| Man-Killer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Robot:Captain America #111 (December 1968) Katrina Luisa Van Horn:Marvel Team-Up #8 (April 1973) |
| Created by | Robot: Stan Lee Jim Steranko Katrina Luisa Van Horn: Jim Mooney Gerry Conway |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Katrina Luisa Van Horn |
| Species | Human mutate-cyborg |
| Team affiliations | Robot: Hydra Katrina Luisa Van Horn: Hydra Advanced Idea Mechanics Masters of Evil Thunderbolts |
| Notable aliases | Katrina Luisa Van Horn: Amazon, Wilma |
| Abilities | Katrina Luisa Van Horn: Superhuman strength and durability, and size-alteration through Pym Particle exposure |
Man-Killer is a name used by twosupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The second versionKatrina Luisa Van Horn has been viewed by critics as a "caricature of feminists, whodespised all men."[1]
The first version of Man-Killer first appeared inCaptain America #111 (December 1968) and created byStan Lee andJim Steranko.
Man-Killer first appeared inMarvel Team-Up volume 1 #8 (April 1973) and created byGerry Conway andJim Mooney.[2] The character subsequently appeared inDaredevil vol. 1 #121 (May 1975), 123 (July 1975),Iron Man vol. 1 #126-127 (September–October 1979), andMarvel Team-Up vol. 1 #107 (July 1981), where she seemingly died. The character appeared several years later inWeb of Spider-Man Annual #3 (1987), and made several appearances inThunderbolts vol. 1, including issues #3 (June 1997), #18-20 (August–November 1998), 23-25 (February–April 1999), 27 (June 1999), 30 (September 1999), 34-35 (January–February 2000), 39-42 (June–September 2000), and inDeadline #2 (July 2002). After joining theThunderbolts and taking the name Amazon, she appeared inThunderbolts vol. 1 #64-65 (July–August 2002), 67 (September 2002), 69 (October 2002), 71 (November 2002)Marvel Universe: The End #5-6 (July–August 2003),Thunderbolts vol. 1 #73-75 (December 2002-February 2003), 80-81 (August–September 2003),New Thunderbolts #18 (April 2006), andThunderbolts vol. 2 #100 (May 2006). She received an entry in theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z 2006 #7.
Man-Killer was a robotic assassin sent byMadame Hydra to killCaptain America, but the robot is defeated and destroyed.[3]
Katrina Luisa Van Horn was anOlympicskier and is a militantfeminist. After engaging in an argument with anti-Women's Liberation skier Karl Lubbings, the two took their disagreement to the slopes. Katrina was an Olympic-level skier, but Lubbings cut her off and both skiers plunged off the mountain. Katrina was severely injured anddisfigured. She was fitted with a poweredexoskeleton and took the name Man-Killer.[4] She has worked freelance and as an agent forHydra.[5]
Man-Killer has been a member ofCrimson Cowl's incarnation of theMasters of Evil.[6][7] During an altercation with the Thunderbolts, Katrina toldSongbird that she'd rather not fight her, as she had no problems with women, just with men (Songbird attacked her anyway). Some time later however,Erik Josten (Atlas of the Thunderbolts) discovered Katrina working as a bartender in his team's adopted home of Burton Canyon,Colorado. When Josten became a regular at the bar Katrina was congenial towards him, pretending not to recognize him as Atlas. Whatever animosity Katrina may or may not bear towards men, she has proven herself capable of working alongside them with a minimum of personality conflicts.[8]
AsAmazon, she was briefly a member of theThunderbolts underHawkeye.[9]
She had foughtSpider-Man on some occasions.[10][11]
Man-Killer is seen to be among the new recruits forCamp H.A.M.M.E.R.[12]
Man-Killer later appears as part ofBaron Helmut Zemo's third incarnation of the Masters of Evil where they attacked theWinter Soldier's incarnation of the Thunderbolts.[13]
During the "Opening Salvo" part of theSecret Empire storyline, Man-Killer was involved in the Masters of Evil's next fight with the Thunderbolts which ends in her apparent death at the hands ofKobik.[14]
Katrina Luisa Van Horn was given robotic implants replacing and/or compounded with bones and nerves, which give her superhuman powers, good athletic abilities, and the ability to throw knives at a range of hundreds of meters. She was also given Pym particles to grow in strength proportionate to size.[15]
The Robot version of Man-Killer appears in theAvengers Assemble episode "New Year's Resolution". This version is a time-traveling robotic assassin working forKang the Conqueror.[16]