Wendigo (Marvel)

The Ur-Wendigo in Weapon H v1 #2.

The Wendigo is a comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

The Wendigo were fearsome white-furred monstrous humanoids that inhabited the world. According to one account, the Wendigo curse was forged by Tanaraq of the Great Beasts. (Amazing X-Men v2 #12) Another account held that it was the Northern Gods of the Inua who were responsible for crafting the Wendigo curse. (Chaos War: Alpha Flight v1 #1) The curse was also said to had been linked to the Elder Gods who caused those people infected to be turned into the beastial Wendigo if they consumed human flesh. (Monsters Unleashed v1 #9) Among the earliest of their kind operated around one million years ago where a man was transformed into the Wendigo. The white-haired human travelled the lands where he came upon tribes where he killed the pack leader to be their leader and later on would transform to kill the remaining members of the group. He did this one day to a child who he recognised as developing intelligence and named as Ghost. The boy was left to die in the snowstorm after his tribe was slaughtered and five years later he confronted the grown up boy who was now a Spirit of Vengeance. Despite his ferocity, he failed at killing the Ghost Rider but vowed to return with the young Ghost failing to attain his revenge. (Avengers v8 #7)

At some point, a tribe of Wendigo came to establish a small community within the wilds of Canada. (King-Size Hulk v1 #1) Department K came to deploy a Wendigo-infected operative as a member of Weapon P.R.I.M.E. that were a unit working for S.H.I.E.L.D. (X-Force v1 #12)

At some point, Michael Fleet was infected with the curse of the Wendigo and was loose in the Canadian wilderness. During this time, his brother Jonas Fleet led a team of cryptozoologists in search of him whilst under the guise of searching for the legendary Sasquatch. (Marvel Fanfare v2 #2)

Following the explosion of his solar energy charged form, mutant Paul Patterson was transported to the Canadian wilderness, where Wendigo was waiting for him. Wendigo then attacked the terrified Paul. (Marvel Team-Up v3 #6) The Wendigo was detected heading towards Seattle by the Sentry's sentient computer CLOC, and Sentry defeated it before it could complete whatever its intentions were. (Sentry v2 #2)

The Wendigo savagely hunted for food along the Hudson Bay shoreline, unaware he was being tracked by Wolverine. Eventually spotting a 'camper', the Wendigo attacked and soon realized that the 'camper' was just bait to lure him out into the open. The 'camper' soon revealed herself as She-Hulk and she teamed with Wolverine to take down the Wendigo. While S.H.I.E.L.D. kept the area secure, the mystic Canadian known as Talisman arrived and tried to explain to S.H.I.E.L.D. that she could cure the Wendigo of its curse but S.H.I.E.L.D. refused to let her onto the scene. The Wendigo continued his battle with She-Hulk and Wolverine until the duo utilized the 'fastball special' to remove the Wendigo's heart. Temporarily downed with its healing factor in overdrive, the Wendigo was captured by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Crimson using the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak and taken into their custody. (She-Hulk v2 #16) The Wendigo was held aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier in stasis, under the watchful eye of Sidney E. Levine. When the electrical being Zzzax disrupted the Helicarrier's systems the Wendigo was released, but Levine and his technicians defeated it using their Project: Achilles weapons. (She-Hulk v2 #17)

A Wendigo came to be recruited by [[Kade Kilgore] to serve in his Hellfire Academy to be an instructor where the beast taught classes in their 'danger room' training centre. (Wolverine and the X-Men v1 #31)

At a meatpacking plant, two Canadian workers began fighting with each until one accidentally killed the other. Wanting to cover it up, the murderer put the dead body into the meat grinder. The meat would later be consumed by unsuspecting people, causing them transform into Wendigos. This outbreak began expanding as the Wendigos were able to transmit the curse to other people via bites. (Amazing X-Men v2 #8) Tanaraq was greatly empowered by this large amount of Wendigos and attempted to overthrow his fellow Great Beasts in order to spread the curse to the entire world. (Amazing X-Men v2 #11) Luckily, the Beasts allied with X-Men and Guardian and together were able to thwart Tanaraq's plan and defeat the Wendigos. (Amazing X-Men v2 #12)

An incarnation of the Wendigo came to serve as a member of Omega Flight with the team being dispatched to investigate Regina after Ex Nihilo had unleashed Origin Bombs on the world. Upon entering the area, they found the once populated area transformed into an alien landscape. The Wendigo was examining some pods when the creature was killed and dissected whereupon further members of Omega Flight were killed one by one. (Avengers v5 #10)

The Roxxon Corporation sought to harness the power of the Ur-Wendigo for themselves and organised a research expedition to travel to the remote parts of Alaska. Whilst there, a Roxxon android disguised as a human snuck in human flesh into their food to cause the transformation of Philips Waggoner into the Ur-Wendigo who battled Weapon H. It was only with the aid of Doctor Strange were they able to remove the curse but Waggoner was too badly injured and died from his wounds as a result. (Weapon H v1 #2)

Overview

Powers and abilities

The transformation was said to had stemmed from a Curse of the Elder Gods. (Monsters Unleashed v1 #9)

A more powerful and beastial incarnation of the creature was the Ur-Wendigo. (Weapon H v1 #2)

Notes

• The Wendigo was created by Steve Englehart and Herb Trimpe where it made its first appearance in Incredible Hulk v1 #162 (April, 1973).
• It was based on the Wendigo of Algonquian Myth.

In other media

Video games

• In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Wendigos appeared as antagonists in the setting of the video game adaptation of the live-action film. These were the creations of Weapon X who were super-soldier monstrosities called the W.E.N.D.I.G.O. Prototype (Weaponized Experiment Neurodindritic Incident Gamma Zero).

Appearances

• Incredible Hulk v1: (1973)
• Monsters Unleashed v1:
• Hulk v2:
• X-Force v1:
• Marvel Fanfare v2: (1996)
• Wolverine and the X-Men v1:
• Avengers v5:
• Amazing X-Men v2:
• X-Men: Blue:
• Weapon H v1:
• Avengers v8:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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