Radioactive Man (comics)

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Radioactive Man
Chen Lu / Radioactive Man
Cover of Thunderbolts: International Incident
(April 2008)
Art by Marko Djurdjević
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearance(Chen Lu)
Journey into Mystery #93
(June 1963)
(Igor Stancheck)
Black Panther vol. 4 #3. Marvel Comics.
(April 2005)
In-story information
Alter egoChen Lu
Igor Stancheck
SpeciesHuman mutate
Team affiliationsPeople's Defense Force
Masters of Evil
Thunderbolts
Titanic Three
Notable aliasesRadioactive Man
R-Man
Abilities
  • Radiation absorption and manipulation granting:
    • Superhuman strength, durability and endurance
    • Nuclear explosion inducement
    • Radiation constructs
    • EMP emission
    • Hypnosis
  • Genius nuclear physicist

Radioactive Man is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Radioactive Man, Chen Lu, first appeared in Journey into Mystery #93 (June 1963). The second incarnation, Igor Stancheck,[1] debuted in Black Panther vol. 4 #3 (June 2005).

Publication history[edit]

Chen Lu / Radioactive Man first appears in Journey into Mystery #93 (June 1963), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.[2]

Igor Stancheck / Radioactive Man first appears in Black Panther vol. 4 #3 (June 2005) and was created by Reginald Hudlin and John Romita Jr.[citation needed]

Fictional character biography[edit]

Chen Lu[edit]

Radioactive Man's debut story begins with Thor's alter ego Donald Blake providing medical care for Indian soldiers injured in clashes with Chinese soldiers in the Himalayas.[3] Thor then defeats a Chinese armored column.[3] Later in Beijing, Zhou Enlai suggests to Mao Zedong that Thor must be destroyed and Mao Zedong orders Chinese scientist Chen Lu to devise a way to defeat Thor or die trying.[3] Chen exposes himself to small doses of radiation until he is able to endure a massive barrage, becoming a living "Radioactive Man". He plans to take over the world.[4]

Chen travels to New York City on a submarine. There, he battles Thor whom he hypnotizes in Times Square.[3] Eventually, Thor is able to recover and uses a tornado to send Chen to western China, where Chen detonates.[3]

Radioactive Man becomes a recurring foe of the Avengers, being coerced by Baron Zemo to join the original Masters of Evil in a bid to destroy the Avengers.[5] He is the first to confront the Avengers, and sticks Captain America and Giant-Man to the pavement with an adhesive, which Thor dodges. He is defeated by Giant-Man and Iron Man when they imprison him in lead coils. He is then deported back to China.[6] The character reappears with the new Masters of Evil, organized by the robot Ultron. The villains, however, are betrayed by the Black Knight.[7] Radioactive Man and his teammates appear once again during a Halloween parade and are defeated by a coalition of superheroines called the Lady Liberators.[8]

Chen escapes and travels to Vietnam, where he joins Soviet villains Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo as part of a team called the Titanic Three. Acting as crime fighters in Vietnam, the trio is duped by a con man and petty thief called the Slasher and end up battling the Avengers until the deception is uncovered.[9] After an encounter with Iron Man,[10] the characters go their separate ways. After a humiliating defeat by time-traveling villain Kang the Conqueror in Giant-Size Avengers,[11] Chen joins another incarnation of the Masters of Evil - led by Egghead - but is defeated by Ant-Man and deported back to China.[12]

Radioactive Man continued to feature in Iron Man, and is employed by Iron Man's arch-enemy Mandarin.[13] Chen is employed in his civilian capacity as a physicist by Stane International (taken over by Obadiah Stane).[14] Radioactive Man appears in the graphic novel Deathtrap: The Vault, among other supervillains attempting to escape from the Vault. Chen, however, aids the heroes in preventing a nuclear reactor meltdown.[15]

Radioactive Man also features in an issue of The Sensational She-Hulk[16] and once again in The Avengers.[17]

After appearing in the second volume of Avengers which takes place in an alternate universe[18] and briefly in Thunderbolts,[19] the one-shot Heroes Reborn: Masters of Evil,[20] the third volume of the Avengers,[21] and alternate universe title Exiles,[22] Radioactive Man features in the limited series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.[23]

Chen attempts to reform and in New Thunderbolts joins the Thunderbolts, a team composed almost entirely of reformed supervillains.[24] During the Civil War storyline, the character aids heroes Reed Richards and Yellowjacket imposter in building a holding prison for dissenting superpowered beings, and also battles the anti-registration heroes.[25] A major development occurs in the title Thunderbolts when the group encounters the Elders of the Universe member Grandmaster; the Radioactive Man absorbs an excessive amount of radiation and is forced to wear a radiation suit at all times.[26] The radiation eventually subsides, but industrialist Norman Osborn convinces the character to retain the suit to distract the American public from his clearly Asian features and quell any lingering fears about his radioactivity.[27] The Radioactive Man is featured in the one shot Thunderbolts: International Incident,[28] the limited series Avengers/Invaders,[29] one shot King-Size Hulk,[30] and Thunderbolts: Reason In Madness[31] before appearing briefly in the Secret Invasion storyline.[32]

As part of the Thunderbolts, Radioactive Man fought Spider-Man and Anti-Venom during the New Ways to Die storyline; during the fight, Radioactive Man had a portion of his radiation powers drained by Anti-Venom.[33] He continued with the team however, going after the super-hero Moon Knight.[34] Radioactive Man was one of Songbird's strongest allies within the team, often supporting her when she fought against Osborn.

After the events of the Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn and Moonstone began the process of neutralizing the members of the Thunderbolts who oppose Osborn in his plan to exploit the invasion for his own personal agenda to gain more power. Osborn arranged for Chen to be deported back to China, leading to a bittersweet departure involving himself and Songbird.[35]

Radioactive Man reappears in The Mighty Avengers as part of People's Defense Force, China's indigenous group of metahumans. The Radioactive Man demonstrates that at close proximity he can safely absorb the radiation of Inhuman Xerogen crystals and presumably safely absorb Terrigen Mist. However, the People's Defense Force is largely defeated by an invading entity known as The Unspoken, a deposed former king of the Inhumans. The Unspoken is defeated in China by the Mighty Avengers.[36]

During the Heroic Age storyline, a young man named Warhead appeared as a member of the Bastards of Evil, claiming to be the son of Radioactive Man.[37] He has been shown to have similar powers, but killed himself in a mass explosion that killed hundreds of people.[38]

Radioactive Man later released a Chinese dragon made of magic in the Federal Bank Reserve. While Captain America, Iron Man, the female Thor, and Vision fought the Chinese dragon, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, and Nova encounter Radioactive Man. The senior Avengers managed to destroy the dragon, but upon reuniting with their wards, they learn they let Radioactive Man escape. The young heroes explain they were forced to leave Radioactive Man alone as there was a man that needed to be rescued. The senior Avengers are proud of what the young heroes did as heroes are meant to protect people first and foremost and welcomes them to the team.[39]

Igor Stancheck[edit]

Featured in the fourth volume of Black Panther, Igor Stancheck is a Russian mutate and is one of several mercenaries (including Rhino, Batroc, and the Vatican Black Knight), orchestrated by Klaw into invading the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda. The group makes an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the huge mound of the metal vibranium located at the heart of Black Panther's kingdom.[40] He was killed in battle by Shuri using the Black Knight's Ebony Blade.[41]

Powers and abilities[edit]

Radioactive Man possesses the power to absorb and manipulate radiation. His abilities include radiation emission as heat, "hard" radiation (inflicting opponents with nausea, dizziness, and radiation poisoning), EMP emissions to deactivate machinery, and hypnotic light.[42][43] He can also absorb nuclear radiation without harm and convert it to energy for personal use such as physical enhancement or to cauterize wounds,[44][45] create energy constructs such as force fields or golems out of radiation with greater physical strength and resilience than his own,[46] and convert different energies into any other radiology form along the electromagnetic spectrum.[47] Radioactive Man has the ability to leave behind "radiation pills," infusing a single individual with enough radiation to give him severe radiation poisoning and let the contamination spread in a large population.[48]

Other versions[edit]

Avataars: Covenant of the Shield[edit]

In the pages of Avataars: Covenant of the Shield, Radioactive Man's counterpart on Eurth is Green Death of the Minions of Evil.[49] He aided them in their conflict with the Champions of the Realm whilst attacking Black Blade who they assumed had kidnapped Captain Avalon's son.

Heroes Reborn[edit]

In the Heroes Reborn universe, created by Franklin Richards, Radioactive Man appeared as a member of Loki's Masters of Evil.[50]

House of M[edit]

The Radioactive Man makes an appearance in the House of M reality, on the team of villains who attempted to break Baron von Strucker out of prison. They were stopped and apprehended by Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), the Kree army, and Major Erik Josten.[51]

Marvel 2099[edit]

In the unified Marvel 2099 reality of Earth-2099, the unidentified Radioactive Man sports glass bottles of liquid on his back where he was responsible for killing Rowena Storm's fathers, caused some poisoning in Wakanda, and joined the 2099 version of the Masters of Evil in killing the 2099 version of the Avengers. When the Masters of Evil fought the 2099 version of the New Avengers, Radioactive Man offended Captain Marvel by mentioning how he killed her dads before being defeated by Hulk 2099. The Masters of Evil were remanded to a prison on the planet Wakanda.[52]

MC2[edit]

Radioactive Man is still active in the MC2 reality.[volume & issue needed]

In other media[edit]

Television[edit]

Video games[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Harn, Darby (October 27, 2022). "10 Most Obscure Black Panther Marvel Comics Villains". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  2. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 290. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e Crean, Jeffrey (2024). The Fear of Chinese Power: an International History. New Approaches to International History series. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-350-23394-2.
  4. ^ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 92. ISBN 978-1465455505.
  5. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains. New York: Facts on File. p. 289. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.[1]
  6. ^ The Avengers #6 (July 1964). Marvel Comics.
  7. ^ The Avengers #54-55 (July-Aug. 1968). Marvel Comics
  8. ^ The Avengers #83 (Dec. 1970). Marvel Comics.
  9. ^ The Avengers #130 (Dec. 1974). Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ Iron Man #73-74 (Mar & May 1975). Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ Giant-Size Avengers #4 (June 1975). Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ The Avengers #228-230 (Feb.-Apr. 1983). Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ Iron Man #179-181 (Feb.-Apr. 1984). Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ Iron Man #234 (Sep. 1988). Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Deathtrap: The Vault (1991). Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ The Sensational She-Hulk #24 (Feb. 1991). Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ The Avengers #400 (July 1996). Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ The Avengers vol. 2 #8-9 (June–July 1997). Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ Thunderbolts #9 (Dec. 1997). Marvel Comics.
  20. ^ Heroes Reborn: Masters of Evil #1 (Feb. 1999). Marvel Comics.
  21. ^ The Avengers vol. 3 #0 (July 1999). Marvel Comics.
  22. ^ Exiles #42 (May 2004). Marvel Comics.
  23. ^ Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #3 (Feb. 2005). Marvel Comics.
  24. ^ New Thunderbolts vol. 2 #1 (Jan. 2005). Marvel Comics.
  25. ^ Civil War #1-7 (July 2006-Jan. 2007). Marvel Comics.
  26. ^ Thunderbolts vol. 2 #106 (Nov. 2006). Marvel Comics.
  27. ^ Thunderbolts vol. 2 #112 (May 2007). Marvel Comics.
  28. ^ Thunderbolts: International Incident (Apr. 2008). Marvel Comics.
  29. ^ Avengers/Invaders #1 (July 2008). Marvel Comics.
  30. ^ King-Size Hulk #1 (July 2008). Marvel Comics.
  31. ^ Thunderbolts: Reason in Madness #1 (July 2008). Marvel Comics.
  32. ^ Secret Invasion #1-8 (Apr.-Dec. 2008). Marvel Comics.
  33. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man: "New Ways to Die" #568-569 (Oct. 2008); #570-572 (Nov. 2008); #573 (Dec. 2008). Marvel Comics.
  34. ^ Moon Knight vol. 4, #24-25 (Jan.-Feb. 2009). Marvel Comics.
  35. ^ Thunderbolts #126 (Jan. 2009). Marvel Comics.
  36. ^ The Mighty Avengers #27-28 (Sep.-Oct. 2009). Marvel Comics.
  37. ^ Age of Heroes #2 (Oct.-2010). Marvel Comics.
  38. ^ Young Allies vol. 2 #1. Marvel Comics.
  39. ^ Free Comic Book Day 2015 Avengers. Marvel Comics.
  40. ^ Black Panther vol. 4 #5. Marvel Comics.
  41. ^ Black Panther vol. 4 #6. Marvel Comics.
  42. ^ Iron Man Legacy #5 (August 2010). Marvel Comics.
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  44. ^ New Thunderbolts #3-4 (2005). Marvel Comics.
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  48. ^ New Thunderbolts #9 (August 2005). Marvel Comics.
  49. ^ Avataars: Covenant of the Shield #3 (Nov, 2000)
  50. ^ Avengers vol. 2 #8
  51. ^ New Thunderbolts #11
  52. ^ Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #3. Marvel Comics.
  53. ^ a b "Radioactive Man Voices (Marvel Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 27, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  54. ^ Copeland, Wesley (March 17, 2016). "LEGO Marvel's Avengers Season Pass Detailed". IGN. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  55. ^ Paget, Mat (March 17, 2016). "Lego Avengers DLC Season Pass Detailed". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  56. ^ "Radioactive Man | Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2". Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19.

External links[edit]

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