Stilt-Man
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Stilt-Man is the name of a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe.
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[edit] Publication history
Stilt-Man first appeared in Daredevil vol. 1 #8 and was one of the earliest enemies of Daredevil.
The character did not age well, as his powers were more a curiosity than a real threat. As of 2006, Stilt-Man is seen as a mere footnote and as an example of the arguably weird rogues' gallery Daredevil had in his early, pre-Frank Miller days — indeed, during Miller's Daredevil run, Stilt-Man was portrayed as a miserable loser.[1]
[edit] Fictional character history
[edit] Stilt-Man
Wilbur Day was born in New York City. As a scientist, he engineered a pair of extremely long, telescopic metal legs, which allowed him to tower high over the ground.
Stilt-Man had a long, unsuccessful career against Daredevil.
Stilt-Man was cold-cocked and had the armor stolen by Turk, a small-time crook and an even greater loser than Day, who took on the Stilt-Man identity, contacted the Kingpin and offered to become his new assassin, only to be refused ("It does not matter what armor or weapons you may have acquired, Turk. You are an idiot. I do not employ idiots").
Enraged by Turk's audacity, Day contacted Daredevil and informed him of a weakness in the armor. Thanks to Day's information, Daredevil easily disabled the auto-gyroscopes necessary for the armor to keep its balance and brought Turk down. Day later modified the armor to prevent Daredevil for using this newfound knowledge against him. Stilt-Man continued to make sporadic appearances in various Marvel comics, wherein he has continued his criminal career and fought several superheroes, but without much success.
Later, Daredevil's secret identity of Matt Murdock was exposed by a local newspaper, with Murdock denying the allegations. On hearing of this news, Wilbur visited the law offices of Nelson and Murdock, announcing he was sick of the whole ordeal and that he was retiring as Stilt-Man. He left his armor in a suitcase on Murdock's desk, and was forcibly removed when he began yelling his paranoid conclusion that Murdock was the real Kingpin. Murdock then jokingly asked his law partner, Foggy Nelson, if he'd like to be the next Stilt-Man, an offer he quickly declined.
During this period, Day romanced and eventually married Circus of Crime member Princess Python. Then, when the Superhero Registration Act offered Day a chance at redemption, he signed up with the government and was outfitted with a new suit of armor to serve as a law enforcer during the Civil War. Unfortunately for Day, one of his assignments led him into conflict with the Punisher, who paralyzed him with a M72 LAW and then shot at point-blank range, killing him.
Day's funeral was held in the Bar With No Name, and was attended by his fellow also-rans of the crime world. Sadness turned to remembrance, which turned into high spirits, which eventually led to a full-scale fight breaking out. The appearance of Spider-Man put an end to the violence, but the bar was then promptly blown up the Punisher in an attempt to kill all the villains inside.
[edit] Stilt-Man II
During Day's absence from the world of costumed crime, an as-yet-unnamed criminal acquired the Stilt-Man armor, and after upgrading its telescoping abilities, was defeated in the pages of Marvel Team-Up. He was next seen being dispatched by Ms. Marvel in her new series.
[edit] In other media
In spite of his lackluster status, (or, perhaps because of it) Stilt-Man appears in the Sinister expansion to WizKid's HeroClix collectible miniature game, alongside his nemesis Daredevil.
Stilt-Man also made a guest appereance on the Iron Man animated series voiced by Dorian Harewood. His armor was based on Stark's Iron Man technology.
[edit] References
- ^ Daredevil vol. 1 #186
