Nikki (comics)
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Nicholette "Nikki" Gold 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 ...
. Nikki first appeared in ''
Marvel Presents ''Marvel Presents'' was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. Twelve issues were published from October 1975 to August 1977. Publication history Bloodstone ''Marvel Presents'' began publication with an October 1975 ...
'' #4 (April 1976) and was created by
Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include ''Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight:' ...
and
Mary Skrenes Mary Skrenes is a comic book writer and screenwriter. She may be best known as co-creator (with Steve Gerber) of Omega the Unknown for Marvel Comics, although she worked on other Marvel characters such as the Defenders and Guardians of the Galax ...
. The character is usually depicted as a woman in the
Earth-691 Within Marvel Comics, most tales take place within the fictional Marvel Universe, which in turn is part of a larger multiverse. Starting with issues of ''Captain Britain'', the main continuity in which most Marvel storylines take place was des ...
timeline of the fictional
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 ...
, genetically engineered to live on the planet
Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
. As such, her character has a superhuman ability to withstand heat and ultraviolet radiation, and can see clearly in very bright light. She is described as bald, although her fictional powers allow her to expel body heat through her head in a low-temperature flame resembling hair in shape. The Nikki character was the sixth member of the
Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
, and noted for her acrobatic and sharp-shooting skill.


Publication history

Mercurians were first seen in '' The Defenders'' vol #1, #26, August 1975. Nikki first appeared in ''
Marvel Presents ''Marvel Presents'' was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. Twelve issues were published from October 1975 to August 1977. Publication history Bloodstone ''Marvel Presents'' began publication with an October 1975 ...
'' #4 (April, 1976). Writer
Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include ''Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight:' ...
recalled, "I wanted to dda girl – a Mercurian – because there wasn't one in the group. The conception was, I think, half mine and half
Mary Skrenes Mary Skrenes is a comic book writer and screenwriter. She may be best known as co-creator (with Steve Gerber) of Omega the Unknown for Marvel Comics, although she worked on other Marvel characters such as the Defenders and Guardians of the Galax ...
'." She was first referred to in ''
FOOM ''FOOM'' was Marvel Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s, following the canceled ''Marvelmania'' and preceding ''Marvel Age''. Running 22 quarterly issues (February 1973 – Fall 1978), it was initially designed and edited by comic ...
'' #12. At the time Gerber stopped writing ''Marvel Presents'', Nikki still had no clearly defined powers, leaving his successor
Roger Stern Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. Biography Early career In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine ''CPL'' (''Contemporary Pictorial Literature''), one of the first platfor ...
to fill in that aspect of the character. Stern reflected, "Nikki was the blankest slate. I saw her 'power' as being able to adapt to virtually any environment. Otherwise, how would someone who had been born on the planet Mercury been able to stand - much less turn somersaults - under standard Earth gravity?"


Fictional character biography

Nicholette "Nikki" Gold was born on the planet Mercury in the 31st century. She was rescued from an abandoned spacecraft by the
Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
. She joined the Guardians, seeking excitement and adventure after years of solitude aboard the abandoned spacecraft. She later joined with
Vance Astro Vance Astro, born Vance Astrovik and going by the code name Major Victory, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as being from the Earth-691 timeline of the Marvel Universe ...
in a metaphysical union in a successful attempt to use the force of human love to destroy the
Topographical Man Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
. The sexual nature of this union embarrassed Vance, but not Nikki. Nikki traveled to the present with the other Guardians, and assisted the
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 ...
in battle against
Korvac Korvac is the name of a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appears in '' Giant-Size Defenders'' #3 (Jan. 1975) and was created by Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin. Publication history Michael Ko ...
. She traveled to the present again, and battled
Hammer and Anvil The hammer and anvil is a military tactic involving the use of two primary forces, one to pin down an enemy, and the other to smash or defeat the opponent with an encirclement maneuver. It may involve a frontal assault by one part of the force, pl ...
alongside
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 ...
. Alongside the Guardians, Nikki later went on a quest to find the lost
shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...
of
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 ...
, and battled
Taserface Taserface is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a supervillain and a recurring adversary of the original Guardians of the Galaxy. Taserface appears in several forms of media, such as the Ma ...
. She battled the Stark alongside the other Guardians. She encountered Firelord. She battled the super-humanoid team known as
Force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...
alongside the Guardians. During her time on the team, Nikki had a romantic relationship with
Charlie-27 Captain Charlie-27 is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character usually appears in the Earth-691 timeline of the Marvel Universe as a member of the original 31st century incarnation of the tea ...
, though they later amicably separated. She became attracted to later Guardian recruits Firelord and
Talon Talon or talons may refer to: Science and technology * Talon (anatomy), the claw of a bird of prey * Brodifacoum, a rodenticide, also known as the brand Talon * TALON (database), a database maintained by the US Air Force * Talon, an anti-vehicle- ...
though both simply wished to remain friends.


Powers and abilities

Nikki is a member of a genetically engineered offshoot of humanity whose traits were designed for survival in the harsh conditions of the planet Mercury. As such, she has the ability to see in intense light, and has a high degree of resistance to heat and most types of radiation. As she has matured, Nikki has demonstrated an ability to increase the intensity of the flames radiating from her scalp, to the point of being able to briefly project the flames outward as an offensive tactic; she has been shown using this ability to burn the hair from Charlie-27's scalp and eyebrows, scorch opponents such as the evil
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 ...
Blockade, and lay down a wall of flame to repel attackers.''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #41 Another side effect of Mercurian physiology is a natural body temperature of several hundred degrees; at one point, Nikki took up swimming to temporarily reduce her body temperature for Charlie-27's safety while they were in a romantic relationship. Nikki has achieved extensive proficiency in hand-to-hand combat and proficiency in gymnastics and sharp-shooting. She is self-taught from memory tapes. Nikki is often armed with a neuronic frequency stun gun, a laser pistol, and various handgun-type weapons as needed.


In other media


Video games

* The Nikki character appears as a playable character in ''
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on 14 November 2 ...
'' as part of the " Classic Guardians of the Galaxy" DLC pack. * A younger version of the Nikki character appears in ''
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy ''Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy'' is a 2021 action-adventure game developed by Eidos-Montréal and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, the game was released for Ni ...
'' as the adopted daughter of a
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 ...
Captain named Ko-Rel.


Notes


References


External links


Nicholette "Nikki" Gold
an extensive biography with exhaustive references {{DEFAULTSORT:Nikki (Comics) Characters created by Steve Gerber Comics characters introduced in 1976 Fictional characters from the Solar System Fictional genetically engineered characters Guardians of the Galaxy characters Fiction set on Mercury (planet) Marvel Comics female superheroes