DOCTOR NEMESIS
Real Name: Michael Craig Stockton
Identity/Class: Human, technology user
Occupation: Scientist, criminal
Group Membership:
None;
formerly M'Sieu Tete's gang (Goldie, Shiner);
formerly
employed by Stane International
Affiliations: Former ally of A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics), Goliath (Erik Josten, now Atlas)
Enemies: Ant-Man/Dr.Pym, Creatures from Kosmos; Giant-Man (Bill Foster), Micronauts (Acroyear, Bug, Devil, Marionette, Microtron, Nanotron, Arcturus Rann), Dr. Edwin Earl Hawkins, Tim Boo Ba, Wasp
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Dr. Stockton
Place of Birth: Browning, Rhode Island, USA
Base of Operations:
Lang
Memorial Penitentiary;
(formerly) Stane International's Manufacturing Laboratory, Long
Island, New York;
(formerly) Los Angeles, California;
(formerly) the
Microverse and other Sub-Atomic realms;
(formerly) an AIM
laboratory in Southampton, Long Island
Extent of Education: Unrevealed, presumably extensive
First Appearance: (unidentified) Marvel Feature I#4 (July, 1972); (identified) Marvel Feature I#9 (May, 1973)
Powers/Abilities:
Dr. Nemesis' costume possesses circuitry which apparently
accesses the Pym Particle or a variant, enabling him to grow to
superhuman size or shrink, with similar capabilities to Henry Pym
(although Nemesis could not alter the size of other objects,
without additional help). He adapted his equipment to allow him
to change the weight of an object, without affecting its mass or
volume. This enabled him to throw a normal object, such as a
baseball, and have it strike with the force of a 100 pound object
moving at a similar speed (see comments).
He also used other equipment, such as an electro-magnetic shield, protecting him from physical attack, and the Mass Aquisition Unit. The Mass Aquisition Unit increased the mass (or weight) of itself and/or objects in its vicinity. It presumably did so by drawing from another dimension (possibly the pocket prison realm of Kosmos, or another pocket dimension).
He briefly wore a suit of miniature adamantium armor, designed by Pym, which could fire energy beams from its gauntlets, which caused other beings and objects to shrink out of existence (or at least into the Microverse). The suit's faceplate was made of conventional glass.
Dr. Nemesis had significantly above average intelligence, enabling him to understand and adapt the work of advanced intellects, such as Drs. Henry Pym and Earl Hawkins, although he could not develop such technology on his own. He also has some experience in disguise, or at least likes to change his appearance a lot.
Height:
5' 11"
(variable)
Weight: 181 lbs. (variable)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Bald (wears various wigs)
History:
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone (and the Monster
Hunters)#1 (fb)-BTS) - At some point "ten years ago," the man who would
become Dr. Nemesis invented a way to look into and study subatomic
worlds. While researching them, he stumbled one inhabited by
the
tyrant Tim Boo Ba.
(Marvel Feature I#4 (fb)-BTS) - It's not quite clear, but Dr. Nemesis was apparently associated with the group AIM, and stationed in a laboratory (which appeared to be a trailer) nearby Henry Pym's home and laboratory in Southampton. He had planned to steal Pym's technology, and involved himself in the plot of a criminal known as M'Sieu Tete.
(Marvel Feature I#4)- While not identified, the man who would become Dr. Nemesis was part of M'Sieu Tete's gang, who kidnapped Billy Connors (the son of Curt Connors, the Lizard), in an effort to force him to surrender some experimental narcotics being used by Connors and Pym. Connors was out of town, and so Pym (as Ant-Man), and Peter Parker, (it's a long story) were forced to deal with Tete. Tete injected Parker and Pym with a virus to force their cooperation. Ant-Man and Spider-Man defeated Tete and his gang, and took the antidote, but Ant-Man was trapped at ant size from lasting effects of the virus.
[bts]-the man who would become Dr. Nemesis pilfered Pym's laboratory and built a costume for himself using the size changing circuitry of Pym's Ant-Man cybernetic helmet and his old Giant-Man costume.
(Marvel Feature I#9, 10)- Dr. Nemesis captured Ant-Man and the Wasp, who were exhausted from a series of adventures and physical stresses (go read the Marvel Feature series). Dr. Nemesis cured Pym, allowing him to return to his normal size. However, he kept the Wasp in a state of weakness where she would die unless he gave her further treatments. He used this to force Ant-Man to bring him into Avengers Mansion, where he planned to pilfer their scientific secrets as well. Ant-Man brought him there, but then tricked him into lowering his shields for part of the scanning procedure to enter the mansion. As soon as the shield was down, Ant-Man attacked him, and eventually defeated him using his greater size-changing experience.
(Micronauts
I#42) - Nemesis, seeking
revenge, infiltrated a party held by Janet van Dyne, the Wasp.
Once inside her mansion, he located and donned a suit of
miniature adamantium armor designed,
but never worn, by Pym. He ambushed the Wasp,
and attempted to use the armor's weapons to shrank her out of
existence. She was assisted by the Micronauts, who were trapped
on Earth at the time. Nemesis shrank several of the Micronauts,
but eventually had the energy beam turned back on himself by
Acroyear, and so he disappeared with them.
(Micronauts I#43) - All affected by the energy beam did not "Shrink out of existence," but were instead shunted into the Microverse upon reaching some sub-atomic size. Unlike the Micronauts, Dr. Nemesis, most likely due to interaction with the circuitry in his own costume, continued to shrink after reaching the Microverse, and was soon shunted to even "smaller" dimensions.
[bts]-Eventually
the
energy from the shrinking
effect wore off, and Nemesis returned to Earth, at his normal
size.
(Solo
Avengers#8/2)- Dr.Pym
assisted with the investigation of several Los Angeles crimes
involving size changing abilities. Pym determined it was Dr.
Nemesis performing the crimes as the first three places robbed
were: New Centuries Labs, the Entwiler Family jewels (ha-ha), and
Morgan-Stern Electronics (spelling N.E.M.). Pym figured the next
place robbed would start with an "E", and met up with
Nemesis at Eckman's Electronics. Dr.Pym at the time lacked his
size-changing abilities, but managed to tear open the costume of
Nemesis while he was in giant form, and shrink him out of contact
with his helmet. Pym punched out the normal sized Nemesis.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#113/2-118/2)- Dr. Nemesis, as Dr. Stockton, was employed by Stane International and headed the project that developed the Mass Acquisition Unit (MAU). Working under him on other projects was Dr. Edward Hawkins. Hawkins called in Bill Foster, Giant-Man II (since Pym wasn't available), to assist in some of the evaluation of the Pym Particles. While there the MAU overloaded and caused everything in the area to increase in mass (or weight), until Giant-Man managed to shut it down.
Foster
discussed the
MAU with Hawkins, who
realized the danger present in it, since it could theoretically
accumulate critical mass and act as a warhead. When Giant-Man
attempted to shut the operation down, Stockton revealed himself
as Nemesis, and attacked Giant-Man using his mass/weight altering
powers. Giant-Man overpowered Nemesis, but was confronted by
Goliath IV, who was employed by Nemesis. Goliath overpowered
Foster, and Nemesis attempted to make a deal with Hawkins to
assist him.
Upon reviving Giant-Man questioned Hawkins, who
revealed that he planned to try to stop Nemesis. They confronted
him and requested that he desist. When he refused, Hawkins
threatened to turn him in to the US government. Goliath delayed
Giant-Man while Nemesis took the MAU
aboard a plane to escape.
Giant-Man succeeded in defeating Goliath this time, and Hawkins
delayed Nemesis enough that both he and Giant-Man were able to
board Nemesis' plane before it could take off. Foster knocked out
Nemesis, but not before he could activate the MAU in mid-flight,
causing the plane to take a nose-dive from the sudden increase in
weight. Hawkins made a few alterations in the MAU and then had
Giant-Man attempt to shrink it with him (flood it with Pym
shrinking particles). This succeeded in shunting the mass into
another dimension, but unfortunately the plane went with it.
Giant Man then used the Pym growth particles to generate
"waste anti-gravtions" (at least according to Hawkins),
which cushioned their impact, and saved their lives. Giant-Man
destroyed the MAU, and Dr. Nemesis and Goliath were sent to
prison.
(Marvel
Monsters: From
the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS /
Avengers I#379/2-382/2 - BTS) - When the Creatures From Kosmos
assaulted Earthlings who had used Pym Particles, Dr. Nemesis shrank
down to microscopic size, accessing the Microverse in the process and
ending up on the world of Tim Boo Ba. There, he was captured and
tortured by the tyrant and his minions before returning to his normal
size and escaping.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster
Hunters#1 (fb)-BTS) - Stockton, having put his criminal past behind
him though still incarcerated at Lang Memorial Penitentiary, attempted
to
warn his former enemies about the threat he witnessed years earlier,
that of Tim Boo Ba. None would listen to him, and he
eventually
sent an e-mail to Elsa
Bloodstone. After Tim Boo Ba rampaged through New York,
Bloodstone
replied to Stockton that he had indeed been correct.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#562) - Dr. Nemesis attended a Bar With No Name in New York City, where he and a number of other supervillains watched the Basher challenge Spider-Man to a fight via YouTube. He and a number of other villains placed bets with the Bookie that Spider-Man wouldn't show up, and turned on him angrily when an imposter Spider-Man showed up at the fight. He was still at the bar when the real Spider-Man arrived, following a tip from the imposter.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#563) - Dr. Nemesis and the other supervillains in attendance battled Spider-Man, but they stopped when the bartender reminded them that the Bar With No Name was a sanctuary for those being hunted by the law - which currently included Spider-Man. Spider-Man then pressed the bar's tight-lipped occupants for information on the Bookie, finally extracting some from Deke.
Comments: Created by Mike Friedrich and Craig Russell.
Physics was a long time ago, and its a moot point, because comic book science can do whatever it wants. Nonetheless, I think Nemesis' power would have to affect mass, rather than weight (which is strictly dependent on gravity). Whatever.
Too bad no one's ever followed up on Hawkins' theories involving the Pym Particles and their effects on force and mass...Kurt?
...and
where was Dr.
Nemesis during the
Creatures
from
Kosmos's assault on Pym that affected everyone
else who utilized the Pym Particles, @ Avengers I#379/2-382/2? - The Marvel Monsters book
addressed this
issue - Madison
Dr.
Nemesis was finally
given a full real name in the Marvel Monsters book, of all
places.
Clarifications:
Dr. Nemesis has no known connections to:
images:
(without
ads)
Marvel Comics Presents I#114, p13, pan2 (Dr. Nemesis main image)
Marvel Comics Presents I#114, p14, pan4 (Dr. Nemesis head shot)
(Dr. Nemesis VS Ant-Man)
(Dr. Nemesis without mask)
(Dr. Nemesis with helmet)
Solo Avengers#8, p22, pan4 (Dr. Nemesis VS Dr. Pym)
Marvel Comics Presents I#115, p16, pan4 (Dr. Nemesis posing as Dr.
Stockton)
Marvel Comics Presents I#114, p11, pan5 (MAU)
Appearances:
Marvel Feature I#4 (July, 1972) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), Mike
Friedrich (writer), Herb Trimpe (artist)
Marvel Feature I#9 (May, 1973) - Mike Friedrich (writer), Craig Russell
(pecnils), Frank Bolle (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Marvel Feature I#10 (July, 1973) - Mike Friedrich (writer), Craig
Russell (pencils), Frank Chiaramonte (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Micronauts I#42-43 (June-July, 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Gil Kane
(pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Solo Avengers#8 (July, 1988) - Mike W. Barr (writer), Larry Alexander
(pencils), Jose Marzan (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#113-118 (1992) - Dwayne McDuffie (writer), Ron
Wilson (pencils), Ken Branch (#113, 117), Ron Wilson (#114-116)
& Don Hudson (#118) (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster
Hunters#1 (January, 2006)
Amazing Spider-Man I#562 (August, 2008) - Bob Gale (writer), Mike
McKone (penciler), Andy Lanning (inker), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#563 (August, 2008) - Bob Gale (writer), Mike
McKone (penciler), Marlo Alquiza (inker), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Last Updated: 09/11/10
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