| Super-Adaptoid | |
|---|---|
The Super-Adaptoid (background) battles the superhero team the Avengers on the cover of Avengers #45 (Oct. 1967). Art by John Buscema and Vincent Colletta. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | As the Adaptoid: Tales of Suspense #82 (Oct 1966) As the Super-Adaptoid: Tales of Suspense #84 (Dec. 1966) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Gene Colan Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Super-Adaptoid |
| Team affiliations | A.I.M. Heavy Metal Phalanx |
| Notable aliases | Adaptoid, Alessandro Brannex |
| Abilities | Mimic superhuman abilities |
The Super-Adaptoid is the name of two fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The first Super-Adaptoid appeared in Tales of Suspense #82 (Oct. 1966) and was created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Gene Colan.
The character has appeared in over four decades of Marvel continuity and featured in other Marvel-endorsed products such as animated television series and merchandise such as trading cards.
Contents |
The Super-Adaptoid debuted in the title Tales of Suspense, being created by scientific organization A.I.M.. The character is an android containing a shard of the artifact known as the Cosmic Cube, and is programmed to defeat the hero Captain America, which it nearly does after infiltrating Avengers Headquarters and copying the standout fighting abilities and respective traits of Captain America and his fellow Avengers (Goliath, Hawkeye, and Wasp). After a long battle between Captain America and the Adaptoid, the Adaptoid flees, believing - incorrectly - that it killed Captain America.[1]
After an appearance in the title X-Men[2] the Adaptoid features in the title Iron Man and is destroyed.[3] The Adaptoid reforms in the title Captain Marvel, and after a brief battle with Iron Man follows the hero to Avengers Mansion, where the character battles the team and Kree ally Captain Marvel. Mar-Vell tricks the Adaptoid into copying his nega-bands, which act as a portal to the alternate dimension the Negative Zone. By striking the Adaptoid's nega-bands together, Mar-Vell banishes the character to the Negative Zone indefinitely.[4]
The Adaptoid is retrieved in the title Marvel Two-in-One and used unsuccessfully by villains Annihilus and Blastaar against the hero the Thing and the Avengers in the Negative Zone.[5] The Adaptoid reappears in the title Avengers and is revealed to be stored at Avengers Mansion, where it is found by the Fixer when the supervillains the Masters of Evil storm the Mansion. The Adaptoid escapes, and after placing the Fixer in his containment unit, copies the powers of the villain Mentallo. Uniting a team of artificial beings called Heavy Metal (consisting of the Awesome Android; Machine Man; the Sentry 459 and TESS-One), the Adaptoid directs them against the Avengers. While the heroes are distracted, the Adaptoid summons the entity Kubik - a sentient Cosmic Cube - to Earth, so that the character can copy Kubik's powers and become all-powerful. Although successful, the Adaptoid is tricked into shutting down by Captain America.[6]
The Adaptoid makes a brief appearance during the Acts of Vengeance storyline in the title Fantastic Four;[7] the title Heroes for Hire where the character is disabled,[8] and the title Hulk, with scientist Bruce Banner (the alter ego of the Hulk) being blackmailed into repairing and activating the Adaptoid.[9]
In a New Avengers annual, terrorist organization HYDRA commission a new Adaptoid from A.I.M and deploy it to battle the New Avengers. A fusion of human (Yelena Belova) and machine, the Adaptoid is eventually defeated when the powers "copied" from Avenger Sentry cause the character the same psychological problems he experiences. HYDRA then destroys the Adaptoid via a remote-controlled self destruct device.[10]
An "Ultra-Adaptoid" appears in the limited series Super-Villain Team-Up: Modok's 11. Created by A.I.M. to infiltrate a group of super-villains formed by MODOK - a past A.I.M. creation himself - the character has no independent will and is remotely controlled. Courtesy of a satellite relay, the Adaptoid has access to dozens of powers, but is eventually destroyed when released from A.I.M control.[11]
The Super-Adaptoid features in the limited series Annihilation Conquest: Quasar, and is revealed to be a warrior in the employ of the Alien Phalanx. Claiming it left Earth after becoming disgusted with humanity's chaotic nature, the character attempts to destroy the new Quasar, her companion Moondragon and a reborn Adam Warlock.[12]
A Super-Adaptoid using the alias of "Alessandro Brannex" provides a new but inferior model of itself to the villainous group the New Enforcers to use as a field agent. The inferior model, however, is eventually deactivated by crime boss Blood Rose.[13]
Created by A.I.M, the first Super-Adaptoid is an artificial construct capable of copying or mimicking the powers and skills of numerous super beings, including specific equipment and clothing. This ability to adapt was originally courtesy of a shard of the artifact the Cosmic Cube, although the shard was eventually removed by cosmic entity Kubik. The character, however, has proven capable of continuing to function without the shard. The Adaptoid possesses exceptional artificial intelligence, but limited imagination and an inability to understand the human condition, which has led to defeat in the past.[14] When Yelena Belova was given the power of the Super-Adaptoid, Spider-Man had the idea to overload her ability to duplicate powers by having Iron Man attack her with all of his armors at once, overloaded the Adaptoid's copying ability as she only had the 'space' to copy one Iron Man rather than all of them.
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