Answer is the name of severalsupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The first incarnation of Answer,Aaron Nicholson, first appeared inPeter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #91 (June 1984).^[1] The second incarnation,David Ferrari, debuted inCaptain America (Vol. 3) #20 (June 1999). The third incarnation, an unnamed criminal, made his first appearance inSuperior Spider-Man #26 (January 2014).

Aaron Nicholson debuted inPeter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #91 (June 1984), created by writerAl Milgrom and artistJim Mooney.^[2] David Ferrari debuted under the codename Answer after Aaron Nicholson's "death" inCaptain America (Vol. 3) #20 (June 1999), created byDan Jurgens. An unnamed criminal debuted under the codename Answer inSuperior Spider-Man #26 (January 2014), created byDan Slott andChristos Gage.

Aaron Nicholson is a criminal genius and a former member of theKingpin's criminal organization. He is also a former hitman in the Las Vegas division ofHYDRA and was empowered by the laboratory machines of Dr.Farley Stillwell's brother Dr.Harlan Stillwell where he became the Answer.

The Answer studiesSpider-Man's powers,^[3] and then attacks Spider-Man and theBlack Cat to test the limits of their powers.^[4] He then kidnaps the Black Cat to misdirect Spider-Man's attention as he stealsSilvermane's body from the police morgue,^[5] and assisted the Kingpin in partially restoring Silvermane's life.^[6] He then kidnappedDagger in hopes that her powers would cure the Kingpin's ailingwife.^[7] Silvermane rampages mindlessly; to end the rampage, the Answer sacrifices his corporeal form and converts himself to energy to revive Dagger, who possesses Silvermane's life-force.^[8][9]

The Answer later telepathically contactsDoctor Octopus^[10] who restores his corporeal existence.^[11] The Answer ends up fighting with Octavius and is defeated by him. He later appears in the Raft where he escapes but is captured byToxin.

It is later revealed that he had been feigning bad luck in order to reunite with his unrequited loveRuby Thursday, before her body is killed byBullseye.^[12]

During theCivil War: War Crimes storyline, he is seen among an army of super-villains organized byHammerhead that is captured byIron Man andS.H.I.E.L.D. agents.^[13]

Later, the Answer is a self-confessed loser at the wake ofStilt-Man. Almost all of the supervillains at the wake were the victims of murder/attempted murder. ThePunisher disguises himself as a barman, poisons drinks, and then blows up the bar.^[14]

Answer has since been hired by theHood to take advantage of the split in the superhero community caused by the Superhuman Registration Act.^[15] He helps them fight theNew Avengers but is taken down byDoctor Strange.^[16] He appeared inBrand New Day as one of the villains in the bar confrontingSpider-Man.^[17]

He was one of many prisoners who escaped from the Raft at the start of theSecret Invasion.^[18] He is one among many supervillains who joined the Hood's crime syndicate and attacked an invadingSkrull force.^[19] He joins with the Hood's gang in an attack on the New Avengers, who were expecting theDark Avengers instead.^[20]

Answer leads a group of the Hood's gang, would go to war withMister Negative over the ownership of various criminal operations inChinatown.^[21] He was seen during theSiege ofAsgard as part of the Hood crime syndicate.^[22]

During the "Search for Tony Stark" arc, Answer rejoined Hood's gang and assisted in the attack on Castle Doom.^[23]

David Ferrari was a former agent ofS.H.I.E.L.D. as well as a member of theU.S. Army and Furnace. He was also the former ally of theCrimson Dynamo and the brother ofConnie. He led a mission to anA.I.M. base to prevent the release of theOmega Compound, however he released two drops to destroy the base.^[24] He later uses drugs to controlNick Fury, at which point he had allied himself with theCrimson Dynamo in attempt to steal missiles from Khamistan to take over the world. He was opposed byCaptain America.^[25]

After Aaron Nicholson lost his physical form, his gear was sold toRoderick Kingsley who gave it to an unknown criminal. He was present whenHobgoblin (who was actually Roderick Kingsley's butler Claude) led his forces into battle against the Goblin King's Goblin Nation. After Hobgoblin was killed by Goblin King, Answer was among the villains that defected to the Goblin Nation.^[26]

Following Spider-Man's victory over the Goblin King, Answer was with the other former Hobgoblin minions at the Bar with No Name where they encounterElectro.^[27]

Aaron Nicholson

The first Answer underwent genetic manipulation to grant him the ability to develop any power needed in a certain situation. For example, if surrounded by thugs, he will gain superhuman strength and durability, allowing him to defeat them.^[28] In another situation, he may obtain pyrokinesis or the ability to turn himself into pure energy. Flight may be an ability that is always active. Other than that, at rest or not in any sort of situation, he will display no abilities. The powers he manifests typically last for five minutes, and he can display up to two separate powers at once.^[29] Additionally, Aaron Nicholson is highly intelligent and has a superhuman-like level of intuition. The Answer wears body armor that was created with the help of the Kingpin's scientists. The armor is coated with a friction-eliminating chemical that allows him to slip from any grasp or prevent anything from adhering to him.

• Answer at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe

• Characters created by Al Milgrom
• Characters created by Dan Jurgens
• Comics characters introduced in 1984
• Comics characters introduced in 1999
• Fictional assassins
• Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
• Marvel Comics mutates
• Marvel Comics spies
• Marvel Comics supervillains

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