Michael "Mike"
Ian
Van Patrick 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 person, ...
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 publishing, 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 Co ...
.
Publication history
The character was created by
Dan Slott
Dan Slott (born July 3, 1967) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', as well as '' She-Hulk'', ''Silver Surfer'', ''The Superior Spider-Man'', '' Tony Stark: Iron Man'', ''Th ...
and
Stefano Caselli
Stefano Caselli (born 21 February 1978) is an People of Italy, Italian comic book artist best known for his work on the Marvel Comics title ''Avengers: The Initiative'', the mini-series ''Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways'' and ''Secret Warriors ...
. Although the character died in his debut appearance, he was
cloned
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 ...
after his death and his clones continued to play roles within the ongoing ''
Avengers: The Initiative'' series.
Described by Slott as an archetypal "
all-American boy", the character is introduced in the pages of ''
Avengers: The Initiative'' #1 as the great-grandson of Dr.
Abraham Erskine
Earth Lord
Earth Sentry
Earth Sentry (John Foster) was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, and first appeared in ''A-Next'' #2 (1999) in the MC2 universe.
When John and his father Bill were investigating a UFO crash site, they discovered a ...
, the inventor of the super soldier serum within
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, 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 Co ...
'
shared universe
A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...
the
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
.
The first clone was sent back to Van Patrick's parent's home to prevent them from discovering his death. The next three clones, named Michael, Van and Patrick, originally worked as the
Scarlet Spider
The Scarlet Spider is an alias used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, both of whom are genetic replicates of the superhero Spider-Man.
Both the ...
s, as part of the
Black Ops group within The Initiative. They were revealed to be clones in ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #7. He was cloned once more, in the ''Killed in Action'' story arc when some of the vacant positions in the Initiative teams were filled with MVP clones.
The original's only appearance outside the pages of ''Avengers: The Initiative'' was a brief cameo in an
alternate reality ''
What If
What If may refer to:
Film
* ''What If'', a 2006 TV film starring Niall Buggy
* ''What If...'' (2010 film), an American film
* ''What If...'' (2012 film), a Greek film
* ''What If'' (2013 film) or ''The F Word'', a Canadian-Irish film
Telev ...
'' comic. All that is known about the original character has been revealed in that series, with Van Patrick's (and the first sets of clones) origins being shown in the 2007 ''Avengers: The Initiative'' Annual. However, the Scarlet Spiders (Michael and Patrick) became the first clones to appear outside ''The Initiative'' when they appeared in ''
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...
'' vol. 4 #14 (Sept. 2008). The first MVP clone appeared in the following issue of the New Warriors series.
Fictional character biography
Michael Van Patrick's origins trace back to scientist "Dr. Josef Reinstein" later
retroactively changed to a code name for the scientist
Abraham Erskine
Earth Lord
Earth Sentry
Earth Sentry (John Foster) was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, and first appeared in ''A-Next'' #2 (1999) in the MC2 universe.
When John and his father Bill were investigating a UFO crash site, they discovered a ...
, the developer of the
Super-Soldier
The following is a list of fictional characters that appear or are only mentioned in the comic books of Amalgam Comics. They are listed by comic book and a team section is also provided. The amalgamations of characters or the Amalgam versions of o ...
serum that changed the frail
Steve Rogers into
Timely Comics
Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...
's (Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor's)
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 ...
.
[''Captain America'' #255 (March 1981)] On his death, Dr. Erskine left papers, which covered years of research and findings that the government had not seen fit to classify to his grandson Brian Van Patrick.
Brian studied his grandfather's work, particularly his work on growing, preparing and serving the most wholesome and nutritional foods and a challenging experimental program of
isometric exercise
An isometric exercise is a form of exercise involving the static contraction of a muscle without any visible movement in the angle of the joint. The term "isometric" combines the Greek words ''isos'' (equal) and ''-metria'' (measuring), meaning ...
s. Brian used the research during the early life and development of his son Michael, helping him achieve his potential.
The events of the 2006–2007 Marvel Comics
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
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 ...
required all United States
superpowered individuals to register with the American government, with at least some of these individuals being sent to The Initiative's training camp
Camp Hammond. Given Michael's descent from the creator of the super soldier serum, many people came to suspect his athletic abilities to be superpower-related. A subsequent scandal cost Michael his
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholarsh ...
. Initiative superhero
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
recruited Michael for the Initiative program.
He joined the program under the codename MVP, along with old and new characters to make up the cast of the ''Avengers: The Initiative''. During the first day of training at Camp Hammond, MVP demonstrated extraordinary speed and agility as he broke the camp's
obstacle course
An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual, team or animal must navigate, usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balancing elements with th ...
record for users without superspeed on his first attempt.
During a combat simulator exercise, Initiative trainee
Armory
Armory or armoury may mean:
* An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition
Places
*National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...
ended up panicking and fired blindly on the other recruits. MVP saved fellow recruit
Cloud 9. While saving Cloud 9, MVP is shot in the head, killing him instantly.
Initiative scientist (and former
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
and
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 oft ...
) Dr.
Baron Von Blitzschlag
Baron Werner Von Blitzschlag is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Dan Slott and artist Stefano Caselli, the Baron's last name is German for "Lightning-Strike."
Publication history ...
performed the
autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
on Michael's body. The autopsy revealed that MVP's extraordinary physical abilities were unconnected to the super-soldier serum and were instead achieved by natural means. Von Blitzschlag advocated cloning MMV to chief administrator
Yellowjacket
Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...
's disapproval.
In ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #22, the members of New Warriors take possession of Michael's body to return him home.
First clone
Though Yellowjacket disapproved the idea of cloning MVP, Secretary of the Superhuman Armed Forces
Henry Peter Gyrich
Henry Peter Gyrich () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a liaison of the United States government who is against the superhuman community.
Publication history
The character first appeared ...
had ordered that MVP's death remain secret and sanctioned the cloning. As Van Patrick was a non-altered human, Yellowjacket considered the cloning to be comparatively easy.
''Avengers: The Initiative Annual'' #1 reveals the clone's creation and development. As the clone was grown to its original's age, all of his original's skills and abilities were programmed into him with the help of a special suit with telemetry circuits, a video of MVP's training session, and the photographic reflexes of
Taskmaster. The first clone is sent to his family's
organic
Organic may refer to:
* Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity
* Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ
Chemistry
* Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
vegetable
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...
farm in
Liberty, Kentucky, with a false story that he had failed the Initiative program because of his lack of powers. The clone, who is coming to realize that his memories are not his own and that he will never be the real Michael Van Patrick, elects to stay with "his" family. He is warned however to never tell them that he is not their real son.
However, the clone's first appearance was a couple of months prior in a few panels of ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #4, where Justice and Cloud 9, not knowing that clones had replaced Michael, flew to the Van Patrick farm to inform MVP's parents of his death. On arriving, they are greeted at the door by the clone but are called off to deal with the events of ''
World War Hulk
"World War Hulk" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled limited series and various titles published by Marvel Comics in 2007, featuring the Hulk.
The series consists of five main issues titled ''World War Hulk'', wi ...
''
before they can inquire further. In a later issue, Justice returns with Cloud 9 to the Van Patrick home, wishing to find out what information Gyrich and Yellowjacket were keeping from him. On arriving, they find the house boarded up and abandoned.
During the ''
Killed In Action'' storyline, it is revealed that the clone has an imbedded tracking device and that the Van Patrick family had moved to
Bulls Gap, Tennessee
Bulls Gap is a town in Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 756 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson Ci ...
.
In this storyline's conclusion, the clone then helps The Initiative stop KIA and begins to further MVP's romantic interest in Cloud 9.
In ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #12, the MVP clone, along with the surviving Scarlet Spiders and MVP's father, join with Justice's
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...
as a Counter Initiative of underground registered heroes. MVP, as a part of
Counter Force, would go on to appear in ''
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...
'' vol. 4 #14-15; in the character's first appearance outside of an ''Avengers: The Initiative'' title.
Scarlet Spiders
Three more clones, developed the same time as the first but with added genetic material from Baron Von Blitzschlage,
were programmed via input from Taskmaster with MVP's skills and abilities along with those of
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 ...
.
The three clones, Michael, Van and Patrick (sometimes referred to as "Pat"), were suited up in redesigned
Iron Spider
The Iron Spider is a fictional powered exoskeleton used by several characters in Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The Iron Spider armor first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #529 and was designed by Joe Quesada, based on a sketch by Ch ...
suits that Spider-Man had worn during the early stages of the superhero Civil War.
During their first appearance, they identify themselves as the "Red Team" and take down supervillains
Shocker,
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
and
Hydro-Man
Hydro-Man (Morris "Morrie" Bench) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics as an enemy of the superhero Spider-Man. Once an ordinary crewman, Morris Bench was accidentally knocked overboard while stationed on ...
. Though
War Machine identifies them by their official name
Scarlet Spider
The Scarlet Spider is an alias used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, both of whom are genetic replicates of the superhero Spider-Man.
Both the ...
s when contacting them,
they identify themselves as Red Team One (Michael), Red Team Two (Van), and Red Team Three ("Pat" Patrick) in the field.
They are later revealed to be part of the Shadow Initiative
black ops
A black operation or black op is a covert or clandestine operation by a government agency, a military unit or a paramilitary organization; it can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it i ...
group under the command of Gyrich with
Constrictor,
Mutant Zero
Typhoid Mary Fisk ( née Walker), also known as Bloody Mary and Mutant Zero, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was initially depicted as an enemy of Daredevil suffering from dissoc ...
,
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, and
Trauma
Trauma most often refers to:
* Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source
* Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event
*Traumatic i ...
.
The Scarlet Spiders were forced to expose themselves to the public in ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #7 after an attack on Blitzschlage. The subsequent pursuit of three criminals wearing the
Vulturions flying exosuits would lead the Spiders into confronting the angry Peter Parker. Their appearance in a battle against and alongside Parker raised public doubts over whether Parker is the original and/or only Spider-Man, despite his having publicly revealing his dual identity in the early events of the Civil War.
Now public, the Scarlet Spiders join with the other initiative trainees in the next issue. An incident involving
Dragon Man leads one of the Spiders to save Cloud 9 in much the same fashion as the original MVP did at the time of his death.
In ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #10, the Scarlet Spiders unmask themselves in an attempt to calm the enraged clone KIA only to have him behead one of their number. The surviving (and still unmasked) Scarlet Spiders, Michael and Patrick,
are later seen by the majority of the trainees, including Cloud 9. In ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #11, the remaining Scarlet Spiders make their way to Bulls Gap, Tennessee to aid in the capture of KIA.
In ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #12, after the defeat of KIA, the surviving Scarlet Spiders, along with the MVP clone and the real MVP's father, join with Justice's New Warriors as a
Counter Initiative/Counter Force of underground registered heroes who go on to appear in ''
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...
''
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...
tie-in story "Secrets and
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated fro ...
s" where Counter Force would team up with the other team of New Warriors. Reappearing within the pages of ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #21, with
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 first ...
taking control of the 50-State Initiative, Counter Force were made wanted criminals. The team shows up at Camp Hammond, having retaken the name New Warriors to battle the rampaging
Ragnarok. In ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #22, Scarlet Spider Michael is killed by Ragnarok. During the next issue, in the battle's aftermath, the last surviving Scarlet Spider Patrick publicly unmasks himself, revealing to the media that the Initiative had secretly cloned MVP.
He continues to defy Osborn with the Avengers Resistance, and even participates in the attack on Camp HAMMER during the
siege of Asgard. He is seen again with the New Warriors during the
Fear Itself crossover.
KIA
![KIA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Kia.jpg)
The results of the previous clonings impressed Initiative administrators enough to attempt to fill places within the Fifty-State Initiative with further clones.
In the ''Avengers: The Initiative'' first multi-part story; ''Killed in Action'' (starting issue #8), a new clone is fitted with the Tactigon, Armory's former alien weapon and sets forth on a murderous rampage through Camp Hammond in an attempt to seek revenge for MVP's death.
In the second part ''First Casualties'', set before the events of the first, the clone, who is distinguished by his whited out eyes, is said to have had Armory's moves programmed into him in preparation to use the Omega-Level weapon that killed the original MVP. The Tactigon interfaces with this clone's mind activating latent memories of the real MVP's death. Hacking into the Initiative's computer, the clone learns of his "death" and gains a list of all those present at the time. The disturbed clone demolishes the cloning lab, attacking Blitzschlag and Yellowjacket while repeating "Killed in Action" over and over again and carving the initials "KIA" into his chest. The clone continues its rampage through Camp Hammond, striking those whose names are on his list and attacking anyone else who gets in the way.
At the end of the third part, the clone attempts to find the
coma
A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
tose
Gauntlet, the
drill instructor
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors.
Australia
Austr ...
who had sent MVP to the ill-fated combat training session. However, Gauntlet's weapon, which was taken from an alien who faced off against the alien who controlled the Tactigon in Gauntlet and Armory's
origin stories
In entertainment, an origin story is an account or backstory revealing how a Character (arts), character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist, and it adds to the overall interest and complexity of a narrative, often giving reason ...
,
seemingly takes control of Gauntlet's body forcing him to acquire the sword element of the alien's armor that he recovered when he originally bonded with the alien glove device. The two later battle and KIA stabs Gauntlet to bring him out of his coma, in an effort to face the man rather than the gauntlet weapon.
In the concluding part of the ''Worst Case Scenario'' storyline, KIA battles his way through the Initiative to follow trainees Cloud 9,
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 ...
and
Hardball
Hardball, in English, more specifically American English, generally refers to baseball (as opposed to its variant softball), especially when played very competitively. Metaphorically, it refers to uncompromising and ruthless methods or dealings, ...
to MVP's first clone in Bulls Gap, where they are attempting to convince the clone to download its memories into a device (and most likely leave himself
brain-dead
Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of brain activity, brain function which may include cessation of involuntary activity necessary to sustain life. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person is al ...
) which could then upload them into KIA to reset his mind. After arriving at the location, KIA is met by the collective Initiative force of the
Mighty Avengers
''The Mighty Avengers'' is a comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics. Originally written by Brian Michael Bendis, also the writer of '' New Avengers'', the title first featured an officially sanctioned Avengers team of registered ...
, the remaining Scarlet Spiders, a rogue
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...
group and the trainees. In the battle's climax, the first clone uses the device to download KIA's memories leaving his body brain-dead. After the battle, it is revealed that the Avengers have stored both the body and the Tactigon away in an undisclosed location, before which
Slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
secretly took the device with KIA's memories from the battlefield for himself, which reads "''ready to transmit brain patterns to new host body''" leaving KIA's eventual fate open-ended.
Many trainees and staff members were injured during KIA's rampage, but only
Dragon Lord
''Dragon Lord'' (also known as ''Dragon Strike'', ) is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film starring and directed by Jackie Chan, who also wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang and Barry Wong. It was originally supposed to be a sequel to ' ...
,
Trauma
Trauma most often refers to:
* Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source
* Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event
*Traumatic i ...
,
Van
(one of the Scarlet Spiders
) and 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents
were killed. But in ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #12, Trauma came back to life.
Powers, abilities and equipment
In ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #2, Von Blitzschlag refers to MVP as an "
Übermensch
The (; "Overhuman") is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' (german: Also sprach Zarathustra), Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the as a goal for humanity to set for itse ...
", a perfect human specimen, down to the
cellular
Cellular may refer to:
*Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics
* Cell biology, the evaluation of cells work and more
* ''Cellular'' (film), a 2004 movie
*Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands
*Cell ...
level. This perfection is displayed in his physical abilities. He reaches the highest possible standard for a human being without becoming a enhanced super-soldier.
Yellowjacket
Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...
(actually the Skrull agent
Criti Noll), one of the chief administrators at Camp Hammond, ironically referred to MVP as "Captain America, Jr." in the first issue of ''Avengers: The Initiative''. However, unlike Captain America's enhanced condition, MVP's abilities were revealed in the ''Avengers: The Initiative Annual'' to have come as a result of the "revolutionary" diet and an "ultimate" isometric exercise regime he completed, rather than Dr. Erskine's super-soldier serum.
The first clone has those same abilities, with the Scarlet Spiders additionally having the skills, reflexes/reactions and moves of Spider-Man programmed into them to the limit of regular human ability.
Michael, Van and Patrick's Scarlet Spider suits, a redesign of
Tony Stark
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 charac ...
's
Iron Spider
The Iron Spider is a fictional powered exoskeleton used by several characters in Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The Iron Spider armor first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #529 and was designed by Joe Quesada, based on a sketch by Ch ...
armor (previously used by Spider-Man),
are supported by systems similar to that of Stark's classic
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 ...
design. In the Scarlet Spider's first appearance, ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #3, the suit features several devices, including four mechanical spider-arms or "
waldoes" on each suit, one more than on the original, along with
cloaking
Cloaking is a search engine optimization (SEO) technique in which the content presented to the search engine spider is different from that presented to the user's browser. This is done by delivering content based on the IP addresses or the User ...
devices and a short-range
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
microwave communication system. In ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #7, the suits display mechanical web-shooters while retaining the ability to change appearance to other versions of the Spider-Man costume or street clothes. In ''
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...
'' vol. 4 #15 (Oct. 2008), it was revealed the suits have had their StarkTech removed, which prevented the suits being affected when all StarkTech was made inoperable by Skrull invaders. However, this is seemingly retconned in a line spoken by one of the Spiders: "should be StarkTech like ours, but it's so alien", in ''Avengers: The Initiative'' #22, when the Spiders interface with other technology.
Attached to the "KIA" Michael Van Patrick is
Armory
Armory or armoury may mean:
* An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition
Places
*National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...
's former weapon, known as the ''Tactigon'', which was detached when she was expelled from the Initiative program. It is a multi-dimensional alien device that, once attached to a body, is able to shift into an infinite number of weapons and tools with a built-in safety designed to only enable the wearer to wield the specific weapons/tools needed to get the job at hand done.
Reception
The
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
reviewer considered MVP to be one of the "instantly likable characters"
[Advance Review: Avengers: The Initiative #1: The superhuman draft opens new doors for Marvel.](_blank)
by Richard George. March 30, 2007 in the first issue, while a
Comics Bulletin
Comics Bulletin was a daily website covering the American comic-book industry.
History Silver Bullet Comicbooks
The site was founded in January 2000 as Silver Bullet Comicbooks by its New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice.
During this ...
reviewer expanded on this by saying MVP especially "could help carry this title". However, MVP's death at the end of the issue was met with concern "while shocking,
VP's deathundermines the advancement of the rest of the issue".
Despite concerns that writer Dan Slott had cavalierly killed MVP, IGN reviewer stated that "having seen the emotional fallout of that incident, I can see why it was so important to do that. Clearly the death in the first issue added immeasurable weight to the situation".
[Avengers: The Initiative #2 review: Tony Stark's war comes at a steep cost.](_blank)
by Richard George. April 30, 2007
MVP also received criticism from TheGamer reviewer, Charlie Green, stating that MVP hurt the Marvel comics involving him, "This is essentially what would have happened if nothing particularly exciting happened to
aptain America.
See also
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Avengers: The Initiative
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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 ...
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Scarlet Spider
The Scarlet Spider is an alias used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, both of whom are genetic replicates of the superhero Spider-Man.
Both the ...
References
External links
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MVPat Marvel.com Universe
MVPat Marvel Database wiki
Scarlet Spiders (Team Red)at Marvel Database wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Patrick, Michael
Characters created by Dan Slott
Clone characters in comics
Comics characters introduced in 2007
Fictional characters from Kentucky
Marvel Comics superheroes