Dragon Man is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an artificial dragon-like humanoid Android (robot), android who was animated via alchemy.

Publication history

Dragon Man first appeared in ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

'' #35 (February 1965) and was created by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

Fictional character biography

Dragon Man is an android built by Professor Gregson Gilbert of Empire State University as an experiment. Gregson hoped to find a way to bring it to life. He could not find a way to do this until the alchemist Diablo arrived and brought it to life under his partial control using his supernatural powers. However, Dragon Man broke his control and attempted to kill Diablo. Although Dragon Man is slow-minded to the point that he is incapable of speech, he understands orders given by Diablo and is a determined foe of the

(although the creature has always displayed a

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

-like affection towards Sue Richards). Dragon Man is not especially malicious, although he is easily manipulated and provoked to violence. After his first activation, Dragon Man was later revived. He encountered

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

and

Gorgon A Gorgon (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. W ...

, and fought the

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

and

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of ...

. Dragon Man was later studied by

Hank Pym Dr. Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, the character first appeared in ''Tales to ...

at his laboratory. He was restored to life again by Diablo and was defeated by Pym as Goliath and escaped. Dragon Man battled

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

and the

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

destroyed Diablo's army of Dragon Men. Dragon Man was once found by the original

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

and was considered an unofficial mascot of sorts. After a period of time on the team where he developed a deep affection for

Jean Grey Jean Elaine Grey is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix and Dark Phoenix. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack K ...

, Dragon Man had to be released to the creature-filled island known in the Marvel Universe as Monster Island. Dragon Man was reclaimed by Professor Gregson Gilbert and sent by

Lemuel Dorcas Lemuel Dorcas is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is notable for playing a part in the origins of Namor villains Tiger Shark, Orka, and Piranha. Publication history Dr. Lemuel Dorcas first a ...

to attack

Namor Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc. ...

. It was next used by Gregory Gideon to attack the Fantastic Four. Dragon Man was then sent by

Machinesmith Machinesmith (Samuel "Starr" Saxon) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably as a regular enemy of Captain America. He specializes in robotics, and is able to make convincing robotic doubles ...

to attack

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

. He became the mount for the extra-dimensional dragon rider Ral Dorn. Dragon Man then fought

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

and

Kate Waynesboro Dorothy Walker Dorothy Walker is a fictional character in Marvel Comics. She was created by Stuart Little and Ruth Atkinson and first appeared in ''Miss America Magazine'' #2 (November 1944). She was reintroduced in ''The Defenders (comic book), ...

when it was under the control of Ringmaster and the

Circus of Crime The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them. 0–9 198 A A-Force A-Next A.I. Army Because of his revelation that he is now a simulated A ...

. Dragon Man encountered the child superheroes called

Power Pack Power Pack is a superhero team consisting of four young siblings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman, they first appeared in their own series in 1984, which las ...

. Gregson Gilbert later attempted to replicate the creation of the Dragon Man without the addition of alchemical interruptions, and this time succeeded. He created a number of androids based on other

legendary creature A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses ...

s. These androids were defeated by Power Pack, and Gilbert and Dragon Man go to work at Disneyland. Dragon Man was used as a servant of

Aron Aron may refer to: Characters *Aron (comics), from the Marvel Universe comic ''Aron! HyperSpace Boy!'' *Aron (Pokémon), in the ''Pokémon'' franchise * Aron Trask, from John Steinbeck's novel ''East of Eden'' *Áron or Aaron, the brother of Mos ...

the Rogue Watcher. He faced

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

during the ''

Acts of Vengeance "Acts of Vengeance" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through several titles published by Marvel Comics from December 1989 to February 1990. Publication history This company-wide fall crossover was centered on the Avengers and Fantast ...

'', when he was unleashed on him by Wizard. In addition to his servitude to Diablo, Dragon Man has served Super-Adaptoid and was also a member of the

New Enforcers The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them. 0–9 198 A A-Force A-Next A.I. Army Because of his revelation that he is now a simulated A ...

. In ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #235-6,

Roxxon Oil The Roxxon Energy Corporation (otherwise known as the Roxxon Oil Company, Roxxon Oil Corporation, Roxxon Corporation or simply Roxxon) is the name of a fictional massive petroleum industrial conglomerate in the Marvel Universe appearing in Americ ...

sprung him from a government containment facility in order to capture and dissect him to create robotic super-soldiers based on Dragon Man's powers. He was freed by

Ben Reilly Benjamin "Ben" Reilly (), also known as the Scarlet Spider, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Grown in a lab by the Miles Warren / Jackal, he is a clone of Peter Parker / Spider-Man tasked ...

. Dragon Man showed up in Africa under the influence of mad scientist Eric Pain. Though the creature was under a full rage, he ended up defeated once more by both superheroes. Afterwards, he resurfaced in

Beyond! ''Beyond!'' was a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. It was written by Dwayne McDuffie and illustrated by Scott Kolins. The first issue of the series was released on July 6, 2006 and the final issue on December 6. It ...

, destroying an

Quinjet The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

the group was using to escape. During the ''

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

'' storyline, he was spotted at the funeral of

Stilt-Man Stilt-Man is the name of multiple different supervillains in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Stilt-Man first appeared in '' Daredevil'' #8 (June 1965). He is a criminal wearing an impenetrable suit of armor w ...

. After poisoning the guests, the

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

blew up the bar in which the wake had been held. He was later seen being arrested by

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...

agents. Alyosha Kraven later began collecting a zoo of animal-themed superhumans, including Bushmaster,

Gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

Tiger Shark The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of requiem shark and the last extant member of the family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large macropredator, capable of attaining a length over . Populations are found in many tropical and tempera ...

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

Aragorn Aragorn is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Arno ...

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

Mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...

Man-Bull The Man-Bull is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character made its live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'', played by Nate Hurd. Pu ...

Swarm Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving ''en masse'' or migrating in some direction. ...

Mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...

Grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

Frog-Man Frog-Man (Eugene Patilio) is a fictional comedic would-be superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Kerry Gammill, the character's costume is actually borrowed from a prev ...

, and

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

. In the end, the Punisher managed to sabotage this zoo; though Kraven himself escaped to the

Savage Land The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. It has appeared in many story arcs in ''Uncanny X-Men'' as well as other related books. Pu ...

. In '' Avengers: The Initiative'' #8, Dragon Man had been captured by the trainee heroes, having been attracted to

Komodo Komodo may refer to: Computers * Komodo Edit, a free text editor for dynamic programming languages * Komodo IDE an integrated development environment (IDE) for dynamic programming languages * Komodo (chess), a chess engine People * Komodo ...

. In ''

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

'', Dragon Man was seen battling the newly revived ''Nova Corps'' consisting of Qubit, Fraktur, Tracel, Morrow, Irani, and Robbie Rider. He was subdued by the Corps using a gravimetric net. At one point, Dragon Man had been placed in the

Negative Zone The Negative Zone is a fictional setting, an antimatter universe appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The location is depicted in various publications from Marvel, most frequently in ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Captain Mar ...

, and like most of the other prisoners, was conscripted into service when

Blastaar Blastaar (, ), sometimes called the Living Bomb-Burst and Blasstaar, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Blastaar is an opponent of the Fantastic Four and lives in the Negative Zone. He is also a ...

attacked the prison. When the

Shadow Initiative ''Avengers: The Initiative'' is a comic book series from Marvel Comics. Written by Dan Slott and Christos Gage with artwork initially by Stefano Caselli, Steve Uy and Harvey Tolibao, the series deals with the aftermath of Marvel's "Civil War (c ...

was sent in to liberate the prison, Blastaar sent Dragon Man against them. However, Komodo was able to use Dragon Man's attraction to her to convince him to switch sides. Following this, he seemingly reforms, as he,

Artie Artie is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Arthur. Notable people with the given name include: People * Artie Bettles (1891–1971), Australian rules footballer * Artie Butler (born 1942), American popular music arranger, songwrite ...

and

Leech Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...

were seen at Franklin Richards' birthday party. He has since been upgraded by

Valeria Richards Valeria Meghan Richards, originally von Doom, is a fictional character of Marvel Comics, the daughter of Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) and the Invisible Woman (Susan Storm-Richards) and goddaughter of Doctor Victor von Doom. She is the young ...

and joined Reed Richards'

Future Foundation The Future Foundation is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jonathan Hickman, the team first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #579 (July 2010) and stars in the series ''FF,'' wr ...

. Valeria used her talents to upgrade Dragon Man to have super-intellect and have the power of human speech. Dragon Man would become an adopted member of the Future Foundation and guardian of the gifted children in that program.''Fantastic Four'' #579 As part of the ''

Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...

'' event, Dragon Man created the Thing Rings for Darla Deering to wear which enables her to become Miss Thing upon some particles enabling her to transform into her Thing Exoskeleton (which was also modified by Dragon Man).

Powers and abilities

Dragon Man gains its powers from its robotic materials, design, and construction, as well as unknown alchemical potions used by Diablo. Dragon Man is superhumanly strong and durable. He is able to stand toe to toe with the likes of

and the

in combat situations. He can use the wings on his back to fly. He can also exhale methane gas (produced by his digestive system) which can be ignited by striking together his specialized teeth, producing flame hot enough to melt

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

. The Dragon Man originally could military press sixty tons. Since it was a machine imbued with magic the artificial creature never grows tired. It can recharge itself by eating organic materials, and its wings did not allow it to fly. It uses two anti gravity generators located in its body to propel itself. Its large wings give it great mobility in the air. Dragon Man was initially non-sentient, but had the capacity for limited self-motivated activity. Dragon Man has been reprogrammed by Valeria Richards and now has super-intellect and the capability of human speech. Dragon Man is vulnerable to intense cold and certain ultrasonic frequencies.

Other versions

Earth X

In the ''

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Uni ...

'' reality, Dragon Man had come into possession of King Britain, who would use the android as a steed in combat.

JLA/Avengers

Dragon Man appears as a villain in the series, appearing in the last battle restrained by

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

and breathing fire at

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

.''JLA/Avengers'' #3

In other media

Television

* Dragon Man appears in the 1978 ''

'' animated series. This version was an android built for good by Professor Gilbert before its controls were stolen by his assistant, George. With help from Professor Gilbert, the

use cold temperatures to stop Dragon Man. * Dragon Man appears in the '' Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes'' episode "Frightful". This version is a member of the Wizard's

Frightful Four The Frightful Four are a group of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They serve as the antithesis to the Fantastic Four. Publication history The Frightful Four first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' ...

and resembles an anthropomorphic dragon. * Dragon Man appears in the ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...

'' animated series. This version was created by

Doctor Octopus Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...

Video games

* Dragon Man appears in '' Spider-Man: Web of Fire''. * Dragon Man appears in the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

video game ''

'' (1997). * Dragon Man appears as a boss in ''

'' (2005). * Dragon Man appears as a mini-boss in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance''. * Dragon Man appears in '' Marvel Heroes''.

Action figures

Dragon Man has been represented in several

action figure An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...

lines released by

Toy Biz Toy Biz (also stylized as ToyBiz), was a toy company which later became a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment and was renamed to Marvel Toys. It was best known for producing action figures and toys and holding the Marvel Comics license from 1990 t ...

. The character was included in Fantastic Four series 2 (1995), Fantastic Four Metal Mania (1995), Marvel Universe (1997), and Fantastic Four Classics series 2 (2007).