GREY GARGOYLE

GREY GARGOYLE

Real Name: Paul Pierre Duval
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery (Vol. 1) #107, August 1964

Powers: Originally a baseline human with no superhuman powers, French chemist Paul Pierre Duval was working as a lab assistant when he accidentally spilled a random chemical mixture on his right hand, transforming it into a stone-like substance. He soon discovered that this hand's touch could turn people and objects to stone, and that he could become a being of living, mobile stone by applying this power to himself. Turning to crime, Duval accumulated a fortune but soon wearied of his new wealth and set a new goal: immortality. Duval terrorized New York as the Grey Gargoyle.

The touch of Duval's right hand can transform anyone or anything into immobile, granite-like stone. By applying his hand to his own flesh, Duval can transform into living stone, fully mobile unlike his victims. His stone form is superhumanly strong (able to lift 11 tons when fully transformed) and similarly durable, far more durable than conventional stone. He has shrugged off bullets, flames and explosions with little or no damage; he can smash through steel doors; and he once formed a stone shell, which enabled him to survive the heat of reentering Earth's atmosphere from space.

Superhumanly resistant to most impacts and temperature/pressure extremes, the Grey Gargoyle apparently has little or no need for air, food or water in his stone form, and can survive for weeks or months at a time in conditions such as the ocean floor or the vacuum of space. On the rare occasions when he suffers significant physical damage in stone form, he can usually largely or completely heal himself upon reversion to human form, so long as his affected parts are restored to their proper configuration beforehand. He retains his normal human reflexes and speed in his stone-like state, and is surprisingly swift and agile despite his massive bulk. He has performed standing high-jumps of well over 20 feet, and broad jumps of well over 50 feet. He can often scale sheer walls by digging his fingers into the masonry, and he can produce sparks by striking his stone hands or fingers together like a flint.

Duval’s right hand is permanently transformed into stone, though he sometimes disguises its physical state with flesh-like gloves. Physical contact with his right hand instantly converts whatever it touches into a stone-like substance, an atom-by-atom transformation affecting both organic and inorganic matter, and even some forms of energy. The maximum volume of matter he can transform with a single touch has increased over time, and is currently well over 100 cubic feet (enabling him, for instance, to fully transform an automobile or an elevator car with a single touch); an average human being possesses a volume of 1.8 cubic feet. This transformation process is largely automatic; unless Duval consciously wills it to do otherwise, his hand will transform the maximum amount of material in contact with him whether he wishes it to do so or not. Over time, he has learned to partially restrain the effect through an act of concentration. For instance, turning only part of a person or an object to stone on contact. Without that conscious effort, his touch will instantly petrify most people or objects in their entirety.

The transformation effect can sometimes be interrupted if portions of his target are radically dissimilar to each other in terms of their physical substance, or not closely connected to each other on a material level; for instance, if he petrifies an armored man, the armor might turn to stone while the man inside remains normal. Also, materially similar substances in contact with each other (but not physically bonded) will not necessarily both be transformed it one of them comes into contact with Duval's hand. For instance, in the case of two people in contact with each other, only the one in contact with Duval would be turned to stone, since the people's two bodies are not molecularly contiguous. Some materials, usually soft, fibrous and/or thin, such as clothing, occasionally prove "transparent" to the transformation process, allowing it to occur both to the material and through the material; for instance, touching a person through their sleeve usually enables the Grey Gargoyle to transform that person in his or her entirety, though sufficiently thick outer coatings (like armor) might protect their wearer from this effect.

Duval's transformations last for about an hour, after which time the transformed people or objects revert to their normal state. Repeated touching cannot increase the amount of time a transformation lasts, though a target can always be transformed again after reverting to normal. Certain super-beings with healing factors or otherwise enhanced metabolisms may be partially resistant to Duval's touch, regaining their normal form within less than an hour. People transformed by Duval are often temporarily disoriented upon returning to normal, but otherwise unharmed. Each transformed object or person is as susceptible to damage as ordinary granite statuary while in that form, and can be smashed or otherwise broken. Duval once employed a variant of the chemical mixture that transformed him; applied to another person, this variant could turn its victim into conscious, mobile living stone like Duval himself, and Duval could mentally control that person's actions. More recently, Duval has created a special polymer coating that will sustain his transformations indefinitely when applied to the people or objects he has petrified, using this to create his "artwork", however, any breach of the polymer seal, even slight chipping, will restore the transformed person or object to normal. Duval initially required occasional applications of the original chemical that transformed him in order to sustain his stone powers, but his mutation stabilized enough years ago to make any such treatments unnecessary.

The Grey Gargoyle prevents unwanted transformations by wearing a specially treated glove that is non-conductive to his power. The glove's palm has a small opening that allows him to use his power at any time. He has sometimes demonstrated a self-proclaimed capacity for "limited flight," which may be a combination of his leaping abilities and a cape specially rigged for gliding. He often uses the objects he has transformed as projectile weapons, making even a paper airplane, for instance, potentially deadly when turned to stone and thrown with Duval's superhuman strength. An expert chemist with a master’s degree in chemistry, he has limited skill in unarmed combat.

MAN-KILLER

 

MAN-KILLER

Real Name: Katrina Luisa Van Horn

First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1) #8, January 1973 (As Man-Killer); Thunderbolts (Vol. 1) #67, September 2002 (As Amazon)

Powers: Katrina Van Horn was a German Olympic skier who was crippled and left horribly scarred during a skiing challenge against a male chauvinistic competitor. Becoming a fanatical misandrist with financial support from a wealthy militant feminist group (which itself was technologically and financially supported by the male-dominated subversive terrorist science organization known as the Advanced Idea Mechanics), Katrina underwent a physical rehabilitation program to regain her mobility and was outfitted with an exoskeleton which augmented her strength and hid her scars, she became the terrorist known as the Man-Killer.

The Man-Killer is superhumanly strong (she can lift up to 75 tons) with enhanced durability. These traits originally stemmed from her strength-enhancing exoskeleton, but the power now seems to rest in her own body. How she eliminated the need for her exoskeleton remains unknown, as does how she removed the extensive scarring that had previously disfigured her body. Shortly before and during her Ultimate Brawling League stint, she wore an armored harness, claiming it was a life-support mechanism that she could not remove, but this may have been a deception since she has not worn the harness before or since that brief period. Van Horn has some ability as an organizer and strategist, is a formidable but savage unarmed combatant, and has cultivated a certain degree of acting ability during her time spent working under various cover identities.

She is an experienced bartender. Van Horn has worn a gauntlet that generates Pym Particles, enabling her to assume gigantic size (apparently up to twenty-five feet tall), further enhancing her already superhuman strength, though this may have been a temporary ability. She formerly carried razor-edged discs that she could throw with great force and accuracy. While working with her feminist army, Man-Killer employed a flying, armored hovercraft outfitted with a powerful front-mounted battering ram and a roof-mounted energy cannon.

SCORCHER

 

SCORCHER

Real Name: Steven Jamal Hudak

First Appearance: Untold Tales of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #1, September 1996

Powers: A baseline human with no superhuman powers, Jamal Hudak was a promising young research chemist at an unidentified private company until one of his co-workers framed him for embezzlement. Becoming a fugitive, Hudak built an armored flame-throwing suit which he used as the criminal mercenary called the Scorcher.

His costume grants him complete protection from heat and flame, as well as greatly increased resistance to impact and penetrations, such as being able to withstand superhumanly forceful blows from Spider-Man to some extent. However, the suit may explode if its fuel tanks are cracked or breached, and the suit's overall durability may be compromised if it switches back and forth too rapidly between temperature extremes. The suit's gauntlets house flamethrowers which can emit intensely hot bursts of fire for extended periods, hot enough to blast through various metals and concrete. His jet pack enables him to fly at speeds of up to 145 miles per hour.

Steven Jamal Hudak holds a masters degree in chemical engineering from Empire State University. He is also a skilled chemist and a gifted machinesmith.

MELTER

 

MELTER

Real Name: Bruno Horgan

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense (Vol. 1) #47, November 1963

Powers: Bruno Horgan was a baseline human with no superhuman powers. He was a leading munitions manufacturer for the United States federal government. His career was ruined when a government safety inspection team discovered that he was using inferior materials to build tanks, thereby risking soldiers' lives. His company went bankrupt and his defense contracts were awarded to his foremost business rival, industrialist Tony Stark. During the dismantling of one of his factories, he observed a malfunctioning radar device projecting an energy beam which dissolved iron. Studying the device, he discovered the principle behind its melting beam and used it create a weapon he could strap to his chest, adopting the costumed criminal identity of the Melter.

The Melter's trademark weapon was his melting device, which caused solid matter to liquefy. Rather than generating heat, the Melter's device projected an unidentified form of energy which loosened the bonding forces between the atoms and molecules of solid substance, causing it to dissolve. The Melter's original weapons, including the projector he wore on his chest and his first melting gun, were magnetic-induction field devices that projected energy at a specific frequency that only affected iron.

Later, the Melter forced Tony Stark to make improvements on his melting gun, which he incorporated into his subsequent weaponry. The redesigned gun used a combination of various microwave emissions and magnetic induction fields to liquefy flesh, wood, stone, and any metallic substance depending on which of the four frequencies were fired. To liquefy wood, he utilized a frequency that affected cellulose. To liquefy flesh, he utilized a frequency that affected collagen. Both the Stark melting gun and the Melter's later weapons each had an effective range of 300 yards and could operate for several hours, melting about 20 cubic feet of material before battery depletion.

Originally, the Melter wore a projector on his chest. Later, he used a melting gun and even incorporated small melting beam projectors onto the front of his helmet. The helmet's beams were only effective at close range, up to 3 feet. He also wore a melting beam projector on his belt.

Bruno Horgan held a Master of Business Administration degree. He was a highly talented inventor, engineer, and businessman. He had no known skill as a hand-to-hand combatant.

AQUEDUCT

 

AQUEDUCT

Real Name: Peter Van Zante

First Appearance: Ghost Rider (Vol. 2) #23, April 1977 (As Water Wizard); The New Warriors (Vol. 1) #7, January 1991 (As Aqueduct)

Powers: Peter Van Zante was a United States Army soldier who was injured in combat overseas and transported by ship back home while strapped into an experimental life support unit. Lightning stuck the ship and the energy was conducted through his body, somehow giving him the power to manipulate liquids. Turning to crime, he initially adopted the costumed identity of the Water Wizard and later Aqueduct after briefly working with environmental activists.

Aqueduct can psionically manipulate all liquids within 500 feet of him by stacking liquid molecules. Though he tends to manipulate water more than anything else, he has also affected oil and coolant fluids in the past. He is able to shape liquids into different forms (such as giant hands, waterfalls, solid restraints, and even geysers) and create enough surface tension in the liquid that it feels like a solid mass.

His control over his liquid creations is absolute until it has dissipated or he loses focus, interest, or consciousness. Aqueduct can cool and condense moisture from the atmosphere in order to form a fresh supply of water for him to manipulate virtually anywhere. He can pull water and other liquids from many sources, including sprinkler systems, underground rivers, and nearby bodies of water. He can affect water molecules within both the human body and technology (such as vehicles and armored suits), and he can dehydrate people and objects, extracting fluid from them and displacing it into the atmosphere.

He can make water flow and move about in mid-air, and direct it as highly-pressurized streams that carry a solid impact. Thus, he can create giant creatures made of water which are strong enough to shatter wood with their fists, or create a "jet ski" made of water and ride away sitting on top of it. He can propel himself forward on jets of liquid over vast distances at speeds up to 35 miles per hour, so long as water remains available for him to manipulate. After 30 minutes of steady water control, Van Zante experiences mental fatigue. Additionally, he cannot convert or control liquids once they've been transitioned to a solid or gaseous states, nor can he control the temperature of water (or combine hydrogen and oxygen to create water). His powers were briefly enhanced by the mystic Moondark, allowing him to make larger liquid constructs with hellfire immunity.

TITANIA

 

TITANIA

Real Name: Mary MacPherran

First Appearance: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (Vol. 1) #3, July 1984

Powers: Mary “Skeeter” MacPherran was subjected to various cellular radiation treatments which left her slight frame augmented by several hundred pounds of muscle, giving her superhuman strength (class 90). She also possesses superhuman endurance and resistance to harm. She can exert her full strength for over an hour before fatigue impairs her performance. She can resist penetration wounds from conventional ballistic weapons and temperature extremes (2,500° Fahrenheit to -180° Fahrenheit). Her rate of healing is over twice that of human being and she is immune to most terrestrial diseases.

 

She wore sonic field enhancers as gloves that increased her strength by a factor of 10. When she wore the Power Gem, her physical might was limitless, but her bond with the gem depended on her obsessive devotion to a single goal: Destroying the She-Hulk.

 

Titania is an experienced, vicious, and often treacherous unarmed combatant. She is also emotionally unstable, suffering from obsessive tendencies, misplaced aggression, a persecution complex, and a crippling inferiority complex that alternates with occasional delusions of grandeur.

WHIRLWIND

 

WHIRLWIND

Real Name: David Cannon

First Appearance: Tales To Astonish (Vol. 1) #50, December 1963

Powers: Whirlwind is a mutant with the ability to rotate his body around its lengthwise axis at superhuman speeds. He is able to spin at 400 revolutions per minute, without suffering from vertigo, loss of equilibrium, or relevant distortion to his visual or hearing capabilities. His sense of balance is not determined by his ears' semi-circular canals, but seems to be derived from his sight; as such, he is largely immune to dizziness, though sudden involuntary shifts in direction can disorient him on occasion. His body fluids seem to becomes as think as heavy oil in conjunction with his spinning ability. Although he has demonstrated the ability to move at superhuman speeds without spinning, he is far faster while spinning.

His rotational velocity is sub-sonic. By angling himself slightly, Whirlwind can propel himself forwards at speeds greater than 50 mph, and his reflexes are quick enough that he can make slight alterations to his course, dodging around moving targets or attacking opponents with ease, making him extremely agile. His dexterity while spinning is extraordinary, allowing him to open a bank vault, change his clothes, or perform any number of tasks while in motion. With enough momentum, he can even send himself straight up the side of a wall, or across water. He can use his power to sail for short distances through the air, lowering himself to the ground from a great height, or popping up off of level ground to seemingly fly for 10 minute at a maximum speed of 120 miles per hour.

Whirlwind is able to strike an opponent a few hundred times at high speeds, battering them unconscious even with his normal strength level. Interestingly enough, Whirlwind seems capable of manipulating the winds produced by his spinning to a certain degree: he can cause them to expand outwards from his body to create a raging cyclone around him, focus a jet stream of compressed air down his arms and towards a particular target, or spurt off miniature tornadoes into his path. He can focus air currents into a stream powerful enough to blast a hole through a brick wall, create a windscreen strong enough to deflect falling boulders, or create tornadoes powerful enough to lift multiple automobiles aloft and keep them spinning. Whirlwind can spin fast enough to make himself virtually invisible in dim lighting.

He possesses slightly superhuman stamina and strength, particularly in his legs. While he can lift (press) approximately 1,000 pounds, he can leg-press approximately 2,000 pounds under optimal conditions. Along with dexterity, his mutation also grants him metahuman agility, reflexes, and acrobatic prowess.

At one point, he upgraded his offensive capabilities, and was given a new costume with reinforced chain-mail armor to protect him from impact, allowing him to strike at and damage stronger materials than before without injury. He was also granted rotating buzz-saws which are mounted on his wrists as close-quarters weapons, and a selection of shuriken and razor blades that could be launched out from his suit on command while spinning, making him extremely deadly. In more recent years, Whirlwind has taken to wearing more generic straight blades on his armor.

David Cannon is a high school dropout, but an experienced motorist who has flown small aircraft (both conventional and exotic) and has experience with disguises. He possesses some mechanical aptitude, having designed at least some of his specialized costumes and related equipment.