Frankenstein (DC)
Frankenstein is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
Contents[hide] |
Biography
Origin
Frankenstein was a male undead being that was the creation of Doctor Victor Frankenstein in the 19th century.
Seeking the secret of life, Dr. Frankenstein sought out a figure called Melmoth who offered this scientific knowledge and used his own precious undying blood for the experiment. Afterwards, Frankenstein's monster was created following a bolt of lightning striking an undead body that was stitched together from various corpses. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #2)
In 1870, he continued his pursuit of Melmoth where he boarded a train carrying the villain who unleashed his Circus of Maggots on Frankenstein. These were inhuman monsters that were bred on dead flesh and sent to attack the creature. During a fight, an explosion occurred that catapulted Melmoth's head from the moving train which fell off the rails by the cliffside and buried Frankenstein underground. He remained unconscious for over a century with a town being built above the site of the incident. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #1)
Modern
He later cam to awaken in 2005 during a time when a high school student who was called Uglyhead by the other children came to gain telepathic abilities from the Sheeda which he began to use to torment the other kids. At senior prom, the docile students came to be killed by Sheeda maggot-men at which point Frankenstein emerged where he killed the creatures and the boy as well before burning down the school to cover up the bodies. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #1) Frankenstein then continued his pursuit of Melmoth once again where he made his way to Mars through an Erdel Gate with the villain being accompanied by a team of astronauts looking to pilfer and study the ancient Martian tombs. In this time, Frankenstein came to free children that Melmoth had enslaved to work in the gold mines and fed the villain to the flesh-eating praying mantis-like horse that were native to the planet. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #2) Afterwards, he came to encounter his old love namely the Bride who was now working as an agent of the Super-Human Advanced Defense Executive (S.H.A.D.E.) that was a secret government agency that combated superhuman threats. She came to capture Frankenstein who was then drafted into the agency at the request of Father Time who had need of his talents. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #3) In S.H.A.D.E.'s employ, he came to stow away on a time-ship which brought him to the Sheeda realm in the distant future. Whilst there, he was responsible for destroying their world-destroying fleet and killing the Sheeda-Queen's time-yacht's steersman whilst hijacking her ship to return to the present. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #4)
Afterwards, he was shown to be involved in a battle against the General. (Infinite Crisis v1 #7)
Father Time dispatched him alongside a S.H.A.D.E. team to investigate the Dark Side Club where they found the new Question fleeing the scene. Within the club, they came to find many strange symbols that were disappearing the moment they were seen with these findings being sent back to Father Time. (Final Crisis v1 #3)
He was sent by S.H.A.D.E. alongside the Bride to accompany Dr. Francine Langstrom who wanted to cure his husband Kirk Langstrom from his transformation into the Man-Bat who was operating in Gotham. They managed to find him but their efforts to cure his condition was hampered by the arrival of Bizarro. The situation became more dangerous when Solomon Grundy was resurrected during the Blackest Night as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. Frankentein and the Bride attempted to stop the much stronger Grundy who was attempting to trigger emotional responses to consume the energy. This included ripping out Frankenstien's heart seemingly killing him but Grundy was then sent into the sun by his former friend Bizarro who sought to stop the carnage. The Bride mourned Frankenstein but it was revealed he was alive as he possessed a secondary heart that kept him functioning. (Superman/Batman v1 #67)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
He was created in 1823 by Dr. Victor Frankenstein at is castle where he was born from the death of 50 souls. The newly created being came to turn against his creator where he managed to escape and exposed Dr. Frankenstein's experiments to Elizabeth Frankenstein. Afterwards, he departed the castle and wandered for miles until he came upon the Amazon a year later. Whilst there in the jungle, he came to find acceptance amongst a tribe living there and thus found a sense of humanity. He was noted to had helped slay a monster that preyed on the tribe and was hailed as a hero but this time was short-lived as the village came under attack from Dr. Frankenstein. The mad scientist had sought revenge against his creation and hired a crew with the task of hunting him down. This led to a fight between the pair where Frankenstein ended up killing his creator at which point he was met by Father Time who recruited him into S.H.A.D.E. (Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. v1 #0)
On December 29, 1941, S.H.A.D.E. had Agent Frankenstein deployed to London to help fight off Nazi Germany at the request of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. (Men of War v2 #8)
He would later come to join the ranks of the superhero team known as Justice League Dark. (Justice League Dark v1 #13)
With the destruction of S.H.A.D.E. by Leviathan, Frank continued his operations in eliminating threats to the world such as a living plague born in a genetically engineered hybrid bovine being. He tracked his quarry to Monstertown in Gotham City where he eliminated the target but came to learn that his old enemy Melmoth was being resurrected. Thus, Frankenstein looked to find and stop his return leading to an encounter with the vampire Andrew Bennett. (Gotham City Monsters v1 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
It was said that Frankenstein had an innate sense of justice. (Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. v1 #0)
He claimed that he had to walk his road alone. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #1)
According to one account, Frankenstein was born as the creation of the experiments of the insane Dr. Victor Frankenstein. (Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. v1 #0) Melmoth claimed to be the true 'father' of Frankenstein as his blood was used to bring the undead being to life. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #2)
He had a long-standing relationship with the Bride who was an artificial being similar to himself. However, she claimed that he was never her type and did not consider him a love interest. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #3)
Powers and abilities
He possessed superhuman strength with him not needing to eat or sleep, where he was functionally immortal. (Frankenstein: Agents of S.H.A.D.E. v1 #0) As an undead being, Frankenstein was composed of assorted body parts taken from dozens of different sources. This meant that Frankenstein could replace damaged or missing limbs with grafts taken from individuals of similar build and adapt it to his unique physiology. (Frankenstein: Agents of S.H.A.D.E. v1 #5)
He was able to hear radio and television signals. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #1)
His body was noted to possess two hearts with one operating if the other was destroyed. (Superman/Batman v1 #67) Within his body was the blood of Melmoth who claimed was responsible for bringing Frankenstein to life. According to the Sheeda King, this made Frankenstein a kin to the Grundy-Men that were used by the inhabitants of Slaughter Swamp and Limbo Town. This made Frankenstein vulnerable to the arcane tools used by the Sheeda that could allow them to take control of such creations. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #2)
Frankenstein came to uncover Michael's sword from a shop in the town he awakened in during the modern age. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #1) It was shown that the Sword of Michael could hurt Black Lanterns. (Superman/Batman v1 #67)
After joining S.H.A.D.E., he gained mental access to their database via a surgical implant. (Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1 #4)
Notes
- Frankenstein was created by Edmond Hamilton and Bob Kane where he made his first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #135 (May, 1948).
- The character was based and adapted from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's Monster from the Modern Prometheus (1818).
- A later reworking was developed by Len Wein as the Spawn of Frankenstein concept. The monster fell under the thrall of Count Dracula. They often battled against Superman, Batman, or the Phantom Stranger. He appeared in The Phantom Stranger (vol. 2) #23-30 (February 1973-May 1974), Action Comics #531 (May 1982), and The Young All-Stars #18-19 (November–December 1988).
- A third Frankenstein Monster appears in Superman #344 (February 1980), along with Count Dracula. These both come from "The World of Nightmare" and battle Superman, the Phantom Stranger, and Cassandra Craft.
- Frankenstein's latest revamping was created by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke in 2005 and was similar to Doc Frankenstein. He was one of the Seven Soldiers, and bears a resemblance to the creature as portrayed by Boris Karloff in the 1931 film directed by James Whale.
Alternate Versions
- In Superman v1 #276 (1974), an alternate version of Frankenstein appeared in the Pre-Crisis reality designated as Earth-276 in the Multiverse. This version was shown as being a member of the villainous Monster League of Evil.
- In Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown v1 (2011), an alternate version of Frankenstein appeared in the altered reality of the Flashpoint. Frankenstein was awakened during World War II and attacks Nazi soldiers to save Lt. Matthew Shrieve. Later, Frankenstein is invited by Project M to join the Creature Commandos. Leading a raid with the Creature Commandos, Frankenstein personally killed Adolf Hitler. After the end of World War II, however, Project M was deemed obsolete by Robert Crane's government services. Frankenstein refuses to accept, but is subdued and put into stasis by the G. I. Robot. Later, Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos revive, escape from their prison and discover they have been awakened over 65 years later. Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos travel to Gotham City, where Dr. Mazursky might live and believe him to be alive. The Creature Commandos found Dr. Mazursky's cabin; they discover that Dr. Mazursky has moved to Romania, when the Creature Commandos are ultimately ambushed by Matthew Shrieve's granddaughter Miranda and a group of soldiers. Frankenstein attacks the soldiers, but he was sprung by the G. I. Robot to be subdued again. The Creature Commandos saved Frankenstein by tearing the G. I. Robot apart. During the attacks, the Creature Commandos are saved by Frankenstein's Bride, who is revealed to be alive. The Bride explains to her husband that she is working as an agent of S.H.A.D.E. Later, Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos then travel to Romania with Miranda, who was being manipulated by General Sam Lane, who is revealed to be the one truly responsible for the deaths of Miranda's family. They arrive in Romania, where they found a small village populated by monsters. The village is then attacked by a giant G. I. Robot. After they destroy the G. I. Robot, Frankenstein, the Bride and Miranda depart from the Creature Commandos and participate in the Atlantean/Amazon war.
- In The New 52: Futures End FCBD Special Edition v1 #1 (2014), an alternate version of Frankenstein appeared in the altered timeline of Future's End existing within a world in the Multiverse. At the point when Batman (Terry McGinnis) finished time-traveling, he had left the employ of S.H.A.D.E. and was living in a secluded part of Nunavut. However, he was baited into tracking down the agency by Father Time, who wanted his help solving the murder of the Stormwatch team. Frankenstein accepted because his former girlfriend, Nina Mazursky, had died. So Frank went with the other Agents of S.H.A.D.E to the Phantom Zone. They were met with Black Adam who wanted to leave. Frank insisted that they ignore him, But Amethyst went to go deal with him. After his arm was cut, Ray suggested to give him Hawkman's arm. Once they were done, it was revealed that Hawkman survived, and he was not too happy about his arm being put on Frankenstein. Hawkman stopped once Amaya explained that Stormwatch was dead.
- In Mystik U v1 (2017), during a battle against the force known as the Malevolence the mystical heroes of Earth lost but cast a spell to create an alternate world. On this world, there existed Mystik University headed by Miss. Psychic and was a place to train those in the magical arts. In this world, it was shown that Frankenstein was a lecturer at Mystik University.
In other media
Television
- In The World's Greatest Super Friends, Frankenstein appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "The Super Friends Meet Frankenstein".
- In Creature Commandos, a different incarnation of Frankenstein named Eric Frankenstein appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the DC Universe where he was voiced by actor David Harbour.
Video games
Appearances
- Detective Comics v1: (1948)
- Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein v1:
- Final Crisis v1:
- Superman/Batman v1:
- Frankenstein: Agents of S.H.A.D.E. v1:
- Men of War v2:
- Justice League Dark v1:
- Grayson v1:
- Gotham City Monsters v1:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
