Delroy Garrett

Delroy Garrett, Jr. is a fictional superhero published by Marvel Comics. He is the second character to use the name 3-D Man.

Publication history

Triathlon first appeared in Avengers vol. 3 #8 (September 1998), and was created by Kurt Busiek and George Pérez.

The character appeared as a member of the Agents of Atlas in 2011.^[1]

Fictional character biography

Origin

Delroy Garrett is an Olympic track medalist whose career was derailed when it was found he used steroids. Dejected, Delroy joined the Triune Understanding to restore his faith. Triune leader Jonathan Tremont imbued Delroy with the powers stolen from the former superhero, the 3-D Man. Delroy had no idea of the source of his new powers thinking that the teachings of the Triune had simply unlocked his superhuman potential. Delroy became the costumed superhero, Triathlon, and became the Triune's celebrity spokesman.

Avengers

Garrett's first involvement with the Avengers came while he was using the identity of Triathlon, he assisted them in defeating arms dealer Moses Magnum.^[2] Soon after, Garrett also helped the Avengers battle Lord Templar and Pagan at the dedication ceremony of a new Triune Understanding building. The battle ended with Lord Templar and Pagan escaping.^[3] Jonathan Tremont publicly blamed the Avengers for the destruction, and then covertly set up a smear campaign against the team to suggest they were religiously intolerant and racist. Tremont then had the mercenary Taskmaster frame a number of Avengers for the destruction of an important Triune building. Tremont then publicly "forgave" the Avengers which the team grudgingly went along with to avoid further bad publicity. It was during Tremont's media event at Avengers Mansion that the building was attacked by a terrorist. Triathlon aided the Avengers in defeating the terrorist. In the aftermath, Duane Freeman, the Avengers' government liaison suggested that the team add Triathlon as a member to quell the bad publicity that the team had recently engendered. With some animosity on both sides, Triathlon was made a member of the Avengers when their new line-up was announced to the public.^[4]

At first, Triathlon, although a capable member, constantly complained and argued with his teammates, thinking that they were intolerant and included him on the team only because of the public image. But soon, with the help of teammate Warbird, who told him that he could either go around with a chip on his shoulder and never fit in or actually try to work with his teammates as people and take the chance they would be imperfect, Delroy saw that his teammates were good people and became an eager and willing team member, even refusing to attend Triune functions if it conflicted with his schedule as an Avenger.

Later, during Kang's war on earth, a being of immense power entered the solar system. This was the "triple evil" which Tremont had supposedly founded the Triune Understanding to defeat. Powering up the Triune's spaceship, Tremont and the Avengers traveled to face the being. During the battle, Tremont's true reasoning became clear: he sought the power of the "triple evil" for his own. In the past, he had stolen the triangle power of 3-D Man, and resurrected his two dead brothers as Lord Templar and Pagan. He then formed the Triune Understanding to enable him to find the other triangle fragments of power. The "triple evil" contained the final power he sought. During the battle, Tremont killed his brothers and his followers by drawing all their power and life energy into himself, intending to take the power of the Triple Evil and use it to become a god to those on Earth, but he ultimately lost control of the immense power. Triathlon, though, was able to channel the power and defeated the "triple evil", realising that the power could only be controlled by one who strived for others rather than for themselves.^[5] With Traithlon now in control of the pyramid, the Avengers then returned to Earth and ultimately defeated Kang and the Scarlet Centurion in their bid to take over the planet. Following Kang's defeat, Triathlon dissolved the pyramid's remaining energies to prevent it being any further threat, subsequently sacrificing the last of his power to restore the 3-D Man and his brother to their independent forms. When the Avengers later reorganized under a United Nations charter, Triathlon left the team along with some other members.^[6]

The Initiative

Garrett re-emerged as a member of Captain America's "Secret Avengers," declaring his stance against the Superhuman Registration Act.^[7] He was named among the missing in the wake of the final battle of the Civil War.^[8]

Following the passage of the Superhuman Registration Act, Garrett was recruited in the Fifty State Initiative. Serving as a squad instructor, he assisted in the training of new recruits while training to become a team leader for one of the 50 states. Garrett took on a new alias, that of 3-D Man, and when his Initiative training was complete he was assigned to Hawaii.^[9]

Secret Invasion

Delroy arrives in Hawaii and is greeted by Point Men team members Star Sign and Paydirt. He encounters Devil-Slayer on the way to the base, who states that he has sensed portents of doom all day. When he meets the final team member Magnitude, the goggles Delroy obtained from the original 3-D Man^[10] allow him to identify Magnitude as a Skrull impostor. The Skrull Magnitude (who has the powers of Banshee, Havok, Polaris, and Sunfire) attacks and severely wounds Star Sign and Paydirt, but Delroy kills the Skrull with a sword magically summoned by Devil-Slayer. Devil Slayer uses his Shadow Cloak to teleport Delroy to Camp Hammond, where he announced to everyone assembled that the Initiative has been infiltrated by Skrulls. The Crusader, fearing that he will be exposed as a Skrull, uses the Cosmic Ring, and suddenly 3-D Man sees every non-Skrull surrounding him as a Skrull.^[11] Crusader persuades 3-D Man to take a Quinjet and get help, but only because it would take him out of range of his ring's influence. Mid-flight, the Quinjet is affected by the virus the Skrulls used to infect all Starktech systems, and 3-D Man crashes somewhere in New Mexico.^[12] There, he meets and joins the Skrull Kill Krew after they vanquish the Skrull posing as She-Thing. He assists them when his goggles identify Blacksmith of the Desert Stars as a Skrull and kills him.^[13] Delroy Garret's goggles also identify Equinox as a Skrull who is killed by Cloud 9. While in Philadelphia, the Revolutionary is revealed as a Skrull and defeated by Gravity and Hope. When they come across a fight between Thor Girl and Ultra Girl, Delroy's goggles identify Thor Girl as a Skrull. With help from Gravity, Delroy uses Thor Girl's own hammer to kill the Skrull imposter.^[14] When it came to a crowd uprising dealing with Skrulls in the form of civilians, Delroy's goggles were broken by a thrown rock giving his allies a hard time finding out which civilians are Skrulls. During the struggle, Delroy discovers that he can see who is a Skrull without his goggles. This turns the tides against those Skrulls disguised as crowd members. When it came to the fight at Camp Hammond, Delroy's Skrull-detecting abilities detect Crusader as a Skrull after Crusader kills Criti Noll, so Delroy shoots and apparently kills Crusader.^[15]

Delroy leaves the Initiative,^[16] noting the hostility of Red Nine, Annex, Geiger, Batwing, and Prodigy over the shooting of Crusader, and joins Ryder to hunt for any Skrulls still hiding out on Earth.^[17]

Agents of Atlas

Delroy approached the Agents of Atlas in helping investigate strange questions regarding his history and powers. He was later asked to join the team, an offer he accepted.^[18]

AXIS

During the AXIS storyline, Delroy is among the heroes recruited by an inverted Doctor Doom to join his team of Avengers.^[19]

Powers and abilities

Delroy Garrett is imbued with the abilities of the original 3-D Man. He has three times the physical abilities of a man in peak physical condition. He can also heal injuries in a third of the time that would take a peak human to heal. His perceptions (sight, hearing, smell) have been enhanced as well. He can also run at superhuman speed.

The goggles given to Delroy by the original 3-D Man help Delroy to focus his ability to identify Skrulls in disguise, although the power to do so lies within him. Delroy is now able to access that power without the help of the glasses.^[15] When doing so, one eye turns red and the other turns green. He is now also able to see, when focusing, a person's true form (detecting illusions, possessions etc.).

Other versions

JLA/Avengers

Triathlon appears in the first issue where he is taken over by Starro the Conqueror.^[20] In #2 he only appears around the start, where he voluntarily stays at the Mansion to monitor events, as he claims Yellowjacket and the Wasp are more experienced.^[21] In #4 he is defeated by Rhino, but being a then-current member of the Avengers, he reappears among the Avengers at the end being transported away from Krona's base when the timestream gets realigned and the DC and Marvel Universes are separated.^[22]

References

External links

• 3-D Man (Delroy Garrett) at the Marvel Universe wiki
• Triathlon at the Comic Book DB
• Triathlon at the Marvel Wiki
• Triathlon at Marvel Directory