Brute (Marvel)
The Brute is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
Reed Richards was a male human who was an inhabitant of the world of Counter-Earth with this being a planet ruled by the High Evolutionary. Similar to his mainstream counterpart, this Richards attended the University of California where he was a freshman in a dorm at Berkley. In that time, he came to meet Victor von Doom where the two worked together despite beings with the pair supporting each other's research. One day, an experiment came to blow up in Doom's space which horribly scarred him with Reed standing by his side as a friend where he urged him to not let this setback hold him back in his scientific studies. Thus, this version of Victor von Doom did not retreat behind the metallic mask he began to wear but looked to repay mankind for the understanding shown to him. Meanwhile, Reed looked to continue to bring his own contribution to the field of science by making Counter-Earth's version of America to be the first nation in space. Alongside his Susan Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm all stole a rocket ship to go into space despite the warnings of Professor von Doom. Whilst in orbit, their vessel was struck cosmic rays though they managed to return back to Counter-Earth's surface. Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm had only minor injuries whilst Reed was unharmed but Susan Storm fell into a coma from which she never recovered. The incident caused the quartet of neo-explorers to not be hailed as space heroes with Reed diligently going back into his work. Unknown to anyone, it was the Man-Beast who ensured that Richards was the only one exposed to cosmic rays though this only came to be manifested one night. (Warlock v1 #6)
He later came to be tracked down by the Man-Beast who sent him to San Francisco to destroy his nemesis Adam Warlock who was operating in the area. Turning into the Brute, he battled the hero who he nearly managed to drown but Warlock used the power of the Soul Gem to cure Richards of his transformation. (Warlock v1 #6) Attempting to return to his old life, he came to be tracked down by the Man-Beast in secret once again who forced Richards body to turn into the Brute again. He then sent the Brute to fight against Adam Warlock again but this time had fully unlocked Richards latent power in this form. However, he cam to find that he hungered for raw energy leading to him stealing the earth-borer device created by his old colleague Victor von Doom where the machine looked to harness Counter-Earth's geothermal energy. Feasting on this power, the Brute came to absorb it into his body where it threatened to engulf the planet into an ice age. Warlock attempted to stop the villain but was powerless against the newfound might of the Brute. Looking to save his friend, Victor von Doom attempted to turn the radiation shield into a radiation absorber in the hope of use it to absorb the Brute's energies and turning him back into Reed Richards again. However, this caused the earth-borer to explode where it came to kill Victor von Doom in the process. (Warlock v1 #7)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After his mutation activated, his monstrous form led to Reed referring to himself as the Brute. (Warlock v1 #6)
The power and strength he had as the Brute came to fascinate him leading to him to experiment in the use of his new abilities. (Warlock v1 #6)
It was remarked that the Brute was a killer. (Warlock v1 #7)
Powers and abilities
Originally, Reed Richards was an ordinary human being with no special powers beyond his exceptional intellect. (Warlock v1 #6)
He was later exposed to cosmic rays that mutated his flesh and bones giving him a monstrous appearance along with considerable strength. It was shown that he had the ability to switch between his human and Brute form at will. (Warlock v1 #6)
The mutation that altered his body meant that the Brute now required raw energy as sustenance that he needed to survive. Such was his energy requirement needs that they were massive and was able to absorb large amounts of power. The Brute was compared to a living battery whose body was able to absorb the raw power and direct it according to his will where it could be used to increase his own strength ten-fold. However, the danger of absorbing so much energy was that it risked turning his body into something like an atom bomb which could explode. (Warlock v1 #7)
Notes
- The Brute was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane where he made his first appearance in Marvel Premiere v1 #2 (May, 1972).
- The character was an adaptation of Mr. Fantastic who was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Alternate Versions
Appearances
- Marvel Premiere v1: (1972)
- Warlock v1:
- Marvel Feature v1:
External Links
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