Will o' the Wisp (Marvel)
Will o' the Wisp is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
Jackson Arvad
He came to be a chief scientist for electromagnetic research at the Brand Corporation, a subsidiary of the Roxxon Oil Company. His superior in the Brand bureaucracy, James Melvin, drove Arvad relentlessly to develop projects for Melvin under the threat of being fired. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #235)
During a laboratory mishap, a gravitic energy surge shattered the "magno-chamber" in whose vicinity Arvad was working. The accident plunged Arvad's body directly into the magno-chamber's self-sustained electromagnetic field, and the residual high frequency field weakened the electromagnetic attractions between the molecules of Arvad's body. This caused the molecules of Arvad's body to gradually disperse. Melvin held Arvad in the magno-chamber long enough to question him on any useful scientific applications the accident might have had, and then left Arvad to die. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #235)
Arvad managed to held himself together by force of will but was at risk of fading away if he lost control. He sought a cure from disreputable scientist Jonas Harrow, who took the opportunity to implant a device in Arvad's skull that could cause him intense pain or even scatter his molecules fatally. Harrow then forced Wisp to commit a series of crimes for him. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #168) On a highway in New Jersey, Arvad, in the form of a glowing ball, hypnotized two truck drivers and made them run their vehicle off the road so he could raid its contents. Before leaving, he righted the truck and bandaged the wounded drivers. During the encounter, one of the drivers likened him to a Will-O'-The-Wisp, a name which Arvad took on. Later, in Manhattan, Wisp was seen by Spider-Man as he flew through the side of a building to steal some plans from a safe within. Though Wisp wanted to avoid violence, he wound up fighting Spider-Man at the Rockefeller Center skating rink. Wisp used his hypnosis on Spider-Man but was interrupted by the arrival of the Spider-Slayer Mark 5 controlled by J. Jonah Jameson. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #167) Fighting with the Spider-Slayer, Wisp suddenly became wracked with pain from Harrow's implant. He escaped and returned to Harrow, explaining that he did not have the plans because he had been slowed down by Spider-Man and the recall device had activated too soon. Harrow changed his plan, telling Wisp to kill the hero. Wisp tried to refuse but Harrow reminded him that he had the power to destroy him. As Wisp fought Spider-Man again, he tried not to kill the hero until he noticed Harrow in the crowd below. Wisp then hypnotized some of the onlookers to attack Spider-Man, though regretted it when Spider-Man pointed out they were innocents. Wisp tried to explain his predicament to Spider-Man, in the process getting himself worked up enough to defy Harrow by refusing to kill Spidey. Harrow activated the device and Wisp's form dissipated. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #168)
He came to be imprisoned at the Ravencroft Institute until it was taken over by the Cult of Carnage. Wisp along with Freak and Conundrum were then infected by Symbiotes where they were dispatched by Cletus Kasady to hunt down Deadpool. The three supervillains were tasked with eliminating him in order to claim his spine that contained genetic codices as Deadpool was a former Symbiote host. Carnage had sought the spines of such people so that he could set about freeing the dark god Knull. Wisp and his comrades broke into Deadpool's base only for it to be an ambush. At first, Deadpool struggled to fight Wisp himself as his density control meant he was invulnerable to projectiles. This was until Arvad attempted to use his hypnosis abilities but Wade turned out to be immune to this giving him the opportunity to fatally stab Wisp. (Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool v1 #2)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Will o’ the Wisp was depicted as an ethereal figure with glowing eyes and a faintly luminous outline, his body often surrounded by a shimmering aura when he manipulated his molecular density. His costume typically consisted of a skin-tight suit with a flowing motif that accentuated his ghost-like nature, giving him an almost spectral presence as he phased through walls or floated across the air. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #167)
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.
Notes
- Will o' the Wisp was created by Len Wein and Ross Andru where he made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man v1 #167 (April, 1977).
Appearances
- Amazing Spider-Man v1: (1977)
- Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool v1:
External Links
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