Nth Man is a fictional character 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

Thomas Lightner first appeared as Blacksun in '' Marvel Two-in-One'' #21-23 (November 1976-January 1977), and was created by

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: ''Micronauts'' and ''Ro ...

and Ron Wilson. The character subsequently appears in ''Marvel Two-in-One'' #42 (August 1978), #53-57 (July-December 1979), and became known as the Nth Man in '' Marvel Two-in-One'' #58 (December 1979). The character appears in the ''Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe'' graphic novel (1989), ''Quasar'' #13 (August 1990), #19 (February 1991), and became known as Mysterium in the ''Squadron Supreme: New World Order'' graphic novel (September 1998). The character received an entry in the ''All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z'' #7 (2006).

Fictional character biography

Dr. Thomas Lightner was a scientist who rebuilt his father's Sky Cannon after his father Raymond disappeared during a mishap with the device. A similar mishap with the rebuilt device caused the energies from Raymond to merge with Thomas, giving Thomas the powers of a black hole. Thomas' body could not contain these vast energies for long, and he collapsed and returned to his normal form. Lightner was later contacted by the Nth Command to infiltrate and sabotage Project: Pegasus. Lightner hoped to use the project's Nth Projector to regain his previous powers. Lightner released

Nuklo Nuklo (Robert Frank, Jr.) is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the son of two characters featured in the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Whizzer and Miss America. Publication histo ...

and allowed

Thundra Thundra is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is often aligned with the Fantastic Four. She is a powerful, red haired, amazon-like warrior, or Femizon, from a matriarchal, technologically a ...

and the

Grapplers Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

in to cause destruction and distract the facility's staff. Lightner was supposed to use the Nth Projector to send the Project: Pegasus facility into another dimension, but instead used it on himself. Lightner was transformed into the Nth Man, a "living interdimensional vortex". Like a black hole, the Nth Man absorbs all nearby matter and energy into himself. All of the heroes at the facility were absorbed into him, and

Wundarr the Aquarian Wundarr the Aquarian is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik and first appeared in ''Adventure into Fear'' #17. A pastiche of Superman, Wundarr ...

was able to use his null field to shut off the Nth Man's powers. Instead of being destroyed, the Nth Man entered the alternate universe of

Earth-S The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct used in DC Comics publications. The Multiverse has undergone numerous changes and has included various universes, listed below between the original Multiverse and its successors. The original ...

. There, he threatened to consume the sun, but remnants of the

Squadron Supreme The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the previous ...

reunite to battle him. Although they defeat him, several members of the Squadron are killed, with the remainder banished to

Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. History of the term The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis p ...

for a time. During the battle, Lightner exchanged places with the infant child of Squadron member

Arcanna Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abraxas, sometimes called the Dark Man, is a cosmic entity who embodies the destruction of the Marvel multiverse. The existence of Galactus prevents him from emerging. The character, created by Carlos Pach ...

and was thereby able to return to his own form; he became the new Wizard Supreme and eventually took the name "Mysterium".''Squadron Supreme: New World Order''

References

External links

*{{Marvunapp, http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/mysteriu.htm, Nth Man Characters created by Bill Mantlo Comics characters introduced in 1976 Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics supervillains