Gladiator (Daredevil character)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the leader of the Imperial Guard in the X-Men universe, see Gladiator (Shi'ar).
| The Gladiator | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Gladiator (Melvin Potter) is a reformed supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.
[edit] Character history
Potter was one of the first enemies of the superhero Daredevil. In civilian life, he is a costume-designer. He eventually reformed and became one of the staunchest supporters of Daredevil.
During the "Born Again" storyline, he was pressured into producing a Daredevil costume for a madman in the employ of the crimelord known as the Kingpin.
Around this time Potter appeared in the Daredevil novel 'Predator's Smile', written by Christopher Golden. It is not known if this novel is considered regular Daredevil continuity.
He was later forced into working for the Kingpin's elderly predecessor Alexander Bont, who claimed that Potter had a four year old daughter that he had never met and that she would die if Potter did not help. Gladiator brought Murdock to Bont, who attempted to kill Murdock and assume his old mantle but instead died of a drug-induced heart attack. The Gladiator was defeated by the new White Tiger, and went back to prison.
In Daredevil Vol. 2 #95, Gladiator is accused of murdering two fellow inmates. Matt Murdock's law firm is defending him. Murdock's super-senses indicate that he is telling the truth when he claims he is innocent. However, at the end of the issue, taunted by another inmate, Gladiator snaps his handcuffs and brutally assaults the inmate and a guard, only to surrender to another guard and claim once again that he didn't do it.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Gladiator has no superhuman abilities. However, he is a superb martial arts fighter and very powerful. He wore a thick metal armor and was armed with an arsenal of edged weapons and whirling blades protruding from his wrists.
[edit] Ultimate Gladiator
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Gladiator has a cameo appearance. He appears as an enemy of Spider-Man, and is a crazed madman obsessed with Emperor Nurhachi.
 |
This Marvel Comics supervillain-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
