VERMIN

 

VERMIN

Real Name: Edward Whelan

First Appearance: Captain America (Vol. 1) #272, August 1982

Powers: Originally a baseline human with no superhuman powers, Edward Whelan was sexually abused by his father, a prominent judge, during childhood and developed a dissociative identity disorder to cope with the trauma. As an adult, he was captured by Baron Zemo, who used psycho-genetic engineering to mutate Whelan into the cannibalistic were-rat named Vermin.

Vermin possesses superhuman strength (lifting 1 ton) and agility as well as an enhanced olfactory (smell) sense allowing him to sense any approaching being from well over 100 feet away. He can run at 35 mph for half an hour without tiring. His inch-long nails and teeth are razor sharp and able to rend wood, fibers and soft metals. Vermin can communicate with and command all rats and dogs within a two-mile radius, though it is unrevealed whether this ability is hypersonic or telepathic in nature. When provoked or threatened, Vermin's resistance to pain and fatigue are increased. In his mutated state, his intelligence is diminished with his thought processes limited to primal instincts, though he is still capable of speech. For a time Vermin could revert to his human form at will. His personality as Vermin is an external manifestation of his dissociative identity disorder.

Edward Whelan hold a Master of Science degree in genetics, he has both a gifted intellect and extensive genetics knowledge.