Flatman (comics)
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Flatman (Dr. Val Ventura) is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in the pages of the Avengers West Coast in 1989.
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[edit] Fictional history
Flatman is a member and second-in-command of the Great Lakes Avengers, an unauthorized division of the regular Avengers superhero group that watches over the Wisconsin area. Although no true origin was given at first for his stretching abilities and odd appearance, it was later revealed that he is a mutant.
Called the "2D Avenger", Flatman's body allows him fit into nearly any small space. He has a strong sense of justice and he is very trusting; a trait which has gotten him in trouble on more than one occasion. His primary roles include long-ranged rescues and helping the team solves crimes with his extensive knowledge of fashion which he was reported to have "studied in college". In an issue of Deadpool, he is able to identify a women's shoe and describe it in detail, while later rescuing a man and referring to him as "sailor", leading his team to question his sexuality. At first, Flatman denied any claims that he was a homosexual. However, when a new Avenger recruit called Living Lightning first approached the Great Lakes Avengers (usually abbreviated as "GLA") he thought they were actually the "Gay/Lesbian Alliance". Apologizing, he left quickly, but his willingness to come out to others gave Flatman the courage to do it himself. He revealed that he was in fact gay to his teammates, though he felt one-upped when Mr. Immortal revealed that he was the pinnacle of mankind ("Homo Supreme").
Though Flatman refers to himself as Dr. Val Ventura, his doctoral background is highly questionable. He is not able to present a degree to prove his education and when asked by Doorman what he was a doctor of, Flatman replied that he was a doctor of "stuff." When told by a fellow doctor (who had confused him for Mr. Fantastic) that time moved in only a single direction Flatman seemed shocked and even had to ask which direction that was. Though Flatman often seems to act intelligent, he is yet to prove any sort of superior intellect.
Most recently, Flatman and his fellow GLA members took on Maelstrom who was trying to destroy the world. When Dinah Soar was killed, GLA leader Mr. Immortal went crazy and Flatman stepped up as deputy leader. Deciding that the team needed some new members, he and Doorman went to New York city where they drafted Squirrel Girl and Grasshopper, who quickly passed away on their first mission. Refusing to let the deaths of Dinah Soar and Grasshopper get him down, Flatman continued to try and persuade the team to further research Maelstrom's plans for world destruction. However, it was not until Mr. I regained his sanity that the team rallied together and defeated Maelstrom. Flatman was seemingly sucked into a vortex during the final battle but it turned out that he barely escaped and was merely standing at an angle so that his flat body could not be seen because his clothes had been sucked off.
With the GLA facing a newer, stronger resolve than ever, they returned back to their headquarters only for Flatman to find that Tony Stark had sent a cease and desist notice ordering them to stop using the Avengers name. They changed their name to the Great Lakes X-Men and on their first mission Flatman helped them to save Christmas in Muskego from the evil Dr. Tannenbaum (a Christmas hating villain whose robot snowman they had defeated before) and his killer Christmas trees.
In Dan Slott's Thing v2 #8 (2006), the team gets invited to the annual Superheroes Poker Tournament after Squirrel Girl helps The Thing (the host of the game) in defeating a Hulk villain, Bi-Beast. In the end, Flatman wins the Tournament with a straight-flush, beating The Things four fours. After being discouraged from using "Great Lakes X-Men", and then "Great Lakes Defenders", by members of those teams present at the Tournament, Flatman becoming the "champion" of the Tournament inspires the team to rename themselves the Great Lakes Champions, despite protests from former Champions of Los Angeles member Hercules.
All of the Great Lakes Champions have registered with the United States government as required by the recent Super-human Registration Act (see Civil War (comics)), as revealed when the mercenary Deadpool mistakenly attempted to apprehend them for violating the Act, only to be defeated by the GLC and informed that they had already registered.
[edit] Powers
Flatman has the ability to stretch any part of his body to great lengths (similar to Mister Fantastic). He can also appear to be nearly invisible by standing at just the right angle, and slip though very thin spaces, thanks to his nearly two-dimensional body.
[edit] Trivia
- Flatman's powers and appearance are almost identical to another Marvel Comics hero, Mister Fantastic (bar his flatness).
- When Hawkeye first met Flatman, he asked if he had a "sidekick" named Ribbon, a reference to Batman and Robin, as well as a possible reference to an old joke involving the combination of said duo and a Steamroller.
