Joseph Conroy (Earth-616)

Joseph Conroy was a steel worker who worked at a steel mill visited by Thor. Thor's magical uru hammer had been damaged following a battle with the Destroyer, so he stopped in to use the Paretta Steel Mill's machinery to repair it. Conroy found a flake of the hammer and used it as a good luck chain.

When the steel mill fell under Maggia control, Conroy threatened to expose Paretta to the police. To keep him quiet, Paretta ordered another employee to push Conroy into a vat of electrified, white-hot liquid metal. Conroy was mutated by the combination of the molten steel and the mystical uru chip he wore around his neck, and as a result he was transformed into a superhumanly strong humanoid creature composed of flaming "living slag" who could radiate intense heat and drain energy from power sources. Wonder Man and Iron Man, who had been visiting the steel mill, tried to oppose Inferno but he defeated them and chased Paretta through Pittsburgh. The Avengers tried to stop him but could not defeat him. When Captain America promised that Paretta would go to jail, Inferno was satisfied and killed himself by walking into a nearby river.

Later, the Grim Reaper resurrected a number of former Avengers foes as pawns, Inferno included. Inferno attacked Crystal, but before he could kill her the Grim Reaper lost control of his pawns, and was drawn by Lloigoroth into a dimensional vortex along with Inferno and the rest of the Legion of the Unliving.

Attributes

Powers

Conroy was altered by exposure to molten steel and a flake of Thor's enchanted mallet Mjolnir. Conroy became a huge creature of molten steel & slag, and radiated great heat at all times as a result. He could increase the amount of heat he radiated at will, and could project molten steel from his body. Inferno possessed great superhuman strentgh, at least class 50, and possibly reaching class 100, and was sufficiently durable to withstand several blows from Wonder-Man with ease, although at times he also appeared semi liquid and could allow bullets to partially pass through him (and presumably melt!). Due to the Uru flake imbedded within Inferno's right palm he was also endowed with Mjolnir's energy re-directing properties and could also absorb and re-direct elecrical energy such as he did with Iron Man's armour.

Abilities

Could sense whereabouts of Vince Paretta & Tim Turpin

Weaknesses

Mute in Inferno form, and also possibly suffered from reduced decision making processes, acting more out of pure vengeance than any obvious cognitive mental faculties.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

n/a

Weapons

n/a

Transportation

n/a

Notes

Joseph Conroy's mutation was heavily implied to be due solely to the flake of Uru from Mjolnir that he carried as a good luck charm key-ring which after the attempt at killing him became part of his right palm.

Trivia

In Conroy's first appearance in Journey into Mystery # 120 when he met Thor, his character was not specifically named.

Links and References

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/infer2.htm

References