Growing Man
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The Growing Man is a fictional character, an android appearing in the Marvel Comics Universe. It was created for and served the supervillain Kang the Conqueror.
[edit] Fictional character biography
The Growing Man was originally built by an alien race on behalf of the time-travelling villain known as Kang the Conqueror, who had subjugated their planet, Kosmos. Knowing that the android would be used as a weapon in the past, the scientists of Kosmos build a device into the android which would deliver a warning message to their ancestors to prepare for Kang's coming. For some unknown reason, however, the warning beacon does not activate.
The Growing Man first appears on Earth as an inert doll-sized figure found by New York police. The android reactivates soon after and battles the Thunder God Thor, before being deactivated and taken away by Kang. [1] Months later, Kang uses the Growing Man to abduct Tony Stark - the alter-ego of Iron Man - from a hospital. The The Avengers attack and follow the Growing Man into the future, where they become involved in his competition against an Elder of the Universe, the Grandmaster, and his proxy champions, the Squadron Sinister.[2]
The alien colonisers of Rigel eventually find the Growing Man in one of Kang's abandoned vessels and use it against Iron Man, who eventually defeats the android by overloading its' circuitry. [3] In order to maintain his continued existence, Kang believed he had to ensure the Avengers, whose ranks were then depleted, would reform. He sends Growing Man to bring the heroes Captain America (then, the Captain), Thor, Gilgamesh, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman into conflict as the Avengers. Mr. Fantastic devises a means of reversing the process that enables the Growing Man to enlarge its size, causing the android to shrink from sight. [4]
The Growing Man was later recovered by the subversive organization HYDRA, led by terrorist Baron Strucker. Strucker orders the Growing Man to attack New York as part of a ploy to destroy the formative team the Thunderbolts. The Thunderbolts, however, not only defeat the android but also manage to activate the warning beacon, which depleted the Growing Man's energy reserves, returning it to dormancy. The Kosmosian aliens later traced the beacon to the Thunderbolts. [5] The Growing Man is currently believed to still be a servant of HYDRA.
[edit] Powers and abilities
The Growing Man is a stimuloid - a form of android that absorbs all kinetic energy directed against it, which in theory renders it impervious to physical harm. The absorption of the energy stimulates the rapid multiplication of the stimuloid's artificial cells, causing it to grow significantly in size with a proportionate increase in strength and resistance to damage. It is assumed that in order to grow the stimuloid draws its additional mass from an extradimensional source. The Growing Man's circuitry appears to have limits, however, as the Avenger Hercules was able to damage the android with a series of blows. [6]
