Fight-Man Follow-Up (Marvel Universe Handbook Notes) (Patreon)

Hey --following up on the Fight-Man origin/background post, here's the Marvel handbook material I mentioned. I want to try to throw some extra reading material on here while things are so depressing and folks are spending more time indoors. Hope this is a fun read. Above is a penciled page from the 1993 Fight-Man One-Shot, featuring such famous and beloved characters as The Plug-In Maniac, Atomic Lou and The Massive Globula. Read all about 'em here!

Some time after the Agent X two-parter came out in 2003 I was asked to provide information on the Fight-Man cast of heroes and villains for an updated edition of the Handbook of the Marvel Universe series. I was pretty enthusiastic about the idea of Fight-Man being included in the (then-official) MCU (of the time, at least), which you can probably tell from the ridiculous amount of unnecessary  background details about a group of obscure characters that appeared in three comic books over a ten-year period. In my defense, I was, as I said, hopped up on the idea that something I created was considered a small but "real" part of the MCU I had loved as a kid. Also, I was having a lot of fun with this. I enjoy world-building and connecting concepts and writing character origins (especially intentionally goofy ones), I think it's something that first developed during my comic-reading childhood and blew up when I got into running RPG games like D&D and Champions as an older teenager. I had a lot of these character background concepts in my head from working on the books, and I relied on some notes I had floating around from the Agent X arc. But I improvised a good amount of the material on the fly. It was a lot of fun to knock out, especially weaving Doctorangutan throughout Delta City's criminal underworld and adding in a few nods to outside Marvel continuity like A.I.M and Modok. It was a bummer that Marvel wouldn't actually allow me to throw in a few established scrub villains in any of the Fight-Man comics (it seems a natural that a few C-level losers would gravitate to the notoriously corrupt city), but it allowed me to create Delta City up from the ground. And wreck it. Twice. 

Here's what I sent Marvel when I'm sure all they wanted was a few names and notes (!):

Fight-Man Handbook Notes 

Anyone who I’ve written up as a mutant can be changed as I have absolutely no idea what Marvel’s policy is towards mutants or how mutants as a race fit into continuity. When I wrote the one-shot mutants were everywhere.     

Also, if anything here contradicts with anything I’ve already sent you, or anything in the books, go with what is established/what you will. I am going thru the comics but am in a rush, have few surviving notes, a few things exist in the AX #11 script for BG, but mainly this is my riffing off what I know/remember about the characters, my vague plans in case Marvel ever allowed me to return to Delta City, and stuff I’m making up for the occasion.   
 

Anyway, here’s who I have material on/for: 

THE FIGHT BRIGADE - Formed after three emerging Delta City adventurers answered Fight-Man’s classified ad. Fight-Man thought a team would help him in his fight to clean up the city, he also hoped to meet some girls. The team lasted about six months, and broke up pretty much once everyone got to know Fight-man and get sick of him. Their in-fighting was legendary and occasionally threatened to destroy the city they were sworn to protect.
 

ELONGATED ARMSTRONG – Part-time hero/adventurer/drunk Plastics engineer on drinking binge accidentally drank some experimental chemical compounds which gave him stretching and pliability powers. He’s still a drunk and often ends up twisting himself into pretzels. Stretching/pliant abilities
 

THE HUMAN WRECK - Adventurer/slob Former stuntman willing to do anything for a bet, Fred “The Human Wreck” Zarko broke most of his bones after a rather stupid off-hours stunt and was forced into retirement. Bored, he cobbled together a “stunt suit” and became an adventurer/risk-taker for hire.   The stunt suit augments his above-avg strength, protects him from incurring horrific damage. Main powers are stubbornness and thick-headedness and ability to recover from massive injuries without succumbing to shock or pain or hindsight.
 

SUPER-MUMMY - Not a damned thing is known about Super-Mummy other than he’s pretty blasé about fighting crime. It depends on his mood whether he goes into action. Usually he’d prefer to stay home. No one even knows if he changes his wraps. He has a wife and a child, but they also wear mummy wraps and they aren’t talking. Has super strength, can fly, fires energy beams from his eyes, near invulnerability.
 

RIOT GRRL - Adventurer/activist/public speaker Mutant. Former scenester and zinester whose stridency and anger against “the system” one day manifested into superhuman powers while her band, “The Boy Eaters”, was playing a benefit. Used powers to fight injustice, etc. Her desire to fight crime and injustice lessened as she got paid speaking engagements.   Enhanced strength, super-speed, she also has a super-screech sonic attack she employs by screaming.
 

VILLAINS
 

ABLE-BODIED ASSASSIN Matthew Harsh Ex-military, weapons expert, men’s adventure and pulp novel enthusiast. His greatest weapon is perhaps his immense ego, which is also his worst enemy. He’s also anal compulsive, and cannot stop equipping his creep-crawly skull outfit which is inundated with secret compartments and pockets for more and more arcane weapons and gadgets. He carries so many weapons and devices it often drags him down and impedes his abilities. Often forgets simple things like extra bullets or keys. Will not take advice or criticism. Martial artist, boxer, marksman, all that dumb Punisher crap etc    
 

ATOMIC LOU - Lou Messmer Atomic researcher and klutz, caused a lab accident that bombarded his body and an experimental mini-rod he was working on with radioactive energy. Awoke from coma with atomic channeling abilities and altered features. Would be extremely dangerous if he was more competent. Constantly breaks or misplaces his Atomic Rod, which he needs to focus and expend his atomic power. If his rod is damaged severely, it can affect Lou disastrously, causing him to go “critical” and lose his molecular stability for quite some time   Energy blasts, flight   
 

BIG STRONG MAN Steve Kisto 

BIGGER STRONGER MAN Tracey Griffin 

BIGGEST STRONGEST MAN Chuck Manassa
 

Kisto, Griffin and Manassa were three frat brothers and members of the school football team who got involved in a game of one-upmanship taking large doses of experimental steroids (provided by DoctOrangutan, although a third party acted as middle man for the underground experiments on college athletes). The results caused the three young men to grow in size, depending on how much they had taken and how long they were on the program. The three often get into arguments and fights and have trouble working together because of their anger mismanagement, hormonal imbalances, and constant need to challenge one another to contests of strength and endurance. All possess super strength and sturdiness, but have a number of weak spots in their makeup due to their imbalanced systems.   
 
BLACKLUNG THE MALADY MAN - Tristam Oberbeck Mutant infected with various forms of cancer that are benign to him but deadly to others. He inflicts various diseases on others with his “hands of cancer”. Extorts money from potential victims, acts as an assassin, and was feared even among the underworld until Agent X severed both his hands. He is under observation in a government facility (wherever someone like him would be sent in the Marvel U) and is secretly attempting to spread disease through his spit and/or breath.    
 

TRIGGERMAN CARR - Gerald Carr Small-time hood and enforcer who has record for most arrests of anyone in Delta City. For some reason Carr insists on wearing a domino mask while committing crimes even though he does nothing to keep his identity a secret.    
 

COIN-OP CREEPS - Robot minions-for-rent provided by The One Man Atrocity to generate extra income for his various projects. The machines can be rented by time or operated by inserting the correct amount of change into them. Once activated the renter can order them around based on voice recognition patterns. Later models used swipe cards to make them easier to use, but customers began to attempt to hotwire or reprogram them which led to the infamous Robot Gang War of 1997. After the War, and the subsequent arrests and deaths, demand went down and the Atrocity stopped manufacturing them. Some of are undoubtedly still standing around in hidden places around Delta City waiting for action.
 

CRIMEASAURUS 2 - Spencer Breen Breen bought the Crimeasaurus suit from Haru Takahashi, the inventor of the suit and also the original Crimeasaurus, who wished to retire from the crime game. Takahashi had commissioned the suit from Paul Lemonde, aka Dennis Richmond, aka the One-Man Atrocity. The Crimeasaurus suit is a local favorite amongst both the criminal underground and the public, as long as it’s not doing anything to their property. It’s likely to pass hands again, if it hasn’t already, as there are many who want the suit, just to play around in, if nothing else.    The suit possesses superhuman strength, invulnerability, bullet-proof, tail attack, steel claws that can rend, suit can climb up buildings, breathe fire from its nostrils (which is like a dragon, not a dinosaur, as many have pointed out).   
 

DOCTORANGUTANG - Very little is known about the Doctor. It is not known if he is an orangutan with the brain or mind of a man, or a man turned into an orangutan, or what. What is known is the Doctor has spent years experimenting with the human physique, and is obsessed with producing superhuman beings of incredible power and ability. And he follows the beliefs of the nazi party to some degree. And likes his coffee heavily sweetened. His experiments have led to the creation of many of the super-villains in and around Delta City, and he has been funded by many of the major underworld figures and groups in the area. He was presumably killed by Beverly LaCoco along with the second Hooded Eye after he transformed her into a super-powered being.   
 

- FISTICUFF WOMAN - Vanessa Simmonds Female criminal/moll transformed into a superhuman by DoctOrangutan. The experiment was backed by Dr. Anarchy in an attempt to develop an opponent that Fight-Man could not beat. Not only did Fisticuff Woman possess incredible strength and invulnerability, but Fight-Man’s personal superhero code stipulates that he cannot hit women, giving her an uncommon edge over him. Unfortunately, Fisticuff Woman’s powers were unstable due to the experimental nature of her transformation, and after beating Fight-Man handily in a confrontation; Fight-Man was able to escape her wrath. He hid until she was arrested robbing a convenience store in her uniform, her powers having apparently faded. Eventually she regained her powers, causing Fight-Man more grief during the Big Fight of Delta City, where a large part of the city’s population attempted to kill Fight-Man for a bounty. He defeated her by drawing a moustache on her face and pretending she was Fisticuff Man.   
 

- GLASS-EYE FREDDIE Fred Balzofiore Small time hood and information-gatherer with augmented artificial eyes given to him by DoctOrangutan to replace those lost in a dart game grudge match held between rival Delta City gangs. Freddie’s artificial eyes have little cameras in them, which lock into ports in his artificial sockets and send imagery to his rewired brain. His eyes can be removed and the images downloaded, they have limited memory. Unfortunately, as this was an early bio-engineering experiment of DoctOrangutan, the devices are buggy, they don’t always transmit, rendering Freddie temporarily blind at inopportune moments, and the ports don’t lock well, causing his eyes to fall out of his head with sometime very slight pressure.   Enhanced sight, self-contained image recording abilities
 

ILL BILLY - William “Ill Billy” Williams   Mutant with devastating and destructive sonic powers achieved by yodeling and human beat-boxing along with his own personal mixed CDs, which he blasts over a portable boombox. Powers severely impaired after Agent X severed half his tongue.
 

KATMANDINGO - Name(s) unknown Sentient cat-man-creature created by DoctOrangutan as a bodyguard. Had enhanced strength, agility, climbing abilities, night vision. Killed when DoctOrangutan leeched his powers to give Beverly LaCoco super-powers.
 

MASSIVE GLOBULA - Morgan Schenk Petty criminal shot and dumped in toxic waste by members of a rival Delta City gang. Unbeknownst to anyone, the chemical waste was from the Hooded Eye’s lab. Mixed with river pollution and sewage, the cocktail transformed Schenk into a powerful, shape-shifting mass of mucus-like green muck. Schenk left unhinged by accident, often uses his abilities to create extra heads to talk and socialize with. Shape-shifting, stretching, the globule mass can harden to deliver fist or hammer shaped blows, swirls around opponents to confuse, sicken or drown them, seeps under doorways   
 

METALHEAD - Joey Marone Waterfront-based enforcer and collector with metal skin and giant studded steel metal head. Likes to ram or headbutt his victims and opponents. Found dying by DoctOrangutan, Marone was one of the Dr’s first human experiments in super-engineering. No one is sure if Marone suffered brain damage from the treatment or was always a thickheaded imbecile. Super strength, super invulnerability   
 

MISTER DENSITY - Gus Yaccarino Super-dense body, super-dense brain. A dim-witted, massively oversized enforcer and bodyguard used by reigning Delta City mobs for years. Can often be bought for food or trips to amusement parks. Likely a mutant. Was killed when DoctOrangutan leeched his power to give Beverly LaCoco super-powers. Incredible strength, impenetrable skin with a gut that sucks in opponents fists, knives, bullets.
 

MR. KILL - Alex Guttman Member of All-Hate Squad, purple armored guy on page 37 of FM#1, pointing at F-M. Armored villain whose specialty is poisons, toxins and gasses.   
 

MISTER TROUBLESOME - Hank Sabin F-M #1 page 10, seen in F-M’s scrapbook. Delta City enforcer/hood with hooks for hands. Likes to snip off old ladies fingers if they don’t pay for protection. His own mother only has seven fingers.   
 

THE ONE-MAN ATROCITY - Paul LeMonde, a.k.a Dennis Richmond
Former A.I.M. weapons designer. After receiving a mental blast rebuke from M.O.D.O.K. over a side comment he let loose during an inspection, Richmond faked his own death in order to escape the organization and strike out on his own. While often brilliant at designing personal weapons systems and armored suits, he’s not nearly as good at using them, being a somewhat iffy combatant and a bit of a klutz. He also has problems with keeping within a budget now that he is no longer under the constraints of an overarching terrorist organization. He spends much of his time supplying others with weaponry and trying to raise enough money and resources to one day take aim at A.I.M., M.O.D.O.K, and various other enemies.
 

PLAID BUG - Clifford Miles Inventor of the Bug Costume, which he attempted to use to fight crime. After a miserable career of three months where he was beaten and bloodied by a number of Delta City’s gang members, the Bug turned villain and joined the ranks of the underground. For a time he pretended to still be a crime-fighter, and used this pretense to lure police and other heroes into traps. Awarded “Worst Costume” several years running at the Delta City Crime Convention awards. Flight, athletics, use of bug-related gadgets and weaponry that often misfire
 

PLUG-IN MANIAC - Herschel Mueller Brilliant but imbalanced scientist/medical doctor obsessed with living forever. His family having a history of illness and dying young, he acted under the impression he would soon be dead and used shady means to continue his unorthodox research. Turned fully to crime to support his experiments in bio-engineering and the creation of the perfect cyborg vessel for the human brain. Designed weaponry and devices to rob and support his endeavors and lifestyle. Eventually put his brain where his mouth was and became the Plug-In Maniac, a super-strong and dangerously armed metal monster with Mueller’s brain running the show. Unfortunately, the bulky frame couldn’t perform further experiments, which has hampered his ability to perfect the design. Mueller has a collection of synthetic brains that he’s downloaded his brainwaves into, allowing him to continue on even after the loss of his Maniac casing and brain. He has lost his brain approximately seven times. Hates being called a “robot”, Prone to pointing out that he is a cyborg.
 

POLKA DOCTOR - Eugene Kinsolving, M.D. Former M.D. driven crazy by a combination of medical malpractice suits and prescription medication, Kinsolving went on a crime rampage outfitted with bizarre versions of his medical implements and a “Hypno-Hate Wheel” affixed to his reflector. No one has adequately explained his fascination with dots. Awarded “Worst Villain Alias” at the Delta City Crime Convention more than once.
 

PUNCHOUT - Ben Muldroon Guy with the giant boxing gloves first seen in F-M#1 page 37, member of the All-Hate Squad. Former boxer who cheated and was barred from the game, took up crime as revenge, enjoys hitting people, so continued with crime. Developed giant boxing gloves with the One-Man Atrocity that allow him to increase the power of his punches. He can be seen in AX #11 getting accidentally blasted by the One-Man Atrocity’s arm blaster.   
 

QUICKSTART - Robert Nazario AX#11, seen in the van with Dr. O and Beverly, he’s second from the right, after Katmandingo. Speedy villain, mutant, thoughts never quite caught up to his movements so he often made judgement errors leading to his arrest/downfall. Was killed when DoctOrangutan leeched his speed powers for Beverly LaCoco.
 

RADIO HEAD - Lewis Wendell Milkey Broadcasting-obsessed criminal who decided to wear a bizarre helmet fashioned from a radio on his head when committing crimes. The radio allowed him to listen to police broadcasts and his favorite oldies stations while breaking into banks and safes, but the unwieldy mask often led to his walking into furniture and tripping over things. It also affected his aim and ability to fight. Tried for a time to employ a modified helmet that used radio waves to shoot energy beams at victims, but after several trials he only ended up shocking himself instead and burning his hair. Briefly became TELEVISION HEAD for a time in order to modernize. Attempted to sue the band Radiohead for copyright infringement, but this only led to his arrest on outstanding warrants.   
 

ROMAN CANDLE - Armand Galante Flame-powered mutant who wore a Roman Gladiator outfit and liked to shoot fire from his sword. Was killed when DoctOrangutan leeched his power to give Beverly LaCoco super-powers.
 

THE SHIV - Dominic LoPretto Blade and knife expert/obsessive, inveterate murderer, assassin, and worse yet still, notoriously unhygienic. Didn’t flinch when it came to killing two young twins he had kidnapped after Fight-Man called him a pansy during the stand-off. Shot to death by Sandi Brandenberg.
 

SHOCKJOCK - Kenneth Sjolin AX#11, seen in the van with Dr. O and Beverly, he’s third from the right, between The Roman Candle and Quickstart. Mutant with electrical powers, killed when DoctOrangutan leeched his energy and abilities to give Beverly LaCoco super-powers. 

SLAP-HAPPY - Marvin Iggle AX#11 – his weapons keep appearing and Agent X finally clocks him one on the page where it says “Last Stop, City Hall” in the upper left-hand side.    
Failed Delta City clown who decided to continue his trade and get revenge on the people who ignored his routines all in one fell swoop. Determined to bring a smile to the faces of his victims even as he robs them, employs clown-related antics and props to commit his crimes. Chief among them are drugged pies, blinding confetti guns, and the dreaded rubber chicken rocket-launching mini-cannon. Sometimes he had trained dogs aid him, but they ran away.     
 

SLUGGER - Dean Whittinger Can be seen in F-M #1 on page 33 during the bathroom invasion, returns in AX#11 during Blacklung sequence. Former AAA Delta City baseball player with promising career, laid low by steroid abuse, drinking and gambling. Made his own baseball outfit, and created his own set of trick baseball bats for committing crimes against the owners of his former team and the local sports commission. Also uses drugged cleats and explosive baseballs. His favorite weapon is the oversized “Slug-O-Matic’ bat. Was touched, infected and killed by Blacklung The Malady Man in AX #11.   
 

URSINO - Name(s) unknown Sentient bear-man-creature created by DoctOrangutan as a manservant. Wears Russian military suits and drinks heavily. F-M is choking him on the page opposite the Shadowrun ad in AX #11.