Melanie

Real Name: Melanie "Mel" (surname unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Unrevealed;
     at least formerly a middle school math teacher

Group Membership: Power Broker Inc. mutates from Dr. Forrest's research trials

Affiliations: Jake (formerly Nita Young; reported boyfriend);
    Alicia (formerly Marcia Guzman), Millie Collins, Hanover Modeling Agency, Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Emi Ishida, Tulio Guzman, Trace, Toni Turner;
    allegedly Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) and others

Enemies: Hawkeye (Clint Barton)

Known Relatives: Chance (Nicholas Powell), Power Broker Inc. (Angela Golden, Dr. Seth Forrest), Dr. Forrest's mutates, Trapster (Peter Petruski)
    formerly Hawkeye (Clint Barton)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly "Jake's friend's place," New York City (accessible via the Number Three subway/train, and over a machine shop);
    formerly an unidentified base in an abandoned building in New York City

First Appearance: Avengers: Solo#1 (December, 2011)

Powers/Abilities: Melanie can alter her metabolism, presumably slowing it as needed to sustain her for extended periods without nutrition, oxygen, etc., and speeding it to enhance healing, etc. By slowing her metabolism sufficiently she could appear to be dead.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'10"; even though she was wearing heels, she wasn't much shorter than Hawkeye)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 135 lbs.)
Eyes: Apparently brown
Hair: Black or dark brown

History: 
(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb) - BTS) - Melanie was a middle school math teacher.

(Avengers: Solo#1-5 (fb) - BTS) - Power Broker Inc. employed Dr. Seth Forrest at Great Northern University to pay test subjects in a seemingly benign study involving calcium treatments in; however, the study actually treated the subjects with four different formulae designed to cause the women's children to have one of four superhuman powers (strength, metabolism control, telekineses/energy field manipulation, incendiary power). Instead, however, a percentage of the women eventually began developing powers themselves (by accident or design on the part of Forrest).

(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb) - BTS) - Melanie's metabolic formula granted her the ability to slow down her metabolism and play dead.

(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb) - BTS ) <from Tuli's Guzman's notes> - Everyone who worked on the study disappeared, one way or another; and almost every piece of documentation associated with the study vanished. 

(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) - Melanie joined with other test subjects Emi Ishida, Jake (formerly Nita Young), Alicia (formerly Marcia Guzman) to investigate the research and find other victims. As what Alicia had learned made it seem that Captain America was involved with the research, Emi and her allies distrusted super-heroes in general, and Captain America and the Avengers specifically.

(Avengers: Solo#2 (fb) - BTS) - Mel apparently became Jake's girlfriend.

(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb) - BTS/Avengers: Solo#4 (fb) - BTS) - The Hanover modeling company, who had aided Nita in the transition to Jake, also apparently worked with Melanie in some capacity.

(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) <6 months prior to the main story> - Emi, Alicia, Jake, and Melanie arranged -- perhaps via someone owing a friend a favor -- for the Black Cat (although the thief's identity is not confirmed) to steal a suit of armor from a private research facility in Estonia. 

(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS / Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) - The armor not only granted them its powers, but also allowed the wearer to appear to be male, since Power Broker Inc. was only looking for women. Alicia, Emi, and Jake wore the armor as needed as Trace.

(Avengers: Solo#2 (fb) - BTS) - With Power Broker Inc. after them for over 6 months, Trace helped the group investigate their pursuants and push them back. 

(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) - Emi and the others discovered that the project involved five clinics, each with approximately 400 subjects; that at least 15 women died, while over a hundred women...had unspecified issues; and that it had involved four formulae meant to produce specific traits in the subject's future children. They planned to find any information connecting subjects from each of the four formulae to the subjects' names, and to locate the other subjects showing enhancements from the processes, but they found the clinics had all been stripped by the time they could investigate them. The New York office lacked the information they sought, but referred to a central lab, but they couldn't find any hint of where the central lab might be.

(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) - Jake and the others learned that only Nita Young was confirmed to have been empowered the incendiary formula.

(Avengers: Solo#1 (fb) - BTS) - Seth Forrest's house was burned down and Forrest seemingly perished in the fire. Police sought Nita in connection with the fire.

(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) - Emi, Alicia, Melanie, and Jake suspected that Power Broker Inc. had framed "Nita Young" (Power Broker Inc. had no idea Nita was now Jake) for setting fire to researcher Seth Forrest's home in hopes of drawing out "Nita" , as they really wanted the subject with the incendiary power.

(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) <1 week before the main story> - Emi, Alicia, Jake, and Mel stoles files stating that 6% of the test subjects developed some sort of enhancement. 

(Avengers: Solo#1 - BTS) - Seeking aid in finding his sister, Marcia, Tulio Guzman, got into a conflict with Trace (Emi). Hawkeye (Clint Barton) got in the middle of the flight, and both Trace and Tuli fled.

(Avengers: Solo#1 - BTS) - Deciding to trust Hawkeye, Tuli gave him a disc with all the information he had on the research investigation, including the number for the Hanover Modeling Company. Tuli was subsequently murdered by the mercenary Chance (Nicholas Powell).

(Avengers: Solo#2 - BTS) - Having defeated Trapster (who had ambushed him as he approached a meeting with Melanie and the others), Hawkeye observed Trace (Alicia) entering an apartment window, closely followed by multiple ski mask-wearing Power Broker agents. 

(Avengers: Solo#2) -Back in civilian grab, Alicia chastised Melanie for bringing in an outsider. As the Power Broker agents entered the room, Hawkeye broke in through a window and began taking out the agents. Mel alerted Hawkeye to her and her allies' position.

(Avengers: Solo#2 (fb) - BTS) - Hawkeye placed a tracer on one of Power Broker's agents.

(Avengers: Solo#2) - Emi instructed Alicia to "find Trace" and get Jake and Mel out of there, while she helped Hawkeye. 

(Avengers: Solo#2 (fb) - BTS) - Mel was apparently hurt in the process of trying to get out.

(Avengers: Solo#2 - BTS) - Jake reported Mel's injury to Emi and told her that he was getting Mel away from the fight. Hawkeye used the tracking signal he had placed to lead Emi on a shortcut back to find Jake and Mel; and Emi sent Hawkeye to "Trace and Alicia."

(Avengers: Solo#3 (fb) - BTS) - Hawkeye told Emi that she and the others should get rid of their phones so they could not be tracked by them.

(Avengers: Solo#2 - BTS) - Hawkeye helped Trace (Alicia) defeat attacking Power Broker, Inc forces and also helped identify the transmitter stuck in the armor's left arm by Chance. Trace trusted him sufficiently to unmask.

    Sympathizing with how this group had been constantly on guard -- suited up and allowed them to rest while he watched over them. 

(Avengers: Solo#3 - BTS) - At Ryker's Island, Hawkeye learned from Chance about the company employing him ("PBI"), his only contact being Golden and that most of the mercs were paid with a drug. 

(Avengers: Solo#3 - BTS / Avengers: Solo#4 - BTS) - Trace (Emi) and Hawkeye "rescued" Dr. Forrest from Power Broker Inc's captivity.

    Hawkeye had Emi arrange for the others to meet them at a cabin he co-owned with Bobbi Morse (Mockingbird).

(Avengers: Solo#4 (fb) - BTS) - Confirming via a conversation en route with Mel, Jake did not trust Forrest, did not trust himself to stay cool in the room with Forrest, and presumably feared that Forrest might recognize him as having been Nita; Jake resolved to avoid the meeting with Forrest and receive the information thereafter. 

(Avengers: Solo#4) - As she met with Hawkeye and the others at his cabin, Mel noted how peaceful it was there and wondered if they would stay. She then listened as Forrest related his version of how events had transpired in the study. Though they also suspected treachery, Mel noted that even if Forrest was supposed to get them captured, that they wanted to get to PBI's base of operations.

(Avengers: Solo#4) - Mel confirmed Hawkeye's query of whether she had received the metabolic formula. Though she considered the ability worthless for her, Hawkeye noted her unutilized power and the combustion power of Jake were secret weapons since no one at PBI knew about them. Jake feared Mel had told Hawkeye that he used to be Nita, but Hawkeye explained how he had figured it out. 

    Though Hawkeye warned they were risking their lives with his plan to take down PBI, Mel and Jake agreed to to whatever they could.

(Avengers: Solo#5 - BTS) - Forrest brought Alicia and Emi by boat to the Power Broker ship, intending to turn them over to Golden and some mutates, with the plan for Hawkeye and Trace (Jake) racing to save them, while Mel would secure transport for the prisoners.

(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) - Alicia and Emi were imprisoned with the other female prisoners of Power Broker Inc.

(Avengers: Solo#5 - BTS) - After Hawkeye shorted out PBI's ship's power, he and Trace (Jake) boarded the ship and began taking down the guards who were preparing to stop the prisoners from escaping. 

(Avengers: Solo#5) - Floating and seemingly dead shipside, Mel was taken aboard by a pair of Forrest's super-stronger mutates (from research on prisoners) -- who suspected she was an escaped mutate -- so Golden could glean further information from her. After Mel suddenly revived and knocked one of the mutates into the water, the other mutate grabbed her and began choking her. Her kick to his foot was futile, but soon Trace (Jake) and Hawkeye arrived, the latter snaring her attacker in a net. 

    Forrest then arrived, demanding Trace demonstate the fire power; when Trace refused, Forrest tossed Mel overboard, but Hawkeye then engaged Forrest.

(Avengers: Solo#5 (fb) - BTS) - Trace presumably helped return Mel to the ship.

(Avengers: Solo#5) - As Mel and Emi helped the prisoners aboard their boat, Trace and Alicia held off the guards. Mel and Emi departed per Alicia's instruction while she confronted PBI's Angela Golden (who had also been apparently betrayed and whom Alicia helped escape), and while Trace aided Hawkeye against Forrest (who seemingly perished when the ship blew up).

(Avengers: Solo#5) - Jake, Alicia, Emi, and Mel planned to identify the remaining test subjects before going to the police. Hawkeye gave them Forrest's notes (and Golden assured them that Forrest did not have copies)

    Golden planned to tell everything she knew to the authorities because she knew how to survive in the world.

Comments: Created by Jen Van Meter and Roger Robinson.

    This story is REALLY hard to follow...I've been through it 4 times now to gain the understanding that I now have. And I just skimmed it all again trying to sort out who had what powers, and what powers the Trace armor granted. Nothing was too clear-cut in this series.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Melanie should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Avengers: Solo#1, story pg. 18, panel 1 (torso up)
    #4, pg. 16, panel 4 (face)
    #5, pg. 18, panel 1 (knees up)

Appearances:
Avengers: Solo#1 (December, 2011) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Roger Robinson (artist), Tom Brennan (editor)
Avengers: Solo#2 (January, 2012) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Roger Robinson (artist), Tom Brennan (editor)
Avengers: Solo#3 (February, 2012) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Al Barrionuevo (pencils), Raul Lopez (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Avengers: Solo#4 (March, 2012) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Roger Robinson (artist), Tom Brennan (editor)
Avengers: Solo#5 (April, 2012) - Jen Van Meter (writer), Roger Robinson & Declan Shalvey (artists), Tom Brennan (editor)

Last updated: 05/25/17

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