COBALT MAN

 

COBALT MAN

Real Name: Ralph Roberts

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #31, April 1967

Powers: Ralph Roberts was a scientist who originally patterned a suit of armor similar to Iron Man’s, but constructed from cobalt alloys. His cobalt-powered armor magnified his strength to Superhuman Class 10 level and shielded him from physical harm. It had boot jets enabling flight capabilities, an internal oxygen supply, and recoil beams in his palms which worked as typical concussive force blasters.

The armor's biggest drawback was that the cobalt power supply was unstable, and would produce the deadly radioactive isotope cobalt-60 after two hours of continuous use.

Years later, he developed radiation poisoning due to his experiments, but managed to mutate himself into a super-being by exposing himself to the fallout of a hydrogen bomb test. His physical body mass swelled and his skin began glowing with an inner blue light. Using a modified version of his Cobalt Man armor to harness his power, he now possessed Class 100 strength, superhuman durability, self-generated recoil beams from his hands and the power to fly. He still had the capacity to explode, though. Extended use of his powers would build the Cobalt Man’s energy up to nuclear capacity, causing him to become highly volatile, a walking C-Bomb.