3-D Man
Encyclopedia
Publication history
Although his adventures take place in the 1950s, the character was created by Roy ThomasRoy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
in the 1970s in the anthology series Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It ran for 61 issues from April 1972 to August 1981....
. The character was writer Thomas's homage to the Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
character Captain 3-D
Captain 3-D
Captain 3-D was a Harvey Comics character who appeared in one issue of his own eponymous title, dated December 1953, a few years before the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books...
, and was intended by Thomas as a commentary on contemporary societal themes using 1950s analogue
Analogue (literature)
The term analogue is used in literary history in two related senses:* a work which resembles another in terms of one or more motifs, characters, scenes, phrases or events....
s.
The character also appeared in Incredible Hulk #251-252, Contest of Champions, and What If
What If (comics)
What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
vol. 1, #9. 3-D Man did not appear again for many years, until he was reintroduced in Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published from December 1998 to November 1999 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern and drawn by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino.-Publication history:...
#4 and appeared in Avengers #50-55 and the 2008 Secret Invasion: Skrulls one-shot.
Fictional character biography
Brothers Chuck and Hal Chandler were born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. As a test pilot for NASA in 1958, Chuck was piloting the experimental XF-13 rocket plane when he was captured by Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
invaders. They attempted to interrogate him, but Chuck escaped, damaging the Skrulls' warp drive in the process. The Skrull saucer exploded as Chuck flew away, exposing him to strange radiation. He crashed the XF-13 in the Mojave Desert, and when his younger, crippled brother Hal attempted to rescue him, Chuck disappeared, believed to have been killed. Hal, a research scientist, discovered that Chuck's image had been imprinted on the lenses of his glasses, and that Chuck had been transformed into a two-dimensional being. When Hal wore the glasses and concentrated, he triggered a dimensional shift that caused Chuck to materialize into a three-dimensional existence; in his new form Chuck wore a green and red bodysuit, and his normal strength, speed, and stamina had been tripled. As the costumed 3-D Man, Chuck fought another group of Skrull agents. He battled more Skrull infiltrators, and then battled the Cold Warrior.
On at least one occasion, Hal's mind occupied the body of the 3-D Man, and there is evidence that 3-D Man's mind is actually a combination of Hal's and Chuck's, with Chuck's psyche usually dominant.
At some point after his 1950s adventures Hal Chandler decided to stop functioning as 3-D Man and left his brother floating around in another dimension. Hal married Peggy Clark, and they had two children, Chuck Chandler II and Hal Chandler, Jr. Hal later encountered a down-on-his-luck Bruce Banner and, afraid that the Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
might show up, used the glasses to summon 3-D Man once more. After this encounter, 3-D Man returned into his brother's glasses, determined never to return. However, alongside many other costumed heroes, he was summoned briefly by the Grandmaster.
With the aid of the Avengers, Hal and Chuck were separated and managed to reunite with Peggy, an old lady friend.
Triathlon and The Initiative
Events involving the former AvengerAvengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
Triathlon have revealed the true origins of 3-D Man's powers—one of a trio of pyramid-shaped "fragments of light", apparently created by the universe itself to counterbalance the emergence of an otherdimensional fragment of pure evil into Earth's dimension. The Skrull ship that had captured Chuck Chandler had also found one of the light pyramids, and the ship's explosion infused Chuck with the pyramid's power.
The Chandler brother's powers were stolen by Jonathan Tremont, founder of the Triune Understanding
Triune Understanding
Triune Understanding is a fictitious religious cult created by Kurt Busiek for volume three of the Marvel Comics Avengers series, based on The Church of Scientology.-History:...
, who used Hal's connection to what Tremont termed the "tri-power" to track down a second light pyramid before attacking and capturing Hal. Tremont and the Understanding then drained the tri-power from a captive Hal and empowered Triune member and disgraced former Olympic athlete Delroy Garrett, dubbing him "Triathlon". Though initially unaware of his powers' source, Triathlon later discovered both the truth and the third light pyramid, and during the events of the Kang War
Kang Dynasty
"Kang Dynasty", sometimes called "Kang War", was a 16 part comic book storyline which ran through Avengers #41 - 55 and Avengers Annual 2001 between June, 2001 and August, 2002. It was written by Kurt Busiek and illustrated by a number of artists including Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer, Ivan Reis and...
, used the combined might of all three "tri-powers" to defeat both Tremont and the otherdimensional evil, release Hal and Chuck from captivity, and restore Chuck to a separate human form, with Garret retaining the powers of 3-D Man.
After Garrett underwent and completed Initiative
Avengers: The Initiative
Avengers: The Initiative was a comic book series from Marvel Comics. Written by Dan Slott and Christos Gage with artwork initially by Stefano Caselli, Steve Uy and Harvey Tolibao, the series dealt with the aftermath of Marvel's Civil War crossover Avengers: The Initiative was a comic book series...
training at Camp Hammond, he officially took on the identity of 3-D Man with the Chandlers' blessing, including Chuck passing on his original costume and goggles. Donning the goggles awakened one of the original 3-D Man's powers in Garrett: the ability to perceive Skrulls in their true form, even when in shapeshifting disguise. With these goggles, Garrett played an important role in Marvel's Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008....
, outing several Skrull infiltrators placed within the Initiative; Garrett managed to maintain this new ability even after the goggles were destroyed in combat.
Powers and abilities
The Chandler brothers received their superhuman abilities through exposure to an unknown radiation in the explosion of a SkrullSkrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
starship. Hal Chandler could, by concentrating on the image of his brother Chuck imprinted on his glasses, summon a super-powered version of his brother: 3-D Man. Chuck had a telepathic link with Hal, who would lose consciousness and become comatose when the 3-D Man is active; the 3-D Man's consciousness is apparently a synthesis of Chuck and Hal's mind's, with Chuck's usually dominant. 3-D Man, in turn, could only remain in a three-dimensional reality for three hours at a time before Hal would wake up, causing 3-D Man to subsequently disappear and return to his two-dimensional existence. The 3-D Man wore a specially designed NASA flight suit (circa late 1950s), altered in appearance and bonded to his skin.
In the character's concept as one being sharing two consciousnesses, he is similar to characters such as the Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
, Firestorm
Firestorm (comics)
Firestorm is the name of several comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the first Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Martin Stein, by himself as Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm the Nuclear...
, Captain Marvel (both the Fawcett/DC
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
and Marvel versions), and Miracleman
Marvelman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
.
As 3-D Man, Chuck Chandler possessed approximately three times the physical capabilities of an extremely physically fit but otherwise normal human male. As his name suggests, 3-D Man is three times as strong, fast, and durable as military pilot Chuck Chandler. The sensory acuity of each of his five senses is three times more powerful than the maximum capabilities of a normal human being.
In addition, 3-D Man had the limited quasi-telepathic ability to perceive the distinctive aura of the Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
race, even when a Skrull has assumed another form.
Chuck was an expert pilot and a talented football player. Hal is an experienced scientific researcher. Hal is astigmatic, and requires special glasses; a poliomyelitis victim as a child, he now requires crutches to walk.
What if...?
In What IfWhat If (comics)
What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
vol. 1, #9, FBI agent Jimmy Woo
Jimmy Woo
Jimmy Woo is a fictional, Chinese-American secret agent in the Marvel Comics comic-book universe. Created by EC Comics great Al Feldstein and artist Joe Maneely, the character first appeared in Yellow Claw #1 Jimmy Woo is a fictional, Chinese-American secret agent in the Marvel Comics comic-book...
brought the 3-D Man together with several other heroes, including Gorilla-Man, Human Robot
M-11 (comics)
M-11 is a fictional robot in the Marvel Comics universe. Originally known as the Human Robot, the character was given the name "M-11" in the 2006 to 2007 Agents of Atlas miniseries as an allusion to its first appearance in Menace #11 from Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics.-Publication...
, Marvel Boy
Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson)
Marvel Boy , also known as The Uranian, is a fictional character, a superhero in the , one of several to use the name Marvel Boy. He was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Russ Heath, and first appeared in Marvel Boy #1 Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson), also known as The Uranian, is a...
, and Venus, to form the 1950s Avengers. These heroes battled the Yellow Claw
Yellow Claw
The Yellow Claw is a fictional comic book supervillain in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Al Feldstein and artist Joe Maneely, the character first appeared in Yellow Claw #1 , published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor of Marvel.-Publication history:While the...
and his superhuman minions, but the team was asked to disband by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. While the events of Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published from December 1998 to November 1999 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern and drawn by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino.-Publication history:...
have erased that adventure, a similar mission involving those characters (minus 3-D Man) did take place in the 1950s, as shown in the 2006 miniseries Agents of Atlas
Agents of Atlas
Agents of Atlas is a fictional superhero team in comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is composed of characters originally appearing in unrelated stories published in the 1950s by Marvel's predecessor company, Atlas Comics....
. Writer Jeff Parker has explained that he didn't use 3-D Man in Agents of Atlas, in part due to his being a 1970s retcon, not an original Atlas Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
character.