Will o' the Wisp (Dr. Jackson Arvad) 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, ...

, 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 is a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

who gained control over the

electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...

attraction between his body's molecules, allowing him to adjust his

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

(like the

Vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

). He is most often a foe 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 character first appeared in ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...

'' #167 (Apr 1977).

Fictional character biography

Jackson Arvad 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 ...

. A former employee at

Roxxon Oil The Roxxon Energy Corporation (otherwise known as the Roxxon Oil Company, Roxxon Oil Corporation, Roxxon Corporation or simply Roxxon) is the name of a fictional massive petroleum industrial conglomerate in the Marvel Universe appearing in Americ ...

, he worked in the division dedicated to electromagnetic research as a scientist. Under constant pressure of being fired, Arvad spent much time furthering his work on electromagnetism, getting little sleep in the process. He eventually ended up falling asleep on the job, unable to save himself from a laboratory accident that would change his life. He ended up being caught in the electromagnetic field of a device he was working on, the device weakening the electromagnetic attraction between the molecules in his body, threatening his life. When his boss learned of the accident, he decided to let Arvad die, but not before he demanded any scientific applications the device would have had. However, Arvad was able to save himself when he learned he was suddenly able to control the level of attraction between his body's molecules. Will o' the Wisp was forced by his employer,

Jonas Harrow Jonas Harrow is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man. Publication history Jonas Harrow's first appearance was in ''The Amazing Spider-Man ...

, to carry out criminal activities.

persuaded him instead to resist Harrow. He attempted to kill his employer,

multiple times but was stopped each time by either Spider-Man or inadvertently by

Tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

. Finally, he opted to simply hypnotize the man into confessing his crimes to the police. Will o' the Wisp later took control of

Killer Shrike Killer Shrike is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Simon Maddicks version of Killer Shrike first appeared in ''The Rampaging Hulk'' #1 (Jan. 1977) and was cr ...

's battle-suit and kidnapped Dr. Marla Madison, who restored him to his corporeal form. Will o' the Wisp later forced his former partner, James Melvin, to expose the Brand Corporation's illicit activities to the news media. Will o' the Wisp later first encountered The Outlaws while hunting down Spider-Man in connection with a crime. Will o' the Wisp eventually joined the Outlaws as an adventurer, to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Canadian official.

Civil War

Years later, Will o' the Wisp would show up in league with the

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...

and later the

Molten Man The Molten Man (Mark Raxton) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Once a chemical engineer who longed to get rich, Mark Raxton was caught in an accident that saw his body get covered by an experime ...

as part of the Chameleon's plot to get revenge on Peter Parker after unmasking during

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 ...

. He was seen among an army of supervillains organized by Hammerhead that was captured by

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 ...

and

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 ...

agents. In ''

The Punisher War Journal ''The Punisher War Journal'' or ''Punisher War Journal'' is the title of two Marvel Comics comic book series featuring the character Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher. The first volume, published from 1988 to 1995, was spun off of a self-ti ...

'' vol. 2 #4, the Punisher blew up a bar where Will o' the Wisp was attending a wake for

Stilt-Man Stilt-Man is the name of multiple different supervillains in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Stilt-Man first appeared in '' Daredevil'' #8 (June 1965). He is a criminal wearing an impenetrable suit of armor w ...

, after poisoning the guests. It was later mentioned in ''

She-Hulk She-Hulk (Jennifer "Jen" Walters) is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she first appeared in ''The Savage She-Hulk'' #1 (cov ...

'' vol. 2 #17 that "they all had to get their stomachs pumped and be treated for

third-degree burns A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

."''

'' vol. 2 #17

Powers and abilities

As a result of exposure to Jackson Arvad and James Melvin's "magno-chamber", Will-O'-The-Wisp has the ability to control the electromagnetic particles that make up his body. This enables him to vary the density of his body to make part, or all, of his body intangible or rock hard similar to the synthezoid Vision. He also has superhuman strength at higher densities, and has superhuman speed and durability. Also, he has the ability of flight, and at subsonic speeds, Will-O'-The-Wisp appears to be nothing more than a glowing sphere. Will-O'-The-Wisp can also mesmerize people for a short period of time. Will-O'-The-Wisp can will the molecules of his body to oscillate at a small distance from his body, making him look like an ethereal glowing sphere. Jackson Arvad is a brilliant scientist, especially in the field of electromagnetics, with a master's of science degree in electrical engineering.

References

External links

Will o' the Wisp
at Marvel.com
Will o' the Wisp
at Marvel Wiki
Will o' the Wisp
at Comic Vine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Will O' The Wisp (Comics) Characters created by Len Wein Characters created by Ross Andru Comics characters introduced in 1977 Fictional characters from Pennsylvania Fictional characters with density control abilities Fictional electrical engineers Fictional physicists Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics superheroes Marvel Comics supervillains Spider-Man characters