Molten Man

Molten Man (Mark Raxton) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.[1] Once a chemical engineer who longed to get rich, Mark Raxton was caught in an accident that saw his body get covered by an experimental organic-liquid metal alloy, which granted him super-powers, including the ability to generate extreme heat and radiation. Turning to a life of crime, he started off as an enemy of the superhero Spider-Man, but eventually got redeemed. He is also the stepbrother of Liz Allan.

Molten Man
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Amazing Spider-Man #28 (September 1965)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Steve Ditko (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoMark Raxton
Team affiliationsExterminators
Alchemax
Abilities
  • Genius chemical engineer
  • Organic-liquid metal alloy grants:
    • Superhuman strength, durability and endurance
    • Radiation projection
    • Heat generation

The character has made appearances in several forms of media, including animated series and video games. A creature based on "Molten Man" appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), which was actually an illusion created by a series of drones operated by Mysterio.

Publication history

The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #28 (September 1965).[2]

Fictional character biography

Mark Raxton was born in New York City. He was a scientist who could not wait to use his skills to become rich, and once worked at Oscorp Industries, as the laboratory assistant to Dr. Spencer Smythe, creator of the Spider-Slayers. Raxton and Smythe developed an experimental new liquid metallic alloy for the Spider-Slayers from a radioactive meteor, but Raxton attempted to steal it and sell it. In the ensuing fight with Smythe in the laboratory, Raxton spilled the liquid alloy all over himself, his skin absorbing it and turning golden.[3] Fearing for his life, Raxton ran for the nearest hospital, only to discover that the alloy had changed him for the better when he angrily punched an irate motorist's hood, buckling it. Realizing the great potential his new abilities afforded him, Raxton, calling himself Molten Man, turned to crime to further his monetary gains. Peter Parker, as Spider-Man, nearly missed his high school graduation to stop the Molten Man's first crime spree.[4] Raxton was later released from jail, only to continue his criminal activities. However, he was once again defeated by Spider-Man.[5]

Eventually, Molten Man's body begins to give off intense heat and to consume itself. His metal skin became molten, and he steals meteor fragments from a museum to attempt a cure. An encounter with Spider-Man resulted in his submergence in the polluted East River, which temporarily reversed the deterioration.[6]

After a few more encounters with Spider-Man, it was revealed that Peter's friend Liz Allan was Raxton's stepsister. Raxton broke into a pharmaceutical company to steal chemicals which would reverse his condition permanently. When the procedure failed, he went berserk and kidnapped Liz. Liz was saved by Spider-Man, and Molten Man became buried beneath the laboratory.[7] He later resurfaced at the same site and once again sought his stepsister. Spider-Man prevented the Molten Man from hurting her, knocking him into a swimming pool which extinguished Molten Man's flames and cooled his molten properties. He was then taken to the Vault, a prison for superhuman criminals.[8]

Raxton realized that his stepsister was the only member of his family who had not abandoned him. He was eventually released from the Vault and approached Liz to apologize. Spider-Man misunderstood his intentions and battled him once more. Reconciled with Raxton, Liz and her husband Harry Osborn gave Raxton a job as head of security at Osborn Industries.[9] Molten Man later teamed up with Spider-Man and the second Green Goblin against Tombstone and Hammerhead.[10] Molten Man was then kidnapped along with Liz, Normie Osborn, and Spider-Man by Harry Osborn, who had suffered a mental lapse, making him the evil Green Goblin once again. Molten Man was saved by Spider-Man.[11] Molten Man and Spider-Man have since become friends, and Molten Man has occasionally used his powers to aid Spider-Man against other supervillains. A few times he has been a bodyguard for Peter Parker's friends and family when disasters overwhelm the city.

In the months following the Clone Saga, Raxton was abducted by Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, and brainwashed. Under mind control, Molten Man attacked and killed Osborn's henchman Alison Mongraine, the only person who knew of the location of Peter and Mary Jane's baby.[12] Although Molten Man has since recovered from the mind control, he still bears a heavy burden of guilt over the incident.

Sometime after Harry Osborn's death, Raxton is summoned when mysterious forces kidnap Liz Allan's son, Normie Osborn. Molten Man uses his brawn and brains to help Spider-Man and the Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich uncover what happened. Raxton is later pressed into a supervillain group again when the Chameleon approaches him and threatens to kill Normie if Raxton does not join his 'Exterminators'.[13] Raxton is consequently forced to attack Liz Allan.

During the Civil War storyline, Molten Man and Scarecrow were used as bait for Captain America's Secret Avengers only for the Punisher to arrive. Raxton is left in critical condition after being attacked by Punisher.[14]

Raxton next appears, still in poor condition, under the care of Liz Allan. When Harry Osborn comes to visit Liz and Normie, he and Liz argue. Hearing Liz speak Harry's name, Raxton awakens and attacks him, screaming that Harry has hurt his family for the last time, and will "die for real".[15] Spider-Man intervenes, but he has trouble fighting Raxton, whose powers have grown out of control. Spider-Man manages to trap Raxton in asphalt, and Harry provides him with a cure that Oscorp had been working on upon using volunteer Charlie Weiderman, the other "Molten Man". The cure is successful, returning Raxton to his original human state. Although he finally was rid of the alloy, he still retained his powers, such as super strength, energy manipulation and a new power to incinerate anything by producing fire from his palms. Harry built him a special suit, using a part of the alloy and his DNA, to help him control his powers.[16]

When Liz Allan became the head of Alchemax, she used the company's cutting-edge technology to cure Raxton of his condition. Even though he was constantly monitored, he was no longer a threat to society and started working as a member of Alchemax's security force. As Alchemax and Parker Industries competed for a contract to build a new prison, Raxton and Tiberius Stone used Raxton's connections to hire Ghost to sabotage Parker Industries.[17]

Powers and abilities

Molten Man was given superhuman powers after exposure to an organic liquid metal alloy obtained from a meteor discovered by Spencer Smythe. His skin completely absorbed the experimental alloy, turning all of the external tissues of his body into a solid metallic substance, as well as the trunks, belt, and boots he was wearing at the time of the accident. As a result, Molten Man possesses superhuman strength and his skin is composed of a frictionless metal that grants him a high degree of resistance to physical injury. Raxton's metallic fingers are sensitive enough to pick locks (making him an expert safe cracker), and his skin is so slick he cannot be restrained with Spider-Man's webbing. Molten Man's skin can also generate intense heat, burning anybody who tries to touch him and shooting flaming projectiles at his foes. At one time, his skin was like molten lava, allowing him to project radiation and heat up to 300 °F (149 °C). In his molten form, the Molten Man's skin may reach a critical stage at which point his skin could actually melt off him.

Additionally, unlike most of Spider-Man's more thuggish villains, Molten Man had brains to complement his raw physical strength. An intelligent and completely sane scientist, Molten Man was smart enough to learn from his mistakes and not fall for the same trick twice. He is a college graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering.

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Mark Raxton is a guitarist in a local punk rock band, the name of which is later revealed to be "Molten Man". One of their songs includes the lyrics "I am your molten man, and I'm melting on you".[18]

He first appears in the story "Dumped", in Ultimate Spider-Man #78. He asks Mary Jane Watson on a date. She reluctantly accepts, but spends most of the evening talking about Peter Parker, who has just broken up with her. Raxton remains a gentleman the entire time. Later, he encounters Mary Jane at the mall, and upon learning that the boy she was with was Peter, tells her "Good for you", and leaves without further incident.[18]

He later appears in Ultimate Spider-Man #88, the third part of the "Silver Sable" storyline. In the story, a student from Parker's high school dresses up as Spider-Man and runs out in front of the press. He is revealed to be Mark Raxton, who tries to promote his band Molten Man before being dragged away by police.[19]

In other media

Television
Molten Man as he appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man
  • Molten Man appears in the second season of The Spectacular Spider-Man,[20] voiced by Eric Lopez.[21] In a departure from the comics, Mark Raxton is renamed Mark Allan, and is depicted as Liz Allan's biological brother rather than her stepbrother. He first appears being released from juvenile detention after spending six months there for stealing a car to pay off old gambling debts. He returns to Midtown High and quickly becomes smitten with Mary Jane Watson, whom he ends up dating. However, Mark eventually succumbs to his gambling addiction, and in the episode "Subtext", he becomes indebted to Blackie Gaxton. With no other way to pay off his debts, Mark becomes a test subject for the Green Goblin's experiments and is injected with a special solution by Miles Warren that causes Mark's skin to glow and grants him superhuman abilities. Secretly controlling Mark's abilities, the Goblin manipulates Mark into fighting Spider-Man as Molten Man, though he is ultimately defeated by the web-slinger and taken into police custody. Mark returns in the episode "Opening Night", having been remanded to the Vault until he is released by the Green Goblin to hunt down Spider-Man, who was there to test the prison's security. He and the inmates nearly succeeded until they are eventually knocked out by gas released by Walter Hardy and subsequently re-incarcerated.
  • Molten Man appears in Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors, voiced by James Arnold Taylor.[22][21] He first appears in the episode "Inhumanity", where he is defeated by Spider-Man and Triton while wreaking havoc at the waterfront. In "Contest of Champions Pt. 1", Molten Man appears as a pawn in the Grandmaster's collection for his game against the Collector. He is paired up with Kraven the Hunter and the Wendigo King to fight Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the Hulk, and is ultimately defeated.
  • Molten Man appears in the 2017 Spider-Man animated series, voiced by Imari Williams.[23] In the episode "Brand New Day", he attacks Mister Negative and his Inner Demons for invading "his turf", but gets incapacitated. Recovering in time to interfere in Mister Negative's battle with Spider-Man, Molten Man is eventually defeated by the latter and incarcerated at the Cellar.

Film
  • A member of the Elementals inspired by Molten Man appeared in the film Spider-Man: Far From Home.[24] Director Jon Watts described his take for creation: "There’s so many Spider-Man villains from the rogues gallery that I wanted to dig a little bit deeper than what anyone might be expecting... villains like Hydro-Man and Molten Man, who may not be on the highest list. But that opened up such amazing visual possibilities and poses really dangerous challenges for Spider-Man".[25] Identified as the Fire Elemental, Mysterio claimed it used its abilities to feed off of metal and energy from the Earth's core to destroy his Earth. The Fire Elemental attacked Prague during the Signal Festival, though Spider-Man and Mysterio defeated it. It was later revealed that all of the Elementals were illusions created by Mysterio and his fellow ex-Stark Industries employees to obtain Tony Stark's technology and make Mysterio look like a hero.

Video games
  • Molten Man appears as a non-player character and a boss in the PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.[26] He is among the supervillains placed under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s control via nanites. In the Pro-Registration campaign, Molten Man appears as an ally and is used to assist the heroes in fighting Goliath. In the Anti-Registration campaign, he serves as a boss and is shown attacking Cloak and Dagger alongside She-Hulk until the heroes intervene and defeat both of them. Later, when the nanites attain sentience, Molten Man is among the supervillains placed under their control and fights the heroes on both sides.
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gollark: At last, I have devised an elegant way to generate lines in N-dimensional tic-tac-toe.
gollark: Oh, I could actually use that for a thing.
gollark: You should also consider fearing this "PC".

References
  1. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 231–232. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  2. Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "1960s". Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. Dorling Kindersley. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-7566-9236-0. Mark Raxton was a corrupt partner of [Spencer] Smythe's who worked with him on a liquid metal alloy project.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  3. Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 110. ISBN 978-1465455505.
  4. The Amazing Spider-Man #28. Marvel Comics (New York).
  5. The Amazing Spider-Man #35. Marvel Comics (New York).
  6. The Amazing Spider-Man #132–133. Marvel Comics (New York).
  7. The Amazing Spider-Man #172–173. Marvel Comics (New York).
  8. The Spectacular Spider-Man #63. Marvel Comics (New York).
  9. Web of Spider-Man #62. Marvel Comics (New York).
  10. Web of Spider-Man #66. Marvel Comics (New York).
  11. The Spectacular Spider-Man #189. Marvel Comics (New York).
  12. The Amazing Spider-Man #440–441. Marvel Comics (New York).
  13. Exterminators at Marvel Universe Appendix
  14. "Punisher's Hit List". Marvel Comics. January 24, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  15. The Amazing Spider-Man #581. Marvel Comics (New York).
  16. The Amazing Spider-Man #582. Marvel Comics (New York).
  17. The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3 #16. Marvel Comics (New York).
  18. Ultimate Spider-Man #78. Marvel Comics (New York).
  19. Ultimate Spider-Man #88. Marvel Comics (New York).
  20. Allstetter, Rob (January 14, 2008). "Continuum by Rob Allstetter: Monday, January 14, 2008". Comicscontinuum. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  21. "Voice Of Molten Man – Marvel Universe – Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019. Check marks indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources
  22. "Inhumanity". Ultimate Spider-Man. Season 3. Episode 18. August 5, 2015. Disney XD.
  23. "Brand New Day". Spider-Man. Season 2. Episode 45. October 20, 2019. Disney XD.
  24. Hullender, Tatiana (May 8, 2019). "Confirmed: Spider-Man: Far From Home's Elemental Villains Based on B-List Villains". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  25. Small, Gretchen (May 8, 2019). "Who Are the Elementals in SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME?". Nerdist. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  26. "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 NPC Spotlight: Wizard, Shocker AND Molten Man". Marvel. September 9, 2009. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
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