ZOMBIE MARVEL

Real Name: Wendell Stuart

Identity/Class: Extratemporal human mutate/zombie (Earth-0000)

Occupation: Geek, professional occupation unrevealed

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Lockheed (pet bird)

Enemies: Earth-616's ARMOR agents (Howard the Duck, Hurricane, Machine Man)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: glorious basterd (message board screenname)

Base of Operations: Unrevealed, presumably Manhattan, New York (Earth-0000)

First Appearance: Marvel Zombies 5#5 (Septmeber, 2010)

Powers/Abilities: As a dead body, Zombie Marvel suffered from constant hunger and was quickly decaying, with the symptoms of death (rigor mortis, etc) setting in only slightly later than typical. 

History: (Marvel Zombies 5#5 (fb)-BTS) - Wendell, a normal fanboy, won an Ebay auction for a rare copy of Marvel Team-Up #151, of which there were only 30 copies known to exist, as it had been pulped by the publisher due to an inker sneaking an obscenity into the issue.

(Marvel Zombies 5#5) - Wendell visited his local comic shop during his lunch hour and spent the time complaining about how the current Marvel Zombies series sucked in comparison to the earlier ones written by Kirkman. He returned home to find a package waiting for him. Seeing the package was from Sumatra, Indonesia, he realized it was the MTU issue he had won and eagerly opened the box. A strange dust emerged from the package first, but Wendell was happy to find the issue intact. He proceeded to play video games and post on message boards the rest of the night before turning in. During the night he awoke to a coughing fit and went to the bathroom where he saw his reflection in the mirror; he had become a zombie due to the dust.

Overcome by hunger, he ate everything he could find in his kitchen, but threw it all back up. Still hungry, he almost ate his bird Lockheed, but at the last moment, his conscience wouldn't allow him too, and he busted one of his windows and set Lockheed free. A Girl Scout knocked on his door and though he was tempted to attack her, he instead bought every box of cookies she was selling, using them to stave off his hunger longer. Realizing what he had become and not wanting the spread the plague, Wendell opted for suicide. After dowsing himself with gasoline he prepared to light a match but just as he did he heard a woman screaming on the streets (unbeknownst to him, actually just a very excited and obnoxious woman talking on her cell phone). Believing someone to be in trouble, he decided to use his "powers" for good and dug through his cosplay outfits, putting together a costume. Calling himself the Zombie Marvel, Wendell prepared to face the world in his new condition, but rigor mortis set in, leaving him standing statue-like in his living room.

Unable to move but still able to think, the Zombie Marvel stood there when Earth-616's ARMOR agents Howard the Duck, Hurricane and Machine Man arrived (as they had been visiting numerous zombie-infected realities searching for a cure to the zombie virus that had spread to 616 from Earth-2149). Believing Earth-0000 was the "ground zero" of the zombie outburts, they located Wendell. They weren't sure what to make of the garishly-dressed, immobile Zombie Marvel, who -- still able to think -- was fanstruck by the presence of these "comic book" heroes. Not wishing to waste any more time, Machine Man incinerated Zombie Marvel, leaving behind a pile of dust before the ARMOR agents returned to Earth-616.

Comments: Created by Fred Van Lente and Fernando Blanco.

According to Howard the Duck, Earth-0000 is technically an uncharted reality before their arrival, and had absolutely no superheroes, gods, demons, etc before Wendell's mutation. It was basically "our" world, but obviously it no longer is due to this incident.

It is insinuated that Wendell is basically "patient zero" for the zombie virus that eventually made its way to Earth-2149 and other realities.

The various worlds visited by the ARMOR agents had their zombies categorized by type/number and were given a nickname based on movie directors known for making zombie movies. Wendell was an "infected/Ghoul; Type-928 - a 'Jackson'" - as in Peter Jackson, who - before Lord of the Rings - created a very bloody zombie film called Braindead (aka DeadAlive).

Profile by Madison Carter

Clarifications:

Zombie Marvel has no known connections to

images:
Marvel Zombies 5 #5, page 21, panel 2 (main image)
      page 1, panel 3 (original)
      page 15, panel 4 (zombified)

Last updated: 11/23/10

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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