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A [[nuclear physics|nuclear]] [[physicist]] and [[Communist]] agent in the [[People's Republic of China]], Chen Lu first appears in ''[[Journey into Mystery]]'' #93 (June 1963). Ordered to find a way to defeat [[Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor]] - who thwarts the Red Army's invasion of [[India]] - the character exposes himself to small doses of [[radiation]] until he is able to endure a massive barrage, becoming a living "Radioactive Man."
A [[nuclear physics|nuclear]] [[physicist]] and [[Communist]] agent in the [[People's Republic of China]], Chen Lu first appears in ''[[Journey into Mystery]]'' #93 (June 1963). Ordered to find a way to defeat [[Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor]] - who thwarts the Red Army's invasion of [[India]] - the character exposes himself to small doses of [[radiation]] until he is able to endure a massive barrage, becoming a living "Radioactive Man."


Traveling to [[New York City]], Chen finds and battles Thor, who defeats the villain by creating a [[vortex]] and transporting the character back to China, where he{{vague|date=November 2010}} apparently explodes.<ref>''Journey into Mystery'' #93 (June 1963).</ref>
Traveling to [[New York City]], Chen finds and battles Thor, who is first defeated when Chen hypnotises him into throwing his hammer away, and turns back. But he is able to recover his hammer from a river, and defeats the villain by creating a [[vortex]] and transporting the character back to China, where he{{vague|date=November 2010}} apparently explodes.<ref>''Journey into Mystery'' #93 (June 1963).</ref>


The character becomes a recurring foe of the [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]], being found and coerced by [[Baron Zemo#Baron Heinrich Zemo|Baron Heinrich Zemo]] to join the original [[Masters of Evil]] in a failed bid to destroy the Avengers. He is the first member to be met by the Avengers, and sticks [[Captain America]] and [[Giant-Man]] to the pavement with the adhesive. He is defeated by Giant-Man and [[Iron Man]] using a device that imprisons him in [[lead]] coils. He is then deported back to China.<ref>''Avengers'' #6 (July 1964)</ref> The character reappears as part of the second incarnation of the Masters of Evil, with this version formed by the [[robot]] [[Ultron]]. The villains, however, are betrayed by the [[Black Knight (Dane Whitman)|Black Knight]].<ref>''Avengers'' #54 - 55 (July - Aug. 1968)</ref> The Radioactive Man and his teammates appear once again during a [[Halloween]] [[parade]] and are defeated by a loose coalition of superheroines called the [[Lady Liberators]].<ref>''Avengers'' #83 (Dec. 1970)</ref>
The character becomes a recurring foe of the [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]], being found and coerced by [[Baron Zemo#Baron Heinrich Zemo|Baron Heinrich Zemo]] to join the original [[Masters of Evil]] in a failed bid to destroy the Avengers. He is the first member to be met by the Avengers, and sticks [[Captain America]] and [[Giant-Man]] to the pavement with the adhesive when Thor dodges the Adhesive. He is defeated by Giant-Man and [[Iron Man]] using a device that imprisons him in [[lead]] coils. He is then deported back to China.<ref>''Avengers'' #6 (July 1964)</ref> The character reappears as part of the second incarnation of the Masters of Evil, with this version formed by the [[robot]] [[Ultron]]. The villains, however, are betrayed by the [[Black Knight (Dane Whitman)|Black Knight]].<ref>''Avengers'' #54 - 55 (July - Aug. 1968)</ref> The Radioactive Man and his teammates appear once again during a [[Halloween]] [[parade]] and are defeated by a loose coalition of superheroines called the [[Lady Liberators]].<ref>''Avengers'' #83 (Dec. 1970)</ref>


The character escapes confinement and travels to [[Vietnam]], where he joins [[Soviet]] villains the [[Titanium Man]] and [[Crimson Dynamo]] as part of a team called the [[Titanic Three]]. Acting as free-agent crime fighters in Vietnam, the trio is duped by a [[confidence trick|con man]] and petty [[thief]] called the ''Slasher'' and battle the Avengers until the deception is revealed.<ref>''Avengers'' #130 (Dec. 1974)</ref> After an encounter with the hero Iron Man,<ref>''Iron Man'' #73 - 74 (Mar & May 1975)</ref> the characters go their separate ways after a humiliating defeat by time-traveling villain [[Kang the Conqueror]] in ''Giant-Size Avengers''.<ref>''Giant-Size Avengers'' #4 (June 1975)</ref> Reappearing in ''Avengers'', Chen joins another incarnation of the Masters of Evil - led by [[Egghead (comics)|Egghead]] - but is defeated by [[Henry Pym]] and [[deported]] back to China.<ref>''Avengers'' #228 - 230 (Feb. - Apr. 1983)</ref>
The character escapes confinement and travels to [[Vietnam]], where he joins [[Soviet]] villains the [[Titanium Man]] and [[Crimson Dynamo]] as part of a team called the [[Titanic Three]]. Acting as free-agent crime fighters in Vietnam, the trio is duped by a [[confidence trick|con man]] and petty [[thief]] called the ''Slasher'' and battle the Avengers until the deception is revealed.<ref>''Avengers'' #130 (Dec. 1974)</ref> After an encounter with the hero Iron Man,<ref>''Iron Man'' #73 - 74 (Mar & May 1975)</ref> the characters go their separate ways after a humiliating defeat by time-traveling villain [[Kang the Conqueror]] in ''Giant-Size Avengers''.<ref>''Giant-Size Avengers'' #4 (June 1975)</ref> Reappearing in ''Avengers'', Chen joins another incarnation of the Masters of Evil - led by [[Egghead (comics)|Egghead]] - but is defeated by [[Henry Pym]] and [[deported]] back to China.<ref>''Avengers'' #228 - 230 (Feb. - Apr. 1983)</ref>

Revision as of 20:42, 26 August 2011

For the character in The Simpsons, see List of fictional characters within The Simpsons § Radioactive Man.
Radioactive Man
The Radioactive Man features on the cover of Thunderbolts: International Incident (Apr. 2008).
Art by Marko Djurdjević.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceJourney into Mystery #93 (Jun. 1963)
Created byStan Lee
Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter egoChen Lu
Team affiliationsPeople's Defense Force
Thunderbolts
Masters of Evil
Titanic Three
AbilitiesRadiation manipulation

Radioactive Man is the name of two characters from Marvel Comics.

Fictional character biography

Chen Lu

A nuclear physicist and Communist agent in the People's Republic of China, Chen Lu first appears in Journey into Mystery #93 (June 1963). Ordered to find a way to defeat Thor - who thwarts the Red Army's invasion of India - the character exposes himself to small doses of radiation until he is able to endure a massive barrage, becoming a living "Radioactive Man."

Traveling to New York City, Chen finds and battles Thor, who is first defeated when Chen hypnotises him into throwing his hammer away, and turns back. But he is able to recover his hammer from a river, and defeats the villain by creating a vortex and transporting the character back to China, where he[vague] apparently explodes.[1]

The character becomes a recurring foe of the Avengers, being found and coerced by Baron Heinrich Zemo to join the original Masters of Evil in a failed bid to destroy the Avengers. He is the first member to be met by the Avengers, and sticks Captain America and Giant-Man to the pavement with the adhesive when Thor dodges the Adhesive. He is defeated by Giant-Man and Iron Man using a device that imprisons him in lead coils. He is then deported back to China.[2] The character reappears as part of the second incarnation of the Masters of Evil, with this version formed by the robot Ultron. The villains, however, are betrayed by the Black Knight.[3] The Radioactive Man and his teammates appear once again during a Halloween parade and are defeated by a loose coalition of superheroines called the Lady Liberators.[4]

The character escapes confinement and travels to Vietnam, where he joins Soviet villains the Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo as part of a team called the Titanic Three. Acting as free-agent crime fighters in Vietnam, the trio is duped by a con man and petty thief called the Slasher and battle the Avengers until the deception is revealed.[5] After an encounter with the hero Iron Man,[6] the characters go their separate ways after a humiliating defeat by time-traveling villain Kang the Conqueror in Giant-Size Avengers.[7] Reappearing in Avengers, Chen joins another incarnation of the Masters of Evil - led by Egghead - but is defeated by Henry Pym and deported back to China.[8]

The character continued to feature in Iron Man, and is employed by the hero's arch-enemy the Mandarin, but is ultimately defeated.[9] Chen is employed in his civilian capacity as a physicist by Stane International (formerly Stark International, taken over by Obadiah Stane) and eventually battles Iron Man and Spider-Man.[10] The Radioactive Man appears in the graphic novel titled Deathtrap: The Vault, and with other supervillains attempting to escape from the holding facility the Vault. The character, however, aids the heroes in preventing a reactor meltdown.[11] The Radioactive Man also features in an issue of the humor title Sensational She-Hulk[12] and once again in Avengers.[13]

After appearing in the second volume of Avengers that takes place in an alternate universe[14] and briefly in Thunderbolts,[15] the one-shot Heroes Reborn: Masters of Evil,[16] the third volume of the Avengers,[17] and alternate universe title Exiles,[18] the character features in the limited series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.[19]

Chen attempts to reform and in New Thunderbolts joins the Thunderbolts, a team composed almost entirely of reformed supervillains.[20] During the Civil War storyline the character aids heroes Mister Fantastic and Yellowjacket in building a holding prison for dissenting superpowered beings, and also battles the anti-registration heroes.[21] A major development occurs in the title Thunderbolts when the group encounter the Elders of the Universe member the Grandmaster; the Radioactive Man absorbs an excessive amount of radiation and is forced to wear a radiation suit at all times.[22] The radiation eventually subsides, but industrialist Norman Osborn convinces the character to retain the suit to distract the American public from his clearly Asian features and quell any lingering fears about his radioactivity.[23] The Radioactive Man features in the one shot Thunderbolts: International Incident,[24] the limited series Avengers/Invaders,[25] one shot King-Size Hulk,[26] and Thunderbolts: Reason In Madness[27] before featuring briefly in the Secret Invasion storyline.[28]

The Radioactive Man suffers a setback in the New Ways to Die storyline when the character Anti-Venom uses a healing ability to remove almost all his radiation powers.[29] After an appearance with the Thunderbolts in Moon Knight,[30] the character leaves the team and returns to his native China.[31]

The Radioactive Man reappears in The Mighty Avengers as part of The People's Defense Force, China's indigenous group of metahumans. The Radioactive Man demonstrates that at close proximity he can safely absorb the radiation of Inhuman Xerogen crystals and also, presumably, safely absorb Terrigen Mist. However, the People's Defense Force is largely defeated by an invading entity known as The Unspoken, a deposed former king of the Inhumans. The Unspoken is defeated in China by the Mighty Avengers.[32]

During the Heroic Age storyline, a young man named Warhead appeared as a member of the Bastards of Evil, claiming to be the son of Radioactive Man.[33] He has been shown to have similar powers, but killed himself in a mass explosion that killed hundreds of people.[34]

Igor Stancheck

A second Radioactive Man features in the fourth volume of Black Panther. The character is a Russian mutant named Igor Stancheck and is one of several mercenaries invading the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda. The group makes an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the huge mound of the metal vibranium located at the heart of the kingdom.[35] He was killed in battle by Black Panther's sister Shuri.[36]

Powers and abilities

Chen Lu was a normal human until exposed to excessive amounts of radiation, which changed his skin coloring to an iridescent green, and allows him to manipulate radiation across the entire spectrum. Abilities include radiation emission as heat, "hard" radiation (inflicting opponents with nausea, dizziness, and radiation poisoning), and hypnotic light. He can also absorb nuclear radiation without harm and convert it to energy for personal use such as strength enhancement or to cauterize wounds, create force fields, and emit electromagnetic radiation to deactivate machinery. As the character constantly emits radiation, he has limited human contact and wears a full radiation suit when in the presence of unshielded persons. As a member of the Thunderbolts, Chen comments multiple times how he is not radioactive and the suit serves no purpose. Norman Osborn requires Chen to wear the suit to reassure the public that he is safe and to disguise the fact that he is a foreigner. Chen Lu holds a Ph. D. in nuclear physics.

Igor Stancheck has the same powers as Chen Lu.

In other media

Television

  • The Chen Lu version of Radioactive Man appears in the animated television series The Marvel Super Heroes voiced by Gillie Fenwick.
  • The Igor Stancheck version of Radioactive Man appears in the Black Panther TV series voiced by Rick D. Wasserman.
  • Radioactive Man appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "Hulk Vs the World." He is shown as an inmate of the Cube. He later reappears in the episode "Casket of Ancient Winters", attacking Iron Man, Thor and Black Panther at Stark Industries. Radioactive Man tries to absorb Iron Man's arc reactor, but was eventually defeated by Thor. Iron Man also mentions Chen Lu was earlier defeated by S.H.I.E.L.D. and then imprisoned in the Cube.

Video games

References

  1. ^ Journey into Mystery #93 (June 1963).
  2. ^ Avengers #6 (July 1964)
  3. ^ Avengers #54 - 55 (July - Aug. 1968)
  4. ^ Avengers #83 (Dec. 1970)
  5. ^ Avengers #130 (Dec. 1974)
  6. ^ Iron Man #73 - 74 (Mar & May 1975)
  7. ^ Giant-Size Avengers #4 (June 1975)
  8. ^ Avengers #228 - 230 (Feb. - Apr. 1983)
  9. ^ Iron Man #179 - 181 (Feb. - Apr. 1984)
  10. ^ Iron Man #234 (Sep. 1988)
  11. ^ Deathtrap: The Vault (1991)
  12. ^ Sensational She-Hulk #24 (Feb. 1991)
  13. ^ Avengers #400 (July 1996)
  14. ^ Avengers vol. 2, #8 - 9 (June - July 1997)
  15. ^ Thunderbolts #9 (Dec. 1997)
  16. ^ Heroes Reborn: Masters of Evil #1 (Feb. 1999)
  17. ^ Avengers vol. 3, #0 (July 1999)
  18. ^ Exiles #42 (May 2004)
  19. ^ Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #3 (Feb. 2005)
  20. ^ New Thunderbolts vol. 2, #1 (Jan. 2005)
  21. ^ Civil War #1 - 7 (July 2006 - Jan. 2007)
  22. ^ Thunderbolts vol. 2, #106 (Nov. 2006)
  23. ^ Thunderbolts vol. 2, #112 (May 2007)
  24. ^ Thunderbolts: International Incident (Apr. 2008)
  25. ^ Avengers/Invaders #1 (July 2008)
  26. ^ King-Size Hulk #1 (July 2008)
  27. ^ Thunderbolts: Reason In Madness #1 (July 2008)
  28. '^ Secret Invasion #1 - 8 (Apr. - Dec. 2008)
  29. ^ Spider-Man: New Ways To Die #568 - 569 (Oct. 2008); #570 - 572 (Nov. 2008); #573 (Dec. 2008)
  30. ^ Moon Knight vol. 4, #24 - 25 (Jan. - Feb. 2009)
  31. ^ Thunderbolts #126 (Jan. 2009)
  32. ^ The Mighty Avengers #27 - 28 (Sep. - Oct. 2009)
  33. ^ Age of Heroes #2 (Oct. - 2010)
  34. ^ Young Allies vol. 2 #1
  35. ^ Black Panther vol. 4 #5
  36. ^ Black Panther vol. 4 #6
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