Shocker (character)

Shocker
File:Shocker (comics).png Shocker in an excerpt from the cover of New Thunderbolts #8 Art by Tom Grummett.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #46
Created by	Stan Lee John Romita, Sr.
In-story information
Alter ego	Herman Schultz
Team affiliations	Sinister Six, Masters of Evil
Abilities	Suit deflects blows and makes him difficult to grasp; gauntlets shoot air blasts

Shocker (real name Herman Schultz) is a fictional character from the Spider-Man comic book published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #46 (March, 1967). The issue was scripted by Stan Lee and drawn by John Romita, Sr..

Character biography

Herman Schultz was a high school dropout, burglar, and ex-convict who, utilizing his brilliant talent as an inventor and engineer, developed a suit in prison which puts him on a meta-human level.

When donning this costume he becomes the supervillain known as "Shocker". He is among Spider-Man's most persistent villains. The suit deflects physical blows and makes him virtually impossible to grasp. It does this by creating a vibrational shield generated by in-built vibrator units. The gauntlets he wears on his wrists of the suit are equipped to shoot air blasts, vibrating at high frequency; these blasts operate on five levels, Level 1 being enough to throw someone off balance, whereas Level 5 will vibrate someone's bones into jelly. The Shocker has no superhuman abilities other than those of his costume, but is a very good street fighter.

One of the elements that makes Shocker a particularly dangerous foe is that he does not over-estimate himself as many of Spider-Man's foes do. The Shocker knows he is just a man in a fancy outfit and, armed with that knowledge, he does not give Spider-Man any unnecessary advantages in close combat. Although Shocker is a fairly second string villain, he is surprisingly well-connected among super-villains. He is also different in that, while most Spider-Man villains usually shift their attention from their original goal to killing Spider-Man, the Shocker is still only concerned with profit, making him much more of a professional than his compatriots.

Another interesting point is that Shocker is one of the few villains who has apparentally never killed; indeed, his very weaponry is designed with fatality as an utmost last resort. He also appears to be mentally stable; another minority in supervillains.

File:Shocker ASM 335.gif

From Amazing Spider-Man #335
Art by Erik Larsen and Terry Austin.

The Shocker also features a rather odd looking costume. It consists of yellow quilted material which covers most of his body to protect him from his own weapons, thus making him bear some resemblance to a giant pineapple. In the Spider-Man: The Movie videogame, Spider-Man mocks him by saying: "So who are you supposed to be? Quilt Man? Padded Pete? Mr. Triple-Ply? Wait, I got it; The Cushion!" In the sequel to that game, Shocker makes a second appearance and in combat, Spider-Man says, "I've been meaning to ask you, how is your absorbency compared to the leading brand?"

In Spider-Man 2, after Shocker gets out of prison, Spider-Man is quoted to say "You look different, have you been reupholstered?"

The Shocker found his moment of victory over Spider-Man when he teamed up with the Trapster. But before the villain duo could finish Spidey off the Trapster receives a (rather unwilling) phone call from his employer The Friends of Humanity, saying that thier payment would be doubled if they left Spider-Man alone. Naturally the notion of the money makes Shocker and Trapster leave Spider-Man be, despite Shocker joking that killing Spider-Man would allow him to cut back on therapy. Next time Shocker and Trapster were to meet they were far from allies as the Shocker was given the task to eliminate Trapster by orders of Norman Osborne and would of have suceeded had not Spider-Man intervened using the alias of Dusk.

As a sidenote, Herman Schultz is not the only Marvel villain to use the name Shocker. Randall Darby from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants/Mutant Force also used the name. Darby changed the name to Paralyzer at one point, perhaps merely to avoid confusion with the Shocker proper.

Shocker is largely considered an underrated character, and has a surprisingly large fanbase for such a low-level villain. Many fans love that he actually isn't some crazy lunactic, but a hardcore thief, who rather will go after the money, than kill his enemy (unless of course it earns him money). In recent appearances, he has been trying to pull one big bank robbery so he can retire. Its considerd a possibility that he may have high IQ, since he has been able to create his shockers all by himself. His innovation sometimes leads some to consider him a counterpart to Spidey, (who made his own web shooters and cartridges) or a least to be on par with the hero.

Ultimate Shocker

In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Shocker is a 33 year old petty crook who raids money transports. He now wears a purple, less scaly version of his costume. He is not especially dangerous and has fought Ultimate Spider-Man four times (once alongside Ultimate Shadowcat and once with Ultimate Wolverine), suffering four embarrassing defeats. After every defeat he ends up in jail with his equipment confiscated, but he some how manages to get a new set every time he escapes, supposedly making it while still in prison. This suggests that either he is smart enough to know how to build his equipment with limited supplies (and without being caught), or that someone builds it for him and can get it smuggled in for him.

Shocker in other media

In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Shocker has become a supervillain hired by Kingpin. In The Insidious Six, he has become a member of the Insidious Six. In The Awakening, Shocker was hired by Kingpin again. In Six Forgotten Warriors, he became again a member of the Insidious Six. He was played by Jim Cummings.

Video games

Shocker is the only supervillain to be fought in all four of the recent Spider-Man games, Spider-Man: Enter Electro, Spider-Man: The Movie, Spider-Man 2, and Ultimate Spider-Man. A code in The Movie allows you to play as Spidey with the Shocker's suit.