U-Man (Meranno) 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

U-Man first appears in ''

Invaders ''InVader'' is the fourth album by Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love, released on 4 March 2016 through Spinefarm Records. Track listing All songs written by Olli Herman, Pepe Reckless, and Ikka Wirtanen, unless otherwise noted. Reception Wr ...

'' #3 (Nov. 1975) and was created by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

and

Frank Robbins Franklin Robbins (September 9, 1917 – November 28, 1994) was an American comic book and comic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, where one of his p ...

Fictional character biography

Meranno is an Atlantean warrior and scientist. Like hero

Namor the Sub-Mariner Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies In ...

, he is a member of the Atlantean race ''

Homo mermanus ''Homo mermanus'' is a fictional race of gilled aquatic humanoids appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. This race is best known as the inhabitants of Atlantis in the Marvel Universe. Namor the Sub-Mariner is the most nota ...

''. It is revealed in flashback that Meranno despised Namor when they were children, and in adulthood allies himself with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Still consumed with hatred for Namor, the character reveals the location of the city of Atlantis to the German forces, who destroy the Atlantean

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada *Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach, ...

and place the then

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Thakorr in a

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 ...

. Thakorr is succeeded by Namor who banishes Meranno from Atlantis for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. Meranno adopts the alias of ''U-Man'', and willingly submits to Nazi procedures that increase his size and strength. Joining a fleet of

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s, U-Man wreaks havoc on the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

fleet until defeated by the

superhero 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 using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

team the ''Invaders''. The character reappears in a two part story in the title '' Marvel Two-In-One'', and with Nazi allies Brain Drain,

Master Man Master Man, in comics, may refer to: * Master Man (Fawcett Comics), Fawcett Comics superhero * Master Man (Marvel Comics), Marvel Comics villain *Master Man (Quality Comics) Kid Eternity is a fictional character, a comic book superhero that premie ...

, and Sky Shark, plans to

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with a new super weapon. The plan, however, is foiled by

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

ling

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

member 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 focuses ...

and the

Liberty Legion The Liberty Legion is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was first created in 1976 and set during World War II. Composed of existing heroes from Marvel's 1940s Golden Age of Comic Bo ...

. U-Man reappears in the title ''Invaders'' under the mental control of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

Lady Lotus Lady Lotus (also known as Lotus Newmark) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Lady Lotus first appeared in ''The Invaders'' #37 (Feb. 1979), and was created by Don Glut, ...

, and battles teen group the ''Kid Commandos'' and the Invaders and joins the Nazi group

Super-Axis The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them. 0–9 198 A A-Force A-Next A.I. Army Because of his revelation that he is now a simulated A ...

for a final confrontation with the superhero team. U-Man appears in the modern Marvel Universe during the ''

Atlantis Attacks "Atlantis Attacks" was a comic book superhero crossover storyline which ran through most of the summer annuals published by Marvel Comics in 1989 and 2020. The storyline is a complicated, multi-layered crossover regarding the return of the sev ...

'' storyline, and features in an ''

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 ...

'' annual with fellow Namor foe ''

Attuma Attuma is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an Atlantean nomadic warlord who is usually depicted as an enemy of Namor the Sub-Mariner, and is the father of the superhero Andromeda. He believes he i ...

'' in an attack on the surface world. The character becomes a reluctant ally in the title ''Avengers'', aiding the superhero team,

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

heroes '' Alpha Flight'', and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

group the People's Protectorate in preventing a

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...

. An issue of the

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

New Invaders The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in '' The Avengers'' #71 (Dece ...

'' reveals in flashback that U-Man

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d Lady Lotus in retaliation for her earlier mind control. Lady Lotus eventually gives birth to their child

Nia Noble The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in '' The Avengers'' #71 (D ...

Powers and abilities

As an Atlantean, Meranno can breathe and move freely underwater, as well as survive for an indefinite period on land. Courtesy of Nazi science, he has inhuman strength, stamina, durability, speed, agility, and reflexes. U-Man was trained in the arts of

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

.''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update'' Vol 1 #4 (December 2010)

References

{{Invaders Characters created by Frank Robbins Characters created by Roy Thomas Comics characters introduced in 1975 Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional Nazi fugitives Fictional rapists Marvel Comics Atlanteans (Homo mermanus) Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics Nazis Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics supervillains