being consumed by mystical fire. The fire did not typically physically burn objects or people, but caused intense pain when touched. However, Shadrac could use his flames to melt through solid metal and concrete. Due to the incomplete nature of his merger with Herd, he required the aid of Flesh to absorb his excess energy.
Height: 6' (Dolman); 6'5'' (Shadrac)
Weight: 195 lbs. (Dolman); 110 lbs. (Shadrac)
Eyes: Brown (Dolman); burning red (Shadrac)
Hair: Black (Dolman); none (Shadrac)
History:
(Spider-Woman
III#4 - (fb)) - 700 years ago, Gray Dolman came into possession of a
mystically-empowered spindle, which granted him mystical powers and unnaturally
long life.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#3 - (fb)) - Dolman battled the X-Men "a while back".
(Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 4: Spider-Man) - The spindle was stolen by Override, an agent of Norman Osborn.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#441 - BTS/Amazing Spider-Man II#3 - (fb)) - The power surge released by the Gathering of Five sent Dolman to the hospital for some time.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#3 - (fb)) - Dolman tracked Herd to the home of Bobby Drake, where he had gone to find a cure for the flames that were burning him alive. Dolman made him attack Iceman, then summoned him back to New York City to steal the spindle back from Osborn Industries.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#2) - Dolman watched Herd (now known as Shadrac) battled Osborn security.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#3) - Dolman recounted Shadrac's origin to his unwilling pawn, who pleaded to be allowed to get help from Iceman. Refusing, Dolman commanded Shadrac to attack Morris Maxwell's pawn shop, and then to blow away the cops who'd followed them.
(Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#3 - (fb)) - Dolman abducted
Morris Maxwell, who had received the gift of knowledge in the Gathering in order
to discover where he had hidden the spindle. Holding Maxwell over a deep
subterranean chasm, the mystic reasserted his control over Shadrac.
He blasted Dolman in rage, but was forc
ed to battle
Iceman and Spider-Man before
being coated in an ice-web mixture, once again allowing him to reassert control
of himself. Finding the spindle at the bottom of the chasm, Dolman's mystic energy began to collapse the cavern. Shadrac leapt into his energy-engorged form, sending them both plunging into the
chasm.
(Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#3) - Dolman emerged from the pit, and related his story to J. Jonah Jameson, disguising himself as a homeless man. As he walked away from Jameson, he found to his horror that Herd had merged with him, and could override whatever evil he planned...
(Spider-Woman III#3) - Dolman's mind displaced Herd's consciousness, but the power of Shadrac reduced his body to a withered husk. He enlisted the aid of magically-mutated sisters Flesh and Bones to steal back Maxwell's shard of the artifact. After they failed, they returned to his base, an abandoned warehouse in Greenwich Village, where Shadrac had Flesh envelop him to absorb his excess energy.
(Spider-Woman III#4) - As Dolman struggled to contain the power of Shadrac, Flesh's energy-absorption sessions had less effect. While arguing with Flesh, Shadrac burst into his flaming skeleton form and attacked her, the true soul of Shadrac having taken control. Soon, Bones and Mattie Franklin (now in the guise of Spider-Woman) intervened, forcing Shadrac to flee, melting through the floor. Flesh tried to follow him, but was seemingly incinerated in the attempt.
(Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 4: Spider-Man) - Shadrac melted through the Earth until he reached the planet's molten core, where he waited for his time to emerge.
(Civil War: War Crimes - BTS) - Dolman and Shadrac were apparently separated from Herd.
Comments: Gray Dolman created by Howard Mackie, John Byrne, and Scott Hanna.
I'm gonna take the Spider-Man: Back in Black Handbook's word on Dolman's age, as he does claim to be 700 years old in Spider-Woman #4...one issue after claiming to be thousands of years old. It's just one facet of the weird, confusing tale of Shadrac.
Override turns up in Civil War: War Crimes, so we can assume that he, Dolman and Shadrac parted company at some point.
Man, that last image is gross. Flesh and Bones are pretty off-putting.
Flesh & Bones! *barf* Byrne and his women.
--Markus Raymond
Profile by Minor Irritant.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Gray Dolman, Shadrac should be distinguished from:
...but has no known connection to...
(Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 4: Spider-Man) - An ancient evil by the name of Shadrac originally created the artifacts necessary for the Gathering of Five, and endowed them with power.
(Spider-Woman III#4/Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 4: Spider-Man) - Due to the incomplete merger between Dolman and Herd, the true Shadrac emerged, and took control of the merged Dolman/Herd entity. He retreated to the center of the Earth.
--Spider-Woman III#4
images: (without ads)
Spider-Woman III#4, p15, pan1 (main image)
Amazing Spider-Man II#2, p9, pan4 (Dolman headshot)
Spider-Woman III#3, p11, pan4 (withered Dolman in Flesh)
Appearances:
Amazing Spider-Man II#2 (February, 1999) - Howard Mackie (writer), John Byrne (penciller),
Scott Hanna (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#3 (March, 1999) - Howard Mackie (writer), John Byrne (penciller),
Scott Hanna (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#3 (March, 1999) - Howard Mackie (writer), John
Romita Jr. (penciller),
Scott Hanna (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spider-Woman III#3 (September, 1999) - John Byrne (writer), Bart Sears (penciller),
Randy Elliott & Raymond Kryssing (inkers), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spider-Woman III#4 (October, 1999) - John Byrne (writer), Bart Sears (penciller),
Randy Elliott & Raymond Kryssing (inkers), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Last updated: 04/28/07
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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