U-Man
Encyclopedia
U-Man is a fictional character
that appears in comic book
s published by Marvel Comics
. The character first appears in Invaders
#3 (Nov. 1975) and was created by Roy Thomas
and Frank Robbins
.
, and like hero Namor the Sub-Mariner
is a member of the Atlantean
race, Homo mermanus
. It is revealed in flashback
that Meranno despised Namor when they were children, and in adulthood allies himself with Nazi Germany
. Still consumed with hatred for Namor, the character reveals the location of the city of Atlantis
to the German forces, who destroy the Atlantean fleet
and place the then Emperor
Thakorr in a coma
. Thakorr is succeeded by Namor, who banishes Meranno from Atlantis for treason
.
Meranno adopts the alias of U-Man, and willingly submits to Nazi procedures that increase his size and strength. Joining a fleet of U-Boat
s, U-Man wreaks havoc on the Allied
fleet until defeated by the superhero
team the Invaders. The character reappears in a two part story in the title Marvel Two-In-One
, and with Nazi allies Brain Drain
, Master Man
and Skyshark plans to sabotage
New York City
with a new super weapon. The plan, however, is foiled by time travel
ling Fantastic Four
member the Thing
and the Liberty Legion
.
U-Man reappears in the title Invaders under the mental control of Japan
ese spy
Lady Lotus
, and battles teen group the Kid Commandos
and the Invaders and joins the Nazi group Super-Axis
for a final confrontation with the superhero team. U-Man appears in the modern Marvel Universe during the Atlantis Attacks
storyline, and features in an Avengers
annual with fellow Namor foe Attuma
in an attack on the surface world. The character becomes a reluctant ally in the title Avengers, aiding the superhero team; Canadian
heroes Alpha Flight
and Soviet group the People's Protectorate in preventing a nuclear holocaust
.
An issue of the limited series
New Invaders reveals in flashback
that U-Man rape
d Lady Lotus in retaliation for her earlier mind control. Lady Lotus eventually gives birth to their child, Nia Noble
.
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...
that appears in comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s published by 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...
. The character first appears in Invaders
Invaders (comics)
The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams in the . The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in The Avengers #71 . A present-day incarnation was introduced by writer Chuck Austen and artist Scott Kolins in The Avengers vol...
#3 (Nov. 1975) and was created by Roy Thomas
Roy 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...
and Frank Robbins
Frank Robbins
Franklin "Frank" Robbins was a notable American comic book and comic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, where one of his paintings was featured in the 1955 Whitney Annual Exhibition of American...
.
Publication history
The character Meranno first appears in the title InvadersInvaders (comics)
The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams in the . The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in The Avengers #71 . A present-day incarnation was introduced by writer Chuck Austen and artist Scott Kolins in The Avengers vol...
, and like hero Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...
is a member of the Atlantean
Atlantis (Marvel Comics)
Atlantis is a fictional location in the Marvel Universe. It is based on the mythical island of Atlantis first mentioned in Plato's initial dialogue the Timaeus, written circa 360 BC. In the Marvel Universe, Atlantis was a small continent with many human settlements...
race, Homo mermanus
Homo mermanus
Homo mermanus is a fictional race of gilled aquatic humanoids that has appeared in numerous comic book series published by Marvel Comics. This race is best known as the people who live in the Atlantis of Marvel's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe...
. It is revealed in flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
that Meranno despised Namor when they were children, and in adulthood allies himself with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Still consumed with hatred for Namor, the character reveals the location of the city of Atlantis
Atlantis (Marvel Comics)
Atlantis is a fictional location in the Marvel Universe. It is based on the mythical island of Atlantis first mentioned in Plato's initial dialogue the Timaeus, written circa 360 BC. In the Marvel Universe, Atlantis was a small continent with many human settlements...
to the German forces, who destroy the Atlantean fleet
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
and place the then Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Thakorr in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. Thakorr is succeeded by Namor, who banishes Meranno from Atlantis for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
.
Meranno adopts the alias of U-Man, and willingly submits to Nazi procedures that increase his size and strength. Joining a fleet of U-Boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s, U-Man wreaks havoc on the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
fleet until defeated by the 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 —...
team the Invaders. The character reappears in a two part story in the title Marvel Two-In-One
Marvel Two-in-One
Marvel Two-In-One was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics that featured the Fantastic Four member, the Thing, in a different team-up each issue with a different character. The series continued from the team-up stories starring the Thing in the final two issues of Marvel...
, and with Nazi allies Brain Drain
Brain Drain (comics)
Brain Drain is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Invaders #2 Brain Drain is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Invaders #2 Brain Drain is a fictional...
, Master Man
Master Man (Marvel Comics)
Master Man is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original Master Man first appears in the title Giant-Size Invaders #1 and was created by Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins. The second version , first appears in Namor the Sub-Mariner #11 ...
and Skyshark plans to sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with a new super weapon. The plan, however, is foiled by time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
ling Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
member the Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
and the Liberty Legion
Liberty Legion
The Liberty Legion is a fictional superhero team in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was first created in 1976 and set during World War II...
.
U-Man reappears in the title Invaders under the mental control of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
Lady Lotus
Lady Lotus
Lady Lotus is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. She first appeared in Invaders #37 .-Fictional character biography:...
, and battles teen group the Kid Commandos
Kid Commandos
The Kid Commandos is a fictional organization in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:The Kid Commandos first appeared as a team in Invaders #28 , and were created by Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins....
and the Invaders and joins the Nazi group Super-Axis
Super-Axis
The Super-Axis is a group of fictional characters and supervillains that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters first appear in Invaders #40 and were created by Roy Thomas and Alan Kupperberg.-Fictional team history:...
for a final confrontation with the superhero team. U-Man appears in the modern Marvel Universe during the Atlantis Attacks
Atlantis Attacks
Atlantis Attacks was a comic book super-hero crossover storyline which ran through most of the summer annuals published by Marvel Comics in 1989....
storyline, and features in an 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...
annual with fellow Namor foe Attuma
Attuma
Attuma is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He is an Atlantean nomadic warlord who is the nemesis of Namor the Sub-Mariner, and is the father of the superhero Andromeda. He believes he is the prophesied conqueror of the Atlantean Empire...
in an attack on the surface world. The character becomes a reluctant ally in the title Avengers, aiding the superhero team; Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
heroes Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional superhero team published by Marvel Comics, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. Created by John Byrne, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 ....
and Soviet group the People's Protectorate in preventing a nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
.
An issue of the limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
New Invaders reveals in flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
that U-Man rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d Lady Lotus in retaliation for her earlier mind control. Lady Lotus eventually gives birth to their child, Nia Noble
Nia Noble
Nia Noble is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. She is the daughter of two supervillains, but she herself is heroic. She first appeared in New Invaders vol.2, #3 .Nia Noble is a hybrid of a human telepath and an enhanced Atlantean...
.