COCKROACH
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Terrestrial insect, mutate, magic user
Occupation: Would-be World-Conqueror
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: <Cockroach Conspiracy>
Enemies: R. L. Haney, Howard the Duck, Hemlock Shoals
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Uncanny Cockroach
Base of Operations: The Barqu Bookshop, Manhattan, New York City
Appearances: Howard the Duck II#4 (March, 1980)
Powers: The Cockroach possessed superhuman physical abilities, the proportionate strength (enhanced human) and speed of a human-sized cockroach. He possessed barbed limbs which enabled him to climb walls, as well as to slice flesh on contact. He possessed human level intelligence, but also had the conventional weaknesses to poisons, etc.
The Cockroach
possessed the Cosmic Key (The Jeweled Key to the Cosmic
Calculator of Pro-Rata), with which he allegedly could evolve
other forms of life. The Key possessed a number of other innate
magical powers, but the Cockroach lacked the knowledge and
training to access them.
History: (Howard the Duck II#4 (fb) ) - The Cockroach was originally a normal insect within a bookstore in New York City. The owner of the bookstore, R. L. Haney, purchased a large order of books from a dealer in Cleveland, which contained the Cosmic Key (which had been hocked by Howard the Duck in orderr to buy clothing). Unaware of its true nature, Haney placed the Key inside a desk drawer, where it was encountered by the cockroach. Mistaking the Key for food, the hungry cockroach nibbled off the tarnish on the Key, and was filled with magical energy. It staggered back to the paperback section and transformed into a large, humanoid Cockroach.
(Howard the Duck II#4) - Hemlock Shoals, an insectoid native of the extra-dimensional realm Maltesia, came to the Barqu Bookstore on the trail of the Key, which had vanished from his dimension during an encoutner with the sorceror Pro-Rata months before. However, when Shoals located the Key, the Cockroach leaped out of the paperback section and claimed the Key for himself. The Cockroach realized that he could use the Key to similarly evolve an army of Cockroaches and take over the world.
Shoals, Haney, and Howard the Duck (would had traveled to the bookstore alongside Shoals) pursued the Cockroach, hoping to stop him before he could succeed in his plans. The Cockroach evaded all attempts to capture him, until confronted by Howard, who had anticipated the ramshackle hotel that the Cockroach had chosen to search for his fellow insects, and cut him off. The Cockroach attempted to mesmerize Howard with plans of joining him in power, but Howard trapped him in a pre-made glue-trap and took the Key from him. The Cockroach tore free from the glue and came after Howard again, who doused him in a powerful insecticide. In desperation, the rapidly weakening Cockroach leapt at Howard one last time, but he was skewered by the bladed walking stick of Hemlock Shoals, thrown by R. L. Haney. In apparent death, the Cockroach returned to its original form. The Cosmic Key was returned to its rightful home in Maltesia.
Comments:
Created by Bill Mantlo and Gene Colan.
...Of course, the mystic energy within the Cockroach protected him from a seemingly fatal injury, and he slinked off (slunk off?...nah) to return another day. He then likely made contact with the many other cockroaches with paranormal connections.
Clarifications: While no direct connections have been proven, you can find out all about the true secrets of the Cockroach Conspiracy
images:
Last updated: 08/02/02
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters,
Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real
thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at:
http://www.marvel.com