Robert Hunter
was an eccentric retired electrical engineer who operated a ham radio as
a hobby. The Lunatic Legion,
a band of renegade scientists of the extraterrestrial Kree,
monitored Hunter's broadcasts and chose him to become their agent. They
took him to a hidden genetics laboratory and genetically reengineered Hunter's
body to endow him with the power to explode
his body's molecules and reassemble them at
will. Dubbing him Nitro, they sent him to acquire Compound
Thirteen, a dangerous nerve gas being developed
by the U. S. Army. He was opposed by the Kree warrior Captain
Mar-Vell, however, and Mar-Vell defeated him
by adding the transformational energy of his body exchanging atoms with
those of Rick Jones to Nitro's own concussive energy. This caused Nitro's
particles to become dispersed farther apart than he could readily recall
them. Nevertheless, It was Nitro who exposed Mar-Vell to the deadly nerve
gas that eventually killed him. (Captain
Marvel #34.)Nitro can transform any and
all portions of his body into an explosion, damaging everything within
his area, and reducing himself to a gaseous state. If he limits his explosive
power to his hands, he can punch victims or objects with great force. If,
while he is in his gaseous state, any fraction of his body is separated
from the rest, he cannot reform. Most recently, he accepted
a contract from the Mandarin
to battle Iron Man,
but was again defeated. Iron Man,
who detected an emission of a certain frequency
just before each explosion, deduced that this is what causes Nitro to explode.
He duplicated the signal, weakening Nitro by repeated explosion, then knocked
him out and built a signal inhibitor
so that Nitro could no longer explode as he wants. Nitro was again remanded
to custody.
First ever appearance: Captain Marvel #34.
First IM appearance: Iron
Man vol. 3 #15. (Thanks to the Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe for the info assist.)
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 July 2008 )
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