The FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER

Real Name: None

Identity/Class: Human, composed of composite of multiple human corpses

Occupation: Caretaker?

Group Membership: Legion of the Unliving, an unidentified arctic tribe of outcasts;
    possibly the First Line (see comments)

Affiliations: Charles Barnabus, the Berserker android, "Bride of Frankenstein," Elsa Bloodstone, Ulysses Bloodstone, Ralph Caccone, Children of the Damned, Sean Farrell, Veronica Frankenstein, Victoria Frankenstein, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Ivan (formerly), James, Judith Klemmer (SHIELD), Lenore, Man-Wolf (John Jameson, very loose alliance), N'Kantu (the Living Mummy), Eric Prawn, Lissa Russell, Spider-Man, Robert Walton IV, Werewolf (Jack Russell, very loose alliance), Julia Winters;
    former pawn of Kang

Enemies: Avengers (while under Kang's control), Berserker android, Brotherhood of Baal, Carmen and Marguerita Burnemissza, Henry Clerval, the Colonel and his giant spider, Dracula, Drako, Dreadknight, ICON (Cardinal, Indigo, Rainbow, Werner Schmidt, Zandor), Ivan, the Jigsaw Monster, Dr. Walston Kraft and the Frankenclones, Lord Nosferatu and his Nosferatu vampires, Master (James Sinoda), "Father" McCauley and his monsters, Derek McDowell, Rumor, Ludwig von Shtupf, Owen Wallach; Elizabeth, Victor, Vincent, and William Frankenstein

Known Relatives: None; Victor Frankenstein (creator)

Aliases: Frankenstein (incorrectly), The Frankenstein monster, the monster of Frankenstein, the monster, "Handsome", Frank (see comments), Adam

Base of Operations: Castle Frankenstein, Ingolstadt, Bavaria, western Germany (site of creation)

First Appearance: (in Marvel comics) X-Men I#40 (January, 1968);
    Monster of Frankenstein#1 (January, 1973)

Powers: The monster is 8' tall and possesses superhuman strength (enhanced human to Class 10) and durability. Under some circumstances he can be placed under suspended animation by intense cold. He has exceptional resistance to pain, and heals rapidly from many types of injury. He possesses an irrational fear of flame. (Fire...bad!). His skin varies in appearance from ghastly white to grey in color, and it is slightly decomposed. His skin is scarred in the areas where his body was sewn together.

Height: 8’
 Weight: 325 lbs.
 Eyes: Brown
 Hair: Brown 


History:
(Monster of Frankenstein#1 (fb)) - In the late Eighteenth Century, Victor Frankenstein (a brilliant student in chemistry and the biological sciences at the University of Ingolstadt and the heir to a Swiss barony) embarked on experiments to create artificial life. Frankenstein hoped to create a new species of humanoid life, and by doing so, to learn how to reanimate the dead and thus discover a means for human immortality.

(Monster of Frankenstein#1 (fb) / Frankenstein Monster#16) - In the late Eighteenth Century, Victor Frankenstein (a brilliant student in chemistry and the biological sciences at the University of Ingolstadt and the heir to a Swiss barony) embarked on experiments to create artificial life. Frankenstein hoped to create a new species of humanoid life, and by doing so, to learn how to reanimate the dead and thus discover a means for human immortality.

Frankenstein was horrified by his monstrous creation, and doubly so when it refused to obey him, and instead advanced on him. Frankenstein tried futilely to destroy the monster, but managed to distract it with fire, and fled.

 

(Monster of Frankenstein#2(fb)) - The monster wandered the woods for days, eventually killing a bear for food and warmth (I believe that's its pelt he continues to wear). He eventually wandered near a village, where he learned how to speak from its inhabitants. In secret, he helped provide for one of the families. He saved an old blind man from a wolf, and then befriended him, but when the rest of the family came back, they assumed the monster was attacking the old man, and drove him off. Enraged at his own existence, the monster sought to bring pain to its creator, and killed his brother, William Frankenstein.

(Monster of Frankenstein#1-2(fb)) - The monster found Victor Frankenstein again and coerced him into creating a mate for him, in the same fashion as his own creation. The monster assisted in the gathering of corpses to build his mate, and when his patience began to fade, he even killed a woman to speed the process. Frankenstein again succeeded in his creation, but after seeing his creation shambling around the room, he realized what he had done. Frankenstein slew the would-be "Bride of Frankenstein" and fled before the monster could discover it.
The monster found the body just as Frankenstein's friend, Henry Clerval, arrived to check on him. The monster slew Cerval and fled into the wild again.

(X-Men I#40 / Monster of Frankenstein#3(fb)) - The monster continued to follow and torment Frankenstein, and eventually murdered Elizabeth, Frankenstein's bride, on the very night of their wedding. Frankenstein eventually recovered from this tragedy and set out to slay the monster himself. The monster confronted Frankenstein near the Arctic Circle, but Frankenstein fell through a crack in the ice into the icy waters. The monster learned that Victor had been rescued aboard a ship led by Robert Walton. However, by the time he caught up to him, Victor Frankenstein had died.

(Monster of Frankenstein#4 (fb)) - The monster met up with and befriended a tribe of misshapen outcasts in the Arctic wilderness. The tribe was eventually slain by another, who overcame the monster with sheer weight of numbers, and left him for dead. The monster recovered, but soon after fell into the arctic waters, where he sank and entered a state of suspended animation.

(Monster of Frankenstein#1-4) - In January, 1898, the monster was found, still frozen in ice by Robert Walton IV, the great-grandson of the man who had encountered it in the past. Walton brought the form aboard his ship, where it eventually thawed. The crewmen were fearful of and attacked the monster, who responded by slaying all of them except Walton, Sean Farrell (a young shipmate), and Canute (Walton's guide). Harsh weather conditions and the destruction of their ship had badly injured the three survivors. The monster brought them to the former home of the outcasts and tried to save them, but one by one, they all perished. Before he died, Robert Walton told the monster that there was another living Frankenstein.

(Monster of Frankenstein#5) - The monster saved a woman, Lenore, who was being burned at the stake by her village. The monster fell in love with her, but she soon disappeared. He found a werewolf attacking a nearby village and assumed it had taken Lenore as well. After he killed it, he found that the werewolf actually was Lenore.

(Legion of Monsters: Werewolf#1/2 (fb) - BTS) - Frankenstein's monster came to live in seclusion in the cellar of an unidentified priest. The priest allowed him to live in peace and kept his existence secret.

(Legion of Monsters: Werewolf#1/2) - Other Priests instructed the priest giving sanctuary and a home to the Frankenstein monster to have the monster take care of Father McCauley, who was posing as a priest and killing others to make his own Frankenstein-esque monsters. Frankenstein's monster read McCauley's notes and learned what he had done. McCauley offered the monster to join his family, but the monster declined, revealing his instruction to end McCauley. McCauley sent his monsters to destroys Frankenstein's monster, but he destroyed all but one of them. The most powerful one, an immense giant, threatened to destroy him, but the monster grabbed a torn electrical cable and touched the monster's head with it, blowing both that monster and McCauley apart.
    Returning briefly to the priest, the monster then slew him for pushing him back into a life of violence.

(The Frankenstein Monster#6) - Returning to Ingolstadt in search of the last Frankenstein, the monster ran afoul of a crazy Colonel, who captured people to feed to a giant spider. The monster slew the spider, and flooded the base of the Colonel, possibly killing him, as well.

(Frankenstein Monster#7-11) - The monster saved a gypsy woman, Carmen, from Drako, a lust-crazed kyphotic (hunchback). This earned him the friendship of Carmen's grandmother, Marguerita, who welcomed him into their gypsy troop of performers. Marguerita promised to bring the monster to the last Frankenstein, whom she claimed was dead. She had him open a cave sealed by an immense rock and pry open a giant tomb to prove it to him. However, instead of the last Frankenstein, the tomb contained Dracula. Marguerita revealed herself to be a vampire, and removed the stake from Dracula, resurrecting him.
The monster slew Marguerita, and after an inconclusive struggle Dracula (weak after his period of...death), fled to refuel. The monster was soon after captured by the village tribe to be burnt at the stake, but he broke free and returned to Carmen. Carmen, however, was also a vampire, and bit into his neck. He knocked her away and then slew her, but in the process, his larynx was damaged, rendering him mute. The monster caught up to Dracula, used a cross to prevent him from entering his coffin as the sun came up, and then staked the weakened vampire lord. Frankenstein: 1, Dracula: 0
No sooner had the monster slain Dracula than he encountered Vincent Frankenstein. The monster sought to kill Vincent, but the monstrous Ivan (another giant kyphotic man) defended him . Ivan proved to be stronger than the monster and subdued him, long enough for Vincent to reveal his plans to give the monster a new, more normal body. Vincent's plan involved a brain transplant, which he'd never tried before, but was quite hopeful. In addition, Vincent planned to place Ivan's brain into the monster's body. Nonetheless, circumstances (anesthetic drugs, an inability to speak, and perhaps a lot of not-to-brightness), conspired to foil the plans, and Vincent ended up shooting and seemingly killing Ivan. Vincent's wife, also named Lenore, died in childbirth, and her mid-wife, Betty, blamed Vincent for leaving her. Betty killed Vincent, and the monster (who had no idea another Frankenstein had been born) wandered off again.

(Frankenstein Monster#12, pg.1-5) - The monster, while wandering the mountains, was attacked by a pack of wolves.

(Avengers I#131, 132, Giant-Size Avengers#2) - The monster was pulled out of time into the realm of Limbo, to serve in Kang's Legion of the Unliving against the Avengers. Under Kang's control, the monster attacked Don Blake, smacking him around a few times, before he turned into Thor and put a quick stop to that. As time went on (or the equivalent, in Limbo), Kang's control over the monster faded. The monster stopped a still-controlled Wonder Man from destroying the Vision, and was eventually returned to his own time.

(Frankenstein Monster#12, p6-23) - The monster defeated the wolves, but fell off a cliff and again found himself in suspended animation in the icy waters below.
In the second half of the twentieth century, an oil tanker ran into an iceberg, which contained the frozen body of the monster. The crew hauled it aboard the tanker and thawed the monster out. The ship's medics planned to turn their find over to the authorities, but Chad (the crewmen who had first seen the monster) had other plans. Chad and his brother Billie (who owned a carnival) clocked the guard from behind and stole the still-comatose monster. Billie paid Chad well for the find, and he featured the inert monster in a tank in his carnival, where it was seen by Derek McDowell, who recognized the monster for what it really was.

(Monsters Unleashed#2) - Derek's girlfriend attempted to destroy the monster to keep him from it, but she only killed herself in the process. The monster rampaged through the carnival until subdued by a bazooka shell.

(Monsters Unleashed#4) - Derek McDowell obtained the monster and revived it. McDowell's partner, Dr. Owen Wallach, was dying, and so McDowell sought to use the monster to obtain a healthy body into which he could transfer Wallach's brain. The monster, despite McDowell's control-electrodes, couldn't quite get it, and kept smashing the skulls of his victims, rendering them useless. McDowell finally transferred Wallach's brain into the monster itself. Wallach was not pleased, and used his new monstrous form to strangle McDowell and then throw him into the harbor. Wallach planned to find a new body for himself. Meanwhile, the monster's brain hung out in a jar.

(Monsters Unleashed#5/8) - Wallach (in the monster's body) sought a new, normal and healthy body for himself. He targeted a trapeze artist, James, and forcibly took him from the circus in which he worked. He used the Molecular Transposer (a device of his own creation able to electronically transfer the brain of one person into another), planning to swap his own body for James's. However, while he was held inert in the transfer process, one of his laboratory rats escaped, ran up James's leg, and underneath the transfer helmet. Instead of his intended switch, Wallach's brain was switched with the rat's. The rat, disoriented in the monster's immense frame, swatted (but didn't kill) James, and then smashed its old body, killing Wallach in the process. The rat/monster then broke out of the laboratory and went on a rampage in the city of Manhattan.

(Monsters Unleashed#6) - Another psycho, known as the Master (James Sinoda), sought the body of Frankenstein's monster for his own purposes. Possessing some training in voodoo, the Master somehow revived the dead and decayed form of McDowell, and sent it (still possessing its own mind and will) back to retrieve the monster. Unaware of what had gone on while he was dead, Derek found the unconscious form of James, and used Wallach's Molecular Transposer to transfer his mind with James's. Derek, now in a strong and healthy form, used a tranquilizer gun to subdue the monster, and brought it back to the laboratory. Derek used the Transposer to remove the new brain from the monster (thinking it was Wallach's), and return its own brain to its rightful body. Derek was bewildered when he saw the tiny brain (from the rat) that had been transferred out of the monster's body. He was intently trying to figure it out when the monster removed itself from its restraints, and smashed Derek from behind, killing him again. (The rat's brain presumably remains within the nutrient tank in that laboratory)

(Monsters Unleashed#7) - The trapeze artist James, now trapped in the decomposed form of McDowell, befriended the monster. The Master manipulated James, causing him to lead the monster to his own base. After introducing himself to the monster, the Master removed his influence from James, returning the body to its previously dead state.

(Monsters Unleashed#8) - The Master attempted to coerce the monster to join his band of freaks to gain revenge on Julia Winter, a girl who rebuffed his advances in the past. The monster refused, but was subdued by several drugged darts, and forced to watch as the Masters' army of "Freaks" kidnapped the woman and prepared to disfigure her. The Master's Freaks turned on him after learning he was not truly deformed at all. The monster broke free from his restraints and rescued Julia, leaving the Master and his Freaks in the collapsing building.

(Monsters Unleashed#9) - The monster carried Julia Winter to safety, and wandered through town, getting into all kinds of trouble. During his adventure, he fell in love with Julia, and imagined she loved him, too. When she woke up and saw him standing there, she threw rocks at him and ran away.

(Monsters Unleashed#10) - The monster wandered aboard a train, where he seemingly foiled an assassination attempt on the president of the USA. It turned out to be a decoy...the president wasn't really there. He met and befriended a young woman aboard the train, and she guided him to help stop the would-be assassins. The woman accepted him for what he was, and good-naturedly named him as "Handsome." Knowing he would have trouble with the authorities, she sent him away before they reached the station, and she was killed when the train was blown up, the final plan of the unwitting assassins.

 

 

 

 

(Legion of Monsters#1) - The monster followed a girl dressed as a princess into a costume party, where he fit right in. At this party, he got into a mock struggle with a guy dressed as a wolfman, had his first (and second through sixth) tastes of alcohol, and enjoyed a dance with a pretty woman (for about two seconds, when he fell down on the dance floor). However, as his luck would have it, the woman's husband later murdered her and framed the monster. The monster escaped the party and killed the man, who was costumed as a jester.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Marvel: The Lost Generation#5) - (see comments)- Sometime during the 1960s, "Frank" was a part of the super-hero group known as the First Line. In one adventure, he helped defeat Rumor, who was using the goddess Venus in a plot to take over the youth of America. This struggle involved them with Captain Hip and Sunshine, and brought Frank into another conflict with Thor.
    Further detail in a full profile on Frank

BTS - At some point, the monster apparently became allies with Ulysses Bloodstone.

(Frankenstein Monster#12, p.26+27) - The monster returned to the streets of Manhattan.

(Giant-Size Werewolf#2) - The monster overheard talk of Danton Vayla, a Los Angeles based cult-leader claiming to be able to perform transmigration of souls. He stowed away on a train to L.A. and encountered the Brotherhood of Baal, the cult serving Vayla. The cult-leader understood the monster's desire to gain a normal body and offered to perform the transmigration process on him. Unknown to the monster, the process required the sacrifice of another human, and the Brotherhood of Baal had captured Lissa Russell as their intended sacrifice. This brought them into conflict with Jack Russell, the Werewolf, who came to rescue her. The monster initially overpowered the Werewolf, but after learning what Vayla had planned (including placing his demon-lord into the monster's body), he saved the Werewolf from Vayla's sacrificial blade. The monster slew Vayla and was joined by the Werewolf in attacking the cult. The resultant battle brought down the cult's mansion, but the monster, the Werewolf, and Lissa Russell all escaped.

(Frankenstein Monster#13-15) - The monster stowed away on a plane and returned to Manhattan, where he met and befriended Ralph Caccone. Ralph learned who the monster really was, and brought him home to meet his dad, a geneticist whom he thought could grow a normal body for the monster (cloned from another person's cells). However, his father's experiments had gone awry (a direct result of sabotage by his mother) and resulted in the formation of the Jigsaw Monster, which slew both of Ralph's parents. The Frankenstein monster fought off the Jigsaw Monster, and the two subsequently encountered two separate factions, each of whom wanted the monster: Eric Prawn, a private investigator hired by Veronica Frankenstein, and the organization ICON: the Internal Crime Organization Nexus.
ICON used force (and threats against Ralph) to force the two to come to the warehouse, the base of Operation: Marauder. ICON was in the business of world takeover, and had begun a plot to create an army of undead warriors for this purpose. Their warriors were somewhat lacking in the intellect department, and they wished to open of the monster's head and check out his brain, to see why he was different from their undead servants. Prawn broke into the warehouse and attacked the warriors of ICON, at the same time as did the Jigsaw Monster, who had tracked down the Frankenstein monster and wished revenge for its previous pain. In the ensuing struggle, the warehouse was destroyed, as was Operation: Marauder.

(Frankenstein Monster#16) - Prawn flew Ralph and the monster to the Swiss Alps, to the chalet of Veronica Frankenstein . Veronica offered to make amends for her ancestor's actions, and performed surgery on the monster's larynx, restoring to him the ability to speak. ICON, however, had not given up on the monster, and since they had known of Veronica's desire to meet the creature, they flew to her chalet as well. They sent some of their remaining undead warriors, as well as the android Berserker to retrieve the monster. Prawn and Ralph succeeded in fighting off ICON until the surgery was done, at which point the monster revived and incapacitated the Berserker.

(Frankenstein Monster#17) - The monster wandered out into the snowy mountains to contemplate his existence, and ICON used an agent of theirs within the chalet to reactivate the Berserker, and sent it after the monster. After some struggle, the monster ripped the android's arm off, but then he sympathized with its pain, and they became friends.

(Frankenstein Monster#18) - As the monster and the Berserker wandered the Alps, they were assaulted by the Children of the Damned, who managed to destroy the android and subdue the monster. They brought the monster to the castle (Castle Frankenstein II) of their mistress, the Baroness Victoria Frankenstein, who told the monster that he was very bad, and that he must serve her.

(Marvel Team-Up I#36-37) - Baron von Shtupf (the Monster Maker) teleported the monster to his castle (apparently somewhere in the Balkans). The Monster Maker sought to create an army of super-powerful warriors, based on the results of his dissection of a number of superhumans he would capture. His next target was Spider-Man, who joined forces with the monster to break out of the castle. The monster and Spider-Man joined forces with Judith Klemmer, agent of SHIELD (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division) to take down von Shtupf.
In the meantime, von Shtupf had acquired a third potential victim--the Man-Wolf--which resulted in a three-way struggle between the heroes. Eventually, however, Spider-Man and the monster confronted and captured von Shtupf. Spider-Man brought in the Man-Wolf, and the monster wandered off, apparently returning to Castle Frankenstein II.

(Iron Man I#102(fb)) - The monster was residing with Victoria and the Children when she took in and nursed back to health Bram Velsing, a man who had crossed Dr. Doom and subsequently had a grotesque mask "bio-fused" to his face. Velsing, however, had plans of his own, and took Victoria hostage, forcing the Monster and the Children to obey him.

(Iron Man I#101-102) - Iron Man was shot down while flying over Yugoslavia and crashed a short distance from Castle Frankenstein II. He was taken back to the castle by the monster and the Children, in hopes that he could stop Velsing, who was now calling himself the Dreadknight. Velsing, however, ambushed, subdued and bound Iron Man and the monster. The Dreadknight then tortured Victoria, trying to force her to give him the notes of her ancestor, Victor Frankenstein (which she didn't have). Torturing Victoria pushed the monster too far, and he broke his restraining chains, freeing Iron Man in the process. Iron Man battled the Dreadknight and knocked him from his airborne steed, and the monster kicked away the Dreadknight's handhold, causing him to fall some distance and smack his head on the stone steps of the castle.

(Dr. Strange III#37 - BTS) - The monster stayed with Victoria for a time, but had "gone his own way" by the time Victoria took in Borgo, who encountered Dr. Strange as the "Frankensurfer."

BTS - The geneticist Dr. Walter Kraft came upon the idea of creating an army of clones of the Frankenstein monster (he even had it figured out how they'd all be just like him, despite the fact that he was made of pieces of many separate people). Kraft somehow located Ivan, the monster's old sparring partner from the 19th Century. By revealing his plan, and promising to transfer Ivan's mind into one of the Frankenclones, Kraft obtained Ivan's allegiance.

(Spider-Man Unlimited#21 (fb) ) - Ivan located the monster at Castle Frankenstein II, convinced him that Kraft could make him into a real man, and took him to Kraft's Swiss castle. (Ivan returned to Castle Frankenstein and imprisoned Victoria Frankenstein to prevent her from interfering).

(Spider-Man Unlimited#21) - Kraft succeeded in making an army of Frankenclones without the monster's knowledge. Spider-Man flew to Alps to cover a story on Kraft and the International Council on Cloning and Genetic Research. Uncomfortable about the whole clone thing (Aren't we all?!!!), Pete knew something was up after running into the monster and Ivan, who threatened him while he was snooping around Kraft's castle. Spidey traveled to Castle Frankenstein, where he found and freed Victoria, and learned what had been going on. He next investigated Kraft's lab and found the Frankenclones. Spidey told the monster what was going on, but Ivan tried to stop them from investigating any further. Realizing it must all be true, the monster battled Ivan, eventually breaking his neck and killing him...for good this time!
    Spidey showed the monster the Frankenclones, but Kraft then activated the clones to try to prevent them from putting a halt to his plans. Furious, the monster set the lab on fire, and Spidey pulled him out just before the whole thing blew up. The monster left Peter to return to Castle Frankenstein, as Kraft pulled himself from the wreckage of the castle, swearing revenge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Bloodstone#1-4) - Acting as caretaker of the magical possessions of Ulysses Bloodstone, Adam encountered Elsa Bloodstone, and explained who her dad really was. He gave her a choker with a fragment of the Bloodgem on it, which grafted itself to her. Adam encountered Elsa on a mission to Egypt, where they and N'Kantu the Living Mummy, stopped the demon Rakses. Adam finished off Rakses, cracking his head off with a shovel.
    Adam was decapitated by a group of vampires seeking Charles Barnabus (another vampire and the executor of the Bloodstone estate), but that was only a minor inconvenience (let's just chalk that up to the energy of the Bloodgem fragment...or something). Adam reattached his head and assisted Elsa in rescuing Barnabus and stopping the plot of the Nosferatu vampires.

 

(Ghost Rider VI#33 - BTS) - Deacon and Blackout considered him as a possible agent in their fight against Ghost Rider (Blaze).

 

 

Comments: Created by Mary Shelly.
    Adapted to Marvel Comics by Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog.

    This entry deals only with the Frankenstein monster as it has been adapted to Marvel Comics. Part of this profile is adapted from the various versions of the OHotMU.

    On the off chance that this overdose of info doesn't satisfy you, you can find even more info under the Frankensteins.

    When the Monsters Unleashed storyline (entitled "Frankenstein 1973", and then "1974") was written in the nineteen-seventies, it was presumably supposed to take place in modern continuity. Nonetheless, the monster never encountered anyone from the modern age of comics (or any other age, for that matter!). Dr. Strange's "Book of the Vishanti" history of the Frankensteins places the stories in the modern era, but there are other incorrect facts in the history as well, including the death of Borgo (who was still alive). Other than that, there is nothing to tie those stories to the modern era, and so there's no reason it couldn't have taken place decades before Fantastic Four#1.
    Which brings us to Marvel: The Lost Generation#5, and Frank. Here we have a grey-skinned, dark haired guy, with superhuman strength and durability (he's seen to lift a ton or two). His voice is somewhat distorted, and he seems child-like and easily confused. Frank was not involved in the final war with the Skrulls in M:LG#12, so there's no reason to think he was destroyed/killed, and should/could still be around. Rumor even refers to him as "The First Line's monster" and "The monster."
    I swear I remember reading somewhere (but I can't find it, and it's annoying the @#$! out of me!) where either Byrne or Stern or someone else involved in the story mentions my above comments regarding "Frankenstein 1974."
    So, until it's proven one way or the other, by the original writers, or by ret-con (shudder), it's unconfirmed that Frank is the monster. Left to interpretation....
    It's not clear whether Frank from the First Line is definitely the Frankenstein monster or not. The First Line and Frankenstein Monster profiles in the OHotMU are contradictory in this regard, with the former saying they are the same and the latter saying it is "unknown."
    As the head writer of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe at that time, I can tell you, the official policy is: Frank of the First Line is apparently either a Frankenstein monster – meaning a creature created in the manner of Victor Frankenstein’s first creation – or just a being with a similar appearance and abilities who adopted the name Frank due to the notable similarities. However, it as yet remains unrevealed whether Frank is actually the original creation of Victor Frankenstein, aka “the Frankenstein monster.” Previous entries referencing Frank as “Frankenstein monster” were unclear in specifying/clarifying this point.
--Snood.
For now, Ron Frederick has written a full profile on Frank, so you can see that profile for further information on that incarnation.

    The whole idea of Frank of the First Line in the 1960's could have been an in-joke referring to the short-lived "Frankenstein" series Dell Comics did in 1966, wherein the monster was revived in modern times and became a superhero; he even had a secret identity -- playboy-millionaire Frank N. Stone (no, I am NOT making this up). See here: http://www.comics.org/covers.lasso?SeriesID=1627
--John Kaminski

    A similar argument could go for the "Adam" character from Bloodstone...he's never ACTUALLY referred to as the Frankenstein monster, either. However, it's pretty obvious. At one point, when working with Dracula, Adam comments that they just need Abbot and Costello to complete the reunion. I'll consider that conclusive evidence.

    A couple of chronological conundrums: As said before, the 1973/1974 date would be topical if it were part of the "modern" age, so I consider it topical for the pre-Marvel age, as well. I would prefer to stick the 20th century stories from the Frankenstein Monster comic in the same time period as the Monsters Unleashed stories, but there we start getting into problems. FM#13 has a footnote saying it follows GS Werewolf (but only to explain why he was returning from L.A.). Victoria Frankenstein and the Children of the Damned have appeared in the modern era, although she may well have access to life-extending processes; minor, adjustable points, but points nonetheless.
    At any rate, if the FM issues do occur in the modern era, that does pose one problem. Frank could "speak" while with the First Line, while the monster didn't regain his ability to speak until Veronica operated on him. This could be used to argue against them being one and the same, but a number of potential explanations exist:
1) The Frankenstein Monster issues did take place in the pre-Marvel era, prior to the Marvel: The Lost Generation story. It would require some minor ret-con, though.
2) Frank spoke with the aid of the First Line. Effigy had access to all kinds of advanced technology, and could have either done surgery on his larynx, or implanted an amplifier device to project his diminished voice. Pixie is an Eternal, she could have done a little molecular rearrangement (I'm betting she also "cleaned him up" a little, so he wouldn't frighten the public as much). Any number of possibilities could have brought him back to a speaking form. The unusual speech balloon used by Frank leaves it open to interpretation...and it also seems logical that whatever method he used to talk could have fallen into disrepair after leaving the First Line.
...ad infinitum. However, it's probably a moot point unless anyone ever takes the interest to clarify this. Still, I wanted to voice my opinion and reasons...HERE ENDS THE RANT. WE NOW RETURN TO OUR REGULAR PROFILE.

    In the origin flashback in Monster of Frankenstein#1, Victor Frankenstein worked solo, while in Frankenstein Monster#16, he was shown working with an unspecified assistant. See further down for the discussion of Frankenstein's possible assistant, Igor (or Fritz).

    I've got no idea how long the monster was active after its creation before freezing the first time. Monster of Frankenstein#2 makes this odd statement, (in reference to 1898, the time of the story) "Four decades have passed since the brute's blasphemous creation by a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein...and now, having been encased in ice for nearly a century, once more the monster walks!"--??? I don't know...from reading the story, it seems like maybe 5-10 years, not forty, if that's what it's supposed to have meant.

    I always wonder what the original writer had planned. Moench's last issue was FM#17, after which it was taken over by Bill Mantlo, who introduced Victoria Frankenstein. There was a next issue box for FM#19, which never happened. The plot was picked back up again in Iron Man, by Mantlo, but there's a definite gap in the storyline. I'm curious as to where Moench was going with the plot. By the way, in FM#18, Ralph blew up the helicopter of the agents of ICON who had been trailing them, putting some resolution to that plot.

    Sometimes the family's called Frankenstein, other times, it's von Frankenstein. I don't know which is correct, or if there's a reason for the switching.

    Chris Golden did some good research on the monster for the Spider-Man Unlimited story, but he apparently did not know that the monster and Spidey had met before (MTU#36, 37), because they didn't remember each other. Pete never had his Spider-Man costume on, so I can see how the monster wouldn't recognize him. But the Frankenstein monster...you think you'd remember meeting him.

    For the record, while they don't own the character, Universal Studios, along with the family of the late Boris Karloff, jointly own aspects of their version of the Monster, which is why Marvel's (and most other companies') version doesn't really resemble the most widely accepted look (though his appearances as Frank and Adam kinda push it).

    While it's possible that Adam's reference to his and Dracula's meeting with Abbott and Costello could actually have taken place, Will U. feels that Adam was just being flippant, and was joking about the movie versions based on the two, not their actual adventures.

    Schtupf. Go ask someone what that means in Yiddish...and don't ask your grandmother.

    If there's any way you can get your hands on those old Monsters Unleashed stories...do it! They are some great reading! Doug Moench and Val Mayerik at their best. Capsule summaries don't do them any justice.
You can get a little more background under the Master and Derek McDowell.

    John Barber confirmed that the Legion of Monsters story was to have taken place late 19th to early 20th century, after the monster's first revival from suspended animation.

...also, supplemental information courtesy of Per Degaton:
"There are a few Timely/Atlas Frankenstein stories that may or may not be part of continuity
Marvel Tales#96 (June 1950)-"Return of the Monster", courtesy of Prime Eternal.

Blonde Phantom#14 (Summer 1947): At Frankenstein's Castle, transported from Europe to America, a man calling himself Baron Frankenstein (he resembles the monster) kills the castle's new owner. This man, a descendant of the monster's creator, seeks the Frankenstein treasure. The Blonde Phantom defeats the Baron and finds the treasure in his ancestor's coffin in the castle's secret laboratory.

Mystery Tales#18 (March 1954): An expert on Frankenstein believes that Frankenstein never created the Monster. In Austria's Frankenstein Castle, from the caretaker, he finds out that the monster created Frankenstein, and the caretaker created the monster and others.

Marvel Tales#106 (April, 1952): The first horror film made in the actual Frankenstein castle in Germany goes into production. Boris, set to play the monster, is killed by the real Monster. The Monster stalks the director until both of them fall into quicksand.

Strange Tales I#10 (September, 1952): John Kent finds proof that the monster created a son for himself and hid the son's features behind a rubber-style mask. Traveling to the Frankenstein castle, Kent sees the monster running towards him. He falls off of a cliff. The monster removes Kent's mask....Kent was his son....

Menace#7 (September, 1953): The Monster, after digging for years, emerges on the surface. He frightens a woman, whose husband tries to scare him with a torch. When a fire starts, the monster saves the couple. Villagers see and attack the monster. The monster, dejected, returns to hiding.

Creatures on the Loose#12 (July, 1971) This story, in particular, has Igor (the assistant to Dr. Frankenstein's descendant) see his master die. Igor, tired of being a servant, decides to create his own monster...but ends up using the "brain of the original Baron Frankenstein". This new monster turns Igor into his slave.

Suspense#20 (July, 1952) had William Frankenstein (! he died in the novel, but I presume this one to be different than the novel's brother of Victor) trying to build a good creature.

Chamber of Darkness#7/3 (October, 1970) features a Frankenstein-like mad scientist, creating a Frankenstein monster-like creature named Manaak. After confirming that he is smarter than any human, and immune to injury, age, and disease, Manaak decided that he didn't need his "master."

"I Made A Monster" in Journey Into Mystery I#9 (June, 1953): A jilted scientist makes a Frankenstein-like Monster to kill the woman who rejected him.
--Gammatotem

Any other thoughts?
They're all stretching it, but any writer with an ounce of determination could make it happen--Snood

..and:      
    "From the People's Almanac, page 847, David Wallenchinsky and Irving Wallace editors page 848
12. What was the late Boris Karloff's monster's name in the 1931 Frankenstein movie?
      When Dr. Frankenstein brought his man-made monster to life, he impulsively named him "Adam". Some film buffs argue that the film they've seen again and again did not have this pronouncement, and indeed, Universal admits that the naming was cut out of many belated releases because virtually all who'd seen the movie referred (wrongly) to Boris Karloff as "Frankenstein".
    The significance of the name Adam was that, in the Bible and the Koran, the first man the Deity created was named Adam, and the monster was Frankenstein's first creation. (That was my assumption on the name "Adam," as well!-Snood). I have heard that Mary Shelley may have used the name Adam in the body of the original novel to refer to the monster, but I cannot be sure, as Mary Shelley actually wrote two versions of the novel, with the latter being a fix-up released around 1831(?). The original version of the novel was a bit crudely written."

    I have no idea if the monster is part of public domain, or whether anyone owns the rights to it. If anyone can tell who/if anyone does, I'll happily credit than and make note of that.

   On another comedic note, in the Bloodstones series, when Dracula goes to aid Adam, the Frankenstein Monster, Adam mentions that "all we need now is Abbott and Costello and it'll be just like old times"- I am assuming this is just his joke refering to the well-known movie Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1949), starring Glenn Strange as the Frankenstein Monster and Bela Lugosi in his last film appearance as Dracula, rather than a genuine reference to a behind the scenes adventure involving the four individuals. But you never know. (Note: despite the title, Victor Frankenstein did not appear in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.)--Loki

Recently, a being referred to as the Clone of Frankenstein was seen working as a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s supernatural Howling Commandos unit in Nick Fury's Howling Commandos#1-6. This being didn't resemble the MU Frankenstein Monster much, and one character even questioned how they could clone him, since he was a patchwork of different beings to begin with. The true story behind this character remains unrevealed for now.
    Actually, Frankenclones have been seen before: Dr. Walston Kraft and the Frankenclones; connections? Who knows?

Brazilian Marvel tales! "Frankenstein" started off as a simple translation of the Marvel comic book, but the last issues were all-Brazilian, with stories by Ruben Francisco Lucchetti and drawings by José Menezes, Mário Lima and Júlio Shimamoto. "A Múmia Viva" ("The Living Mummy" from the "Supernatural Thrillers" title) started having Brazilian stories with #6, again written by R.F. Lucchetti and drawn by José Menezes, Mário Lima and Shimamoto. "Lobisomem" (i.e. "Werewolf by Night") also published stories by Shimamoto and by Flávio Colin..."
--Mike Feldman

Clarifications:
The original Frankenstein monster should be distinguished from:

Frankenstein family...should cover all of them.

Bloodstone/Bloodgem...most everything you need to know can be found under the Exo-Mind,
as well as Ulysses Bloodstone

images: (without ads)
(Frankenstein Monster main image)
Monster of Frankenstein#1, Cover (Frankenstein Monster's creation)
(Bride of Frankenstein)
(Frankenstein Monster b&w)
Monsters Unleashed#6, Cover (Frankenstein Monster in Monsters Unleashed)
(Frankenstein Monster head shot)
(Frank head shot)
(Frankenstein Monster head shot 2)
Bloodstone#1, p17, pan2 (Adam body shot)
Bloodstone#1, p17, pan3 (Adam head shot)

Appearances:
X-Men I#40 (January, 1968) - Roy Thomas (writer), Don Heck (pencils), George Tuska (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#1 (January, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), Mike Ploog (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#2-6 (March-September, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), Mike Ploog (pencils), Mike Ploog (#2-3) & John Verpoorten (#4-5), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed#2 (September 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#6 (October, 1973) - Gary Friedrich (writer), Mike Ploog (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#7-9 (November, 1973 - March, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer), John Buscema (pencils), John Verpoorten (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed#4-5 (February-April, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Syd Shores (#4) & Win Mortimer (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#10 (May, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Frank Giacoia & Mike Esposito (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster Unleashed#6 (June, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#11 (July, 1974) - Gary Friedrich (writer), Bob Brown (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster Unleashed#7 (August, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Tony Isabella (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#12 (September, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster Unleashed#8 (October, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Tony Isabella (editor)
Giant-Size Werewolf#2 (October, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Don Perlin (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#13 (November, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Giant-Size Avengers#2 (November, 1974) - Steve Englehart (writer), Dave Cockrum (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster Unleashed#9 (December, 1974) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Tony Isabella (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#14 (January, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster Unleashed#10 (January, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (artist), Don McGregor (editor)
Avengers I#131-132 (January-February, 1975) - Steve Englehart & Roy Thomas (#132) (writers), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Staton (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monster of Frankenstein#15-18 (March-September, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Klaus Janson (#15), Bob McLeod (#16-17), Val Mayerik (#18) & Dan Adkins (#18) (inks), Len Wein (editor)
Marvel Team-Up I#36-37 (August-September, 1975) - Gary Conway (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Len Wein (writer)
Legion of Monsters#1 (September, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Val Mayerik (pencils), Dan Adkins & Pablo Marcos (inks), Tony Isabella (editor)
Iron Man I#101-102 (August-September, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Mike Esposito & Pablo Marcos (#102) (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Spider-Man Unlimited I#21 (August, 1998) - Christopher Golden (writer), Mike Deodato Jr. (pencils), Joe Pimentel (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Marvel: The Lost Generation#5 (October, 2000) - Roger Stern & John Byrne (writers), John Byrne (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Bloodstone#1-4 (December, 2001 - March, 2002) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Michael Lopez (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Legion of Monsters: Werewolf#1/2 (April, 2007) - Scottie Young (story & art), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor), John Barber (editor)
Ghost Rider VI#33 (2009) - Jason Aaron (writer), Tony Moore (artist), Axel Alonso (editor)

First Posted: 01/04/2002
Last updated: 05/31/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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