History
Doctor Doom designed this rocket-shaped device to tunnel through earth: It blasts trock in front of it, allowing it to travel under the ground,[1][2] with autonomy to go from Latveria to Wakanda below the Mediterranean Sea.[1] Depending on its speed, the Excavator left behind an open tunnel or only burnt earth.[2] It could also dig land to cause earthquakes and damage the ecosystem either as a weapon or as a side effect while digging for a given valuable mineral.[1] It had three armored airtight compartments and space for up to ten passengers,[2] but could move with a crew of three -including Doom himself and two members of the Latverian Army, Carl and Ramon.[1]
The nuclear-powered Excavator was a very complex device[1][2] that took Doom's dedicated team one year to build, and still several of its pieces were prone to fail, including the neutron regulator[1] and the coils, which tended to overheat in a process that disabled the machine.[3]
The Excavator's maiden voyage was when Doom discovered that Wakanda was rich in valuable Vibranium mineral, which he coveted. After pinpointing the exact position of the deposits using a Hawk Scanner, Doom travelled to Wakanda in the Excavator and starteed digging, causing seismic disturbances and volcanic activity that threatened to destroy the local cities. Doom disregarded the Wakandans' plight, but Wakandan king T'Challa, known as Black Panther of the Avengers, traveled to Wakanda to investigate this.[1]
While Doom was busy repairing the Excavator, the Panther found him and confronted him. Doom captured the Panther and imprisoned him onboard the Excavator, but the Panther managed to escape. Doom disregarded his threat, as he was too busy digging. The Panther confronted the vehicle and threatened to explode the Vibranium -an unstable material- even if he also destroyed his own country. The Panther understood that Doom intended to not only take the metal, but also enslave the population, something that the Panther would never allow. Doom decided to retreat, seeing that the Panther could never be a trustable slave and, should he died, he may became a martyr. Instead, by retiring then, Doom would have lost nothing and learned much, maybe enough to ally with the Panther at a later point; Wakanda and the Panther, however, would have to rebuild. The Excavator reeled and returned to Latveria.[3]
As far as is known, the Excavator is still operative in Doom's possession.[2]See Also
- 2 appearance(s) of Excavator (Doctor Doom's)
- 3 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Excavator (Doctor Doom's)
- 1 image(s) of Excavator (Doctor Doom's)