VAPOR
(of Earth-9200)

Real Name: Ann Darnell

Identity/Class: Extradimensional/alternate reality (Earth-9200/Dystopia) human mutate

Occupation: Professional criminal;
   formerly life support technologist

Group Membership: Formerly U-Foes (Ironclad/Mike Steel, Vector/Simon Utrecht, X-Ray/Jimmy Darnell)

Affiliations: Formerly Hulk (Bruce Banner)

Enemies: A.I.M., Hulk (Bruce Banner), Maestro (Heracles), M.O.D.O.K.

Known Relatives: James Darnell (X-Ray, brother)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: A.I.M. base, under ruins of Los Angeles, California

 First Appearance: Maestro#1 (August 2020)

  

Powers/Abilities: Vapor could convert her body into any type of gas at will, remaining sentient and able to direct where her gaseous form moved. She gained the properties of whatever gas she became, such as becoming poisonous or caustic, and could fly if she became a lighter than air gas. Her body apparently does not age while in gaseous form. She was immune to physical injury under normal circumstances, but was vulnerable to being frozen if her temperature could be reduced rapidly enough, and if her frozen body was shattered and the pieces sufficiently dispersed she could not easily reintegrate herself.

  

Height: 5'6"
Weight: (solid) 122 lbs.; (gaseous) 0 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Auburn

 

History:
(Maestro#1 (fb) - BTS) - Ann Darnell was a member of industrialist Simon Utrecht's mission crew on a space flight intended to expose them to cosmic radiation in the hope of gaining superpowers like the Fantastic Four. It succeeded, and the newly superhuman group became the criminal U-Foes, with Ann adopting the sobriquet Vapor as she could now transform into any gas at will.

 

   Several years later terrorists detonated nuclear devices in the United States and Russia, triggering an all-out nuclear conflict that wiped out most of the world's population. As soon as the first missiles fell A.I.M. initiated a survival plan, seizing individuals whose bodies seemingly made them benefit from exposure to radiation, taking them to a bunker beneath Los Angeles and storing them in for study and to perhaps eventually convince them to help A.I.M. rebuild the world. Vapor was among those taken and imprisoned, kept asleep in gaseous form by being placed into a Virtual Reality simulation of an ideal world.

 

(Maestro#1) - When her fellow captive the Hulk broke free decades later, he spotted Vapor stored next to the Abomination, but did not disturb her slumber at this time.

 

(Maestro#4 (fb) - BTS) - Back out in the world, the Hulk tried to seize control of a surviving settlement, Dystopia, from its dictator the Maestro (formerly Hercules), but lost the fight. Allowed to depart, the Hulk ruminated on ways to eliminate his rival, eventually realizing years later that while Maestro was too physically strong to easily overpower, he would be vulnerable to poisonous gas, so long as he could be caught off guard when exposed to it. Deciding to enlist Darnell, but not wanting to keep so dangerous an individual around to potentially attack him too, Hulk searched Alchemax's ruined labs and found (or built) a gun that could rapidly freeze (or crystallize - see comments) gases.

(Maestro: War and Pax#2) - Hulk then later broke back into the A.I.M. facility to free Vapor and enlist her services.

 

(Maestro#4 (fb) - BTS) - Convincing Vapor to ally herself with him, Hulk explained that Maestro was ruled by his carnal passions, and that they could play on this weakness to ambush him. Darnell dressed herself up in alluring and revealing attire and the pair went to Maestro's palace.

(Maestro#4) - At the palace Hulk presented Darnell as a peace offering to the Maestro, who despite having encountered her during her supervillain days did not recognize her after so many decades and in her human form. As expected, Maestro eagerly took her immediately to his bed chamber, and when Vapor lured her target into a close embrace, she suddenly revealed her alter ego, turned into poisonous arsine gas and poured into the dictator's lungs. Unable to expel her from his body, he swiftly succumbed to massive hemolysis, dying within a few minutes. Her task complete, Vapor exited his body, but Hulk had been waiting outside for this. Kicking the door to the chamber down, he blasted Vapor with his gun, then shattered her frozen form into hundreds of shards. To ensure she did not reintegrate, he instructed the Maestro's guards, now effectively his servants, to collect the pieces and bury them individually as far and wide as possible.

 

Comments: Created by Peter David and German Peralta.

   Vapor's history would presumably be identical to that of the Earth-616 (mainstream Marvel Universe) Vapor up until a certain point, as Earth-9200 was a reality that diverged from that one.

   It's unclear whether the Hulk's weapon froze Vapor or somehow turned her into crystal. While the effects look like the former, and freezing a gas would certainly seem easier than turning it into crystal, you would expect a frozen gas to begin swiftly returning to its gaseous state if it is in a room temperature environment (much like dry ice), and there's no sign of this happening in the story; plus, if she was frozen, she would have probably defrosted before her pieces could all be gathered and buried, or have easily escaped the ground after burial to allow her to reassemble.

    This profile was completed 09/06/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.

 

Profile by Loki.

  

CLARIFICATIONS:
Vapor is an extradimensional counterpart to:

but has no known connections to:

   

images: (without ads)
Maestro#4, p18, pan3 (main image)
Maestro#4, p14, pan3 (headshot)
Maestro#1, p18, pan3 (contained by A.I.M.)
Maestro#4, p14, pan4 (human form)
Maestro#4, p17, pan2 (entering Maestro/Hercules' lungs)
Maestro#4, p19, pan2-3 (frozen and shattered)

Appearances:
Maestro#1 (August 2020) - Peter David (writer), German Peralta (art), Wil Moss (editor)
Maestro#4 (November 2020) - Peter David (writer), German Peralta (art), Wil Moss (editor)
Maestro: War and Pax#2 (April 2021) - Peter David (writer), Javier Pina (art), Wil Moss (editor) 

First Posted: 09/07/2021
Last updated: 09/06/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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