Frankenstein's Monster (Marvel)

Frankenstein's Monster in Wolverine and the X-Men v1 #23.

Frankenstein's Monster is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

The Monster of Frankenstein in Frankenstein v1 #1.

Frankenstein's Monster

In 1788, Victor Frankenstein left his family estate in Geneva, Switzerland to study natural science at the University of Ingolstadt. While there, he became obsessed with the idea of recreating life from dead tissue and began robbing graveyards in order to acquire body parts. He stitched the various body parts together and subjected the patchwork creature to chemical treatments and electrolysis. Frankenstein succeeded in bringing his creation to life. Horrified by the creature's grotesque features, Victor abandoned his creation and returned to Geneva. As a result, the monster was left to fend for himself. (Frankenstein v1 #1) The creature wandered the forests for days and nearly died of starvation. He eventually came upon a grizzly bear, which he wrestled and killed. After consuming the raw meat, he skinned the carcass, and fashioned a makeshift coat, which he continued to wear for several years. As weeks passed, the monster continued wandering the countryside, doing his best to avoid human contact. The entire time however, he nursed a hatred for the man responsible for his miserable existence – Victor Frankenstein. His travels eventually brought him to a small cottage owned by the De Lacy family. The monster observed the family for several days, and discovered that the family patriarch was an old blind man. Here was a being who would not shriek in horror at the monster's grotesque form. The Monster concealed himself in a stable for several days until he had a chance to catch the old man alone. As luck would have it, a wolf had entered the cottage and threatened to kill old De Lacy. The monster rose to his rescue and killed the beast, then slowly nursed De Lacy back to health. Before long however, De Lacy's children returned to their cottage, and mistook the monster for a savage murderer. Shouting their lamentations, they chased the monster away from the house, back into the woods. (Frankenstein v1 #2)

Eventually, the creature found his way to Geneva, where he learned that his creator's family lived. Still nursing a deep-seated hatred for all things Frankenstein, he decided to exact his revenge by brutally murdering Victor's young brother, William. To further compound the tragedy, he framed the Frankenstein servant, Justine Moritz, for the crime. Justine was sentenced and hanged for the crime, but Victor knew that the true murderer of poor William, was his own pathetic creation. Victor met with the monster for the second time in a mountain cave far to the north of the family estate. (Frankenstein v1 #1) The monster told him of his experiences and demanded that Victor use his scientific prowess to create a mate for him. Victor felt he had little choice but to acquiesce, so he set upon creating a female version of the Frankenstein Monster. The monster kept a close vigil over Victor's work, and even assisted him by providing a fresh human heart for the creation. Victor brought the second creature to life, but was so disgusted by the sight of it, that he immediately destroyed it before it had barely taken its first breath. The monster was outraged. His need for revenge against Victor Frankenstein intensified and he satisfied this need by strangling Victor's close friend, Henry Clerval. (Frankenstein v1 #2) He then tracked down Victor and his new bride, Elizabeth on their wedding night, and brutally murdered her as well. Consumed by grief, Victor endeavored to track the creature down and finish him off for good. He chased him as far as the North Pole, but by this point, Victor's health had declined significantly. He contracted pneumonia and passed away without ever having seen his task to its conclusion. (Frankenstein v1 #3)

Despite his hatred for Victor Frankenstein, the monster was eerily distraught over the loss of the only 'father' he had ever known. Now, he yearned for nothing more than his own destruction – if such a thing was even possible. He began walking across the frozen plains in search of a good place to build himself a funeral pyre. As he journeyed, he entered warmer climates and discovered a small tribal camp. A community of brute Neanderthal men discovered the monster and attacked him. None of them however, could overcome the monster's strength and he easily battered them back. The tribe's chieftain recognized the creature's great strength and ordered his warriors to stand down. He invited the monster to stay with them and he became an honorary member of their tribe. Some days later, a nomadic tribe of rival barbarians stumbled upon the community and raided the camp. The monster joined forces with his Neanderthal friends and fought back, but most of them died in the battle. The barbarians tried their best to destroy the creature, but ultimately failed. During the raid, the Neanderthal chieftain was mortally injured. The monster took the dying man and traveled far away with him so that he could die in the tradition of his people. After erecting a funeral pyre for the Chieftain, a massive quake erupted beneath him. The monster fell off of the icy precipice and landed into the frigid waters below. The extreme temperatures rendered him inert, and remained trapped in the ice for the next hundred years. (Frankenstein v1 #4)

After leaving Ingolstadt, the Monster continued his journey throughout the Bavarian countryside. Once there, he met an old gypsy woman named Marguerita who told him that she knew information concerning the last Frankenstein. The Monster remained with Marguerita for a short time until he discovered her to be a vampire. The vampire then tricked the Monster into helping her resurrect the lord of all vampires Dracula. (Frankenstein v1 #7)

At some point, the Monster was temporarily pulled out of time to serve in Kang the Conqueror's Legion of the Unliving to fight the Avengers. Due to being undead, he was able to resist the mind control and wandered off from the rest of the group where he discovered Donald Blake and attacked him thus forcing his foe to turn into Thor Odinson. The two fought until Thor realized the monster was also a prisoner and let him wander off. (Avengers v1 #131)

Overview

Powers and abilities

For a time, he was the head of the Murder Circus that was a wandering circus consisting of other outcasts who Frankenstein's Monster offered shelter to and together they worked to hunt down the Frankenstein family. (Wolverine and the X-Men v1 #23)

Notes

• Frankenstein's Monster was created by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely where he made his first appearance in Atlas Comics Menace v1 #7 (September, 1953).
• The character was an adaptation of Frankenstein's Monster created by Mary Shelley.

In other media

Television

• In Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Frankenstein's Monster appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "The Transylvania Connections" where he was voiced by actor Stan Jones.

Appearances

• Menace v1: (1953)
• Frankenstein v1:
• Avengers v1:
• Fear Itself: Fearsome Four v1:
• Wolverine and the X-Men v1:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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