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The Pan-African Congress on the Treatment of Supernumans (left to right): Afrikaa (of Mohannda), Zanda (exiled Princess of Narobia), Queen Ororo (of Wakanda), King T’Challa (of Wakanda), Man-Ape (representing Wakanda’s Jabari tribe), Moses Magnum (of Canaan), and President N’Dingi (of Mbangawi)

I just recently posted an entry for the Marvel character Man-Ape, when low and behold, he pops up in the Civil War Battle Damage Report. While not really a “comic,” the Battle Damage Report is a text heavy, encyclopedic 60+ pages of info and bios brought up to date with Marvel’s recent Civil War event.

As you can probably tell from previous entries, I can’t get enough of this type of book. If I had to guess, it stems from my childhood. I remember reading the original Marvel Handbooks and DC Who’s Who series and thinking how cool they were.

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Man-Ape Image from The Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe - Master Edition #03 (1991)

What’s wrong with this picture: you’re a super-villain and you possess the strength and agility of the “rare Wakandan white gorilla,” which means you’ve got enhanced human strength and durability, as well as superhuman stamina and agility. You outweigh Captain America by 100lbs. and have almost a foot height advantage, yet you still manage to get  “overpowered” by him in Avengers #78 and #79. Way to go, Man-Ape and Cap., I still miss you.

Powers and Abilities

Intelligence: Normal
Strength: Enhanced human
Speed: Athlete
Stamina: Superhuman
Durability: Enhanced human
Agility: Superhuman
Reflexes:
Fighting skills: Wakandan Royal Militia training
Special skills and abilities: None
Superhuman physical powers: Superhuman strength, agility, stamina, and durability equal to that of the rare Wakandan white gorilla
Superhuman mental powers: None
Special limitations: None
Source of superhuman powers: Mystical transference of the abilities of the rare Wakandan white gorilla

Paraphernalia

Costume specifications: The Man-Ape wears the pelt of Wakandan white gorilla.
Personal weaponry: None
Special weaponry: None
Other accessories: None
Transportation: Various
Design and manufacture of paraphernalia: Inapplicable

Bibliography

First appearance: AVENGERS #62
Origin issues: AVENGERS #62
Significant issues: AVENGERS #62 (battled the Black Panther in attempt to usurp the throne of Wakanda and return Wakanda to primitive state);
AVENGERS #78-79 (traveled to America, joined Lethal Legion, captured Black Panther, fought Avengers, overpowered by Captain America);
WEST COAST AVENGERS #1-2 (rejoined Lethal Legion, battled Tigra);
VISION AND SCARLET WITCH Vol.2 #2 (abandoned Grim Reaper, accompanied by Black Talon)

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Crossovers in comics books are cool. I remember reading Secret Wars from Marvel as a kid and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. I mean, here in one book were all of my favorite heroes (Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Fantastic Four) and their villains (Dr. Doom, Kang, Lizard, etc.). At the time, I didn't know that it was the first major crossover series ever (preceded only by the 3-issue Contest of Champions series). Somehow, I missed out on Crisis on Infinite Earths from DC, but I did pick up the revamped Superman that resulted from that series.

Anyway, for all the Comic Book Crossover information you can stand, I would recommend the The Unofficial Comics Crossover Index. It's filled with most of the major, cross-title events from the 1980's onward and only lacks the major events from the past few years. Best of all, each crossover is reviewed and lists all the related issues. While, much of the info may be on Wikipedia, it's nice to have all of it in one place and in one format.

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Electro - Classic Spider-Man Villain

Electro is a classic looking Spider-Man villain. He may be something on a one-trick pony, but you have to admit, the corny looking lightning bolt head gear is a great visual. I can't recall anyone even using Electro all that much in the past few (or more) years. He made an appearance or two in Ultimate Spider-Man (with an uncool, redesigned look) and one on the MTV Spider-Man cartoon, but hardly anything all in the Marvel Universe proper. I think we should start a petition for a starring role in Spider-Man 4.

My favorite entry in the bio below is the line about him being "extremely sensitive" to anything that might short-circuit him. . . Maybe he starts to cry if you confront him with a squirt gun or bucket of water.

Powers and Abilities

Intelligence: Normal
Strength: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Superhuman Class 10
Speed: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Metahuman
Stamina: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Metahuman
Durability: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Metahuman
Agility: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Metahuman
Reflexes: (unenhanced) Normal, (charged) Superhuman
Fighting skills: Minimal ability at hand to hand combat
Special skills and abilities: None
Superhuman physical powers: Electro can generate electrostatic energy through his body at a rate of about 1,000 volts per minute and store up to 1000,000 volts. At ten feet, his maximum charge is more than enough to kill a normal man. Electro can employ this electrostatic energy as lightning arcs from his fingertips at 1,100 feet per second for about 100 feet.
Superhuman mental powers: Electro can override any electrically-powered device and manipulate it according to his mental commands
Special limitations: By using an external electrical power source to recharge his body's energy reserves, Electro could expend electricity indefinitely without diminishing his personal reserves. When he is fully charged, Electro is extremely sensitive to anything that may "short-circuit" him, such as water
Source of superhuman powers: An unusually configured magnetic field was created when struck by lightning while Dillon was holding live, high-tension wires and a wound reel of one-inch cable.

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Scourge - Justice is Served

I remember reading the first few appearances of Scourge (probably in Amazing Spider-Man #277) and thinking he was a cool villain. That seems against everything I wrote yesterday, since Scourge could easily be an early version of the dark/extreme hero/villain trend of the 1990's.

Here was a villain (hero?) that went around killing C and D grade Marvel villains and shouting the phrase "Justice is Served." Aside from the Punisher, that was unheard of at the time. I don't think it was the violence of the character that intrigued me, but the mystery. Scourge popped up through many Marvel titles, for several months, exterminating villains here and there. The mystery of Scourge culminated with the massacre at the "Bar with No Name," which was a hangout for Marvel's villains. He was tracked down and defeated by Captain America in issues #319 and #320 of that series. Cool end for a cool story.

Or so I thought.

Another person assumed the identity of Scourge a few years later in Captain America and the pattern was repeted numerous times. The concept became even more diluted when it was revealed that Scourge wasn't a person, but an organization whose members assumed the role of Scourge. One was cool, but like anything, too much is never a good thing.

Organization

Purpose: The elimination of the criminal element through assassination
Modus operandi: The use of subterfuge to get close to targets, then elimination by whatever lethal means are possible
Extent of operations: Nationwide, per�haps worldwide
Relationship to conventional authori�ties: Unrevealed, Scourge is generally believed to be a single individual, rather than an organized group
Base of operations: Southern California estate of Angel I
Former bases of operations: Mobile
Major funding: The personal fortune of the elderly millionaire who claims to have been the 1940's costumed hero Angel I
Known enemies: Captain America, USAgent, Dr. Karl Malus, Red Skull, (former) Enforcer, Miracle Man, Hate-Monger III, Megatek, Melter, Titania I, Basilisk I, Hammer, Anvil, Fly, Death Adder, Blue Streak, Wraith, Bird-Man II, Turner D. Century, Cheetah, Commander Kraken, Cyclone, Firebrand I, Grappler, Hellrazor, Hijacker, Jaguar, Letha, Mind-Wave, Mirage I, Rapier, Ringer I, Shellshock, Steeplejack II, Vamp, Red Skull II (all deceased)
Known allies: (former) Red Skull

Read all about Scourge…