PUCK

 

PUCK

Real Name: Eugene Milton Judd

First Appearance: Alpha Flight (Vol. 1) #1, August 1983

Powers: Puck was originally a baseline human who possessed no superhuman powers. He was a soldier of fortune in 1914 who stood over 6' tall when he attempted to steal the Black Blade of Baghdad. The sorcerer known as Black Razer, whose spirit was imprisoned inside the blade, was set accidentally set free by Judd. Razer used his magicks to drain the lifeforce of his victims, with the unique effect of reducing his victims in stature each time he drained them of some living energy. Judd managed to contain Razer's spirit inside himself, but was greatly diminished in size to roughly 3'6" in the process.

As compensation, he also became virtually immortal with Razer's magicks sustaining his lifespan indefinitely. Wracked by pain because of Razer's atttempts to break free, Puck had to relearn physcial skills and augment his mental ones, developing a unique fighting style to complement his size. However, after Raazer broke free, Judd was returned to his true height and age, making him a physically fit, but quite elderly man. Eventually being captured by the Master of the World, Judd was transformed into one of the horribly grotesque Remnant Men. Alpha Flight was able to restore him to a normal appearance using the Master's machines, but the only profile on file for Puck was his 3'6" stature. As a result, Judd's mass was compressed at a molecular level, reducing his size again but making him virtually indestructible.

 

A skilled acrobat, Puck often combined gymnastic moves such as cartwheels with his extensive martial arts knowledge to devastating effect. Immediately after the Master re-shrank him did Puck's compressed tissues give his body the consistency of condensed rubber, though the effect lessened over time. He possessed superhuman strength (initially up to 10 tons, now 1), speed (initially at 80 miles per hour, later at 40), durability (initially fireproof, resistant to falls and virtually invulnerable, later only slightly higher than normal human maximums), and stamina (initially eliminating fatigue poisons almost instantaneously). He was also a world-class climber, skilled picklock, expert bullfighter, and stealthy enough to sneak up on Wolverine's enhanced senses. His dense form and shortened limbs made swimming difficult.

He spoke 17 languages fluently, including English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and Tibetan. Trained in meditation and yoga, he used these to control pain and his body's autonomic functions, including breathing and temperature, enabling him to survive briefly in freezing Arctic waters on feign death, and he has limited knowledge of magic. A small implant in his mastoid sinus behind one ear allowed Alpha Flight to signal him when necessary. An old boxing injury left him with a misshapen right ear, a contracted hematoma ("cauliflower ear").