Arthur Parks was
a brilliant research scientist who invented small but very powerful
laser guns that he could wear on his wrists. He
first clashed with the Avengers
and developed a nutty crush on the Wasp
-- he began wreaking havoc on New York in an attempt to impress her! He
eventually went to jail, but soon busted free with the assistance of the
Mandarin! Parks miniaturized his lasers and had a large array of them implanted in his body to become
a "true" living laser! Count
Nefaria subjected the Laser to a treatment which greatly enhanced his
powers -- but only temporarily (Avengers #164)! It was a ruse by the Count to acquire the
Laser's powers himself (along with those of Power
Man and the Whirlwind)!!
A side effect of Nefaria's scheme was that LL
could not shut off his own laser energy! He apparently "died" in battle with Iron Man after he "overloaded" (IM
#153), but he actually only reverted to a sentient energy being! He
reappeared years later completely disoriented, and was captured by Tony and
Rhodey in armor together (IM #211);
later, Parks took on form as the "ghost" of the
Titanium Man and revealed that the current Iron Man of the time was
indeed the same as the one before the "Armor Wars"
(IM #259).
Parks was finally defeated by Jim Rhodes
in his role as Iron Man: he convinced Parks to become an employee of Stark
Enterprises but realized he was just too dangerous....he lured him into the
focusing chamber of a wide-beam laser aimed at the Andromeda Galaxy -- and
activated it! (IM #289.) There was an "Arthur Parks" who became a
"Living Laser" in "Heroes Reborn" Iron Man,
too (IM vol. 2 #4),
but he was quickly defeated. In Iron Man: the Inevitable, the Laser -- who had become ensnared in a laser weapon as "dormant energy" -- was contained on Stark's company's premises and was subjected to psychotherapy. It didn't go well as Parks killed his therapist! Iron Man ended up sucking up Laser's energy into his armor and putting it into containment. The Laser eventually escaped and joined MODOK and a group of other super-villains (MODOK's 11 #5). He had hoped a device called the Hypernova would return him human form; no such luck as MODOK double-crossed him. Parks is now in a state of "benign energy."
First ever appearance: Avengers #34.
First IM appearance: Iron Man #152.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 15 July 2008 )
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