Marvel Database
Register
Advertisement

History

Much of Jamie Madrox's early history mirrors that of his Earth-616 counterpart.

After the mutation of humankind due to the release of the Terrigen Mist into the Earth's atmosphere, Multiple Man stationed duplicates of himself in every city in the world, becoming a street informer priding himself on the ability to convey anything to anyone, provided the price was right.[1]

Multiple Man's movements were not well documented until three years after the defeat of the Skull and the Celestials in New York. Sources indicate that Multiple Man (or one of his duplicates) had joined on as an assistant to Beast in Wakanda, working at maintaining security at the wild life preserve set up there following a meat shortage.[2]

It is presently unknown if Multiple Man recalled all his duplicates, or if the one stationed in Wakanda was indeed the original. However, the facts indicate that there was at least one Multiple Man located in the region of Canada at this point in time.

It can be identified that during his stay in Wakanda the lack of meat as a source of food may have played into the events that eventually unfolded, however the exact time frame of events can only be isolated to the point in which the Church of Immortus began taking down the various Human Torches that were constructed to burn the Terrigen Mists out of the atmosphere.

Either Madrox or one of his duplicates somehow managed to get trapped outside of the dome that maintained Wakanda's original African climate (a shifting of Earth's polarity caused Africa to become a frozen wasteland, an artificial environment was constructed to maintain Wakanda's original habitat to sustain the wild life reserve) and was forced to eat one of his duplicates in order to survive in the frozen wasteland. In doing so, Madrox invoked the curse of the Wendigo.[3]

With his powers now in the grips of a mindless killing machine, the Wendigo was responsible for destroying the Human Torch stationed in Canada and killing most of the members of the super-hero group Alpha Flight.[2]

After many attacks on Wakanda, the Wendigo finally made their way into the wild life preserve around the time Mar-Vell and a group of his followers came to the Black Panther seeking the Cosmic Cube, the heroes soon aided in defeating the Wendigo. After the battle Mar-Vell and a number of his followers left with the Cosmic Cube leaving the X-Men behind to aid the Wakandan's in moving their sanctuary to the Savage Land.[4]

During their trek they were attacked numerous times by the seemingly endless army of the Wendigo, little realizing that the being carrying the Wendigo "curse" was Madrox himself. It wasn't until an attack by the Wendigo was interrupted by a Tyrannosaurus Rex that they found a Wendigo in mid-duplication (with the emerging duplicate in human form), making them realize that they were fighting Jamie.[3]

Eventually during the final battle against the Wendigo, the X-Men with the aid of the Wakandan army and the Ani-Men, managed to drive all the Wendigo into a giant flaming pyre to destroy them all. After the flames subsided, Beast found the last surviving Multiple Man in the final moments of his life. Madrox then admitted his act of cannibalism, thus revoking the "curse" of the Wendigo before finally dying.[3]

It is presumed that Multiple Man currently resides in the Realm of the Dead, as he was not seen in Mar-Vell's Paradise following these events.

Attributes

Powers

Duplication: The Multiple Man has the same ability of duplication that his Earth-616 counterpart has. This was caused by genetic mutation through birth that matured with puberty. This original mutation can be attributed to Celestial manipulation and that he contained the genetic "Seed" planted in the human race centuries ago. It is unknown the number of duplicates he can create at one time, however when carrying the "Curse" of the Wendigo, he was able to create a large army. His duplicates share in his knowledge as well as sensations as pain. It also appears that when in Wendigo form the creatures hunger is magnified by the number of duplicates that have been created.

Curse of the Wendigo: It has been revealed by X-51 that humanity has three tiers of mutation, one of them being that ones mutation is defined by belief. The "Curse" of the Wendigo is the idea that one who commits an act of cannibalism or similarly atrocious crime against a fellow human would be cursed with becoming the mythical creature known as the Wendigo at night. It is possible that this curse is triggered by the third tier of mutation, and that Madrox's ability to become the Wendigo is based solely on the idea that he believed so much in the legend of the Wendigo that his personal act of cannibalism on one of his duplicates was the cause of the actual transformation.

Additionally, it was revealed by X-51 that all mutations of a bestial nature (ie, Wendigo, the Beast, Man-Wolf) are actually an evolutionary step backwards, in that these mutations are closer to the physiology of humans as they would be if they were never manipulated by the Celestials (such as the group of humans that Wolverine is descendant of.) The full potential of this evolutionary back step is unknown.

As the Wendigo, Multiple Man has all the same abilities as the Earth-616 Wendigo, however he is still capable of using his ability to multiply. Each duplicate quickly changing into a Wendigo upon creation. As mentioned above, this duplication also amplifies the Wendigo's feelings, which are usually centered around hunger.

See Also

Links and References

References

Advertisement