| The Walrus | |
|---|---|
 Walrus | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Defenders #131 (May 1984) |
| Created by | J.M. DeMatteis Peter Gillis Alan Kupperberg |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Hubert Carpenter |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Partnerships | White Rabbit |
| Abilities | Minimal superhuman strength, agility and endurance Good at crossword puzzles Ability to distract enemies by making them laugh uncontrollably, hold his breath much longer than humans and survive in freezing water via his layer of blubber |
TheWalrus is a comedicsupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. He is the enemy ofSpider-Man andFrog-Man.[1]
Walrus first appeared inThe Defenders #131 (May 1984) and was created byJ.M. DeMatteis,Peter Gillis, andAlan Kupperberg.[2]
The Walrus is a supervillain and foe ofSpider-Man. He wears a costume that resembles awalrus. Despite being physically strong, he proves to be completely inept at villainy. While most supervillains are interested in stealing money or taking over the world, but just like any othermonsters (e.g.,kaiju), the Walrus was content with mindless property damage; reminiscent of theHulk, as well as his enemies, theAbomination,Juggernaut, andRhino (also one of Spider-Man's enemies). He considered his role as a supervillain as that of a "mass-destructionist". The man who would eventually become the Walrus was once a taxicab driver namedHubert Carpenter (a reference to "The Walrus and the Carpenter" poem fromThrough the Looking-Glass). Hubert's uncle Humbert (amad scientist/eccentricjanitor) used devious experimental technology to endow Hubert with the attributes of a walrus that would surely make him into an eminent supervillain. Hubert, now possessing the "proportionate speed, strength and agility of a walrus", started causing havoc. He fought theNew Defenders and the secondFrog-Man before collapsing.[3]
Then he teamed with the deadly and nefariousWhite Rabbit, forming the Terrible Two. They fought Spider-Man and were easily beaten. One of their common goals was to murder Frog-Man, who had humiliated them both in the past. However, it was soon revealed that Frog-Man had little to worry about, as the Walrus is the sort of supervillain that has to wear velcro shoes in order to avoid accidentally tying his shoes to each other. The Walrus is not the smartest villain, as he tends to make the most stupid remarks, which even made Spider-Man laugh uncontrollably at him, allowing the Walrus to punch and knock him down. The fact that the Walrus also wears a large rainbow "W" on the front of his costume also tends to make his enemies laugh at him.[4]
The Walrus later appears withMr. Fish in an exotic nightclub where he is seen admiring an overweight dancer.[5]
During theFear Itself storyline,Deadpool sees the chaos caused by the Worthy and manipulates Walrus into thinking that he has been chosen to wield a magical hammer so that he can improve his security consolation business. However, his plan goes awry when the hammer turns out to be the property of the Moon-Born, a group ofwerewolves. The hammer exhibits special properties under the full moon which Deadpool discovers when he engages the Walrus in battle. Deadpool tricks Walrus into entering the windowless basement of a sheriff's office where the hammer became powerless and he could take advantage of the sheriff's weapon's cache.[6]
Walrus partners again with White Rabbit as well as the newGoldbug for a plan that involves tampering with New York City's drinking water. The three are defeated bySpider-Woman and taken to a new supervillain prison, the Cellar, which is secretly run byRegent. Once incarcerated, Walrus andOx are separated from the other prisoners and seemingly killed when they are sealed in power-siphoning tubes by Regent's servantShannon Stillwell.[7] Walrus survives and is released after Regent's defeat.
He was later subsequently abducted and placed inMurderworld byArcade, alongside other captives. Walrus was later rescued byGwenpool with the help of Deadpool.[8]
During theHunted storyline, Walrus is among the animal-themed characters who are captured byTaskmaster andBlack Ant forKraven the Hunter's Great Hunt, which is sponsored by Arcade.[9] Walrus runs from Arcade's Hunter-Bots when the Great Hunt begins.[10]
Hubert Carpenter has claimed to have the proportionate speed, strength, and agility of a walrus.[4] The Walrus possesses some measure of superhuman strength, agility and endurance. He was actually able to hit Spider-Man with sufficient force to knock him flying, rip a metal lamp post in half and withstand razor sharp and explosive carrots fired at him by the White Rabbit as a test. However, on another occasion, Spider-Man was able to defeat the Walrus by flicking him with his index finger, which knocked him out. The Walrus also has the (unintended) ability to distract his enemies by making them laugh uncontrollably with his stupid remarks.
The Walrus was mutagenically altered by his uncle with walrusDNA which would presumably add certain walrus characteristics to his physiology, such as a layer ofblubber to keep him warm in freezing water and the ability to hold his breath for a much longer time than a human. While none of these abilities would be very useful to a supervillain who never goes anywhere near water, the layer of blubber could explain his resistance to injury.
The Walrus was noticeably unintelligent but was unusually good atcrossword puzzles.[volume & issue needed]
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