Madcap (Marvel)
Madcap is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Madcap
One day, he was part of his church group along with his parents that attended as chaperones and his kid sister as they went on a field trip to bear mountain. Their bus was then hit by another transport that contained Compound X07 which Advanced Idea Mechanics looked to acquire. The collision caused a large explosion that killed 47 people with only one survivor after his body absorbed the chemicals. He was taken to a hospital where the doctors noted that despite the severity of the incident that there was no damage to his body. It was then that he was informed that he was the only survivor of the accident with his family having been killed in the collision. This cased him to snap as he lost all faith in a rational universe as he went insane at being the only survivor. The doctors decided to keep him under observation and were going to transfer him to the psycho ward but he managed to escape. Wanting to join his family, he decided to commit suicide by throwing himself onto the path of a coming vehicle. However, his injuries simply healed within moments and he found out that he could not kill himself. (Captain America v1 #309)
The young man entered Ace Costume Shop in Manhattan, and used his powers, channelled through a prop gun he called the 'Fun Gun' which he bought and used on the owner, sending the man into a delusional hallucination. He then stole a costume and became the villainous Madcap. Going on a rampage, Madcap attacked uptown Manhattan, causing a massive traffic jam when he used his gun/powers on dozens of people. Jack Monroe, the superhero Nomad, was working as a grocery stocker nearby when the mass chaos was caused. He investigated as Nomad and found Madcap among all of the temporarily insane people. He attacked the prankster, and actually broke Madcap's jaw with a punch, but was stunned to see the villain simply pop it back into place. Nomad was shot by Madcap's gun, and also went on an insane spree before coming to his senses. Meanwhile, Madcap escaped. On his way home from work, Monroe did not realize that Madcap was in the next subway car. (Captain America v1 #307) A few nights later, Madcap pranced around Coney Park and was attacked by a gang of thugs. They knifed him, but he recovered and blasted them with his powers before heading home. When he arrived, he was surprised to find Nomad waiting there for him. Nomad played to Madcap's senses and got him to explain his origins. The next morning, the two, in civilian clothes, fled a restaurant without paying. Nomad's beliefs began to conflict with his trying out Madcap's lifestyle, and he finally had to stop playing along when Madcap blasted a woman pushing a baby cart. Nomad saved the woman and the baby, and attacked Madcap, trying to use his own 'Fun Gun' on him. Not knowing that Captain America had shown up to watch the events, Nomad chased Madcap to the top of a Coney Island rollercoaster. There, the two fought, with Madcap revealing that his powers came from his eyes, not the prop gun. Nomad used his cape as a shroud to blind Madcap and eventually defeated him. Nomad was congratulated on the win by Captain America. (Captain America v1 #309)
Madcap escaped from Bellevue, walking out the door one night. Madcap then busted up a group of gun smugglers working for the Rose, but not without getting shot between the eyes though he quickly recovered. He was approached by Dollar Bill, who offered to make Madcap a star on his cable access television show. The Rose put a $5,000 bounty on Madcap's head for botching one of his operations. Daredevil, who had come across the crazed smugglers, began investigating Madcap as well. Dollar Bill put Madcap on his The Dollar Bill Show, where Madcap displayed his powers by plunging a knife into his stomach and pulling it out. After it immediately healed, Madcap blasted Dollar Bill with his powers. The next day, after the effects wore off, Dollar Bill took Madcap out onto the streets of the city. One of the Rose's men recognized him and called his boss. A cab under their employ struck and ran over Madcap, but he got right back up. Madcap was then abducted by more of the Rose's men just as Daredevil arrived. Madcap was tied to a post by the men, and a man named Max the Axe entered the room, brandishing a very large axe. He swung it into Madcap's chest, just before Daredevil burst in. The gangsters threw molotov cocktails into the room, hoping to burn Daredevil alive. When Daredevil went to retrieve Madcap, the prankster was still alive. Daredevil opted to save the life of the unconscious Max instead, and Madcap was burned alive in the ensuing fire, singing the entire time. His body burned beyond recognition, Madcap was taken to the morgue, but he still managed to recover. He showed up later that night at Dollar Bill's apartment and suggested they change the name of his show to the Madcap Mystery Hour. (Daredevil v1 #234)
While watching television, Katie Power of the Power Pack and Franklin Richards came across the Madcap Mystery Hour. Both were amused by this adult acting silly. Franklin's dream form materialized in front of Madcap and asked if he and Katie could go on an adventure with him, and Madcap agreed. Katie recovered Franklin's body from his home and woke him up. The trio then hit the streets, and soon came across a garbage truck. Madcap 'investigated' the vehicle and got his head stuck in the compactor. Once freed, his flattened head returned to normal and the three continued their fun. After a while, though, Katie and Franklin realized that Madcap was acting irresponsibly and was dangerous. After trying to lecture him, he left them to continue his ways. (Power Pack v1 #34) Madcap later went to Central Park, where he proceeded to draw a crowd before leaping head-first off a roof onto the ground. The She-Hulk, who was in attendance, recognized Madcap, but was too late to stop him from using his powers to turn the crowd into lunatics. She-Hulk gave chase, but Madcap soon hit her with his powers as well. She managed to snap out of it, but he zapped her again, this time channeling through his Fun Gun prop. Again her superhuman system shook off the effects, but he got her a third time. As he tried to impress a group of New Yorkers by stabbing himself in the head, She-Hulk grabbed him and leapt away. She then beat the living hell out of him. Madcap popped back up, as his broken bones quickly healed. He taunted She-Hulk some more, but she declined to fight him, not seeing the point. (Sensational She-Hulk v1 #9)
Madcap returned to Hell's Kitchen, with Dollar Bill in tow. They were looking for Daredevil while taping episodes for the Madcap Comedy Hour. The Power Tools, agents of Karl Malus, arrived and kidnapped Madcap before assaulting Bill. Dollar Bill requested Daredevil visit him in the hospital regarding his friend's kidnapping, but Hawkeye showed up instead. Dollar Bill played the videotape showing the abduction. Hawkeye traced the license plate on the car in the video to a nightclub called Scuzz. There, he ordererd a drink, but the bartender pulled a lever, dumping Hawkeye through a trap door, where he found Madcap chained and hanging from the ceiling. Hawkeye was attacked by the Power Tools, but managed to free Madcap. No sooner than that, that the Power Tool member Handsaw severed Madcap's arm. He tried to mesmerize her, but Malus had equipped her (and the rest of the Tools) with special glasses. He managed to get the glasses off her and drove her temporarily insane, leading to her attacking her partners. Hawkeye and Madcap escaped the building before a self-destruct timer Malus had set before his departure, but Madcap went back in to retrieve his arm. The building blew up and Hawkeye wrote the prankster off as dead. Just then, Madcap re-emerged and attached his arm back in place. Having felt actual sensations from Malus's equipment, Madcap then leapt off, hoping to find the doctor. (Avengers Spotlight v1 #29)
Later on, the Impossible Woman brought her child Impia to Earth in hopes of having Reed Richards 'cure' her so she would be 'fun'. While looking for Richards, the two witnessed Madcap dive from a tall building, smacking into the concrete below. Madcap picked himself back up and presented himself to the two aliens. Impossible Woman, desperate for someone to show Impia how to have fun, begged Madcap to teach her. Madcap agreed, in exchange for 20 hen's lips. Impossible Woman took off to go find some, leaving Impia with Madcap. Quasar, who had previously encountered the two aliens, arrived, only to be zapped by Madcap's powers. Quasar began to go on a crazy rampage, and Impia begged Madcap to stop him, but he refused. Impia managed to save Quasar and calm him down. Madcap escaped down a sewer manhole. (Impossible Man Summer Vacation Spectacular v1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
The costume he began to wear came from items he picked up from a store. (Captain America v1 #307)
The incident that killed his family resulted in him losing faith in a rational universe causing him to snap as a result. (Captain America v1 #309) He considered himself to messenger of meaninglessness and the fomentor of fun where he looked to spread chaos to society. (Captain America v1 #307)
Madcap had a family consisting of his parents and his kid sister Katy who were all killed in the accident that gave him his powers. (Captain America v1 #309)
Powers and abilities
Originally, he was an ordinary human being with no special abilities or powers. This was until an accident when his body was exposed to the chemical Compound X07 which allowed him to survive the event. Exposure resulted in him gaining superhuman regenerative abilities where his body healed any damage done to it. (Captain America v1 #309)
According to him, he could not be hurt and felt no sensation no matter the injury on his body. He could face a dislocated jaw with it causing him no pain with him able to set it back into position without any issue. It was shown that a fatal shot came to heal in a matter of moments. (Captain America v1 #307)
As part of his guise, he made use of a bubble gun that he claimed was his funny gun and made it seem that it drove people insane. He originally used a soap bubble gun to influence people who came into contact with the bubbles. (Captain America v1 #307) Deprived of the gun, he could still influence people by making eye contact with them. (Captain America v1 #309)
Notes
- Madcap was created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary where he made his first appearance in Captain America v1 #307 (July, 1985).
- In Comics Interview v1 #54 (1988), Gruenwald commented on the characters creation, "Madcap represents purposelessness, the disaffected youth of today who thinks 'What's the reason for doing anything?' The ultimate dropout generation."
Appearances
- Captain America v1: (1985)
- Despicable Deadpool v1:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
