Collective Man
Encyclopedia
The Collective Man is a fictional character
, a Chinese
superhero
in the Marvel Comics
universe
. The Collective Man is actually an identity shared by the Tao-Yu brothers, a set of quintuplets
. They possess the mutant
power to merge into one body, which variously possesses the collective abilities of all five men or of all of the people of China. The brothers also share a psychic/spiritual link that allows them to telepathically communicate and teleport to one another.
and Sal Buscema
.
The character subsequently appears in Marvel Super-Heroes: Contest of Champions
#1-3 (June–August 1982), Incredible Hulk #279 (January 1983), Marvel Comics Presents #55 (1990), X-Force Annual #3 (1994), Citizen V and the V Battalion: The Everlasting #1-3 (April–June 2001), X-Men Vol. 2 #159-160 (September–October 2004), X-Men: The 198 Files #1 (January 2006), X-Men Vol. 2 #183 (April 2006), Civil War: X-Men #1 (September 2006), #4 (December 2006), Thunderbolts: International Incident (April 2008)
The Collective Man received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
#2, and in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2 (2006).
's contest, in which various international superheroes fought one another the proxies of either the Grandmaster or his unknown opponent (actually Death
). The Collective Man was teamed with Storm and Shamrock
(all unknowingly proxies of Death in the conflict) in battle against the Grandmaster's proxies Captain America
, Sasquatch
and Blitzkrieger
; their battle was ended when Shamrock claimed the prize.
Some time after the contest, the Collective Man fought the Hulk
. At some point, the brothers' power decreased so that they only possessed the abilities of five men as the Collective Man. Later, when their superiors in the Chinese military prevented them from visiting their dying mother, Mary, the brothers rebelled and fought the god Ho-Ti, who was apparently working with the government. The brothers left the battle one by one to be at their dying mother's side. The Tao-Yu brother Ho remained to fight the god, but Ho-Ti, seeing the battle was both sad and futile, willingly departed. After the brothers discovered how China had mistreated their other mutant citizens, the Collective Man was later seen as a member of the Chinese revolutionary group 3-Peace alongside the Jade Dragon and Nuwa. They teamed with X-Force
to fight the Mutant Liberation Front
and the nationalistic China Force.
Later, the Collective Man, now restored to full power, was mystically altered by the fallen god Marduk
, who sought to use the Tao-Yu brothers' power to steal the life energy of every person in China in order to reclaim his divinity. The process of absorbing this life energy transformed the Collective Man into a dim-witted, raging, grotesque giant. Citizen V
(John Watkins III) and his V-Battalion
fought the Collective Man, with the Battalion agent Goldfire accidentally dying in the battle. Citizen V punctured the giant's skin, causing him to explode and apparently die. He survived, possibly thanks to the V Battalion's defeat of Marduk, and the brothers returned to their normal form, now gaining the ability to increase size when merged and to generate additional duplicate bodies. The Collective Man later fought the X-Men
on behalf of the Chinese government when the mutant heroes attempted to free Shen Xorn
from Chinese custody. It was revealed that the brothers retained their power after M-Day
. They have since been spotted on the Xavier institute as part of the 198, where they were fighting Bishop
and agents of O*N*E during the escape.
The Collective Man, as part of the People's Defense Force, join The Mighty Avengers and other assembled Avengers
teams in defeating The Unspoken, an exiled Inhuman
king seeking to enslave the Earth.
Months later, the Collective Man invades San Francisco's organized crime circuit which is currently being run by Wolverine.
While merged into their collective state, the brothers possess the sum total of their combined physical and mental capabilities. The Collective Man is capable of further increasing these traits to vast levels by mentally concentrating on the image of millions of his countrymen, a magical ability granted by the Babylonian god Marduk. However, he is only able to do so for a brief period of time. He has increased his powers to levels sufficient to physically overpower Sasquatch
in one on one combat.
Following such a deployment of energy, the Collective Man is rendered unconscious. The length of time in which he remains unconscious depends upon the degree of exertion. If the Collective Man taps into his countrymen's physical and mental energies for too long, it can potentially prove fatal.
The brothers also possess a psi/spiritual link that lets them communicate telepathically and teleport to each other's location. In addition, they have also been shown to be decently skilled martial artists in peak human physical condition.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. The Collective Man is actually an identity shared by the Tao-Yu brothers, a set of quintuplets
Quintuplets
Quintuplets is an American sitcom that aired twenty-two episodes on FOX from June 16, 2004 through January 12, 2005. The program starred Andy Richter and Rebecca Creskoff as parents of a family of quintuplets and their various adventures in parenthood....
. They possess the mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
power to merge into one body, which variously possesses the collective abilities of all five men or of all of the people of China. The brothers also share a psychic/spiritual link that allows them to telepathically communicate and teleport to one another.
Publication history
The Collective Man first appeared in Incredible Hulk #250 (August 1980), and was created by Bill MantloBill Mantlo
Bill Mantlo is an American comic-book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics, best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: the Eagle Award-winning Micronauts and the long-running Rom. An attorney, he also worked as a public defender...
and Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema
Silvio "Sal" Buscema is an American comic book artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of The Incredible Hulk...
.
The character subsequently appears in Marvel Super-Heroes: Contest of Champions
Contest of Champions
Contest of Champions is a three-issue comic book limited series published from June to August 1982 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Mark Gruenwald with art by John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton.-Publication history:...
#1-3 (June–August 1982), Incredible Hulk #279 (January 1983), Marvel Comics Presents #55 (1990), X-Force Annual #3 (1994), Citizen V and the V Battalion: The Everlasting #1-3 (April–June 2001), X-Men Vol. 2 #159-160 (September–October 2004), X-Men: The 198 Files #1 (January 2006), X-Men Vol. 2 #183 (April 2006), Civil War: X-Men #1 (September 2006), #4 (December 2006), Thunderbolts: International Incident (April 2008)
The Collective Man received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications...
#2, and in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2 (2006).
Fictional character biography
The five Tao-Yu brothers were born in Wuhan, China. The Collective Man was first seen in the GrandmasterGrandmaster (comics)
The Grandmaster is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. who first appeared in The Avengers #69. He is one of the ageless Elders of the Universe and has mastered most civilizations' games of skill and chance.-Fictional character biography:...
's contest, in which various international superheroes fought one another the proxies of either the Grandmaster or his unknown opponent (actually Death
Death (Marvel Comics)
Death is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain Marvel #27 Death is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain Marvel #27 Death is a fictional...
). The Collective Man was teamed with Storm and Shamrock
Shamrock (comics)
Shamrock is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Shamrock first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes: Contest of Champions #1 . She also appeared in issues #2-3 of the series .The character subsequently appeared in The Incredible Hulk Vol...
(all unknowingly proxies of Death in the conflict) in battle against the Grandmaster's proxies Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, Sasquatch
Sasquatch (comics)
Sasquatch is a fictional character, a superhero in Marvel Comics' universe. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 and was created by John Byrne.-Fictional character biography:Dr...
and Blitzkrieger
Blitzkrieg (Marvel Comics)
Blitzkrieg is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:Blitzkrieg first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes: Contest of Champions #1 . He also appeared in issue #3 of the series ....
; their battle was ended when Shamrock claimed the prize.
Some time after the contest, the Collective Man fought 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 ....
. At some point, the brothers' power decreased so that they only possessed the abilities of five men as the Collective Man. Later, when their superiors in the Chinese military prevented them from visiting their dying mother, Mary, the brothers rebelled and fought the god Ho-Ti, who was apparently working with the government. The brothers left the battle one by one to be at their dying mother's side. The Tao-Yu brother Ho remained to fight the god, but Ho-Ti, seeing the battle was both sad and futile, willingly departed. After the brothers discovered how China had mistreated their other mutant citizens, the Collective Man was later seen as a member of the Chinese revolutionary group 3-Peace alongside the Jade Dragon and Nuwa. They teamed with X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
to fight the Mutant Liberation Front
Mutant Liberation Front
The Mutant Liberation Front, or MLF, is a Marvel Comics supervillain group, primarily enemies of X-Force. Created by writer Louise Simonson and artist/co-writer Rob Liefeld, the original MLF first fully appeared in The New Mutants #87 ....
and the nationalistic China Force.
Later, the Collective Man, now restored to full power, was mystically altered by the fallen god Marduk
Marduk
Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...
, who sought to use the Tao-Yu brothers' power to steal the life energy of every person in China in order to reclaim his divinity. The process of absorbing this life energy transformed the Collective Man into a dim-witted, raging, grotesque giant. Citizen V
Citizen V
Citizen V, is the codename of several fictional superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. The original Citizen V was an obscure hero from the Golden Age of Comic Books, but the character's identity was revived in the modern day in the pages of Thunderbolts. The various incarnations of the...
(John Watkins III) and his V-Battalion
V-Battalion
The V-Battalion is the name of two incarnations of a fictional secret organization composed of Golden Age superheroes and their descendents in stories from Marvel Comics...
fought the Collective Man, with the Battalion agent Goldfire accidentally dying in the battle. Citizen V punctured the giant's skin, causing him to explode and apparently die. He survived, possibly thanks to the V Battalion's defeat of Marduk, and the brothers returned to their normal form, now gaining the ability to increase size when merged and to generate additional duplicate bodies. The Collective Man later fought the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
on behalf of the Chinese government when the mutant heroes attempted to free Shen Xorn
Xorn
Xorn is a fictional character published by Marvel Comics. First appearing in New X-Men Annual 2001, Xorn was a new addition to the X-Men membership during writer Grant Morrison's revamp of the franchise....
from Chinese custody. It was revealed that the brothers retained their power after M-Day
Decimation (comics)
Decimation is the late 2005 Marvel Comics storyline spinning off from the House of M limited series. It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.This event, which...
. They have since been spotted on the Xavier institute as part of the 198, where they were fighting Bishop
Bishop (comics)
Bishop is a fictional comic book superhero, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books...
and agents of O*N*E during the escape.
The Collective Man, as part of the People's Defense Force, join The Mighty Avengers and other assembled Avengers
Avengers (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...
teams in defeating The Unspoken, an exiled Inhuman
Inhuman
Inhuman may refer to:*Inhuman, a member of the fictional Marvel Comics race, the Inhumans*Inhuman , an album by Desecration*Inhuman Games, a game companyIt may also refer to:*Inhuman Condition, an EP from the band Massacre...
king seeking to enslave the Earth.
Months later, the Collective Man invades San Francisco's organized crime circuit which is currently being run by Wolverine.
Powers and abilities
The five Tao-Yu brothers have the mutant ability to mentally synchronize the atoms of their bodies and merge themselves into a single superhuman being. It is possible for only a few brothers to merge into this collective being, however, they prefer to merge all at once.While merged into their collective state, the brothers possess the sum total of their combined physical and mental capabilities. The Collective Man is capable of further increasing these traits to vast levels by mentally concentrating on the image of millions of his countrymen, a magical ability granted by the Babylonian god Marduk. However, he is only able to do so for a brief period of time. He has increased his powers to levels sufficient to physically overpower Sasquatch
Sasquatch (comics)
Sasquatch is a fictional character, a superhero in Marvel Comics' universe. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 and was created by John Byrne.-Fictional character biography:Dr...
in one on one combat.
Following such a deployment of energy, the Collective Man is rendered unconscious. The length of time in which he remains unconscious depends upon the degree of exertion. If the Collective Man taps into his countrymen's physical and mental energies for too long, it can potentially prove fatal.
The brothers also possess a psi/spiritual link that lets them communicate telepathically and teleport to each other's location. In addition, they have also been shown to be decently skilled martial artists in peak human physical condition.