| U-Foes | |
|---|---|
 Cover toMarvel Adventures: The Avengers bySean Chen | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Incredible Hulk #254 (December 1980) |
| Created by | Bill Mantlo Sal Buscema |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) | Ironclad Vapor Vector X-Ray |
TheU-Foes is asupervillain team appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, usually as enemies of theHulk. The group consists of four members:Vector, the group's leader, who can repel matter telekinetically;Vapor, who can transform into any form of gaseous matter;X-Ray, who can generate and project radiation and fly; andIronclad, who has a metallic body and can control his density.[1]
The U-Foes first appeared inThe Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #254 (Dec. 1980) and were created byBill Mantlo andSal Buscema.[2] PerThe Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #254's credits, editorAl Milgrom designed the costumes of the U-Foes, while editor-in-chiefJim Shooter helped with the names of the U-Foes.
As noted on the first page of that issue, the group's name was inspired by the 1979Graham Parker song "Waiting for the UFOs".[3]
Simon Utrecht, a former politician and multi-millionaire, funds an operation to gain superpowers the same way theFantastic Four had, by flying into space and being exposed to cosmic rays. He chooses three other members to join him: Ann Darnell, her younger brother Jimmy Darnell, and Mike Steel. What the group did not know was that they would be exposed to much higher amounts than the Fantastic Four and that it would most likely kill them.[4] They successfully gain powers, but Bruce Banner brings their ship to safety before they can be killed. Banner transforms into the Hulk and a fight ensues, but the U-Foes lose due to their inexperience with their newly gained powers and inability to fight as a team. In the end, their own ongoing mutations incapacitate them, and the team is scattered as they lose control of their increasing abilities.[5]
Some time later, as their powers stabilize, the U-Foes reunite with the goal of revenge and making a name for themselves in the public eye by killing the Hulk. Though they find the Hulk a more formidable foe, with the intelligence of Bruce Banner then in control of the Hulk, X-Ray discovers a way to keep Banner in his human form by generating 'anti-gamma rays'. The U-Foes imprison Banner at the formerGamma Base and hijack television broadcasts worldwide, intending to gain infamy by killing Banner in front of the world. However, Banner is freed by his alliesBetty Ross,Rick Jones, andBereet, and defeats the U-Foes as the Hulk. Ironically, the U-Foes' attempt to gain fame at the Hulk's expense instead reveals to the world that Banner is in control of the Hulk's power, and leads to a brief period of Banner/Hulk as a popular celebrity and superhero (ending when the Mindless Hulk persona re-asserts itself).
After several defeats at the hands of the Hulk and his allies, each of the U-Foes are banished to a different dimension.[6] They manage to reunite and find their way back to Earth when the mutantPortal's powers manifested. The U-Foes attempt to murder Portal to keep him from opening another portal to banish them, but are defeated by theAvengers. They later attempt to kidnap Portal to exploit his mutant powers, and are defeated once again byCaptain America,Darkhawk, andDaredevil.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the team generally work alone, but occasionally work as hired hands for other villains. Working for theLeader, they attack thePantheon, injuring dozens of civilians.[7] Despite the handicap of an orphan girl who had gotten mixed up in the battle, the Hulk and the Pantheon soldiers subdue some of the U-Foes. The villains are tricked into hurting each other. During "Acts of Vengeance", the U-Foes face theWest Coast Avengers with the help ofMole Man, but they are defeated.[8]
Around this time, they play an important part in theVault prison breakout inMarvel Graphic Novel No. 68 -Avengers: Death Trap - The Vault. The various U-Foes work together and with other villains to fight against the prison's security, its forces,Freedom Force and the Avengers. The U-Foes and the other prisoners are neutralized by technological mind-control.
The U-Foes are freed from theRaft whenElectro breaks them out in theNew Avengers,[9] but are distracted from escaping by a confrontation withCrossfire,Mandrill,Mister Fear,Corruptor, andController over technology that had been stolen from them, untilSpider-Man, Captain America and Iron Man are able to capture them.
During the "Civil War" storyline, theSuperhuman Registration Act brings the U-Foes to the attention of the United States government. The U.S. sends theThunderbolts (Blizzard,Joystick,Fixer, andQuicksand) after the U-Foes. After a battle in Portland, the U-Foes are arrested.[10] Instead ofdue process, they are given the choice of joining the team or facing jail time.
During the "Dark Reign" storyline, the U-Foes are revealed by new Initiative leaderNorman Osborn as the new Initiative team for the state ofNorth Carolina.[11] Osborn orders the U-Foes to attack theHeavy Hitters after they secede from the Initiative. They help the other Initiative teams to defeat and capture the Heavy Hitters' leaderProdigy.[12]
The U-Foes play a role in the beginning of "Siege", when Osborn sends them to fightVolstagg. The resulting clash leads to Volstagg being falsely blamed for destroyingSoldier Field and killing thousands, and giving Osborn the excuse to start a war with Asgard.[13] With the help of other villains, they bring down Thor after he is attacked bythe Sentry. When Osborn is defeated, the whole team surrenders and is then incarcerated.
During the "Secret Empire" storyline, the U-Foes joinHelmut Zemo's Army of Evil.[14]
InThe Immortal Hulk,Henry Peter Gyrich hires the U-Foes to go after Hulk in exchange for full pardons for their past crimes. When Hulk was hiding in New York City, the U-Foes attacked him and took turns fighting him. The fight was briefly stopped when Vector accidentally sent Hulk flying to New Jersey. When the U-Foes caught up to Hulk, X-Ray used his anti-gamma rays to apparently kill Hulk. However, the anti-gamma rays transformed him into a variation ofRed Hulk which enabled Joe Fixit and Savage Hulk to escape the Below-Place. This resurrects Hulk, who defeats the U-Foes.[15]
The U-Foes later raidEmpire State University, where they are attacked bySpider-Man andScarlet Spider. On Vector's orders, Vapor and X-Ray cause a radiation fallout that affects Spider-Man. With Peter Parker hospitalized and placed in amedically-induced coma, Ben Reilly becomes Spider-Man again and stops the U-Foes.[16]
Further reading
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Vector (Simon Utrecht) is a businessman and politician who funded the U-Foes' space flight in search of power. He possesses flight and telekinesis that enables him to repel and attract matter.[6][17][18]
Further reading
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Vapor (Ann Darnell) is an engineer and X-Ray's older sister who was hired to serve as a life-support manager on the space flight. She can transform into various types of gaseous matter, primarily poisonous ones.
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X-Ray (James Darnell) is an engineer and Vapor's younger brother who was hired to serve as afuel-propulsion engineer on the space flight. He possesses an energy-based body that enables him to become intangible and invisible and project various forms of radiation.[6][7][13]
Further reading
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Ironclad (Michael Steel) is an engineer and pilot who was hired to pilot the space flight. He possesses an organic metallic body and the ability to manipulate his density.[7]
X-Ray appears inJLA/Avengers #4 as a brainwashed minion ofKrona.[19]
A possible future version of Vapor appears in theMaestro miniseries. Having been captured byA.I.M., the titularMaestro eventually frees her and has her help him killHercules.[20] Once she succeeds, the Maestro freezes her, shatters her, and orders his soldiers to bury the shards to prevent her from regenerating.[21]
Inspired by the 1979 Graham Parker songWaiting for the UFOs, the creation of the U-Foes was truly a team effort. Writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema produced the first U-Foes story, but editor Al Milgrom helped design the costumes and Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter suggested some of the names.
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