Maelstrom is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...
.
Publication history
Maelstrom first appears in ''
Marvel Two-in-One'' #71 (Jan. 1981) and was created by
Mark Gruenwald
Mark Eugene Gruenwald (; June 18, 1953 – August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics.
Biography
Early career
Gruenwald got his start in comics fa ...
,
Ralph Macchio
Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three '' Karate Kid'' films and in '' Cobra Kai'', a sequel television series. He also played Johnny Cade in '' The Outsider ...
, and
Ron Wilson.
Fictional character biography
Maelstrom is the son of
Phaeder
The following is a list of known fictional characters who are Inhumans, a race of superhumans appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Known Inhumans
Inhuman Royal Family
The Inhuman Royal Family are the ruling class of ...
, an
Inhuman
Inhuman may refer to:
Comics
* Inhumans, a fictional race in Marvel Comics
** ''Inhuman'' (comics), a comic book series focusing on Inhumans
** ''Inhumans'' (TV series), a television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
*Kristoff Vernard ...
scientist banished from their city of
Attilan for attempting
cloning
Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, c ...
to increase Inhuman population numbers. Phaeder then lives among the
Deviants, and bred with a Deviant female named Morga who gave birth to Maelstrom. With his father's tutoring, Maelstrom became a brilliant geneticist. After his father is incapacitated in an experiment, Maelstrom swears revenge on the Inhuman race and becomes a would-be conqueror.
Maelstrom has first contact with Earth's metahumans when he sends his superpowered minions—Phobius, Gronk, and Helio—to the scientific island facility
Hydro-Base to steal an Anti-Terrigen mist compound. This substance can undo the effects of the
Terrigen Mist and deprive the Inhumans of their abilities.
Maelstrom's Minions, however, are defeated by heroes 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 focuse ...
and
Stingray
Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ...
. They are assisted by two
Inhumans
The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...
,
Gorgon
A Gorgon ( /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. While descriptions of Gorgons vary, the te ...
and
Karnak
The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constru ...
. This leads to an encounter with another of Maelstrom's minions—
Deathurge
Dagger
Dagoth
Dagoth is a demon who has clashed with Doctor Strange.
Daken
Dakimh the Enchanter
Damballah
Daniel Whitehall
Daniel Whitehall is a British intelligence agent also known as the Kraken.
An elite assassin and member of the t ...
—who kills the defeated trio.
Mister Fantastic
Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace and ...
and the Inhuman
Triton
Triton commonly refers to:
* Triton (mythology), a Greek god
* Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune
Triton may also refer to:
Biology
* Triton cockatoo, a parrot
* Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails
* ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...
deduce that their opponent may have originated from the old site of Attilan, which was an undersea location.
The Thing, Gorgon and Karnak travel via submarine to the old location, and discover a base where they are subsequently captured. The heroes later escape and together with the Inhuman king
Black Bolt
Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appears in '' Fantastic Four'' #45 (December 1965). Black Bolt is the ...
battle Maelstrom. The heroes hold off Maelstrom while Black Bolt intercepts and defuses a missile carrying the anti-Terrigen mist compound that is programmed to destroy Attilan. The Thing weakens Maelstrom by using the compound on the villain, and the heroes escape as the base self-detonates. Maelstrom's last act is to order Deathurge to kill him.
Maelstrom and his minions, however, are later revealed to be alive, as courtesy of advanced science their minds were transferred into new, cloned bodies. Maelstrom then attempts to siphon the energies of the
Eternals, but is thwarted by the superhero team 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 ...
, and after commanding Deathurge to kill him yet again, transfers his consciousness to a new clone body. Maelstrom then attempts to stop the Earth's rotation and absorb the kinetic energy, but is drawn into conflict with the Avengers once more. The android
Vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
discovers a way to overload Maelstrom's power source and his body becomes discorporate and floats free from Earth.
Maelstrom later encounters the
Titanian Eternal Kronos, and learns of the existence of the entity
Oblivion
Oblivion may refer to:
Film
* ''Oblivion'' (1994 film), an American space Western
* ''Oblivion'' (2013 film), an American post-apocalyptic science fiction film
Literature
* ''Oblivion'' (''Power of Five''), a 2012 novel by Anthony Horowitz
* ...
. Becoming Oblivion's
avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
, Maelstrom then becomes determined to achieve Oblivion's goal of non-existence on a universal scale. Maelstrom assumes the powers of the entity Anomaly, becoming the embodiment of the abstract principle of anomaly. This brings Maelstrom into conflict with the agent of the entity
Eon
Eon or Eons may refer to: Time
* Aeon, an indefinite long period of time
* Eon (geology), a division of the geologic time scale
Arts and entertainment
Fictional characters
* Eon, in the 2007 film ''Ben 10: Race Against Time''
* Eon, in the ...
, the cosmic hero
Quasar
A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...
, in the Outer Void (realm of Oblivion). After several battles, Quasar finally defeats Maelstrom when caught off-guard and the power of Quasar's
quantum bands
Quasar is the name of several fictional superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. They are noted for having worn the Quantum Bands, advanced ancient alien technology that grants the wearer manipulation of quantum energy.
Fictional character biog ...
consumes him. Maelstrom is later revived by his minions, but learns he had a son,
Ransak, that would have been wiped from existence had he succeeded. Ashamed, he shrinks himself out of sight.
Eventually, Maelstrom returns, attempting to destroy the universe by creating a device known as the Cosmic Crunch. He battles the
Great Lakes Avengers
The Great Lakes Avengers (also known as The Lightning Rods, The Great Lakes X-Men, The Great Lakes Champions, and The Great Lakes Initiative) are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The charac ...
, who are powerless to stop him. In order to be prepared, he hires
Batroc the Leaper
Georges Batroc the Leaper (french: Batroc le Sauteur) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Tales of Suspense'' #7 ...
and his brigade to help him. During the final battle, Maelstrom is tricked into killing himself by
Mr. Immortal after he tells him that the grand secret of the universe was eternal loneliness. His soul is later collected by
Doorman, who was recently chosen by Oblivion as its new angel of death, replacing Deathurge, who was captured by Mr. Immortal.
Maelstrom was later encountered by
Drax the Destroyer
Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Douglas) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in ''Iron Man (comic book), The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 (February 19 ...
and
Quasar
A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...
when they were killed and sent to the realm of Oblivion. He came into possession of Phyla's Quantum Bands and used them to feed her to the
Dragon of the Moon
Dagger
Dagoth
Dagoth is a demon who has clashed with Doctor Strange.
Daken
Dakimh the Enchanter
Damballah
Daniel Whitehall
Daniel Whitehall is a British intelligence agent also known as the Kraken.
An elite assassin and member of the ...
. He was eventually defeated by Drax and
Wendell Vaughn
Quasar (Wendell Elvis Vaughn) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is one of Marvel's cosmic heroes, a character whose adventures frequently take him into outer space or other dimensions. How ...
and Phyla was able to escape from the Dragon—killing it in the process. However, it turns out that this was simply a ruse for Oblivion to gain a new Avatar of Death—Phyla-Vell.
Powers and abilities
Maelstrom can absorb, channel, and otherwise project all forms of kinetic energy for his own purposes, such as strength enhancement, concussive blasts,
force field generation, and size shifting. For a short period, Maelstrom possessed Quasar's quantum bands, which enables him to draw on virtually unlimited power from the other-dimensional Quantum Zone. He was able to achieve "cosmic awareness" after learning this secret from the entity
Eon
Eon or Eons may refer to: Time
* Aeon, an indefinite long period of time
* Eon (geology), a division of the geologic time scale
Arts and entertainment
Fictional characters
* Eon, in the 2007 film ''Ben 10: Race Against Time''
* Eon, in the ...
.
He is a genius in the scientific disciplines of
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
and
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
.
[''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z'' Vol 1 #6 (February 2009)]
References
External links
Maelstromat The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
Maelstromat Marvel.com
Malestromat Marvel Database
at Marvel Directory
Maelstromat Comic Vine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maelstrom (Comics)
Characters created by Mark Gruenwald
Characters created by Ralph Macchio
Comics characters introduced in 1981
Fictional biologists
Fictional characters who can change size
Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities
Fictional characters with slowed ageing
Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
Fictional geneticists
Inhumans
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics Deviants
Marvel Comics scientists
Marvel Comics supervillains