Digger (Vegas Thirteen) (Earth-616)

Digger
Name	Digger
Aliases	"The Vegas Thirteen"
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Ally of the Syndicate Formerly the Rose's right hand, various New York City mobs
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	7′4″ (2.24 m)
Weight	755 lbs (342.46 kg)
Eyes	Eyeballs: Pink Irises: No Visible
Hair	No Hair At All
Skin	Green
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Gestalt Gamma-irritated human
Living Status	Alive; formerly deceased
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Various
Personal Information
Identity	Public
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Former mobsters
Creators and Appearances
Creators	J. Michael Straczynski, John Romita Jr.
First	Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #51 (March, 2003)
First	Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #51 (March, 2003)

History

On July 3, 1957, seven mafia bosses and their chief lieutenants met at a restaurant in Las Vegas and were killed by a rival boss, Morris Forelli. Their bodies were buried in the Nevada desert and the legend was told of "The Vegas Thirteen". An experimental Gamma Bomb was tested in the area of the grave site, and a patchwork monster consisting of the bodies of the thirteen men came to life. The creature, named "Digger," wanted only vengeance on Forelli.

NYPD Detective William Lamont found a hand print made by Digger, and identified five different fingerprints in it. He sought the help of Spider-Man, who had already been asked for protection by Forelli. Having determined Digger's origins by tracking him back to his original grave and learning what had happened, Spider-Man managed to devise a means of defeating Digger by pushing him so hard that he was unable to maintain his original energy reserves.

Due to his nature as a Gamma-irritated being, the Digger eventually returned to life after passing through the Green Door from the afterlife, and reconstituted himself. He came under the employ of the would-be New York crimeboss Rose.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

Superhuman Strength: Provided by gamma radiation Digger has strength levels close to that of the Hulk but is held back by the continual struggle to hold together the 13 parts of his body. At his peak he can lift around 100 tons. Can break through two cartridges of webbing, 'enough to stop a train' according to Spider-Man. Other feats include crushing a steel bar with his bare hands, digging through tons of debris and punching Spider-Man so hard he created butt imprints in the wall – twice.

Superhuman Durability: The gamma radiation gave him immense durability, regenerating his cells and holding his organs together. Even absent of a circulatory system, or oxygen, they continued to survive dependent on the rays alone. This allowed him to withstand multiple rounds of heavy caliber bullet fire, crashing through walls headfirst, going toe-to-toe with Spider-Man when weakened and surviving multiple story falls. Due to the fact that he is already dead means that he effectively lacks critical points to attack.

Superhuman Speed: The gamma radiation in his body greatly enhances Digger's speed.

Superhuman Agility: Digger's agility is also enhanced by gamma radiation.

Immortality: Being connected to the One Below All, the Digger is incapable of dying, passing on to the metaphysical Green Door when doing so. However, as per Immortal Hulk #50, it's unknown if he retains this ability.

Abilities

Criminal Genius: Composed of thirteen of the most notorious members of the crime families from New York to Nevada, he had all of their memories and skills.

Weaknesses

Dependent on his gamma energy to hold all thirteen parts together, but lacked a living biological structure to keep that energy charged up on its own. Unlike the Hulk, Digger could not revert to human form to recharge his gamma energy, allowing Spider-Man to defeat him by pushing him so hard that his body collapsed. Knowledge of the modern world was several decades out of date due to the time his constituent parts spent dead.

See Also

• 17 appearance(s) of Digger (Vegas Thirteen) (Earth-616)
• 8 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Digger (Vegas Thirteen) (Earth-616)
• 1 mention(s) of Digger (Vegas Thirteen) (Earth-616)
• 6 image(s) of Digger (Vegas Thirteen) (Earth-616)
• 1 item(s) used/owned by Digger (Vegas Thirteen) (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Digger (Vegas Thirteen) on Marvel.com