Mauler (comics)

Mauler (an acronym for Mobile Armored Utility Laser-guided E-beam, Revised) is a name used by four fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Mauler
Brendan Doyle as Mauler battling Iron Man on the cover of Iron Man #156 (March 1982).
Art by Al Milgrom.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceDaredevil #167 (November 1980; Aaron Soames)
Iron Man #156 (March 1982; Brendan Doyle)
Created by(Aaron Soames)
David Michelinie
Frank Miller
(Brendan Doyle)
David Michelinie
John Romita Jr.
In-story information
Alter egoAaron Soames
Turk Barrett
Brendan Doyle
Unnamed criminal
Team affiliationsCord Conglomerate
AbilitiesArmored suit grants:
Superhuman strength
Flight via turbines
Heavy resistance to injury
Internal life support systems
Laser cannon on left arm
Electric shock generator on right arm

Publication history

The first version appears in Daredevil #167 (Nov. 1980) and was created by David Michelinie and Frank Miller.[1]

The second character first appears in Iron Man #156 (March 1982) and was created by David Michelinie; John Romita Jr. and Pablo Marcos.

Fictional character biography

Aaron Soames

Aaron Soames was an elderly, former employee of Cord Conglomerate deprived of his pension benefits by a computer error. Soames stole the prototype suit of Mauler armor in the hopes of punishing Edwin Cord who was indifferent to Soames' plight. Soames had two skirmishes with the hero Daredevil, and after humiliating Cord by symbolically erasing his existence as well by destroying his driver's license, credit cards and other means of personal identification (he did not intend to do him any actual harm), he was killed with advanced weaponry by Cord's men. Daredevil was one of the few mourners at Soames' funeral.[2]

Turk Barrett
Further information: Turk Barrett

The Mauler armor reappears when small-time criminal Turk Barrett steals the armor and attempts to kill Daredevil. Barrett is defeated in seconds by Daredevil.[3]

Brendan Doyle

Later, a mercenary Brendan Doyle is hired by the now imprisoned Edwin Cord to steal the armor from Stark International (the company of Iron Man's alter ego Tony Stark) and destroy all records of the suit design and history. Although successful in stealing the suit, Doyle is prevented from reaching the records by former comrade Jim Rhodes, and decides to keep the suit.[4] As a soldier for hire, Doyle battles the heroes Spider-Man and Wonder Man[5] and encounters Spider-Man once again while trying to retrieve his infant son.[6] Doyle reappears during the Armor Wars when the Mauler armour confiscated by the hero (who is tracking down technology based on his stolen designs).[7]

Doyle eventually gains a new suit of Mauler armor and battles Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight.[8] Jim Rhodes briefly impersonates the Mauler.[9] Doyle returns during the Civil War caused by the Superhuman Registration Act,[10] and encounters superhero team the Avengers.[11]

Brendan Doyle is later recruited by Mandarin and Zeke Stane to join the other Iron Man villains in a plot to take down Iron Man.[12]

Following the death of his 5-year-old son Danny, who had been given up for adoption, in a car accident, Doyle kidnapped a young boy named Bobby Morris under the delusion that he was Danny. Doyle was found by Hyperion, and attempted to use the Mauler suit to kill him until Hyperion managed to persuade him to stop and surrender to the authorities. [13]

Fourth incarnation

Roderick Kingsley later sold one of the Mauler armors to an unnamed criminal. This version of Mauler is seen on Kingsley's side at the time when the Hobgoblin (who was actually the butler Claude) was leading his forces into attacking the Goblin King's Goblin Nation. After Hobgoblin was killed by Goblin King, Mauler was among the villains that defected to the Goblin Underground.[14]

Powers and abilities

The Mauler armor provides heavy protection from physical and energy-based attacks, boosts the wearer's strength and courtesy of turbines allows flight. In addition to internal life support systems, a laser cannon that doubles as an electron particle gun is mounted on the left arm. The right palm of the armor can also generate a high-frequency electric shock.

In other media

Video games
  • The Brendan Doyle version of Mauler appears in the PSP and Wii versions of the Iron Man 2 video game, voiced by Steven Blum. Mauler appears on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier initiating Kearson DeWitt's plan to down the aircraft using bombs. Iron Man disarms the bombs and eventually defeats Mauler. Mauler carries a bomb which Iron Man blasts to defeat Mauler. He then fights and defeats Mauler once again disarming multiple bombs in the process.

References
  1. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 211–212. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  2. Daredevil #167 (Nov. 1980)
  3. Daredevil #176 (Nov. 1981)
  4. Iron Man #156 (March 1982)
  5. Marvel Team-Up #136 (Dec. 1983)
  6. Spectacular Spider-Man #122 (Jan. 1987)
  7. Iron Man #225 (Dec. 1987)
  8. Alpha Flight #113 (Oct. 1992)
  9. Iron Man Annual #16 (1995)
  10. Civil War: War Crimes #1 (Feb. 2007)
  11. Avengers: The Initiative #13 (July 2008)
  12. Invincible Iron Man #513
  13. Avengers vol. 5 #34.1
  14. Superior Spider-Man #26
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