Name

Current Alias

Aliases

I've got reason to believe, monster -- that anything you can do -- I can do better --

Early Life[]

Leonard Skivorski, Jr. was born and raised inTulsa,Oklahoma. He was of Jewish descent and regularly attended yeshiva.^[22] He was the son ofDr. Leonard Skivorski, Sr. a successful psychiatrist in his own right. His father specialized in treating young women and had affairs with them. He was nicknamed "Samson" by his wife because of his long hair.^[1] Leonard at first wanted nothing to do with psychology due to malpractices of his father, but in college he gained a PhD in psychology.^[23]

Gamma Exposure[]

He came toGeneral "Thunderbolt" Ross with a plan to cure Ross's daughter Betty, who had been transformed into a crystalline form^[3] through a blood transfusion withSandman.^[24] Samson had technicians devise aCathexis Ray projector that would drain off gamma particle energy and psionic energy from Bruce Banner as he transformed into the monstrousHulk whom General Ross had long hunted. Samson theorized that as a result of this process, Banner would be cured of the physiological instability that continually transformed him into the Hulk. Hoping to save Betty and to be cured himself, Banner willingly participated in the experiment. The cathexis ray succeeded in turning Betty Ross back to normal, employing Banner's psionic energy.^[3]

However, most of the psionic energy drained from Banner (as well as a considerable amount of his excess gamma radiation) remained within the cathexis ray projector. Motivated by scientific curiosity, and probably by a subconscious desire to gain superhuman powers for himself, Samson irradiated himself with the energies remaining within the projector. The result was that the slim, brown-haired psychiatrist was transformed into a massively-muscled, green-haired superhuman with Gamma-boosted strength. Banner himself seemed permanently cured, but he broke emotionally under the strain of seeing Betty, the woman he loved, being romanced by Samson. Banner then exposed himself to Gamma radiation, thereby undoing the cure. Samson then fought the Hulk, being defeated in his first real superhero combat, but Betty sympathized with the weaker Samson much to the Hulk's chagrin.^[3]

Samson later lost his superhuman physique and power when he took a blast of concentrated gamma radiation intended for the Hulk.^[25] However, months later Samson regained his gamma-mutated form and superhuman strength when he was bombarded by intensive radiation from an exploding gammatron, an experimental gamma-ray generator.^[26] He has remained in this form ever since."Doc" Samson, as he has been nicknamed, has long sought to capture and permanently cure the Hulk. Samson worked as a teacher at theEvanston campus of the Northwestern University during the recent time that the Hulk was traveling through different dimensions, unable to return to Earth. However, Samson often neglected his academic duties and returned to his pursuit of the Hulk once the monster reappeared on Earth.^[27]

Doc Samson was also briefly the Director of Ravencroft Institute, a facility for the criminally insane, following the removal ofDoctor Ashley Kafka as head of the facility.^[28]

Civil War & World War Hulk[]

During theSuperhuman Civil War Samson joined the Registered heroes and fought against the Secret Avengers.^[29] Shortly afterwards, the Hulk returned to seek revenge on theIlluminati, who exiled him to space. Doc Samson helped evacuate the people of New York. Then he battled the Hulk and theWarbound. He was defeated by the Warbound and imprisoned.^[30]

Thunderbolts[]

Following theSkrull invasion, Doc Samson led a support group meeting with those that had been replaced by Skrulls.^[31] Later, on Air Force One, he attempted to disclose the full activities ofNorman Osborn within Thunderbolts Mountain to the new United States President. Before Samson was able to play the evidence, Osborn's newThunderbolts hijacked the plane: theGhost took the evidence,Eric O'Grady implanted a gamma-emitter on the back of Samson's neck, causing him to grow angry and more powerful in a Hulk-like manner, and someone wearing the Green Goblin's costume attacked the airplane.^[32] Samson's increased anger caused him to attack the President, but he was phased out of the plane by the Ghost. Osborn reasoned that, in his enhanced state, Doc Samson probably survived the fall, and released a global warrant for his arrest, suggesting that Samson attempted to kill the President.^[33]

Red Hulk[]

A newRed Hulk appeared, and revealed that Bruce was no longer comatose, and was being imprisoned by the US military.^[20] However, the Helicarrier crashed nearNew Jersey.^[34]Tony Stark orderedMaria Hill to investigate and search for survivors.Clay Quartermain's corpse was found mangled and ravaged, and the area bathed with gamma radiation. General Ross and Samson's bodies were missing. Leonard's coat was found ripped and shredded in a Hulk-like fashion, exhibiting higher Gamma Radiation values than every other item in the wreckage.^[35]

M.O.D.O.K. placed Samson under mind control producing a split personality. This led to a powerless Leonard who was defined as the good one and an evil Samson whose abilities are greater thanShe-Hulk's. Samson shotRick Jones and dragged him away after he attempted to reveal who the Red Hulk really was.^[8] He then engaged She-Hulk in combat but it was cut short by M.O.D.O.K. who fired a laser, knocking both unconscious and reverting Samson to Leonard. A battle between Red Hulk and Hulk caused an explosion.^[36] After the Red Hulk depowered the true Hulk, Samson double crossed Red Hulk to punish him for his disobedience.^[37] Afterward, Samson's darker persona took control once again, under M.O.D.O.K.'s surveillance.^[1] Reverted, Doc Samson was killed attempting to help a returned Hulk contain all of the Gamma radiation from the Hulked-Out Heroes.^[10]

Chaos War[]

Doc Samson was among the many deceased resurrected during theChaos War, along withGlenn Talbot,Hiroim,Jarella,Rebecca Banner, theAbomination, andBrian Banner, who had the ability to transform into a replica of the Devil Hulk at will. They returned to the realm of the dead afterwards, with the exception of the Hulk's mother.^[38]

Immortal Doc Samson[]

Samson eventually returned to life due to his nature as a gamma mutate and their connection to the mysteriousGreen Door. Tormented by the meaning behind his return and feeling purposeless, Samson kept a low profile and refrained from contacting his closest friends. During this time, thesecond superhuman civil war took place and Bruce Banner died at the hands of the archerHawkeye as part of a form of assisted suicide. Following the death of Rick Jones, Samson contacted Betty Ross. Banner returned to life again not long afterward, and Samson set out to find him in search for answers regarding his own immortality.^[13] Moments after Betty had been shot by an operative of the covertShadow Base, Samson confronted the Hulk at the scene,^[39] meeting his latest alter in control, the meticulous and vicious Devil Hulk, who shared with Samson his vision to tear down the human world for their abuse of the environment.

Together with the Hulk, Samson investigated Shadow Base and the disappearance of Rick Jones' body from its grave.^[13] When they reached the abandonedShadow Base Site A, Samson was shot down byBushwacker, the operative who had shot Betty.^[14] He returned to life after the Hulk had collapsed the facility and left, and was picked up by the task forceGamma Flight on their way to investigate the Hulk.^[15] Samson joined Gamma Flight in tracking down the Hulk, and they retrieved the mutagenicGamma-Activated Tissue in the aftermath of a battle between the Hulk and mutated Rick Jones.^[40] Shadow Base's commander,Reginald Fortean, assaulted Gamma Flight to retrieve the tissue, and killed Samson in the process.^[16] After Samson returned, Gamma Flight retaliated against Shadow Base,^[17] involuntarily joining forces with the Hulk and his allies when his own raid on Shadow Base coincided with Gamma Flight's incursion.^[41]

In the aftermath of the confrontation, Banner seized command of Shadow Base and repurposed it for his and Devil Hulk's vision. Doc Samson defected from Gamma Flight in order to keep an eye on the Hulk.^[42] As part of his efforts, the Hulk waged war againstRoxxon.^[43] Samson aided him in fighting giant monsters unleashed by Roxxon inPhoenix,Arizona,^[44] and also in stoppingXemnu's mind control over the United States.^[45] Although the Hulk's popularity skyrocketed after Xemnu's defeat, the machinations of the Leader saw the Hulk become a fugitive after the villain caused him to detonate and destroy a town.^[46] The Leader also took control ofDel Frye, a gamma mutate in custody of Shadow Base,^[47] and killed Samson with him. Leonard was plunged into theBelow-Place, the afterlife for gamma mutates where they travel to between death and resurrection, which had been taken over by the Leader. When Samson's Green Door manifested for his resurrection, the Leader blocked it.^[18]

Doc Sasquatch[]

Unable to return to his own body, Samson managed to resurrect into the corpse of fellow gamma mutateWalter Langkowski aboard theAlpha Flight Low-Orbit Space Station, becoming a green-haired version of Walter's alter-ego, Sasquatch, prompting Leonard to adopt the alias of Doc Sasquatch.^[2] In turn, Langkowski resurrected in Leonard's body.^[48] The Hulk had been captured by Gamma Flight, and shortly after Samson's return, Banner escaped.^[2] Samson and Gamma Flight walked on Alpha Flight's acting commanderHenry Gyrich after he threatened to turn against them for their failure to restrain the Hulk.^[49] Afterward, Samson returned to Shadow Base withPuck andShaman to retrieve his body so that he could return to it,^[50] but Langkowski had already left the scene.^[48] In the process, they crossed paths with Rick Jones and Del Frye, whose bodies had been forcibly merged,^[51] and the Hulk's allies,Dr. McGowan andJackie McGee.^[51]

Due to Leonard's knowledge that the Leader was pulling the strings, Gamma Flight and their new allies intercepted a confrontation between the Hulk and the Avengers, and helped Banner and Harpy, Betty Ross' new gamma alter-ego, escape.^[52] After parting ways with the Hulk and his allies, Gamma Flight went on the run and settled in a safe house in New Mexico. During this time, Leonard and McGowan grew closer together.^[53] The team was spurred into action when the rampage of a gamma mutate codenamedStockpile resulted in Gamma Flight learning the existence of a rogue government program led by the Abomination calledProject Green Spring. With Stockpile's help, Gamma Flight managed to shut down the organization's experiments on the town ofThomasville, and drove Abomination away.^[54]

After Banner suffered new kinds of mental trauma after compartmentalizing his mind to take control of the Hulk, Samson counseled Banner to help him stay sane and was one of the few people that knew Banner was alive after he faked his death. However, Banner felt he could handle things on his own and dismissed Samson's help when the Titan persona got loose. When Banner lost control of the Hulk to the Titan, he sent an SOS to Samson with coordinates on where to find him. Samson askedDoctor Strange's help in getting to Banner. They then traveled to an abandoned Stark lab inWundagore Mountain.^[55]

Strange traveled to the portal Banner previously used to find a place to live in peace using astral projection while Samson remained with Strange's physical body. Strange located Banner, but the evil Titan persona had taken control of the Hulk and was devastating a planet full of gamma mutates. Banner discovered that the demonD'Spayre was responsible for creating the conditions that allowed Titan to take control of Hulk and made the demon undo his work. However, Titan grabbed Strange's astral form first and forced his physical form and Samson through the portal.^[56]

Samson and Strange arrived on the unnamed planet and found the Hulk transformed into the Titan Hulk. Samson was knocked away by D'Spayre when the demon attacked Strange. Samson then provided gamma energy for the planet's rulerMonolith to help her fight Titan. Banner eventually took back control of his body with help from the Savage Hulk. Samson stayed on the planet to help it rebuild from the Titan's rampage as well as help explain the situation to Monolith and to Earth's heroes.^[57]

Doc Sasquatch would later work withDaredevil andElektra, working as a psychiatrist to help their vigilante army theFist. Most of this organization was composed of freshly-liberated supervillains, and Samson would help work through their traumas and get to the roots of their behavior. However, he would leave Daredevil after the Fist's defeat at the hands of theAvengers and theHand, disagreeing with his patients being brought into battle so soon into their treatment.^[58]

• Telepathic Defenses: Doc Samson has learned to recognize when his mind is being probed by telepathy, as well as having learned techniques to forcefully shock someone out of his mind by bringing his Gamma induced feelings of rage to the forefront of his thoughts, thus overwhelming the telepath and forcing them to retreat from his mind.^[60]

• Sasquatch Form: After resurrecting into the body ofWalt Langkowski, Samson presumably possesses the same powers Langkowski gained in his Sasquatch form:
  • Superhuman Strength: Leonard presumably possesses enough strength to lift 90 tons like Langkowski could. Although not at strong as the Hulk or other Gamma mutates, he is strong enough to generate shock waves with a handclap.^[61]
  • Superhuman Durability: As Doc Sasquatch Leonard possesses vast resistance to damage and has survived blows from the likes ofStockpile^[53] andSkaar^[62] and can be thrown through a wall without any damage.^[4]
  • Superhuman Speed
  • Superhuman Stamina
  • Regenerative Healing Factor

Former Powers

• Gamma Radiation Enhancements: Doc Samson possesses great superhuman strength, endurance, and resistance to injury. The gamma radiation that transformed Doc Samson fortified his cellular structure, added roughly two hundred pounds of enhanced muscle, bone, and connecting tissue to his body, and turned his hair green (The source of Samson's added mass is unknown, but probably extra-dimensional).Nick Fury's intel classified him as power level 8.^[63]
  • Superhuman Strength: While not exposed to a dosage of gamma radiation as great as theHulk, theAbomination, or even theShe-Hulk, Samson was granted great superhuman strength. As a result of his gamma ray exposure, he possessed sufficient superhuman strength to lift about75 tons.^[64] Samson's strength doesn't fluctuate with surges of adrenaline during periods of heightened emotional states, such as the Hulk does while angry, and as a result he is far less powerful. However, Samson has been able to stalemate an increasingly weakened Mindless Hulk for six hours straight^[65] and to knock out a calm Savage Hulk.^[27] His strength was dependent upon the length of his hair: the longer it was, the stronger he was. His great strength also extends into the powerful muscles of his legs, allowing him to leap great heights and distances, though far less than the Hulk or Abomination. Samson has been known to leap approximately 580 feet straight up into the air, and to a maximum reported distance of 910 feet. His strength no longer depends on the length of his hair, but it may still be affected by it.
  • Superhuman Stamina: As in the case of the Hulk, She-Hulk and Abomination, the gamma ray exposure has dramatically increased the efficiency of Samson's musculature, though not as greatly. As a result, his musculature produces considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a normal human. Samson can physically exert himself at peak capacity for about 24 hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him.
  • Superhuman Durability: Samson's gamma ray enhanced physique is much harder and more resistant to physical injury than a normal human. Samson's skin is able to resist penetration wounds from high caliber bullets or blades composed of most conventional materials. Samson is also physically durable enough to withstand multiple blows from the Hulk, while in an enraged emotional state, and sustain little to no injury. His bones and muscles are strong and resilient enough to be able to survive a fall at terminal velocity reached after free-falling 4,000 feet in a feet-first attitude at 145 miles per hour against sidewalk concrete, provided he lands upright. Even if he doesn't land upright, Samson wouldn't sustain serious physical injury.
  • Retained Consciousness: Samson still contains his memories and cognitive abilities. Samson's superhuman physique isn't the physical manifestation of an alternate personality brought about by exposure to high levels of gamma radiation, whereas the Hulk is an alternate personality of Bruce Banner. This is also a factor as to why Samson doesn't revert to a non-superhuman form.
  • Self-Resurrection: Samson has recently obtained the ability to resurrect himself after dying by passing through theGreen Door.^[13][15][16] According to Gen. Fortean, the time it takes for Samson to resurrect himself shortens after every death.^[17] It can be assumed Samson lost this power after the Leader was separated from theOne Below All, which effectively shut the Green Door.^[66]

• Samson Form: This new form seemed to possess the same powers as Doc Samson but claimed to have strength and speed surpassingShe-Hulk.
  • Superhuman Strength: Samson's strength was said to surpass that of the She-Hulk, and he was therefore capable of lifting far in excess of 100 tons.
  • Superhuman Stamina: It was unknown if Samson's stamina is greater than the Doc Samson's form, like his strength.
  • Superhuman Durability: Samson's durability had not been stated to have changed, but it likely was, as he was capable of receiving blows from She-Hulk without sustaining injury.

• Gifted Intellect: Doc Samson is a skilled psychiatrist, said to be one of the most renowned on Earth.^[67] He is also an M.D. as well as a PhD.^[19] He has used a nutrient bath to separate Banner and the Hulk^[68] and placed a rem-integrator in the Hulk's head to put him to sleep.^[67] He is also a gifted inventor, physician and theoretical technician^[64], having created complex devices like theCathexis Ray Generator.^[3]
• Hand-to-Hand Combat: While he's had no formal training, his powers make him a formidable hand-to-hand combatant. He typically uses street fighting techniques that allow him to make full use of his strength.

• Doc Samson is partly based on the biblical heroSamson, sharing a name and having the same relation between their strength and their hair's length.

• Samson is considered the leading expert on the effects of gamma radiation on both the body and mind. As ofShe-Hulk (Vol. 2) #19, he had published 38 peer reviewed papers on both the psychotropic and physiological aspects of gamma transformations.

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