Franz Mittelstaedt (Earth-616)

Blitzkrieger
Name	Franz Mittelstaedt
Current Alias	Blitzkrieger
Aliases	Blitzkrieg; E-Blitz; Blitz; Generator
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Schutz Heiliggruppe
Relatives	Spouses: Anne Mittelstaedt (wife) Children: Johann Mittelstaedt (son)
Marital Status	Married
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	5′9″ (1.75 m)
Weight	150 lbs (68.04 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Blue
Hair	Brown
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human mutate
Living Status	Deceased
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Backnang, Germany
Place of Death	Buenos Aires
Cause of Death	Killed by Zeitgeist
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	German
Occupation	Mechanical engineer, adventurer
Base of Operations	Stuttgart, Germany
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, Bill Mantlo, John Romita Jr.
First	Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #1 (March, 1982)
First	Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #1 (March, 1982)
Death	Captain America #442 (June, 1995)
Death	Captain America #442 (June, 1995)

History

Mittelstaedt was inspecting an electrical power plant when a stray bolt of lightning struck a faulty generator and bathed him in electricity. When he emerged from his coma weeks later, he found that he could summon lightning at will to wield as a weapon. He decided to use his power in the name of democracy.

Blitzkrieg was chosen by the Grandmaster during the Contest of Champions. He was unable to defeat Storm. He later assisted Captain America (Steve Rogers) during the contest.

Blitzkrieg was one of many heroes across the globe who battled the Dire Wraiths, buying enough time for Forge and Rom to banish them.

Blitzkrieg later joined the Schutz Heiliggruppe and began their pursuit of the Red Skull.

Blitzkrieg was killed by the Everyman.

Attributes

Powers

Electricity Manipulation: Blitzkrieg is able to summon lightning by mentally controlling the electrical charge of his body, other objects, and the particles of dust and water vapor present in the air. All he has to do is mentally give the air one charge (for instance, positive) and an object the opposite charge (negative) and he causes electrostatic energy to spark between them. By controlling how much matter he gives opposite charges, he can control the amount of electricity generated. Because Blitzkrieg's lightning is generated externally rather than internally in the manner Electro, he actually has a greater degree of control over it. He generally does not wield lightning outside of his line of sight for fear of accidentally striking something he does not wish to.

• Electricity Generation: He is able to generate as much as 15,000,000 volts in a single bolt, sufficient force to blast a hole in a cinder-block wall of blister steel plate. With sufficient concentration, he can generate a stroke if lightning several miles in length. The lightning travels at up to half a million feet per second, depending on atmospheric conditions.
  • Magnetized' Lightning: While Electro can only generate an electrical bolt and release it in the general direction of his target, Blitzkrieg creates an ionized "bridge" through the air between the charged target and the uncharged lightning source, usually a large volume of air. While it is possible to dodge one of Electro's bolts by moving faster than he can aim, it is impossible to dodge one of Blitzkrieg's because his lightning is attracted to the target-charges in the very act of its generation. Even if the target-object moved, its opposite charge would attract Blitzkrieg's lightning, causing it to follow until it struck.
  • Air Manipulation: Blitzkrieg is able to harness this lightning for several special effects. By spinning electrically charged particles in a tight circle he can create a whirlwind of near-tornado velocity. By combining it with a continuous arc of lightning between his feet and ground, Blitzkrieg can create a "lightning bridge" capable of bearing him aloft and moving through the sky at velocities of up to 120 miles per hour.

• Lightning Constructs: He can also create objects such as shields, cages, and spheres out of lightning by charging the particles in the atmosphere in strict formations. These objects remain in existence for as long as he can concentrate upon them. This generally is a matter of minutes.

• Electricity Immunity: Blitzkrieg's body is immune to electricity. As long as his brain is still alive, it is able to displace the effects of high voltage.

Weaknesses

He is only limited by extent of his sphere of mental influence over charged particles, which is approximately two miles in radius, and by the presence of lightning objects of energy.

Notes

• The history of this character's name is somewhat complicated:
  • For his first appearances in Contest of Champions #1-3, he was called "Blitzkrieg" (literally "Lightning War"). This named was repeated in his subsequent appearance in Incredible Hulk #279.
  • For the German reprint of Contest of Champions, his name — which in Germany is exclusively associated with World War II, and thus rather inappropriate for a heroic modern-day character — was changed to "E-Blitz", whereas the German reprint of Incredible Hulk #279 simply calls him "Blitz".
  • He received his first official full profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol 1) #2, which gave him his civilian name of "Franz Mittelstaedt". Additionally, even though the profile still used "Blitzkrieg" as his main name, it also gave him the alternate name of "Blitzkrieger" (literally "Lightning Warrior"), which was stated to be his name in Germany.
  • For his next appearances in Captain America #389-393, he was called "Blitzkrieger" within the pages of the story as well.
  • However, since that name still suffers from the same problem as the previous one, the German reprints of those stories changed his name once again, this time to "Generator".
  • Writer Mark Gruenwald met Michael Nagula, the German translator of those stories, at Frankfurt Book Fair 1991. Nagula explained the problems with the characters' name, and Gruenwald asked him to provide him with the new name from the German reprint so he could use it for subsequent appearances.
  • Despite this, for his final appearance in Captain America #442, he is called "Blitzkrieger" again. (This story was never published in Germany due to coming out during a period when the German publisher of Marvel comics changed from Condor Verlag to Panini).
  • Somewhat surprisingly, a later German reprint of Contest of Champions by Panini (released in 2001) that featured an entirely new translation kept the name "Blitzkrieg" unchanged.
• His entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe also revealed his base of operations as being Stuttgart, while his birthplace was named as Backnang, a small town a few miles/kilometers northwest of Stuttgart. However, in the first German reprint of Contest of Champions in Die Rächer Comic-Taschenbuch Nr. 8 by Condor Verlag, his dialogue is changed to include a reference to his base of operations being the German city of Düsseldorf (presumably because the translator of the story wasn't aware of the Handbook entry). This detail is never brought up again in any of the German reprints of his subsequent appearances.

See Also

• 10 appearance(s) of Franz Mittelstaedt (Earth-616)
• 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Franz Mittelstaedt (Earth-616)
• 3 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Franz Mittelstaedt (Earth-616)
• 4 image(s) of Franz Mittelstaedt (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Franz Mittelstaedt on Marvel.com
• Marvel Directory