MENDEL STROMM

 

MENDEL STROMM

Real Name: Mendel Stromm

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #37, March 1966 (as Mendel Stromm); The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #411, May 1996 (as Gaunt); Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #3, August 2016 (as Robot Master)

Powers: Mendel Stromm is a genius roboticist and chemist. He currently exists as a cybernetically enhanced head on a robotic body; his body's capabilities are unrevealed. He formerly wore a harness that allowed him to control his robots mentally; the harness is now part of his cyborg implants. The prototype Goblin formula allowed Stromm to survive a massive heart attack, albeit in suspended animation. While in this state, however, his body decayed, leaving most of his organs useless. After his regeneration, he apparently became able to heal fully from fatal wounds; he presumably still has this ability in the limited amount of organic tissue he retains. Stromm's prototype battle armor possessed enhanced strength (lifting 15 tons); his second battlesuit possessed a machine gun, a spider-sense-neutralizing gas dispenser, and a large metal blade.

As Gaunt, Stromm wore an armored life-support suit that arrested his body's decay, maintained his body's functions, and allowed him to walk; the suit also granted him superhuman strength (lifting 10 tons) and included a knockout gas dispenser. Stromm has employed many robots throughout his criminal career, including: An amorphous, super-strong robot with the ability to climb walls; a humanoid robot equipped with a destruction beam; the Robot-Master, a robotic duplicate of himself, equipped with his own brain engrams, as well as super-strength and destructive eyebeams; hovering, sharp-clawed robots; Willis, Daisy and Gary, three robotic children with malleable limbs, super-strength and heat Vision, respectively; and a variety of humanoid and non-humanoid robots equipped with energy weapons employed to defend Stromm's Vermont mansion. The android Robot-Master developed several unique robots of its own design, including tiny brain-borers; a bug-eyed "hovering holocaust" with a super-strong grip and a powerful blaster; a multi-tentacled sphere; and a conical, rocket-powered "sinister slinky."