The Man-Bull is a

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are often ...

appearing in American comic books 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 19 ...

. The character made its live-action debut in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

television series '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'', played by Nate Hurd.

Publication history

The Man-Bull first appeared in ''

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...

'' #78 (July

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

), created by writer

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis ConwayThomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

and artist

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

'' #72 (January 1975), ''Daredevil'' #129 (January 1976), and ''Daredevil'' #144 (April 1977). The character did not appear again for some time, until ''The Incredible Hulk'' #341 (March 1988), and he then appeared in ''Marvel Year-in-Review '92'', ''The Amazing Spider-Man: Chaos in Calgary'' #4 (February 1993), ''Captain America'' #413 (March 1993), and ''New Warriors'' #36 (June 1993). He disappeared again for a time, before appearing in ''She-Hulk'' #10 (February 2005), ''Gravity'' #1 (August 2005), ''Wolverine'' #30 (September 2005), ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' #12 (January 2006), ''Underworld'' #3 (June 2006), and ''Punisher War Journal'' #13-15 (January–March 2008). The Man-Bull received an entry in the original ''

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed by sporadic ...

'' #6, and in the ''All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update'' #1 (2007).

Fictional character biography

William "Bill" Taurens was born in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

. He was hired by Mister Kline to round up people to test an experimental serum (taken from

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species '' Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, incl ...

s) made out of mutated enzymes by his agent the Professor. Although assisted by Itch and Freak Face, his attempts were thwarted by

. As a result, he ended up being a guinea pig for the serum which turned him into a

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20 ...

bull. Becoming the Man-Bull, he fought Daredevil, who defeated the Man-Bull by throwing him into a wall. Man-Bull reverted to Taurens and was arrested by the police. When Itch snuck in the Man-Bull serum into Taurens' prison cell which permanently transformed him, Man-Bull attempted to take his revenge on Daredevil and the two have clashed on several occasions. He also clashed with the

Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

in a bar fight. Man-Bull was later recruited by the

Melter The Melter is the name of three fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original Melter, Bruno Horgan, first appeared in Tales of Suspense #47 (Nov. 1963). Publication history The character debuted ...

and Whiplash to join the Black Lama's

Death Squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are f ...

, where they ran afoul of

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

at a comic book convention. Man-Bull eventually began to turn savage: he lost the power of speech, grew fur, sprouted a tail, and grew more inhuman. In this state, he was encountered by the

Grey 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'' (May 1962). In his comic book ap ...

. As Man-Bull continued to deteriorate, he was recruited by Wizard to join his

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'' ...

alongside himself, Trapster, and Dreadknight. They attacked a rodeo arena and ran afoul of Spider-Man and Turbine. Man-Bull later regained his power of speech somehow and joined

Armadillo Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, al ...

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears zenith, directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" ...

, Hypno-Hustler, Chip Martin, and Jackson Wheele at a Villains Anonymous meeting. Man-Bull later joined Constrictor, Tombstone, Warhawk, and a number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in raiding an A.I.M. facility which was working on a Null android from technology stolen from

Reed Richards 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 ...

. Later returning to villainy and now sprouting green hair, he returned to New York City 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 focus ...

. When

Alyosha Kravinoff Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian language, Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue ...

(the son of

Kraven the Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary ...

) began collecting a zoo of animal-themed superhumans, Man-Bull is clearly seen in one of the cages. He later battled the

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 hor ...

, who knocked him out and snapped off his left horn (yet the horn somehow regenerated by his next appearance). During the '' Dark Reign'' storyline, Man-Bull was among the villains analyzed by

Quasimodo Quasimodo (from Quasimodo Sunday) is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the novel '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (1831) by Victor Hugo. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared by the townspeople as a sort of monster, bu ...

for

Norman Osborn Norman Osborn is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the firs ...

. When imprisoned at the Raft, Man-Bull later fought the Absorbing Man in the Annual Raft Boxing Tournament and lost to him in the final round. During the '' Fear Itself'' storyline, Man-Bull is among the villains who escaped from the Raft after what the

Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...

, in the form of Kuurth: Breaker of Stone, did to it. When he,

Basilisk In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Naturalis Historia'' of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene ...

, and

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

are seen robbing a bank,

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 th ...

arrives and discovers that the fourth person with the villains is actually

Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depict ...

. When a resurrected Kyknos ends up fighting Hercules, the Man-Bull and the Basilisk flee. After Hercules recovers from his fight with Kyknos, he and Griffin managed to seek out Basilisk and Man-Bull and convince them to help fight Kyknos and Hecate. The villains approach Hecate and Kyknos, using a ruse involving Hercules being turned to stone. Hercules quickly revives and saves the villains by killing Kyknos. Hecate later escapes. Following the ''

Avengers vs. X-Men ''Avengers vs. X-Men'' (''AvX'' or ''AvsX'') is a 2012 crossover event that was featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The event, consisting of an eponymous limited series and numerous tie-in books, involves the return of the Phoen ...

'' storyline, Man-Bull was among the villains taking part in the riot at a prison.

Rogue A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior. Rogue or rogues may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * Rogue Arts, a film production company * Rogue Entertainment, a software com ...

and Mimic were the only ones to stop the riot where they copied the powers of the Armadillo, Equinox, and the Man-Bull to do so. Man-Bull later robs an armored truck. His appearance here gave him a cattle-like head and hooves. Man-Bull is shot by

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 mad ...

. As part of the ''

All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line (comics), line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars (2015 comic book), Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Unive ...

'', Man-Bull encountered the Emerald Warlock on

Santorini Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera ( English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is th ...

and infused him with the energies that caused him to believe that he was the actual

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

. With some help from Hecate, the

Scarlet Witch Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...

agreed to help Man-Bull. Man-Bull was present at a criminal technology show in Las Vegas. During the '' Hunted'' storyline, Man-Bull is among the animal-themed superhumans that were captured by

Taskmaster A taskmaster is a supervisor who imposes hard or burdensome work. Taskmaster may also refer to: * ''Taskmaster'' (TV series), a British comedy panel show ** ''Taskmaster'' (American TV series), an American version of the British show ** ''Taskm ...

and Black Ant for Kraven the Hunter's Great Hunt that was sponsored by Arcade's company Arcade Industries. There was a reference that Man-Bull once gave Arcade a wedgie. After most of the animal-themed superheroes regrouped, it was mentioned by the

Toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

that Man-Bull was killed amidst the chaos caused by the Hunter-Bots. In the pages of ''Ruins of Ravencroft'', Man-Bull turns up alive and appears as an inmate at Ravencroft following its rebuilding. During the '' King in Black'' storyline, Man-Bull was seen at the Bar with No Name when Mayor

Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 196 ...

offers a job to everyone there. Man-Bull was later seen at Ravencroft during Knull's invasion. He, Figment, Foolkiller and

Mister Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

fled with the

Thunderbolts A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hell ...

in a van as they went to go find Sentry's corpse. Man-Bull was with the Thunderbolts when Figment uses an illusion to fool Mayor Fisk into thinking that the Thunderbolts died blowing up a bridge. After Mayor Fisk honored their sacrifice, Man-Bull and the rest of the Thunderbolts visited him with Sentry's corpse still in their possession where they blackmailed him for money while making plans to stay together as a team.

Powers and abilities

Man-Bull possesses superhuman strength, endurance, and speed, as well as resistance to injury. He has a pair of long, dense horns that are useful for fighting battles. Unfortunately, the

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

side effects have degraded Taurens' mind, from hostile normal to feral vengeance. When occupied, his body's

adrenaline Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...

feedback during combat can elevate him into a hysterical, all-consuming rage, which makes Man-Bull extra dangerous. Taurens is able to mentally command bulls and other

bovine Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship be ...

animals through

psionic In American science fiction of the 1950s and 1960s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as telepathy and psychok ...

activity, even in unstable form.

Other versions

''Spider-Ham''

In the ''

Spider-Ham Spider-Ham (Peter Porker) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is an anthropomorphic pig and is a cartoon animal parody version of Spider-Man. He was created by editor Larry Ham ...

'' universe, Man-Bull's counterpart in this reality is a

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

named the Bull-Frog.''Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham'' #2. Marvel Comics.

In other media

Man-Bull appears in the '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'' episode "The Retreat", portrayed by Nathan Hurd. This version gained a cattle-like head and hair on parts of his body following an experiment gone wrong and became part of a spiritual retreat run by

Emil Blonsky The Abomination is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original and best known iteration is Emil Blonsky, who first appeared in ''Tales to Astonish'' #90 (April 1967) and was created by write ...

called Summer Twilight.

References

External links

Man-Bull
at Marvel Database *
Man-Bull
at Comic Vine
Man-Bull
at Writeups.org {{She-Hulk Characters created by Gene Colan Characters created by Gerry Conway Comics characters introduced in 1971 Fictional bulls Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional empaths Fictional humanoids Fictional characters from New Jersey Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics supervillains Marvel Comics male supervillains