Comics character
Frankenstein's Monster
is a fictional character appearing in
American comic books
published by
Marvel Comics
. The character is based on the
character
in
Mary Shelley
's 1818 novel
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
. The character has been
adapted often
in the
comic book
medium
.
Publication history
[
edit
]
The first appearance of Frankenstein's Monster in the
Marvel Comics Universe
came in the five-page
horror comics
story "Your Name Is Frankenstein", by writer-editor
Stan Lee
and artist
Joe Maneely
in
Menace
#7 (September 1953),
[2]
[3]
from Marvel's 1950s forerunner,
Atlas Comics
. The following decade, a robot replica of Frankenstein's Monster appeared as an antagonist in
The X-Men
#40 (Jan. 1968), by writer
Roy Thomas
and
penciler
Don Heck
,
[4]
and was destroyed by the titular team. The actual Monster first appeared in Marvel Comics continuity in a
cameo
flashback
in "The Heir of Frankenstein" in
The Silver Surfer
#7 (Aug. 1969), by writer-editor Lee and penciler
John Buscema
.
[5]
The character received an ongoing series, titled
Frankenstein
in the postal
indicia
and initially
The Monster of Frankenstein
(issues #1?5) and later
The Frankenstein Monster
as the cover logo, that ran 18 issues (Jan. 1973?Sept. 1975).
[6]
This series began with a three-issue retelling of the original novel, by writer
Gary Friedrich
and artist
Mike Ploog
. Several more issues continued his story into the 1890s, until he was placed in
suspended animation
and revived in modern times.
Thomas, Marvel Comics' editor-in-chief at that point in the 1970s, recalled in 2009:
I'd been working with [artist]
Dick Giordano
adapting
Bram Stoker
's
Dracula
[in the black-and-white horror-comics magazine
Vampire Tales
, published by Marvel parent company
Magazine Management
], so I wanted to start with the Shelley
Frankenstein
[novel], then bring [Frankenstein's Monster] into the present. But eager as I was to work with Mike Ploog on
Frankenstein
, I just didn't have the time. So I turned the project over to Gary, who did a fine job with it.
[7]
Friedrich in 2009 said he did not recall "whose idea it was to do a Frankenstein book", noting that "at this time, Marvel was cranking up the gears on the monster mags", which were introducing such new characters as
Werewolf by Night
and
Ghost Rider
.
[8]
Ploog based his rendition of the Monster on a drawing by art director
John Romita Sr.
, who was instructed to make the character dissimilar to the familiar
Universal Pictures
version.
[9]
Ploog drew the first six issues, self-
inked
except for issues #4-5, which were embellished by Marvel
production manager
and occasional inker
John Verpoorten
. The following four issues were penciled by John Buscema. After a final Friedrich-written issue, drawn by
Bob Brown
, the creative team of writer
Doug Moench
and penciler
Val Mayerik
brought the Monster from the 19th century to the present day, beginning with issue #12 (Sept. 1974). The duo continued through the final issue, with
Bill Mantlo
rather than Moench writing the finale.
[10]
Ploog had departed, Thomas recalled, because "Marvel was in a great surge of growth at that time, which resulted in frequent changes on artist/writer lineups on many, if not most of the titles. Mike was quite busy then".
[11]
Ploog recalled disliking the planned change to bring the Monster into the present-day Marvel Universe. "I couldn't see Frankenstein battling with
Spider-Man
on
42nd Street
".
[12]
His successor, Buscema, was an established veteran and one of Marvel's premier artists. Friedrich said, "Working with Buscema [on the series] was a wonderful experience. John could draw about any type [of] book you could imagine. ... We never had a disagreement about anything, and his storytelling sense was superb".
[13]
The series ended "because sales weren't good enough", Thomas recalled. "At the start, the book [had] sold well".
[14]
Concurrent with the color-comics series, the character appeared in his own modern-day feature in two of Curtis' black-and-white horror-comics magazines:
Monsters Unleashed
#2, 4-10 (Sept. 1973, Feb. 1974-Feb. 1975), by the Friedrich/Buscema team initially, followed by the Moench/Mayerik team; and in
Legion of Monsters
#1 (Sept. 1975), by Moench and Mayerik.
During the 1970s, the Monster guest-starred in the
superhero
titles
The Avengers
#131-132 (Jan.-Feb. 1975);
Marvel Team-Up
#36-37 (Aug.-Sept. 1975), appearing in the latter series opposite
Spider-Man
; and
Iron Man
#101-102 (Aug.-Sept. 1977); and in the supernatural title
Tomb of Dracula
#49 (Oct. 1976). As well, writer John Warner and artist Dino Castrillo adapted the Shelley novel in
Marvel Classics Comics
#20 (1977), in a 48-page story outside mainstream Marvel continuity. The character made only two Marvel appearances in the 1980s.
[15]
The first four issues of
The Monster of Frankenstein
were reprinted in the
miniseries
Book of the Dead
#1-4 (Dec. 1993-March 1994). Also that decade, he again confronted Spider-Man in
Spider-Man Unlimited
#21 (Aug. 1998).
In the 21st century, the Monster appeared prominently in the four-issue miniseries
Bloodstone
(December 2001?March 2002) and starred in a 14-page story, "To Be a Monster", by writer-artist
Skottie Young
in
Legion of Monsters: Werewolf by Night
#1 (April 2007).
Fictional character biography
[
edit
]
Frankenstein's Monster was built from human corpses by a scientist named Victor Frankenstein, in
Ingolstadt
,
Bavaria
, in the late 18th century. His efforts to fit in with regular humanity were futile due to his horrific form, and he was infuriated. Victor Frankenstein created and subsequently killed a mate for the Monster, who killed Frankenstein's bride Elizabeth in retaliation. After killing several people, the Monster fled to the Arctic. His creator pursued him, but died due to the cold. The Monster, anguished, tried to kill himself but only went into a state of suspended animation from the cold.
[16]
In 1898, heat revived the Monster and he wandered again. He searched for the descendant of Victor Frankenstein and finally ended up in Transylvania. The Monster clashed with
Dracula
, and his vocal cords were injured. Vincent Frankenstein finally found him and tried to give him a new brain, dying in the process as he was shot by an angry maidservant before the Monster could kill him. Frustrated, the Monster fell into a glacier an again returned to a state of suspended animation.
[17]
At some point, the Monster was temporarily pulled out of time to serve in
Kang the Conqueror
's
Legion of the Unliving
to fight the
Avengers
.
[1]
The Monster eventually emerged from suspended animation in a glacier and into the modern world.
[18]
After several adventures (during one of which his brain was transferred with that of a scientist longing for a new life, then a rat, and later restored,
[19]
and another in which he first battled, then aided, the
Werewolf by Night
(Jack Russell),
[20]
he was aided by Veronica Frankenstein, a distant relative of his creator. This woman was kindly, and repaired his vocal cords.
[21]
Later, the Monster met and joined Veronica's sister, Baroness Victoria Frankenstein (Veronica's sister) and her charges, the Children of the Damned, dwarfish artificial beings who were created by Basil and Ludwig Frankenstein's failed human experiments.
[22]
The Monster was captured, along with
Spider-Man
and the
Man-Wolf
by Baron Ludwig von Schtupf, a.k.a. the Monster Maker, to be used to create an army of amalgamated monsters with the Monster's superhuman strength, Spider-Man's wall-crawling powers and the Man-Wolf's appearance. Von Schtupf was defeated by Spider-Man and the Monster, then Spider-Man defeated the Man-Wolf on his own. Both of them were taken into custody of
S.H.I.E.L.D.
, due to S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Judith Klemmer's involvement in the case.
[23]
Victoria discovered Bram Velsing, the man who would become the
Dreadknight
, while he was dying in the wilderness. While under her care, he made a variety of weapons and took possession of the Hellhorse, the flying mutant horse (which the Children found and Victoria, using her ancestor's methods, tried to restore to normal, but instead only mutated it further) that had employed by Nathan Garrett, the original criminal
Black Knight
. He attempted to force more resources from Victoria and took over the new Castle Frankenstein, but was defeated by the Monster and
Iron Man
. The Dreadknight, left wounded at the finale of the battle, was returned to Victoria's custody, though he later escaped with the Hellhorse and his weaponry.
[24]
The Monster then met Spider-Man for a second time.
[25]
The Monster later departed from Victoria's company.
[26]
Ulysses Bloodstone
later befriended the Monster, who came to occasionally stay at his mansion, eventually acting as its caretaker. The Monster, sometimes using the name Adam, accompanied Bloodstone on his missions. Bloodstone trusted Adam to give his daughter
Elsa
a fragment of the Bloodgem in the Bloodstone choker when she was old enough.
When exploring Bloodstone House, an adult Elsa discovers a secret chamber in which she encounters Adam, who tells Elsa about her father. Adam gives her the Bloodstone Choker, which attaches itself to her neck. Adam later designs a costume for Elsa, patterned after her father's. The two have a number of adventures together, encountering beings such as Dracula and
N'Kantu, the Living Mummy
. Elsa lives in Bloodstone Manor with her mother and ally Adam the Frankenstein Monster, while pursuing a monster-hunting occupation.
[27]
At some point, an intelligent clone of the monster, simply named Frankenstein, was created. The clone became a member of
S.H.I.E.L.D.
's Paranormal Containment Unit, nicknamed the
Howling Commandos
.
[28]
During the "
Fear Itself
" storyline, Frankenstein's Monster,
Howard the Duck
,
Nighthawk
, and the
She-Hulk
come together as the Fearsome Four when the
Man-Thing
is driven on a rampage. They later discover a plot by the
Psycho-Man
to use the Man-Thing's volatile empathy to create a weapon.
[29]
The
Hellfire Club
sent an army of Frankenstein Monsters (created by Victor Frankenstein's contemporary descendant Baron Maximilian von Katzenelnbogen) to attack the
Jean Grey School for Higher Learning
, but they were defeated by the
X-Men
.
[30]
Learning of the existence of a Frankenstein descendant, the Monster comes to exact his vengeance on the Hellfire Club.
[31]
Frankenstein's Monster is later recruited by
Phil Coulson
to join his incarnation of the
Howling Commandos
and combat
Dormammu
's Mindless Plague.
[32]
Powers and abilities
[
edit
]
Frankenstein's Monster is a result of a biological experiment by Baron Victor Frankenstein which grafted pieces of various corpses together which were animated through an undisclosed procedure involving electricity. In the first issue of
The Monster of Frankenstein
, a series of injections is used rather than the traditional electric jump-starting procedure to make the creature live.
[33]
The Monster has superhuman strength and stamina, and can be placed in suspended animation when exposed to intense cold without suffering any physical damage.
Clones of Frankenstein's Monster
[
edit
]
There had been many clones of Frakenstein's Monster that appeared in the comics:
First Nazi clone
[
edit
]
The first Nazi clone of Frankenstein's Monster was a creation of
Nazi
sympathizer Anna Frankenstein and her lover Von Rottz in the summer of 1944. They had hoped to use the works of Victor Frankenstein to create an army of monsters to sell to the Nazis. When her Frankenstein's Monster was complete, Anna wrote a letter to
Captain America
and
Bucky Barnes
in order to lure them to her. They were attacked by the Nazi clone Frankenstein's Monster twice, with the second time having Bucky snatched by Frankenstein's Monster. Von Rottz assisted Captain America into rescuing Bucky from being thrown off the castle by the Nazi clone Frankenstein's Monster. Before Von Rottz could betray Captain America, he is strangled to death by the Nazi clone of Frankenstein's Monster. Then the Nazi clone of Frankenstein's Monster grabbed Anna Frankenstein and fled into the woods. After freeing Anna, Captain America lured the Nazi clone of Frankenstein's Monster into the quicksand, where it drowned. Anna felt guilty over what she did and joined her creation's fate, committing suicide by walking into the quicksand. Although Anna Frankenstein's father set fire to the laboratory, other people have utilized Victor's techniques to create other monsters.
[34]
Second Nazi clone
[
edit
]
When Jackie Falsworth finds an oversized Nazi cap inside a box of souvenirs, Captain America tells her of the mission of how they acquired the hat and who it originally belonged to. In early 1942, Dr. Basil Frankenstein is a Nazi scientist who is the descendant of Victor Frankenstein. Basil Frankenstein and his Japanese assistant Dr. Kitagowa had moved to Victor Frankenstein's castle to continue his mission of creating an army of zombie Nazi soldiers. However, word of Basil Frankenstein's activities leaked out to the Allied Forces and the
Human Torch
and
Toro
went out to investigate. When Human Torch and Toro did not return,
Captain America
,
Bucky
, and
Namor
went out to look for them. When the other
Invaders
arrive, they find the villagers that live near Castle Frankenstein about to storm the castle. The villagers explained to the Invaders about the arrival of Human Torch and Toro and the info about the monster that had torn through their village. Captain America and Bucky went to Castle Frankenstein to investigate, while Namor held the angry mob at bay. Captain America and Bucky entered the castle and were overcome by the Nazi clone of Frankenstein's Monster. Upon Captain America and Bucky being brought before Basil Frankenstein, he revealed that he not only was making an army of Nazi zombies for
Adolf Hitler
, he plans to transplant his brain into Captain America's body. It turned out that Basil Frankenstein had been in a lab accident that paralyzed his hands and legs. Due to Basil Frankenstein being in love with Dr. Kitagowa, Basil wanted her to place his brain into Captain America's body so that they can finally have a physical love. It was then shown that Basil Frankenstein had captured the Human Torch and Toro so that Basil Frankenstein could siphon the Human Torch's energies to make his Nazi clone of Frankenstein's Monster bigger and stronger. In the nick of time, Namor arrived at the castle and freed the Invaders. During the battle with the Nazi clone of Frankenstein's Monster, the creature was knocked into a wall of electrical equipment. This was enough to free the Nazi clone of Frankenstein's Monster from Basil's mental control, where he grabbed Basil and Dr. Kitagowa and took them to the castle's parapets. Proclaiming that he was no longer Basil Frankenstein's slave, the Nazi clone of Frankenstein's Monster wanted to return to death and jumped from the castle, taking Basil Frankenstein and Dr. Kitagowa with him.
[35]
Howling Commandos' clone
[
edit
]
An intelligent clone of Frankenstein's Monster nicknamed "Frank" was a member of the Paranormal Containment Unit of the international law-enforcement agency
S.H.I.E.L.D.
in issues of the series
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos
. Unlike Frankenstein's Monster and his other clones, Frank has a mace for a right hand, where it can be launched out on a chain similar to a flail. There is a large cannon where the radius of his left arm is supposed to be, where it houses different firearms like machine gun barrels and one detachable handheld gun. How this cloning process did not produce different clones of the various individual body parts making up the original Monster was briefly mentioned in issue #1. The response was "Don't go there".
[28]
[36]
Frank was among the monsters that gathered to prepare a defense on Area 13 when
Merlin
's army was attacking.
[37]
Frank held his ground while
Warwolf
and
Gorilla-Man
released all the giant monsters in their possession where they trampled over Merlin's army. When Frank opted to tend to the injured, the Howling Commandos chose to pursue the remaining members of Merlin's army.
[38]
Frank was present when the
Mole Man
's forces showed up to help fight Merlin's army.
[39]
Other versions
[
edit
]
Earth X
[
edit
]
In the
Earth X
reality, the head of Frankenstein's Monster is among the trophies of
Kraven the Hunter
.
[40]
Marvel 2099
[
edit
]
In the unified
Marvel 2099
reality of Earth-2099, Frankenstein's Monster is a member of the
2099 version of the Avengers
. He is among those who were killed by the
2099 version of the Masters of Evil
.
[41]
Marvel Adventures
[
edit
]
In the pages of "
Marvel Adventures
", Frankenstein's Monster was found in a crate and briefly fought Spider-Man and Hawkeye before disappearing into the night.
[42]
Secret Wars (2015)
[
edit
]
During the "
Secret Wars
" storyline, a version of Frankenstein's Monster lives in Monster Metropolis beneath the
Battleworld
domain of the Kingdom of Manhattan.
[43]
In other media
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Video games
[
edit
]
Reception
[
edit
]
This version of the character was ranked #8 on a listing of Marvel Comics' monster characters in 2015.
[48]
Collected editions
[
edit
]
A number of the character's appearances have been collected into a
trade paperback
:
Essential
Monster of Frankenstein
(496 pages, collects
Monster of Frankenstein
#1-5,
Frankenstein Monster
#6-18,
Giant-Size Werewolf
#2,
Monsters Unleashed
#2 and 4-10 and
Legion of Monsters
#1, October 2004,
ISBN
0-7851-1634-6
)
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
The Avengers
#131. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Menace
#7 (Sept. 1953)
at the
Grand Comics Database
- ^
Baron Frankenstein, though not the Monster, had earlier appeared in the story
"Horror at Haunted Castle"
in
Blonde Phantom
Comics
#14 (Summer 1947), from Marvel's 1940s predecessor,
Timely Comics
.
- ^
X-Men
#40 (January 1968)
at the Grand Comics Database
- ^
The Silver Surfer
#7 (Aug. 1969)
at the Grand Comics Database
- ^
Sacks, Jason; Dallas, Keith (2014).
American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s
. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 101.
ISBN
978-1605490564
.
- ^
Roy Thomas interviewed in Browning, Michael. "The Monster of Frankenstein",
Back Issue!
#36, Oct. 2009, p. 11
- ^
Gary Friedrich interviewed in Browning. p. 11
- ^
Browning, pp. 11-12
- ^
The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators:
Frankenstein ? The Monster of Frankenstein ? The Frankenstein Monster
(1973-1975)
- ^
Thomas in Browning, p. 13
- ^
Mike Ploog interviewed in Browning, p. 13
- ^
Friedrich in Browning, p. 13
- ^
Thomas in Browning, p. 14
- ^
Fantastic Four
#274 (Jan. 1985), continued in the spin-off title
The Thng
#19 (Jan. 1985). Marvel Comics.
- ^
The Monster related these events to 19th century Captain Robert Walton IV in
The Monster of Frankenstein
#1-4. Marvel Comics.
- ^
The Frankenstein Monster
#8-9. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Monsters Unleashed
#2. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Monsters Unleashed
#4-6. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Giant-Size Werewolf
#2. Marvel Comics.
- ^
The Frankenstein Monster
#16. Marvel Comics.
- ^
The Frankenstein Monster
#18. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Marvel Team-Up
#36-37. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Iron Man
#101-102. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Spider-Man Unlimited
#21. Marvel Comics.
- ^
As related in
Doctor Strange
vol. 2 #37. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Bloodstone
#1-4. Marvel Comics.
- ^
a
b
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos
#1. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Fear Itself: Fearsome Four
#1-4. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Wolverine and the X-Men
#2. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Wolverine and the X-Men
#19, 21-23. Marvel Comics.
- ^
S.H.I.E.L.D.
vol. 3 #6. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Marvel Comics Group (1973).
The Monster of Frankenstein
(#1): 12.
- ^
USA
#13 (Summer 1944). Marvel Comics.
- ^
The Invaders
#31 (Aug. 1978)
at the Grand Comics Database
- ^
Browning, p. 14
- ^
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos
#4
- ^
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos
#5. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Nick Fury's Howling Commandos
#6. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Marvels X
#3. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Spider-Man 2099: Exodus
#3. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man
#20. Marvel Comics.
- ^
Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos
#1-4. Marvel Comics.
- ^
"Blade, Man-Thing Guest Star on "Ultimate Spider-Man" Halloween Special"
.
web.archive.org
. Retrieved
March 14,
2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Frankenstein's Monster Voices (Marvel Universe)"
.
Behind The Voice Actors
. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (
link
)
- ^
Jones, Stephen.
The Essential Monster Movie Guide
. Billboard Books, 2000. pp. 146, 148
- ^
Lyons, Kevin.
Kyofu densetsu Kaiki! Furankenshutain
(1981)
,
The EOFFTV Review
, 16 August 2009
- ^
Buxton, Marc (October 30, 2015).
"Marvel's 31 Best Monsters"
.
Den of Geek
.
Archived
from the original on October 1, 2018.
The Marvel version of Frankenstein is pretty much a mashup up of Mary Shelley's literary monster and the Universal classic creature feature.
External links
[
edit
]
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