The Super-Adaptoid is the name of several fictional characters appearing in

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s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The character has appeared in over five decades of Marvel continuity and featured in other Marvel-endorsed products such as animated

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and merchandise such as

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Publication history

The original version appeared in ''

Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series, and two one-shot comics, all published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for s ...

'' #82 (October 1966), and was created by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

and

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

. A second version appeared in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #99 (April 1993), created by

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor (comic book), Thor'', ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...

and Terry Kavanagh.''

Web of Spider-Man ''Web of Spider-Man'' is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran ...

'' #99 - 100 (April – May 1993) Other iterations have also appeared, being "Batch 13" in '' Fantastic Force'' #4 (February 1995), created by

Tom Brevoort Tom Brevoort () is an American comic book editor, known for his work for Marvel Comics, where he has overseen titles such as '' New Avengers'', ''Civil War'', and ''Fantastic Four''. He became Executive Editor in 2007, and in January 2011, was pro ...

and Pino Rinaldi, and the "Ultra-Adaptoid", in ''Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK's Eleven'' #1 (September 2008), being created by Fred Van Lente and Francis Portela.

Fictional character biography

Original version

The original model (simply known as the Adaptoid) debuted in the ''

'' title, being created by the criminal scientific organization A.I.M. An android containing a shard of the Cosmic Cube artifact, the Adaptoid is programmed to defeat the hero

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

, infiltrating the Avengers'

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

while impersonating various characters (such as Edwin Jarvis and

Bucky Barnes James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally introduced as a sidekick to Captain America, the character was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared in '' ...

), and then copies the stand-out fighting abilities and respective traits of several Avengers (

Goliath Goliath ( ) was a Philistines, Philistine giant in the Book of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's giant, immense stature vary among biblical sources, with texts describing him as either or tall. According to the text, Goliath issued a challen ...

, Hawkeye, the

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

and Captain America himself), as the "Super-Adaptoid". After a long battle, the android flees after incorrectly believing that Captain America has been killed. The Super-Adaptoid takes underground near the

Xavier Institute X-Mansion and Xavier Institute are the common names for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier and serves as the bas ...

and is unintentionally awakened by an optic blast from

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...

. The Adaptoid leaves his hideout and sees the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

in their civilian clothes ice skating. He then recalls that he has another mission: to transform others into Adaptoids like himself, so he begins his attempt with the

. They refuse and a fight breaks out. As the battle drags on,

Mimic In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. In the simples ...

(having been asked to leave the X-Men) watches from a distance and sees how powerful the Adaptoid was. The Adaptoid soon defeats the X-Men and is then approached by Mimic, who offers to become an Adaptoid. During the process, Mimic has a change of heart after learning that he will lose his free will and battles the Adaptoid. During the battle, the Adaptoid unsuccessfully tries to copy the powers that Mimic had copied from the X-Men. Mimic then devises a plan and tries to mimic the Adaptoid's abilities, causing feedback which makes both of them lose their powers. As Mimic is rescued by the X-Men, the Adaptoid falls into a river below. The Super-Adaptoid later attacks Captain America during a charity event involving the Avengers, after copying the abilities of

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. He is tricked into using all his powers at once, overloading himself. The Adaptoid is featured in the ''Iron Man'' title reactivated by Jarr and Tyrr as a servant. After a battle where Iron Man defeats the Adaptoid, the android evolved into the metal-based Cyborg-Sinister, attacking Stark Industries which resulted in another confrontation with Iron Man which ends with the android being seemingly destroyed. The Adaptoid reforms in the ''Captain Marvel'' title, and after a brief battle with Iron Man follows the hero to Avengers Mansion, where the character battles the team and Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell). Mar-Vell tricks the Adaptoid into copying the nega-bands, which act as a portal to the Negative Zone. By striking the Adaptoid's nega-bands together, Mar-Vell banishes him to the Negative Zone. The Super-Adaptoid is retrieved in the ''

Marvel Two-in-One ''Marvel Two-in-One'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring Fantastic Four member the Thing in a different team-up each issue. Publication history Original series The concept of teaming the Thing with a differen ...

'' title, and used unsuccessfully by villains

Annihilus Annihilus () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an adversary to the Fantastic Four. The character debuted in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four Annual'' #6, which was published ...

and Blastaar against the Thing and the Avengers in the Negative Zone. The Adaptoid reappears in the ''Avengers'' title. Revealed to be stored at Avengers Mansion when the Masters of Evil attacked, the Adaptoid disguises himself as the Fixer, overpowering and changing places with his victim to be the android's former confinement tube at Avengers Island. The Adaptoid then replicates Mentallo's powers. Uniting a team of artificial beings (the Awesome Android, Machine Man, Sentry-459, and TESS-One), the Adaptoid directs them against the Avengers. While the heroes are distracted, the Adaptoid summons Kubik to Earth, so that the character can copy the sentient's powers and become the all-powerful Supreme Adaptoid. Although successful, the android is ultimately tricked into shutting down by Captain America and its Cosmic Cube shard is removed. The Super-Adaptoid makes a brief appearance during the '' Acts of Vengeance'' storyline having a confrontation with the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

, and in the ''Heroes for Hire'' title, where the android encounters the Thunderbolts and the

Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to appe ...

, and the ''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

'' title where Bruce Banner is

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

ed into being involved with the Adaptoid's repair and activation. The android poses as "Alessandro Brannex" during various titles. With MODAM as an enforcer, Brannex is the C.E.O. of the terrorist organization A.I.M. on the Boca Caliente island country. While making A.I.M. into a public friendly company, Brannex tries to personally show Captain America of this legal change, and tries to get rid of Iron Man to finish a potential nuclear weapons deal. His impersonation is revealed during

Superia Superia may refer to: * ''Superia'' (video game), a Norwegian game based on ''Adventure Rock'' * ''Superia'' (comics), a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe * Fujifilm Superia, a brand of photographic film * Superior craton The Su ...

's assassination to which the Adaptoid regenerated itself. On the Adaptoid-inhabited Boca Caliente, Alessandro's A.I.M. fraction is behind

MODOK MODOK (; also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Ja ...

's resurrection. The Adaptoid personally reveals itself during a confrontation with the Red Skull but is caught in the recreated Cosmic Cube's reality-warping ability and is presumed destroyed.''Captain America'' #440 - 441 (June - July 1995)''Avengers'' #387 - 388 (June - July 1995) The Super-Adaptoid appears in the limited series '' Annihilation Conquest: Quasar'', and is revealed to be a warrior in the employ of the Phalanx under

Ultron Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared as an unnamed character in ''The Avengers (comic book), The Avengers'' #5 ...

's control. Claiming he left Earth after becoming disgusted with humanity's chaotic nature, the Adaptoid attempts to destroy Phyla-Vell, Moondragon, and Adam Warlock. During the " Iron Man 2020" event, the Super-Adaptoid appears as a member of the A.I. Army. In Spider-Boy's solo series,

Shannon Stillwell S'Byll S'Byll (sometimes spelled S'byll) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. S'Byll is a Skrull that was raised on the planet Satriani. She was responsible for curing Super-Skrull of his disease. Si ...

reverse-engineers the Super-Adaptoid technology and creates Toy Soldier, a sentient action figure who possesses the abilities of all of the Avengers. It initially battles Spider-Boy before becoming an ally to him.

Other models

There have been different Super-Adaptoid models: * A model of Super-Adaptoid was provided as a field agent of a villainous group against

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

. This Adaptoid is ultimately used by the crime boss the Blood Rose intentionally to affect the other mechanical teammates. * Batch 13 was an Adaptoid in A.I.M.'s possession. Breaking out of its containment unit and escaping to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, it copied the various powers/abilities of Captain America and the Fantastic Force. As it was imitating powers, Batch 13 began to have a psychic breakdown after copying Psi-Lord's psycho armor. As a result, Huntara conjured up a portal to send Batch 13 into. * Several Adaptoids can be seen on Boca Caliente, fooling several Avengers (the Black Widow and Hercules). During the Cosmic Cube recreation, an Adaptoid (having been impressed by Captain America's heroic nature) ended the threat by transforming into a containment chamber for the reality-warping energy. * An Ultra-Adaptoid appears in the limited series ''Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK's 11''. Created by A.I.M. to infiltrate

's group of supervillains, the character has no independent will and is remotely controlled. Courtesy of a

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

relay, the Ultra-Adaptoid has access to dozens of powers, but is destroyed after being released from A.I.M. control. * Avengers-themed Adaptoids from an alternate reality are used by the Scientist Supreme to combat the Avengers. * Ultra Living Brain once created a Sinister Six-themed Super-Adaptoid that fought Spider-Man. After Spider-Man defeated the Super-Adaptoid, Ultra Living Brain teleported the Sinister Six away.

Other identity users

There have been characters who have gained the powers of the Super-Adaptoid: * The terrorist organization Hydra converted former Black Widow Yelena Belova as a Super-Adaptoid to battle the

New Avengers The New Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The title has been used for four American comic book series. The first two were written by Brian Michael Bendis and depicted a version of Ma ...

. A fusion of human and machine, she managed to copy the New Avengers' various powers. She is defeated when the powers "copied" from the Sentry cause her the same psychological problems. Hydra then destroys her via a remote-controlled self-destruct device, but Yelena later turned alive.''

Annual'' #1 (June 2006) *

Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...

is given the Super-Adaptoid abilities by his followers to replace his lack of the

Iron Patriot Icarus Icarus (Joshua "Jay" Guthrie) is a mutant superhero. He was a member of the student body at the Xavier Institute and a member of the New Mutants training squad. Jay was the son of Thomas and Lucinda Guthrie. Thomas dies early in Jay's lif ...

armor and his disinclination to return to his old

Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...

role, absorbing the powers of the Avengers, the New Avengers and the Dark Avengers. He is defeated when the Avengers and the New Avengers struck him all at once, the multiple powers working against each other and causing him to collapse into a coma.

Powers and abilities

The original iteration is an artificial construct created by A.I.M., and courtesy of a shard of the Cosmic Cube artifact, the machine was capable of mimicking the powers and skills of numerous super beings. It has mimicked over a dozen meta-human characters, with the effect extending to including specific weapons and equipment, such as

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 like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

, Hawkeye's bow and arrows, and

's mystical hammer Mjolnir. The Super-Adaptoid possesses exceptional artificial intelligence, but limited imagination and an inability to understand the human condition has led to defeat. The shard was eventually removed by the cosmic entity Kubik. The two later versions, while capable of mimicking multiple foes, have been defeated when attacked by groups of meta-humans simultaneously, being unable to process the sudden surge in information.

Other versions

* An alternate timeline version of the Super-Adaptoid appears in ''

Spider-Man 2099 Spider-Man 2099 is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992 for the Marvel 2099 comic book line, and he is a futuristic re-imagining of the origin ...

''. * An alternate universe incarnation of the Super-Adaptoid appears in Heroes Reborn. This version was initially used by

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

before gaining sentience and becoming the heroic Amazo-Maxi-Woman. * An alternate universe incarnation of the Super-Adaptoid appears in '' Spider-Gwen''. This version, also known as Project Green, is a member of the S.I.L.K. organization.

In other media

Television

* The Super-Adaptoid appears in the "

" segment of ''

The Marvel Super Heroes ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' is an American animated television series starring five comic book superheroes from Marvel Comics. The first TV series based on Marvel Comics, Marvel characters, it debuted in broadcast syndication, syndication on Amer ...

'', voiced by Vern Chapman and Carl Banas. * The Super-Adaptoid makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the '' X-Men: The Animated Series'' episode "Till Death Do Us Part". * The Super-Adaptoid appears in '' Avengers Assemble''. This version is a nanotechnology-based android created by Justin Hammer in an attempt to join the Iron Skull's

Cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state (polity), state, or another community, often by Wiktionary:intrigue, intrigue and usually without the kn ...

, but is hijacked by

as a personal enforcer (enhanced by the

Tesseract In geometry, a tesseract or 4-cube is a four-dimensional hypercube, analogous to a two-dimensional square and a three-dimensional cube. Just as the perimeter of the square consists of four edges and the surface of the cube consists of six ...

) and by

to lead a nano-tech virus. ** Additionally, the Supreme Adaptoid appears as a form that the Scientist Supreme assumes after fusing with three other Adaptoids. * The Super-Adaptoid appears in '' M.O.D.O.K.'', voiced by Jon Daly. This version was created to serve as a butler and van for the titular character's family. The Super-Adaptoid seeks to impress MODOK and makes several attempts to betray the latter, only to be defeated and reset each time.

Video games

* The Super-Adaptoid appears as the final boss of '' The Amazing Spider-Man: Web of Fire''. * The Super-Adaptoid appears as a non-playable character (NPC) in '' Marvel: Contest of Champions''. * The Super-Adaptoid appears as a playable character in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2''. * The Super-Adaptoid appears as the final boss of the '' Marvel's Avengers'' DLC "Taking A.I.M.".