Freak (Marvel Comics)

Freak is the name of three fictional characters in the Marvel Universe. Most villains known as Freak are associated with Iron Man, while the most recent version appears in The Amazing Spider-Man.

Publication history

Happy first appears as the Freak in Tales of Suspense #74–76 (February–April 1966), by Stan Lee and Gene Colan. He appears as the Freak again in later Iron Man issues.^[1]

Eddie March first appears as the Freak in Iron Man #67 (April 1974), by Mike Friedrich and George Tuska.

The third Freak first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #552 and was created by Bob Gale and Phil Jimenez.

Fictional character biography

Happy Hogan

The first Freak is an alter-ego of Happy Hogan, a friend of Iron Man (Tony Stark).

When Happy Hogan becomes desperately ill, doctors try to cure him using a cobalt ray machine powered by Stark's experimental Enervator device. Instead, Happy mutates into a giant, savage, nearly mindless, superhumanly strong humanoid known as Freak.^[2] Though he is restored to his normal self, Hogan turns into the Freak several times after being exposed to cobalt on several occasions.^[1]

Eddie March

The second Freak was Eddie March, another friend of Tony Stark.^[3]

While wearing the Iron Man armor, Eddie March is badly injured in a fight with Thor. Stark decides to use the Enervator on Eddie in a desperate attempt to save him. Though Stark takes precautions to prevent the device from transforming Eddie into a monstrous creature, Eddie nonetheless becomes a new Freak. Stark, as Iron Man, tries to subdue him, while simultaneously protecting him from the police. He is able to knock the Freak out with a few nerve punches. Once unconscious, Freak reverts to human form and Thor's alter ego Dr. Donald Blake is able to operate on March to save his life.^[4]

Eddie has not transformed into the Freak since this incident.

Freak (Spider-Man villain)

The third Freak is a villain that first appears in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. A drug addict named Freak is chased down by Spider-Man after attempting to steal from the poor at the soup kitchen where Spider-Man's Aunt May works.^[5] Freak stumbles into a laboratory owned by Curt Connors and injects himself with animal gene fluids, thinking they are crystal meth. A chrysalis forms around Freak's body, and he later emerges as a skinless monster ^[6] After being shot at by police, he falls into the sewer and forms another chrysalis. Emerging as an animal hybrid and completely bulletproof, Freak tracks Spider-Man by his scent. ^[7] After a violent confrontation, Freak gives in to his addictions and finds a meth lab. Spidey follows him. During the ensuing fight, the building is set ablaze. Freak is caught under the flaming debris, but survives and creates a new chrysalis, which has made him fireproof and even stronger. ^[8] Freak emerges as an armadillo-like creature and again tries to kill Spider-Man. When Connors arrives with the quicklime necessary to incapacitate Freak, Spider-Man tricks him into thinking Connors has drugs. Freak tears open the bags and is covered in the quicklime. He again forms a chrysalis, with Spider-Man pouring quicklime over it, to permanently incapacitate him. The chrysalis is taken by a hazmat crew — which is later revealed to be an Oscorp research group. ^[9]

Freak is next seen cut open and hooked up to machines in an Oscorp lab where scientists are using his unique abilities to cure various diseases.^[10] Norman Osborn injects him with a sample of the anti-venom antibodies to create "super-venom," a virus capable of killing millions with a single drop. He then uses the super-venom to re-power Mac Gargan who was "cured" of his symbiote by Anti-Venom. Norman also mentions that Freak is incapable of becoming intoxicated because his body adapted to his drug addiction by removing the pleasure center of his brain^[6] In the confrontation between Spider-Man and Osborn, Osborn activates the building's self-destruction, with Freak still inside. A search afterwards by Oscorp reveals "no signs of life", which made the team reason that Freak was killed, with Osborn immediately retorting "Idiot. Think about it for a second."^[11]

During the Origin of the Species storyline, Freak is invited by supervillain Doctor Octopus to join his team where he exchange for securing some specific items for him. Freak goes after Spider-Man for Menace's infant. He collides with Vulture (Jimmy Natale) before Rhino arrives.^[12] Spider-Man goes on a rampage against the villains after the infant is kidnapped from him by the Chameleon, and Spider-Man defeats the Freak.^[13]

Powers and abilities

The Happy Hogan version of Freak can absorb large doses of cobalt radiation and discharge blasts of cobalt radiation from his hands.

The third Freak can adapt to any situation and return to life in a different appearance. He also has Hulk-like bulletproof durability and strength, acidic saliva, can shoot toxic spores from his body at will, and he can adapt to certain harsh environments.

References

External links

• Freak (Happy Hogan) at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Happy Hogan at the Comic Book DB
• Freak (Eddie March) at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Eddie March at the Comic Book DB
• Freak (Spider-Man villain) at the Comic Book DB