PLANTMAN

Real Name: Paul (last name unrevealed)

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Henchman;
    former comic shop clerk

Group Membership: Masters of Evil (Baron (Helmut) Zemo, Firebrand/Rick Dennison, Flying Tiger)

Affiliations: Power Broker

Enemies: Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Free Spirit (Cathy Webster), Jack Flag (Jack Harrison)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Bagalia;
    formerly Miami, Florida

First Appearance: Astonishing Ant-Man#7 (June, 2016)

Powers/Abilities: Plantman is a human-plant hybrid; his body is composed of plant matter, and has superhuman strength, durability, and can grow additional limbs that he can extend at will. He can also mentally stimulate and control plant growth, creating massive constructs of vegetation that obey his commands. He is somewhat unintelligent, and inexperienced with his powers.

Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Solid black with yellow pupils, formerly unrevealed
Hair: None, formerly dyed purple

History:
(Astonishing Ant-Man#7 (fb) ) - Comic shop employee Paul was fired for stealing variants and using the proceeds to pay for video game downloadable content. He subsequently signed up for the Hench app to impress a girl.

(Astonishing Ant-Man#7) - Paul attended the Power Broker's official launch of the Hench X app at the Hotel Excelsior, which, unlike the Hench app, did not merely hire supervillains, but allowed the user to become one. The Power Broker summoned him from the crowd, then had him step into a pod, where he was painfully mutated into the new Plantman. He sent the hotel's plant growth into overdrive, only for Ant-Man to arrive and confront the Broker over the whereabouts of his daughter (who had also signed up for Hench X). The Broker ordered Plantman to test out his new powers on Ant-Man; he gleefully complied, because, as their codenames rhymed, they had to be archenemies. He snared Ant-Man in vines, but he shrunk away - only for Plantman to trap him in a Venus flytrap. Ant-Man summoned a horde of ants to devour the vegetation, and then quickly subdued Plantman, who had to be rescued by the Broker. Plantman then watched with amusement as the Power Broker defeated Ant-Man, and left with his new employer.

(Captain America: Steve Rogers#1 (fb) ) - Plantman was eventually apprehended and sent to the SHIELD facility Pleasant Hill, a super-prison disguised as an idyllic small town. There, the sentient Cosmic Cube known as Kobik altered his mind and body so he believed he was a TV repairman. Unlike many of the other prisoners, Plantman enjoyed his new life, and was disappointed when he and the other inmates were returned to normal.

(Captain America: Steve Rogers#1) - Plantman ended up in the super villain nation Bagalia, where he, Firebrand, and Flying Tiger were recruited by Baron Zemo into his new Masters of Evil. As the small, ragtag group met on the roof of a Bagalia skyscraper, they were attacked by Captain America, Jack Flag, and Free Spirit. As Captain America pursued the fleeing Zemo, Plantman surrendered peacefully.

Comments: Created by Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas.

Most of the villains seen in Spencer and Rosanas' Ant-Man were updates of crummy old Hank Pym villains - however, while the original Plantman was indeed crummy, he originally fought the Human Torch.

Profile by Minor Irritant.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Plantman is patterned after, but should not be confused with:

images: (without ads)
Astonishing Ant-Man#7, p9, pan2 (main image)
Astonishing Ant-Man#7, p8, pan2 (human headshot)

Appearances:
Astonishing Ant-Man#7 (June, 2016) - Nick Spencer (writer), Ramon Rosanas (art), Wil Moss (editor)
Captain America: Steve Rogers#1 (June, 2016) - Nick Spencer (writer), Jesus Saiz (art), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First Posted: 12/19/2018
Last updated: 12/19/2018

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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