| Impossible Man | |
|---|---|
 The Impossible Man as depicted inFantastic Four #176 (November 1976). Art byGeorge Pérez. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four #11 (February 1963)[1] |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Poppupian |
| Team affiliations | Fantastic Four Lethal Legion |
| Notable aliases | Impy Herald of Destruction The Improbable Guy |
| Abilities |
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TheImpossible Man is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. He first appeared inFantastic Four #11 (February 1963), and was created by writerStan Lee and writer/artistJack Kirby.[2] The Impossible Man has been featured in other Marvel-endorsed products such asaction figures, arcade andvideo games,animatedtelevision series, and merchandise such astrading cards.
The Impossible Man is aPoppupian from the planet Poppup and has shape-changing abilities. The character is primarily used for comedy, as he is portrayed as a lonely, attention-seeking alien that often annoys those around him, especially the Fantastic Four. Over the years, the Impossible Man created a wife called The Impossible Woman and also had a son named Adolf Impossible.
The Impossible Man has made various appearances in Marvel animated series, such as the1978 and1994Fantastic Four series as well asFantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes.
The Impossible Man first appeared inFantastic Four #11 (February 1963), and was created byStan Lee andJack Kirby. According to Lee in a 1970 interview, this "was the worst-sellingFantastic Four we've ever had". In Lee's opinion, the green alien on the cover was "too unusual and too frivolous."[3]
After a long absence, Impossible Man returned inFantastic Four #175 (October 1976) and visited the Marvel Comics office. At the end of the story, he was adopted by the Fantastic Four. This time, the character became popular.[4] He remained a regular part of the comic until #195 (June 1978), when Sue told him that she was tired of him, and he turned into a bee and flew away.
Originally, there were no limits to Impossible Man's transforming abilities - he convincingly imitated Sue Richards inFantastic Four #175 (October 1976) andJimmy Carter inMarvel Two-in-One #27 (May 1977).The New Mutants Annual #3 (September 1987) introduced the limitation that all of his transformations share his default color scheme of green and purple.[5]
When the Impossible Man first appeared, he was different from previous guest stars in that he was not a villain. The team first meet him at the Flamingo restaurant when they are summoned there to investigate a disturbance. Written by Lee to be aprankster andhedonist, the Impossible Man claimed to belong to the alien race ofPoppupians from planet Poppup in the "Tenth Galaxy", who all share acollective consciousness and the ability to shapeshift, as their planet is so dangerous they have the ability to evolve very quickly.[6] Seeking amusement, the character visits Earth for a vacation by turning himself into a spaceship, talking of a Poppup Tourist Bureau. After finding thesuperhero team the Fantastic Four and realizing nobody else on Earth has his power (therefore concluding he is the most powerful being on Earth), he constantly harasses them until they decide to ignore him and tell other people to do the same, forcing the Impossible Man to leave as he finds Earth so boring, and saying Earth will never get their tourist business. He gets his name after theThing claims he is "impossible".[7]
The character does not appear again until 1976. Acting as adeus ex machina in a storyline involving the cosmic entity and world-devourerGalactus, the Impossible Man convinces him to consume Poppup instead of Earth, causing Galactus to seemingly die from 'cosmic indigestion'. Since the Poppupians were a shared consciousness they were happy to sacrifice their planet to stop Galactus, knowing that their culture would live on in the embodiment of its most adventurous member.[8] The Impossible Man then makes a humorous appearance at the offices of Marvel Comics, where he causes havoc until Stan Lee promises to give him his own title.[9]
He offers peripheral assistance to the Fantastic Four when they are trapped in theNegative Zone by theFrightful Four, a team of their enemies.[10] The Impossible Man impersonatesJimmy Carter on the day of hisinauguration. The Impossible Man briefly takes Carter's place to foil an attempt to enslave him during an adventure with theThing and the cyborgDeathlok.[11] He later saves theInvisible Woman from a fall and becomes fascinated with Earth movies.[12][13] When returning to theBaxter Building, headquarters of the Fantastic Four, the Impossible Man is surprised and defeated by the villain Klaw, who, in an alliance with theMolecule Man, attempts to kill the Fantastic Four.[14] During the course of the storyline, the character recovers and, courtesy of his abilities, mimics and defeats Klaw in turn[15] and assists the Fantastic Four in stopping the Molecule Man.[16] The character continued his trend of general disruption during a visit toHollywood with the Invisible Girl.[17]
After helping the Thing defeat several villains at a party, the Impossible Man observes the Thing with his partnerAlicia Masters and becomes lonely. The character then decides to reproduce - here an asexual process - by splitting in two. This creates fellow Poppupian theImpossible Woman.[18] The pair later attempt to recreate their race and create the Impossible Kids, with the entire "family" visiting the Thing.[19] When the Impossible Woman is missing, the character hires private investigatorJessica Drew to locate her,[20] and has an encounter with the mutantX-Men after stealing artifacts from Earth to settle a supposed family dispute with the other members of his race.[21]
More comedic adventures followed, with the Impossible Man engaging in a shapeshifting competition withWarlock,[22] causing havoc on an alternate universe version of Earth,[23] and trying to obtain the movie rights to theautobiography of professional sidekickRick Jones.[24]
The Impossible Man finds and teases the cosmic being theSilver Surfer on two occasions, pleading for him to develop a sense of humor before battling the titanThanos.[25] The character returns to Earth and causes more mischief,[26] encounters the heroDaredevil while looking for a lost child,[27] starts a bar fight,[28] watches theEternalMakkari win a galacticmarathon,[29] and invites various otherwise un-contacted heroes and supervillains to the wedding of Rick Jones.[30]
After a brief encounter with the young superhero team theNew Warriors,[31] the character enlists the aid of mutant teamX-Force to instill some pride in his children,[32] and enters into a wager with the alternate universeimpMister Mxyzptlk.[33]
The Impossible Man and the Poppupians make a cameo appearance inNoh-Varr's origin story.[34]
The Impossible Man returns to Earth disguised as the Silver Surfer, and after teasing the heroSpider-Man warns of an alien invasion. The Impossible Man's race are also revealed to have survived, with their consciousness stored inside the character. With the aid of the Fantastic Four, the aliens and the newly reborn Poppupians are transported off world, merging into one race on Spider-Man's suggestion.[35]
Later during theChaos War, the Impossible Man confrontsAmatsu-Mikaboshi, trying to humor and reason with him while shapeshifting in various forms to divert him, but the Chaos King tires of him and brutally dispatches him. Impossible Man's last words are "I thought we were just playing around..."[36]
Impossible Man returns to Earth where he witnesses a battle betweenHulk,Red Hulk, andXemnu and uses the Valizian Compounder to fuse the former two into the Compound Hulk. Impossible Man watches as the Compound Hulk fights Xemnu's minion Kluh, a smart version of the Gray Hulk.[37]
Impossible Man is later shown to have a son named Adolf Impossible, who has many of his father's fantastic powers and a more introverted personality. This causes Impossible Man to label Adolf as "entirely too possible" and plead with theFuture Foundation to accept him and allow him to grow as a person.[38]
The Impossible Man's unique physiology enables him to take on virtually any form via molecular manipulation, an effect commonly accompanied by a "Pop!" sound. He can mimic the properties of objects or humanoid beings at will. Almost every feature the Impossible Man copies anothersuperhuman's appearance and their powers, such asThor,[39]Klaw,[15] or evenWolverine.[40] He has the ability to travel through hyperspace across different universes, psionically levitate himself, and reproduceasexually. Additionally, he can survive in the vacuum of space by entering a low-metabolic state.[41]
The Impossible Man possesses total knowledge of Earth's popular culture.
In 2014,ComicBook.com ranked Impossible Man sixth in their "Top 10 Most Filmworthy Fantastic Four Villains" list.[42]
Impossible Man appears in the spoof comic "Wha...Huh?" in the segment titled "What If Identity Crisis Happened in the Marvel Universe".[43]
The Impossible Man appears inExcalibur, during the Cross-Time Caper. He has populated an analogue of the Earth with multiple twisted versions of the superheroes of the Marvel Universe. Galactus destroys this planet, deeming it "too silly to be allowed to exist", but Impossible Man later effortlessly restores it.[23]
Impossible Man appears as a mini-boss inSuper Hero Squad Online.[46][44]
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