Nitro 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 oft ...
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 ...
. He first appeared in 1974.
Nitro is known for playing a part in the death of the
Kree
The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are a fictional scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic list of fictional extraterrestrials, alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the p ...
superhero
Mar-Vell
Captain Marvel (Kree name Mar-Vell, Earth alias Walter Lawson) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and designed by penciller, artist Gene Colan ...
. He is also known for being responsible for the
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
tragedy that started Marvel's
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 ...
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 ...
.
Publication history
Nitro first appeared in ''
Captain Marvel'' #34 (September 1974) and was created by
Jim Starlin
James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, and ...
.
Fictional character biography
Robert Hunter was born in
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
. He was an electrical engineer. Due to genetic alteration carried out on him by the Kree Lunatic Legion, Robert gained the ability to explode and reform himself at will and became a professional criminal. Some time later, he exposed
Captain Marvel to a carcinogenic
nerve gas
Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that ...
; this encounter ultimately caused Captain Marvel's fatal cancer. Since then he has clashed with Earth's superhumans, who have found creative ways to defeat him, including using the "fractioning (separation) of his exploded mass" against him (essentially, if he can't reform himself after an explosion, he can't explode again).
Nitro later battled and was defeated by
Omega the Unknown
Omega the Unknown is an American comic book published by Marvel Comics from 1976 to 1977, featuring the eponymous fictional character. The series, written by Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes and illustrated by Jim Mooney, ran for 10 issues befor ...
. He later escaped from
Project: Pegasus, and then battled and was defeated by
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 ...
.
[''Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man'' #55] Nitro was later freed from his containment canister by the
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 ...
in Albany, New York. He battled
Skids of the
New Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically us ...
, and was unable to re-form his body within Skids' force field. He was then recruited by
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
to serve him in a mission alongside several other supervillains, including
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 ...
,
Super Skrull and
Titanium Man
The Titanium Man is the name of two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original Titanium Man first appeared in ''Tales of Suspense'' #68 (September 1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck.
Fic ...
. When the mission ended with the
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...
rescuing the Earth-based villains, Nitro decided to take a space craft and explore space.
Much later, when the
Kingpin was plotting his return to the New York underworld, he hired Nitro as one of many assassins to launch a carefully planned simultaneous attack on several New York crime bosses, including
Don Fortunato
Vincente Fortunato is fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. An elderly crime boss affiliated with the Maggia and HYDRA, he is usually depicted as an enemy of the superhero Spider-Man, and a competitor ...
,
Hammerhead, Caesar Cicero,
Silvermane
Silvermane (Silvio Manfredi) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A notorious crime boss and prominent figure in the Maggia, a fictional organized crime syndicate, he is usually depicted as an adversary ...
, and many others; Nitro's target was
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 ...
, who emerged relatively unscathed.
One such appearance where a foe took advantage of his limitations was in ''
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 ...
'' vol. 3 #15, where he was hired to kill Tony Stark. A fight occurred between Nitro and Iron Man. Iron Man, whose sensors and telecommunications gear had been recently upgraded, noticed that every time he exploded, a high-frequency pulse was emitted by his body. Experimenting, Iron Man duplicated the pulse, causing Nitro to explode. After he exploded several times in a minute, he passed out from exhaustion (presumably, it takes energy to explode, and he could only spare so much before he passed out). Iron Man then handed him over to
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 ...
, along with a recommendation on constructing a null-harness. He was sent to prison.
On another occasion, when Nitro's lawyer had him released from captivity, the villain immediately escaped, attempting to rob a bank for money to travel to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
to kill Captain Marvel. He was opposed by Spider-Man, who defeated Nitro by webbing a barrel of
tear gas
Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...
to his body right before he exploded. As Nitro reformed, the suddenly evaporated tear gas mixed with his own molecules, leaving him violently ill and unable to fight back. Again, Nitro was arrested and sent to jail.
[
Later, Nitro is hired as a hit-man to kill ]Matt Murdock
Daredevil is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Daredevil was created by Literary editor, writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby. The c ...
. He almost succeeds, killing several innocent people. Daredevil and the police work together to capture him.
At the start of 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, the 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), ...
performed a videotaped raid of a house containing the Cobalt Man, Speedfreek
This is a list of supporting characters in the ''Hulk'' comics.
Family
, -
, style="text-align: left;", Notes:
Parents
* Brian Banner – Brian Banner is the son of Bruce Banner I, the brother of Elaine and Susan Banner, the husb ...
, Coldheart and Nitro, who had recently escaped from prison during the Ryker's Island
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 ...
Incident. The New Warriors attacked each villain, with Namorita
Namorita Prentiss is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a mutant clone of her mother, Namora, and a member of the New Warriors. She was killed in the explosion in Stamford that started the Superhero C ...
(the Sub-Mariner's cousin) going after Nitro. Slamming him into a school bus, Namorita taunted Nitro who then quotes "Oh, baby, don't you even know? You're playing with the big boys." Nitro then explodes causing a massive explosion. This explosion killed Namorita, Night Thrasher In comics, Night Thrasher may refer to:
* Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor), the first Night Thrasher, a fictional superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics
* Donyell Taylor
N'astirh
N'Garai
N'Kantu, the Living Mummy
Naga
Nah ...
, Microbe
A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...
, and the supervillains he was with during the raid along with sixty children at the nearby elementary school and some 600 people in the surrounding neighborhood in Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
where the fight took place.
Nitro escaped in the back of a pickup truck and Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
soon began hunting him. Eventually Wolverine and a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents caught up with Nitro. The agents perished in the battle. Atlantean agents show up and capture Nitro for Namor and Wolverine follows them to New Pangea in an Iron Man armor to find Nitro has killed his interrogators in an attempt to escape. Wolverine captures Nitro and slices off his arm before leaving Nitro a prisoner of Atlantis.
Namor used Nitro in the destruction of New Pangea after moving his civilization to Latveria
Latveria is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted within the storylines of Marvel's comic titles as an isolated European country ruled by the fictional Supreme Lord Doctor Doom, suppose ...
, a nation ruled by Doctor Doom
Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...
. Nitro was held prisoner in Latveria until Penance brought him back to America after forcing him to suffer for the Stamford explosion, leaving him in critical condition and close to death.
Nitro later popped up as a member of Hood
Hood may refer to:
Covering
Apparel
* Hood (headgear), type of head covering
** Article of academic dress
** Bondage hood, sex toy
* Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt
Anatomy
* Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris
* Hood, a flap of ...
's crime syndicate when they stole a treasure from an Arabic diplomat and then had a celebratory party were the Hood shows them how he's the leader and the ways he delegates the job.
Nitro later appeared at a party in Madripoor that was held by Sabretooth.
Nitro was among the villains that fought Spider-Man on a submarine.
During the '' Avengers: Standoff!'' storyline, Nitro was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D.
During the "Opening Salvo" part of the '' Secret Empire'' storyline, Nitro is recruited by Baron Helmut Zemo to join the Army of Evil. Nitro is among the villains on a rampage after what went down in Pleasant Hill. During his fight with the Defenders
Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to:
*Defense (military)
*Defense (sports)
**Defender (association football)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary
* ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...
, Nitro defeated them by exploding.
Powers and abilities
As a result of genetic re-engineering by the Kree, Nitro can transform his body into a gaseous state, explode, and reconstitute himself. The transformation and explosion to can be limited to discrete portions of his body, such as his fist, and aim the force in a specific direction. While in his gaseous state, he cannot reform if any fraction of his body is separated from the rest, and he must completely reform his body from a gaseous state before he can detonate a second time. The reforming process does not have any healing properties, so any wound received prior to the explosion will be present when he reforms.[''Wolverine'' vol. 3 #45]
In other media
Television
Nitro appears in the '' Wolverine and the X-Men'' episode "Time Bomb", voiced by Liam O'Brien
Liam Christopher O'Brien (born May 28, 1976) is an American voice actor, writer, and director. He is a regular cast member of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' actual play series ''Critical Role,'' playing Vax'ildan ("Vax"), Caleb Widogast, and Orym. ...
. This version is a 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 ...
desperate to keep his destructive abilities from hurting anyone due to his lack of control over them. In pursuit of his quest, he willingly accepts confinement within suspended animation in a mutant prison run by the Mutant Response Division (MRD). However, 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 scientif ...
discovers his capabilities and informs Quicksilver, who leads the Brotherhood of Mutants
The Brotherhood of Mutants (originally called the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, sometimes referred to as BoEM or B.O.E.M) is a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are depicted as being devot ...
in freeing Nitro so they can use his powers for their own benefit. During his time with them, Nitro is kept under control by Psylocke
Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men.
The first character to use the Psylocke moniker, Betsy Braddock, was initially a suppo ...
's telepathic powers and forms a connection with the sympathetic Rogue due to her own uncontrollable powers. While transporting him to Genosha
Genosha ( or ) is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is an island nation that exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as "Earth 616" in the Marvel Universe and a prominent place in the X-M ...
as an offering for Magneto
A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...
, the Brotherhood are intercepted by the 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 ...
. During the ensuing fight, Nitro almost kills both teams, but Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...
suspends him in midair so he can detonate safely. After Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
explains they would have destroyed Genosha if the X-Men had not intervened, the Brotherhood begrudgingly allow Nitro to be returned to the MRD.
Video games
* Nitro appears in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', voiced by Steven Blum
Steven Jay Blum (; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his most well-known roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series '' Cowboy Bebop'', Garazeb Orrelios from the animated series ''St ...
.
* Nitro appears as a boss in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''.
References
External links
Nitro
at Marvel.com
''Grand Comics Database'' article on comic containing Nitro's debut
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nitro (Comics)
Characters created by Jim Starlin
Characters created by Steve Englehart
Comics characters introduced in 1974
Fictional amputees
Fictional characters from Pennsylvania
Fictional engineers
Fictional genetically engineered characters
Fictional mass murderers
Marvel Comics mutates
Marvel Comics supervillains