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| Demolition Man | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | (As Dennis Dunphy) The Thing #28 (October 1985) (As Demolition-Man) Captain America #328 (April 1987) |
| Created by | Mike Carlin (writer) Ron Wilson (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dennis Dunphy |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations | Night People Inuit Tribe Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation US Military (branch unknown) Revengers[1] |
| Partnerships | Captain America |
| Notable aliases | D-Man, Demolition Dunphy,Scourge of the Underworld |
| Abilities | Skilled aircraft pilot Excellent hand to hand combatant Superhuman strength, stamina and durability |
Demolition Man (Dennis Dunphy), also known asD-Man, is a fictionalsuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, primarily in association withCaptain America.
Demolition Man has made limited appearances in media outside comics.Will Friedle voices the character in theDisney+ specialLEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition (2024), while William McCullough portrays him in theMarvel Cinematic Universe filmCaptain America: Brave New World (2025).
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Dennis Dunphy first appeared inThe Thing #28 (October 1985) and was created byMike Carlin andRon Wilson. He first appeared as Demolition-Man inCaptain America #328 (April 1987).[2]Captain America writerMark Gruenwald explained his decision to make Demolition-Man (or D-Man, as he was usually referred as at the time) Captain America's newest partner: "All of Cap's past partners –Bucky,Rick Jones,the Falcon andNomad – have been less powerful than he is, so he was naturally the dominant figure in the partnership. But this new guy can lift ten tons, so he's no slouch in the power department and he's half a head taller than C.A., so there's a different kind of relationship with D-Man, as he's called."[3]
Dennis Dunphy was born inLincoln, Nebraska. Dennis becomes an aspiring athlete who receives the strength augmentation treatments offered byPower Broker, Inc. Finding himself too strong now for normal sports, he becomes a professional wrestler and member of theUnlimited Class Wrestling Federation (UCWF) along with other superheroes and supervillains such as theBeyonder, theThing, andScreaming Mimi. He refuses to throw a fight with the Thing, and is defeated.[4] ThePuppet Master later mentally compels him to attack the Thing.[5] Dunphy refuses the Power Broker's order to help killMs. Marvel. He reveals his addiction to the Power Broker's drug to the Thing, and goes through a painful withdrawal when the Power Broker cuts off his drug supply.[6]
After the fall of the UCWF, Dunphy becomes the Demolition Man and teams up withCaptain America to investigate Power Broker, Inc. His costume is intentionally designed so the body of it is a duplicate ofDaredevil's first costume, and the hood is a knock-off ofWolverine's. He successfully rescues Captain America fromKarl Malus and helps Captain America catch him.[7][8] Dunphy is captured by the Power Broker and is subjected to further treatments which augment his strength further but damage his heart. While under the influence of the stimulant, he goes mad and attacks Captain America. Dunphy suffers a heart attack, his second augmentation is reversed and he is hospitalized.[9] Dunphy then takes a step back from superhero activity to take over Captain America's hotline.[volume & issue needed]
Soon after this, Steve Rogers is stripped of his Captain America costume by theCommission on Superhuman Activities (CSA) and goes missing. Demolition Man joinsFalcon,Nomad, andVagabond to search for Rogers. They discover Rogers, who had renamed himself simply "The Captain", and they all become a short-lived informal team. They defeat theSerpent Squad in their first outing.[10] D-Man aids the Captain, Falcon, and Nomad againstFamine.[11] D-Man is nearly killed in battle byTitania.[12] He begins teaching Vagabond hand-to-hand combat, but is attacked by a jealous Nomad. He fightsAnaconda and Slither of theSerpent Society.[13] He is attacked and poisoned byViper, and mistakenly fightsBattlestar. Dunphy is arrested by the CSA and held for questioning about The Captain's activities.[14]
When Dennis is finally released by the CSA, he seeks out the Captain, discovering that not only had his team disbanded, but that the East CoastAvengers team had also just disbanded and that the Captain is seeking new members. The Captain asks Demolition Man to join the Avengers and they immediately leave on a mission at the request of Battlestar. Battlestar's partner isJohn Walker, Captain America's replacement, who was captured byFlag-Smasher and his groupULTIMATUM. While Battlestar and the Captain investigated ULTIMATUM's Arctic base, Demolition Man is left with their plane. During the fight, the Captain discovers that Flag-Smasher's base contains a doomsday weapon (an electromagnetic pulse generator), and he orders Dunphy to set the plane on course to crash into the base and then bail out. Dennis sets the course, but then sees an enemy agent land on the plane. Dunphy elects to stay on the plane to ensure that it crashes. The plane explodes, apparently with Dunphy in it, and Captain America is unable to find any trace of him.[15]
In a later adventure withJack Frost, Captain America sees what he believes to be Dunphy's body in suspended animation near the North Magnetic Pole in the Arctic. However, he is unable to free him.[16] Demolition Man survived the explosion, but suffered wounds that rendered him mute and in a stupor, and is discovered living among theInuit. During a backup story to "Operation: Galactic Storm", he is rescued byU.S. Agent and the Falcon and recovers under Avengers' care.[17] In time he becomes a hero of a subterranean group of homeless people called the Zero People. Dennis assists the Avengers who are under attack byMorgan Le Fay's forces.[18]
It was later established that Dunphy had become delusional and mentally unstable.[19] His intentions remain pure, but he had begun to believe that a "Cosmic Gamemaster" had asked him to retrieve theInfinity Gems, which D-Man carried out by stealing jewelry. AtBen Urich's request, Daredevil descends into the sewers and persuades Dennis to get some help.
Dennis was being considered as a "potential recruit" for theInitiative program, according toCivil War: Battle Damage Report.[20]
During theDark Reign storyline, D-Man is shown to be serving in the U.S. military in his civilian identity and covertly in his Demolition Man costume. For a while, he inspires several of his fellow soldiers to operate covertly in costumes as well, but he puts a stop to it out of concern for their military careers. He continues operating by himself. How he recovered from the brain damage/mental instability he had been suffering from is unknown at this point.[21]
In a one-page strip inI am an Avenger #2, D-man attends a picnic atAvengers Mansion and competes in a pie-eating contest, besting The Thing, Protector, andValkyrie.[22]
D-Man made an appearance inThe New Avengers #7, while various heroes are being interviewed to be a nanny forLuke Cage andJessica Jones. He appears to be spontaneously weeping and his only lines are "I am so lonely...", "I think I came off desperate before--" and "Does Captain America ever talk about me?". When Jones says her mind is made up on a nanny (Squirrel Girl), Cage quips "D-Man it is." to which she responds "Cute".[23]
Wonder Man recruits Demolition Man to join hisRevengers.[24] All three Avengers team defeat Demolition Man and the rest of the Revengers and they are remanded to the Raft. Demolition Man claims theGrandmaster called him to reclaim the Infinity Gems from the Avengers and that the Avengers have not been returning his calls leading him to be recruited into the Revengers.[25]
A brainwashedHenry Peter Gyrich chooses him to become the newScourge of the Underworld.[26] Captain America tracks down the new Scourge and the two engage in an intense fight. During the altercation, Captain America recognizes Demolition Man and pleads with him to stop fighting. Demolition Man accuses Captain America of making deals with villains and providing them with new lives instead of punishment, and he takes control of the brawl and Captain America's shield. As Demolition Man is about to strike the killing blow,Sharon Carter arrives on the scene and kills him.[27]
During theSecret Wars storyline, Dennis is accidentally resurrected by a young sorcerer who mistakes the name "D-Man" for "demon". He visits Avengers Mansion and meets withEdwin Jarvis andRage before being killed in the incursion betweenEarth-616 andEarth-1610.[28]
After the eight-monthellipsis followingSecret Wars, Demolition Man is seen as one of the partners ofSam Wilson (now the new Captain America). It is not explained how he returned, but Sam simply remarks "he's a survivor". As part of theAll-New, All-Different Marvel event, Dennis started working for Captain America as a pilot, mechanic, technician, and field backup. Dennis also bought himself battle armor to "finally look cool".[29] He later returns to the UCWF for a special charity match against Battlestar, and the two men end up foiling an attempt to steal the money raised by the event. It is also revealed that he has a boyfriend,[30][31] later revealed to be named Chris.[32]
Lockjaw, the Inhuman's teleporting dog, recruits D-Man in an attempt to rescue Lockjaw's siblings. D-Man travels with Lockjaw across his home Earth and beyond. Eventually all the canine siblings gain a place of safety. One with the woman he loves, D-Man's elderly neighbor.[32]
D-Man is later seen as a security officer at the rebuiltRavencroft Institute.[33]
Augmentation of Dennis Dunphy's physical attributes byKarl Malus on behalf of thePower Broker increased his physical strength, stamina and durability to superhuman levels.[34] Dunphy possesses superhuman strength sufficient to enable him to lift at least 15 tons. He was addicted to a drug supplied by the Power Broker based on a lie that it was needed to stabilize his augmentation, but was used to keep him dependent on the Power Broker.[35] He has a heart condition, increasing his vulnerability to excessive exertion. Dennis is a skilled aircraft pilot. He is also an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, especially in wrestling, and received further training from Captain America.
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(September 2017) |
Newsarama ranked Demolition Man as the ninth worstAvengers member, describing him as having "the power of pretty strong strength, constantly being confused for Wolverine and Daredevil, and as demonstrated in the first issue ofKurt Busiek andGeorge Pérez's Avengers run smelling so awful that no one wants to get within 30 feet of him."[38]
