Hydrobase

Hydrobase
Name	Hydro-Base
Aliases	Avengers Hydrobase, Avengers Island
Location Details
Planet	Earth
Locale	Atlantic Ocean
Creators and Appearances
First	Sub-Mariner #61 (February, 1973)
First	Sub-Mariner #61 (February, 1973)

History

Originally built as a floating oceanography research station disguised to appear as a natural island. It was first used by Dr. Herman Frayne, a.k.a. Doctor Hydro, an insane ecologist. Frayne employed it as a lab and airbase from which to deploy hijacked aircraft. Doctor Hydro wanted to transform the hijacked passengers of five jets into amphibious mer-people. The active ingredient in his transformation catalyst was the Inhumans' mutagenic Terrigen Mist, which he acquired from the renegade Inhuman hybrid Maelstrom.

Following Frayne's death, the five hundred victims of his experiment (known as the Hydro-Men) stayed in residence on the island base, along with marine scientist Dr. Walter Newell, alias Stingray. The Hydro-Men lived there for a few years until Dr. Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, working in conjunction with Inhuman scientists, discovered a way to cure the Hydro-Men. After that time, Stingray used the facility as an oceanographic laboratory and as a residence for himself and his wife Diane.

When the US Federal Aeronautical Association revoked the Avengers' flight privileges from their midtown Manhattan mansion, Dr. Newell invited the group to lease part of the island to create a private airfield on Hydro-Base, which was located only nine miles offshore from New York. The Avengers accepted his offer, relocating their supersonic quinjets to the floating island and constructing the UGABS, or Underground Airbase Shuttle, as a rapid means of transport to it from Avengers Mansion. The Fantastic Four also moved their larger vehicles to the island at that time. As an Avengers outpost, Hydro-Base offered its airliner-capable runway, a Research and Development facility including several robots, and a quinjet hangar. When Avengers Mansion was badly damaged by an attack by the Masters of Evil, the Avengers relocated entirely to Hydrobase while repairs were underway. When the Avengers and Fantastic Four regained their launch privileges, Hydro-Base reverted to the stewardship of Stingray.

Hydrobase was sunk when robots created by Doctor Doom punctured the flotation tubes and caused an explosion. The artificial island was salvaged and re-tasked into a floating instrument platform and surface connection for Hydropolis.

Alternate Realities

Counter-Earth (Heroes Reborn)

File:Avengers Island.png

Counter-Earth's Avengers Island

This complex was originally designed as an operations facility for S.H.I.E.L.D. by Stark Industries, and later hosted the Avengers headquarters. Seeking them out, Loki Laufeyson peered inside the building to see what his old foes were doing.

Thor's strength was tested out here by Henry Pym to find his upper limits.

Residents

Avengers, Namor McKenzie, Namorita, Tamara Kurtz, Joseph Jennings.

Notes

Hydrobase's creator/designer could be the Imperial Japanese scientist who created an artificial island during World war 2[1].

See Also

• 114 appearance(s) of Hydrobase
• 4 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Hydrobase
• 3 minor appearance(s) of Hydrobase
• 14 mention(s) of Hydrobase
• 4 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Hydrobase
• 5 image(s) of Hydrobase

Links and References

References

Template:The Avengers