Plantman
Plantman is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Samuel Smithers
He was noted to had grown to manhood in the slums of London. (Sub-Mariner v1 #3)
Unknown to him, the bolt of lightning that struck his device was an attempt by the plant-like race of H'ylthri from the mystical city of K'un-Lun looking for an agent to aid in their attacks against the world of mankind. (Namor the Sub-Mariner v1 #24)
At some point, he came to get a job as a gardener for the Evans family though used his time to continue his experiments in plant intelligence. This eventually resulted in an argument with his employer who ended up firing him with Smithers vowing revenge against him. At his home, he continued his research whilst a storm was in the area and a bolt of lighting struck his device. He made a disguise and called himself Plantman. Smithers then thought out a suitable revenge for his former boss Mr. Evans, framing him for robbery. However, Evans' daughter Dorrie was dating the Human Torch, who thwarted Plantman and cleared Evans' name. Even though the Human Torch destroyed Plantman's ray gun, Smithers escaped. (Strange Tales v1 #113)
Later, he, along with the Porcupine and the Eel attended the Celestial Mind Control Movement established by Nebulon in the hopes of turning around their failing criminal careers. Smithers quickly left, as he thought that the movement was nothing more than a fraud. He devised a plan to kidnap millionaire Kyle Richmond, who was in hospital recuperating from brain surgery, and ransom him for fifty million dollars. (Defenders v1 #36) He was opposed by Richmond's teammates, the Defenders, and was soon forced to retreat. He decided that he couldn't do it alone and returned to the Celestial Mind Control headquarters. When he saw his friends who were brainwashed by the movement, he changed his mind and wanted to leave. This time, however, Nebulon blasted him unconscious. (Defenders v1 #37)
Smithers later branched out on his own to become the mastermind of a larger criminal operation. He developed his Pretty Poison which he field tested on his long-time nemesis Captain America. The toxin placed the Captain in a debilitating, life threatening coma. The Falcon and Spider-Man were able to track down and defeat Plant Man, acquiring and administering the antidote just prior to Captain America succumbing to the poison's effect. (Marvel Team-Up v1 #71)
Smithers more closely allied with the H'ylthri when he worked with their representative Sssesthugar. The two worked to bring the H'ylthri to Earth to conquer mankind and set up their species as the dominant new world order. However, Smithers was betrayed by the H'ylthri and left for dead. He gave his ray gun to Namorita who was able to use it and stop the H'ylthri invasion. (Namor the Sub-Mariner v1 #25)
He later appeared as a giant plant monster that attacked Los Angeles in order to punish humanity for polluting the planet. The Avengers arrived at the scene to combat them where they fell under the influence of the Red Onslaught with Iron Man defeating Plantman in the process. (Avengers & X-Men: AXIS v1 #1) During the Cotati invasion of Earth, he came to ally with the invaders and empowered by them where he grew in power from a lake in Manhattan that was draining water from the region. The Avengers arrived at the scene leading to a battle with Smithers who believed that meat-based races were a plague on the Earth that needed to be expunged. (Empyre: Avengers v1 #2)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After gaining his powers, he first came to take the name of Plantman. (Strange Tales v1 #113) Smythers later decided to take he name of Blackheath for himself. (Thunderbolts v1 #67)
He long believed that plants such as flowers had the capacity for intelligence and sought a means of increasing their intelligence. (Strange Tales v1 #113)
His parents were said to had worked themselves to an early grave and left him an orphan. (Thunderbolts v1 #69)
Powers and abilities
He had a device that was struck by a bolt of lighting that could then emit rays that were capable of manipulating plants. With it, he could increase the intelligence of plants and also make them follow his commands. He could command them to alter their form to the shape of keys to open a lock. (Strange Tales v1 #113) In reality, this device emitted an energy frequency that could draw the attention of the H'ylthri. (Namor the Sub-Mariner v1 #24) Another device was the vega-ray that could be used to animate plant matter. (Sub-Mariner v1 #3)
His body came to be drastically evolved with more vegetative matter incorporated into his body than human organics. (Thunderbolts v1 #69)
Plantman was capable of creating flora-based beings known as Simuloids. These were plant-based copies of people that could be used to replace the real person. Their bodies were composed of wood and it was said that they were not sentient. (Avengers v1 #231)
A powerful monster he had created was the titanic Leviathan that was a mass of coral which came to be animated by the vega-ray. (Sub-Mariner v1 #3) One of his mightiest creations was a gigantic humanoid plant creature referred to as a tree-man. It towered over humans and held incredible strength. (Avengers v1 #231)
Smythers later gained access to the Verdant Fields that was a bioelectric wavelength that was the rhythm and pulse linking all organic vegetation across the planet. (Thunderbolts v1 #67)
Notes
- Plantman was created by Stan Lee, Jerry Siegel and Dick Ayers where he made his first appearance in Strange Tales v1 #113 (October, 1963).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
Appearances
- Strange Tales v1: (1963)
- Defenders v1:
- Namor the Sub-Mariner v1:
- Thunderbolts v1:
- Avengers & X-Men: AXIS v1:
- Empyre: Avengers v1: (2020)
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
