Man-Ape (M'Baku) is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Created by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

and

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

, the character first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #62 (March 1969). Man-Ape is depicted as a frequent adversary of the superhero

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

. Man-Ape has made scattered appearances on animated television series and video games while

Winston Duke Winston Duke (born 15 November 1986) is a Tobagonian actor. Duke was born in Tobago and moved to Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, United States, at age nine. Duke began his career with minor roles in theatre productions and recurring role ...

portrays a variation of the character in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

films ''

'' (2018), '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), and '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022).

Publication history

Man-Ape first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #62 (March 1969). He was created by

and

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

Fictional character biography

M'Baku was born in

Wakanda Wakanda (), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...

. He became one of Wakanda's greatest warriors, second only to the

. He plotted to usurp the throne of Wakanda with the help of the outlawed rival

White Gorilla Cult Wakanda (), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #52 (July 1966). Wakanda is ...

and return Wakanda to a primitive state. M'Baku became a renegade and gains his powers by killing a white gorilla, bathing in its blood, and eating its flesh, taking the alias of Man-Ape. He fought with the Black Panther and was believed to be killed when the Panther Totem that he bound Black Panther to crumbled and buried him instead. He is revived by his aide N'Gamo and goes to America to battle the

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

.''The Avengers'' #78 (July 1970). Marvel Comics. He allies himself with the original

Lethal Legion The Lethal Legion is the name of seven teams of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first version of the Lethal Legion appeared in '' The Avengers'' #78 (July 1970). The secon ...

made up of

Grim Reaper The Grim Reaper is a popular personification of death in Western culture in the form of a hooded skeletal figure wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe.Living Laser The Living Laser (Arthur Parks) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book a ...

Power Man Power Man may refer to: * Luke Cage, a Marvel Comics superhero, originally called Power Man * Erik Josten, a Marvel supervillain later known as Smuggler, Goliath and Atlas * Victor Alvarez, the current Power Man introduced in the mini-series ''Sh ...

, and

Swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

. He is the first member met by the Avengers. He attacks Captain America, but is beaten back by the rest of the Avengers. He then captures the Black Panther's girlfriend Monica Lynne, binding her hand and foot with metal clamps. The Black Panther is lured into a trap and knocked out by an exploding dummy of Monica. He is chained up and meets the other members. The Legion straps him and Monica to chairs before leaving, though he is able to escape and contact the other members, before the Grim Reaper defeats him. The Legion is defeated by the Avengers after Vision overcomes Power Man and frees the other members. Man-Ape bests Black Panther again until he is defeated by

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

.''The Avengers'' #79 (Aug. 1970). Marvel Comics. Black Panther banishes Man-Ape from Wakanda on order of execution if he returns. Man-Ape later joins a new Lethal Legion (consisting of the Grim Reaper, Black Talon, Goliath (Erik Josten's latest alias),

Nekra Nekra (Nekra Sinclair) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Steve Gerber and Ross Andru for the 1973 comic book ''Shanna the She-Devil''. She is a mutant caused by an atomic ...

, and

Ultron Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared as an unnamed character in ''The Avengers (comic book), The Avengers'' #5 ...

-12) and battles

Tigra Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Roy Thomas and artist Wally Wood (Marie Severin was then brought in to help layout the art), with her early adventur ...

, but abandons the Grim Reaper alongside Black Talon when the Reaper's racism became too much for him to tolerate. Man-Ape travels to uninhabited parts of the world before joining

Crimson Cowl The Crimson Cowl is an identity used by different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first incarnation of Crimson Cowl, created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, f ...

's incarnation of the

Masters of Evil The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in '' The Avengers'' #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years. Publication ...

which is defeated by the Thunderbolts. Despite his rivalry with T'Challa, M'Baku was invited to the wedding of T'Challa and Ororo Munroe (also known as

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

of the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

), where he gets drunk on scotch and tries to pick a fight with

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

. Man-Ape is next seen at the end of ''

Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to appe ...

'' #6, working with

Grim Reaper The Grim Reaper is a popular personification of death in Western culture in the form of a hooded skeletal figure wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe.Morlun while defending his people from Morlun's attack on the Man-Ape's kingdom. But before his apparent death, he sends an envoy to Wakanda to warn them of the approaching danger. Man-Ape later appears alive as a member of

Purple Man The Purple Man (Zebediah Killgrave) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Joe Orlando, he first appeared in '' Daredevil'' #4 (October 1964). His body produces pher ...

's Villains for Hire.

Powers and abilities

The Man-Ape gained superhuman powers by consuming the flesh of a sacred white gorilla and bathing in white gorilla blood, enchanting him through the mystical transference of the abilities of the rare Wakandan white gorilla. M'Baku's mystically augmented powers include superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina and durability equal to that of the mystical Wakandan white gorilla. He has extensive formal military training in hand-to-hand combat from the Wakandan Royal Militia.

Reception

Accolades

* In 2018, ''

ComicBook.com ''ComicBook.com'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of comic books, television, films, video games, and anime. The site came online in 1996 serving as a holding page for sales links and press releases related to comic b ...

'' ranked Man-Ape 3rd in their "8 Best Black Panther Villains" list and included him in their "7 Great Villains for Black Panther 2" list. * In 2020,

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

(CBR) ranked Man-Ape 2nd in their "Marvel: Ranking Black Panther's Rogues Gallery" list. * In 2022, ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' included Man-Ape in their "15 Most Powerful Black Panther Villains" list. * In 2022, CBR ranked Man-Ape 3rd in their "10 Most Iconic Black Panther Villains" list.

Other versions

JLA/Avengers

Man-Ape appears in ''

JLA/Avengers ''JLA/Avengers'' (issues #2 and 4 are titled ''Avengers/JLA'') is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to March 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, wi ...

'' as a brainwashed minion of Krona.

Ultimate Marvel

An alternate universe variant of M'Baku from Earth-1610 appears in the

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

universe as T'Challa's older brother.

In other media

Television

* Man-Ape appears in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'', voiced by

Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. Throughout his appearances, he and

Klaw KLAW (101.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station airing a country music radio format, format licensed to Lawton, Oklahoma. The station serves the areas of Lawton; Duncan, Oklahoma; Burkburnett, Texas; and Frederick, Oklahoma, and is license ...

kill

T'Chaka T'Chaka is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of T'Challa and Shuri. He was the king of Wakanda and Black Panther before T'Challa; he inherited both titles following the death of ...

and seize control of Wakanda before

T'Challa Black Panther is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #52, published in July 1966. On ...

and

defeat them. * M'Baku appears in '' Avengers Assemble'', voiced by

Ike Amadi Ikechukwu Prince Amadi (born 26 November 1979) is a Nigerian voice actor. He is known for voicing Javik in ''Mass Effect 3'', Jameson Locke in '' Halo 5: Guardians'', Atriox in ''Halo Infinite'', Shao Kahn in ''Mortal Kombat 11'' and ''Mortal ...

. This version is a member of the

Shadow Council 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 The A.I. Army is a fictional organization appearing i ...

who wears a gorilla-themed force-enhancer suit.

Film

M'Baku appears in films set in the

(MCU), portrayed by

. This version is the leader of the renegade Jabari Tribe, who shun Wakanda's technological society and have a religious reverence for

gorillas Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

, such as decorating their armor with white gorilla pelts and worshiping the gorilla god

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

as a part of Indo-African religion rather than the Panther goddess Bast. He is introduced in ''

'' (2018), and makes subsequent appearances in '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), and '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022). Duke will reprise his role as M'Baku in the upcoming film '' Avengers: Doomsday''.

Video games

* Man-Ape appears as a boss in the

PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 November, in Australia on 30 November, ...

, PSP,

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

, and

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

versions of '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', voiced by Emerson Franklin. * Man-Ape appears as a boss in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. This version is the leader of the White Gorillas. * Man-Ape appears as a boss in '' Marvel Heroes''. * Man-Ape appears as a playable character in the "Black Panther" DLC for '' Lego Marvel's Avengers''. * Man-Ape appears as a playable character in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'', voiced by Alexis Rodney.

References

External links

Man-Ape
at Marvel.com * {{Black Panther Black people in comics Characters created by John Buscema Characters created by Roy Thomas Comics characters introduced in 1969 Fictional African people Fictional murderers Fictional warlords Male characters in film Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics male supervillains Wakandans