| Ani-Men | |
|---|---|
 The cover toX-Men #95, featuring the original Ani-Men fighting theX-Men. Art byGil Kane andDave Cockrum. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Daredevil #10 (October 1965) |
| Created by | Wally Wood Bob Powell |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) | Membership |
TheAni-Men is the name of several fictional teams appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Four of them are villain groups, while one of them was introduced as a team of agents serving theHigh Evolutionary.
The first Ani-Men debuted inDaredevil #10 (October 1965) and were created byWally Wood (writer, co-artist) andBob Powell (co-artist).[1][2]
The second Ani-Men debuted inDaredevil #157 (March 1979) and were created byRoger McKenzie (co-writer),Jo Duffy (co-writer),Gene Colan (artist), andKlaus Janson (inker).
The third Ani-Men debuted inScarlet Spider Unlimited #1 (November 1995) and were created by Glenn Herdling (writer), Todd Smith (artist), and John Nyberg (inker).
The fourth Ani-Men debuted inCode of Honor #3 (April 1997) and were created byChuck Dixon (writer), Bob Wakelin (co-artist), andDærick Gröss Sr. (co-artist).
The fifth Ani-Men debuted inGLA #1 (June 2005) and were created byDan Slott (writer) andPaul Pelletier (artist).
The original lineup of the Ani-Men (consisting ofApe-Man,Bird-Man,Cat-Man, andFrog-Man) are recruited by a man calling himself the Organizer, who gives them costumes themed after their codenames. The Organizer is secretly Abner Jonas, a candidate running to becomemayor of New York City, and sends the Ani-Men to undermine the standing of the current administration.Daredevil defeats them and the Ani-Men and the Organizer are all imprisoned.[3][2][4][5]
Count Nefaria has Ape-Man, Bird-Man, Cat-Man, Frog-Man, and new memberDragonfly be submitted to a processes at the hands of Dr. Kenneth Sturdy that gives them superhuman powers and animalistic appearances. Following an assault on theNORAD base at Mount Valhalla, they are all captured by theX-Men.[6]
The Ani-Men, having returned to their normal forms, are sent to killTony Stark. However, they are killed by a bomb thatSpymaster had intended to kill Stark with.[2][7]
Death-Stalker recruits a new team of Ani-Men and gives them the costumes of the original Ani-Men members. Death-Stalker sends the new Ani-Men to captureDaredevil. TheBlack Widow defeats Bird-Man, and the Death-Stalker kills Ape-Man and Cat-Man after the completion of their mission.[8] Bird-Man survives, but is later killed by theScourge of the Underworld.[9]
The third incarnation of the Ani-Men (also spelledAnimen) are a group ofNew Men that consist of Buzzard (an evolved hawk), Crushtacean (an evolved crab), Flying Fox (an evolved bat),Komodo (an evolved Komodo dragon), and Spinneret (an evolved spider). TheHigh Evolutionary dispatches the Ani-Men to a laboratory operated by his former assistant Miles Warren (theJackal) to clean up Warren's files. After three weeks, the Ani-Men are almost done with their cleanup and have spread a virus into all of Warren's files, but they are discovered by theScarlet Spider. When the High Evolutionary teleports the Ani-Men back to his home base at Wundagore, the Scarlet Spider is accidentally brought with them, having stuck himself to Crushtacean with his webbing. Later, the Scarlet Spider joins members of the Cult of the Jackal in sneaking into the citadel of the High Evolutionary in an attempt to learn the truth about Warren's involvement with the High Evolutionary. The Ani-Men come to face the cult members and the Scarlet Spider, but the fight is brought to an end after the Scarlet Spider learns the truth from the High Evolutionary. The High Evolutionary sends the Scarlet Spider home, but Crushtacean foolishly touches a ball of impact webbing the hero has left behind, covering himself and the other Ani-Men with webbing, much to their embarrassment.[10][2][4][5][11]
During theSecret Wars storyline, a new version of the Ani-Men (consisting of Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and Frog-Man) commit crimes while the heroes are onBattleworld. They obtain the equipment of the original Ani-Men and use it to rob a vault wagon, only to be opposed by theNYPD.[12]
These Ani-Men (consisting of Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and a new Cat-Man) are among the many criminals hired byHammerhead during the "Civil War" in an effort to take over the underworld while theKingpin is incarcerated. Unknown to them, the Kingpin has tricked Iron Man into leading aS.H.I.E.L.D. unit to the warehouse where they are meeting, which Iron Man believes to be the headquarters ofCaptain America's Secret Avengers. Iron Man and the S.H.I.E.L.D. unit break in and a huge fight breaks out. The battle results in arrests, injuries and death, but it is unrevealed if any of those apply to the new Ani-Men.[13]
This Ani-Men consists of anthropomorphic animals and has no known connection to any prior incarnations of the group. This group consists of Giraffe-Man, Great Horned Owl-Man, Pig-Man, and Rabbit-Woman. They attack the Milwaukee Convention Center, holding humans responsible for transgressions against the animal kingdom. ModelAshley Crawford (a.k.a. Big Bertha) is at a modeling shoot there and phones her teammates in theGreat Lakes Avengers for help. By the time the Great Lakes Avengers show up, the actualAvengers have arrived to stop the Ani-Men.[14]
An alternate universe iteration of the Ani-Men appears inCarnage: Black, White & Blood, consisting of Elephant Man, Giraffe Man, and Boar-Man. In a "You Are Carnage" story that evokes the traits of "Choose Your Own Adventure", the Ani-Men are either killed or incapacitated byCarnage depending on the reader's choice.[2][15]
An original incarnation of the Ani-Men appear inEarth X. These versions are animals from aWakandan preserve who theBlack Panther accidentally mutated into anthropomorphic forms using theCosmic Cube. After theWendigo attacks Wakanda, Black Panther brings the Ani-Men to live in theSavage Land.[16][17][18]
An alternate universe incarnation of the Ani-Men from Earth-1610 appear in theUltimate Marvel imprint. This version consists of mud creatures, who are associates ofArthur Molekevic.[19]
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