Trapster
The Trapster is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
Peter Petruski
As an adult, he worked as a research scientist in New York City for a major corporation. While working there, he patented a multi-polymer adhesive that made him very wealthy and made him the top of his profession. However, instead of continuing his successful career Petruski decided to turn his skills toward a life of crime which was a move he believed would be more lucrative. (Spider-Man v1 #91)
Initially, he adopted the name of Paste-Pot Pete where he made use of a costume and a paste-gun for his crimes. Despite his garb and weapon, he not only succeeded in robbing the Glennville bank, but also managed to evade the novice hero known as the Human Torch of the famous Fantastic Four. Deciding to raise the stakes, Paste-Pot Pete attempted to steal a Delta Cosmic Missile from the military in the hopes of selling it to the highest bidder, unconcerned if it was sold back to the United States military or a foreign power. He was chased by the Torch who managed to recover the missile, Pete then fled the scene by using his paste gun to grab hold of a passing commercial airliner and dropping into international waters where a hired boat waited for him. With his first mission a humiliating defeat, Pete fled the country in the hopes of evading the authorities. (Strange Tales v1 #104) Smuggling himself back into the country, Pete sought to get revenge against the Human Torch. Learning that the Torch had recently apprehended the criminal genius known as the Wizard, Pete broke him out of prison. Although the pair formed a rocky alliance, they succeeded in framing the Torch for various petty crimes as well as acts of treason. But, they fell for a trap set by the Torch when the young hero disguised himself as a wealthy British actor. The Wizard and Pete succeeded in luring the Torch into a series of traps, but the youth's flame powers proved too much for the two criminals and they were quickly apprehended and incarcerated. (Strange Tales v1 #110)
Later on, Baron Heinrich Zemo and his Masters of Evil terrorized New York City with Zemo's Adhesive X leading to the Avengers seeking out Paste-Pot Pete's expertise with adhesives to combat Zemo's powerful solvents. With the help of a counter agent created by Pete, the Avengers were able to defeat the Masters of Evil. (Avengers v1 #6) Pete was released from prison as the authorities believed he had reformed. Pete had no intentions of going straight and instead focused on getting revenge against the Torch once more. Developing a new costume and weapons he attacked the Torch's teammate the Thing and took him prisoner. When the Torch came to rescue his friend he was also briefly captured, but the Thing managed to break free. Outmatched by the two heroes powers, Paste-Pot Pete surrendered to them and was arrested once again. (Strange Tales v1 #124)
Pete and the Sandman would come to escape from prison by hijacking a plane. Whilst flying through the air, they came to encounter the Wizard who had been trapped high up in the sky. The two escapees came to rescue him and thus save him from suffocation in the upper atmosphere. During their meeting, they all came to showcase their unique powers along with a mutual hatred of the Fantastic Four. It was then that the Wizard suggested that they team up together and be an evil counterpart to those heroes. For a fourth member, the Wizard introduced a mysterious woman named Madame Medusa who was hiding out on a remote island in the Mediterranean with complete control over her hair. Joining their ranks, the four individuals formed a supervillain team called the Frightful Four. The Frightful Four's formation came just after the Fantastic Four's Mister Fantastic and Invisible Girl had announced that they were engaged to be married. After an engagement party, the Frightful Four attacked the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building headquarters. Although they incapacitated the Thing, Mister Fantastic, and the Invisible Girl they were too late to stop the Thing's girlfriend Alicia Masters from sending out a signal flare to the Human Torch who was away from the building at the time. Although the Frightful Four used anti-gravity disks to end the Fantastic Four in the same way the Wizard almost perished, the Torch came to their rescue. Outclassed by the veteran heroes, the Frightful Four decided to retreat in the ensuing battle, setting their anti-gravity craft to self-destruct providing cover for the group to escape. (Fantastic Four v1 #36)
Going solo again, Paste-Pot Pete made another attempt to get revenge against the Human Torch. This scheme was interrupted by another novice hero, the amazing Spider-Man, who upon hearing the name 'Paste-Pot Pete' burst into hysterics until he realized the Torch had passed through the area and left a thoroughly embarrassed Pete behind. (Spider-Man Human Torch v1 #1)
Regrouping after their first defeat, the Wizard quickly organized a new plan to destroy their mutual enemies. During this period Paste-Pot Pete reinvented himself with a new name, the Trapster, in an attempt to sound more menacing. But he would never live down his original choice of name for the rest of his career. They captured the Invisible Girl and kept her prisoner on deserted military outpost in the South Pacific. When the Fantastic Four came to rescue their teammate they fell into the evil FF's trap. While the heroes rescued Sue, the Wizard activated his q-bomb while his team fled the scene. While the Fantastic Four survived thanks to one of the Invisible Girl's invisible force-fields, the radiation from the blast stripped them of their powers. (Fantastic Four v1 #38) The Frightful Four then returned to the Baxter Building to confirm if the Fantastic Four were dead or not. However they fled the scene when they confused the arrival of the Asgardian warrior Balder the Brave on Earth to be the Human Torch. (Journey into Mystery v1 #16) However following the restoration of their powers, the Fantastic Four's Thing was angered that he once again lost his humanity and quit the team. Slipping out of town on the back of a truck, the Thing fell asleep as the vehicle crossed over into New Jersey and a bumpy road threw him from the flat bed. The sleeping Thing was discovered by the Frightful Four who quickly kidnapped their sleeping enemy. By this time the Wizard had developed an ID machine and used it to change the Thing's personality so that he was evil. Although the Frightful Four bickered and fought among themselves, the group were able to defeat the remaining members of the Fantastic Four came to rescue their friend, they were easily captured with the aid of the Thing. The Wizard then reminded the Thing that Mister Fantastic was responsible for his transformation, sending the Thing into a frenzy. (Fantastic Four v1 #41) When the Fantastic Four attempted to break free another fight broke out. While Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Girl managed to escape, the Human Torch was captured and apparently enthralled by the ID machine as well. (Fantastic Four v1 #42) In reality the ID machine was damaged by the Invisible Girl and the Torch was only pretending to be under the Wizard's thrall, allowing his teammates to capture the Thing and escape. Mister Fantastic then created a device to restore the Thing back to normal. When the Frightful Four finally saw through the Torch's trick and attacked the Baxter Building, the Thing had full recovered and turned the tide of battle. While the male members of the group were apprehended, Medusa managed to escape in their anti-gravity ship. (Fantastic Four v1 #43)
Overview
Personality and attributes
At the start of his supervillain career, he came to operate under the name of Paste-Pot Pete. (Strange Tales v1 #104)
He had said that he had spent a lifetime studying the subtleties of capture involving feints and thrusts between predators and prey. (Sensational Spider-Man v1 #12)
Peturski looked to right his reputation and become one of the heavyweights in the criminal underworld along with being a criminal genius. He felt he was deserving of respect and longed to be feared by others. (Sensational Spider-Man v1 #12)
Peter had wanted to get revenge on all those that had crossed him in the past. (Sensational Spider-Man v1 #12)
He claimed to had run across the Hand's ninjas several times over the years and said he was not overly impressed with them. (Spider-Man v1 #91)
Powers and abilities
Pete's primary weapon was a gun-like device that he referred to as his Paste-Gun. This implement was able to shoot a powerful adhesive that was able to trap targets together. Examples included leaving a person stuck on a wall or adhering a gun to its holster to prevent it from being used or paste people's feet to the ground preventing them from pursing him. This paste was described as being as strong as cement with ordinary people being unable to free themselves. Alternatively, he could use it in other ways such as keeping the paste fired into a strand and having it as a make-shift rope to escape capture. (Strange Tales v1 #104)
Supplying his adhesive was his Paste-Pot that was held on his back. (Strange Tales v1 #104)
One iteration of his gear involved internalising his Paste-Gun into his gloves. This allowed him to shoot out his adhesives from his finger tips with such fine control that they could move as tendrils. (Spider-Man v1 #86) His encounters with Spider-Man gave Trapster the idea of shooting out his adhesive as projectiles that he called Glue-Darts with the inspiration being the Wall-Crawler's Web-Shooters. (Spider-Man v1 #87)
He also created a dust capable of rendering Mister Fantastic's unstable molecules inert. (Fantastic Four v3 #10)
Weapon upgrades from the Tinkerer allowed Trapster to upgrade some of his weapons and he began using slippery substances as well as glues and solvents. (Captain America v1 #324)
Notes
- Paste-Pot Pete was created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in Strange Tales v1 #104 (January, 1963).
- He later debuted as the Trapster in Fantastic Four v1 #38 (May, 1965).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Fantastic Four, Trapster appeared in the setting of the 1990s animated television series. Trapster joined the Frightful Four along with Hydro-Man and Medusa under the command of Wizard. They attacked the Fantastic Four, but they were defeated.
- In Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, Trapster appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Sam Vincent. Trapster was a member of the Wizard's Four, who attempted to present themselves as heroes, saving New York one step ahead of the Fantastic Four.
Other
Appearances
- Strange Tales v1: (1963)
- Fantastic Four v1:
- Spider-Man v1:
External Links
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