STUNNER

 

STUNNER

Real Name: Angelina Brancale

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #397, January 1995

Powers: Stunner is the virtual reality avatar of Angelina Brancale, a test subject and later lover of Doctor Octopus. Octavius (and his protege, Carolyn Trainer) were experimenting with ways to bring virtual reality into the physical world, and Angelina volunteered to operate a prototype tangible virtual reality interface for them. The interface was an enormous bit of machinery that Angelina was physically plugged into, designed to support her for extended periods of time with IV supplements for nutrients and neural feedback goggles that penetrated the skin around her eyes with implants inserted directly into her cerebral cortex. When activated, the virtual reality interface created an interactive digital body for Angelina, based on her idealized self-image. As Stunner, she possessed Class 60 strength, superhuman running speed, endurance, leaping ability, and tremendous resistance to physical injury.

Theoretically, Angelina could operate indefinitely as "Stunner" without exiting the virtual reality interface rig, projecting her consciousness and sensory input through the Stunner construct (though Angelina would often be several miles away). The technology was originally still unstable, however, meaning the Stunner construct would spontaneously disperse at unexpected times, or if subjected to excess amounts of force.