JUDE the ENTROPIC MAN
Real Name: Yagzan (that's the name of the former owner of his skeleton anyway)
Identity/Class: (Yagzan) Human cultist;
US citizen (presumably legally deceased);
(Jude) Artificial creation (constructed from decaying material)
Occupation: (Jude) Harbinger of entropy;
former Minister of Health for A.I.M.;
(Yagzan) former scientist
Group Membership: (Jude) formerly High Council of A.I.M. (Yelena Belova, Andrew
Forson, Graviton/Franklin Hall, Mentallo/Marvin Flumm, Superia/Deidre
Wentworth, Taskmaster/Tony Masters)
(Yagzan) former leader of
the Cult of Entropy (Akar, Kammar)
Affiliations: (Yagzan) Glob/Golden Brain (Joseph Timms; former
pawn);
former associate of Professor Gordon Marshall
(Jude) Victorius (Victor Conrad) and the Cult of Entropy, Cosmic Cube (creators)
Enemies: (Yagzan) Glob/Golden Brain,
Man-Thing, Professor Marshall, Paul Benton and others involved
with Omegaville;
(Jude) Avengers (Black Widow/Natasha Romanova, Cannonball/Sam
Guthrie, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers,
Captain Universe/Tamara Devoux, Falcon/Sam Wilson, Hawkeye/Clint
Barton, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Hyperion/Marcus Milton, Iron Man/Tony Stark,
Nightmask/Adam, Shang-Chi, Smasher/Izzy Kane, Spider-Woman/Jessica
Drew, Starbrand/Kevin Connor, Sunspot/Roberto DaCosta, Thor Odinson,
Wolverine/James Howlett), Man-Thing (Ted Sallis), Thing (Ben Grimm), Victorius, Jo and Mac (victims),
life in general
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Great Yagzan; Brother Jude
Base of Operations: (Jude) at least formerly AIM Island (Barbuda);
(Both) a swamp
outside of Citrusville, Florida ("The Man-Thing's
swamp")
First Appearance: (Yagzan) Giant-Size
Man-Thing I#1 (August, 1974);
(Jude) Marvel Two-In-One#42 (August, 1978)
Powers: Yagzan had some
unspecified scientific training, as well as low level psychic powers,
which enabled him to form a mental link with the Golden Brain. Yagzan
used the Brain to unrevealed effects, although it did demonstrate the
ability to create a golden energy form similar to its original
Glob-form in the hands of Akar.
Yagzan had a scimitar, which was used
mostly for ritual, although his actual fighting skill was not observed.
Yagzan had the control of a group of death-loving fanatics, which ain't too
shabby.
Semi-solid, Jude is resistant to conventional injury.
Jude can entrance others, causing them to see him (and death and decay) as
beautiful.
While victims were in this state of bliss, his entropic powers would cause them to decay into dust.
Height: (Yagzan): 5'8''; (Jude): 6'2''
Weight: (Yagzan): Brown; (Jude): Unrevealed
Eyes: (Yagzan): Brown; (Jude): Black
Hair: (Yagzan): Bald; (Jude): None
History:
(Giant-Size
Man-Thing#1 (fb) - BTS) - Yagzan (presumably his
last name) was a former associate of Professor Marshall, possibly indicating that
he was involved in some form of scientific training.
(Giant-Size Man-Thing#1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Yagzan came to be the leader of the Cult of Entropy (he may have founded it), which believed that all things were in the process of decay, and sought to speed up that process.
(Giant-Size Man-Thing#1 (fb) - BTS) - Yagzan found the Golden Brain, which was the last surving remnant of the Glob, after it had been blown up in a battle with the Hulk. The Brain was unable to reform itself further and its body had begun to die. Yagzan located it and removed it from the body. Yagzan nursed the Brain back to health and encased it in a globe where it could thrive. He imbued the Brain with a part of himself, forming a mental link with it and enabling him to control it.
(Giant-Size Man-Thing#1) - Yagzan sent the Golden
Brain with some of his Cultists, intending them to use its power to
prevent the construction of Omegaville, an energy project that would
work counter to the Cult's goals. The Man-Thing got involved, and in
the process of fighting against him, the Golden Brain began to heat up
suddenly. Burning his hands, the Cultist Akar dropped the Globe and it
sank into the swamp. Paul Benton and Dr. Marshall, the heads of the
Omegaville project, escaped as the Cultists watched the Brain sink.
The Brain reformed its human body from clay, but lost its memory in the
process, and joined the Omegaville project, which had gotten underway
without the interference of the Cult. Yagzan was furious and killed
Akar for his failure (this should have been a gift to an Entropist, but
they never seem ready for it when it's their turn). He then led the
Cultists into the swamp, tracing his mental link to the Brain's new
body. Yagzan summoned the man who was the Golden Brain, and attempted
to force him to revert back to the Brain. Instead, the man turned into
a clay version of its Glob-form. Disappointed, Yagzan accepted this
form, and sent the Glob to destroy Omegaville...and he did.
Of
course, the Man-Thing showed up again, and Yagzan redirected the Glob
to attack it, instead. The Man-Thing succeeded in smashing the Glob,
leaving it in a formless puddle of clay on the swamp floor.
Yagzan ran over to the puddle and grasped at it, trying to force it to reform and serve him further. The Glob felt Yagzan's mental link, and reacted with hatred over what Yagzan had done to it. The Glob used the last of its energy to seep up over every inch of Yagzan, suffocating him as he lay covered in the clay of his former pawn.
(Incredible
Hulk
II#197) - The Hulk wandered into the Man-Thing's swamp, where he
encountered the ruins of Omegaville and the skeleton of Yagzan, as well
as the Man-Thing, and the human form of the Glob (who had reformed). "Hulk does not like dead bones. They make
Hulk feel cold."
(Iron Man Annual#3) - The creators of Omegaville brought Tony Stark to the ruins of their former project, hoping to convince him to invest in renewing it. And, of course, Yagzan's skeleton was still kneeling there.
(Marvel Two-In-One#43 (fb)) - Victorius, the new leader of the Cult of Entropy, obtained the Cosmic Cube. Victorius used the Cube to reform the remains of Yagzan into a being unlike any other. He called the Earth itself to congeal about Yagzan's skeletal form, and the soil, slime, and stone coalesced into a form which personified the philosophy of the Cult: Jude the Entropic Man. Jude soon encountered two young lovers (Jo and Mac) making out in the swamp, and gave them the "entropic embrace of the ages," leaving them as dust.
(Marvel Two-In-One#42-43) - Captain America and the
Thing traced the Cube's energy to Victorius, Jude, and the Cult.
Victorius succumbed to a challenge to fight Captain America without the
Cube. The emotions generated by those near the fight drew the attention
of the Man-Thing. As the two fought back and forth, the Man-Thing came
forward and grasped the Cosmic Cube. At the same time, Jude convinced
Victorius that the combat was pointless, after which Jude turned his entropic powers
against the two heroes.
The Thing tossed Cap out of the way, and was
engulfed inside the form of Jude himself. Ben escaped, but the entropic
energies removed from him the form and power of the Thing. Ben Grimm
and Cap fought against Victorius, and he argued against their philosophy.
They fought Jude with such force, and demonstrated such will, that he
saw that perhaps mankind was not yet ready for him. 
Victorius,
meanwhile, flipped-out when he saw the Cube in the mindless Man-Thing's
hands, and tried fruitlessly to pry the Cube from its claws. Jude
decided to give his gift of entropy to someone who would appreciate it,
Victorius himself. Jude reached for Victorius, who did not want death
for himself, and was terrified. Jude's entropic energies, the power of
the Cosmic Cube, and the energies of the Man-Thing ("Whosoever knows
Fear...Burns at the Touch of the Man-Thing") interacted quite
violently, releasing a powerful burst of energy.
All that was left was
a radiant crystal of the forms of Jude and Victorius, which released
energy that stimulated the plant growth about them.
The Man-Thing reformed, and approached the crystalline form, the energies of which began to cause it to return to human form. However, unable to comprehend what was going on, the Man-Thing lost interest and wandered away, reverting fully into its swamp form.
(Secret Avengers II#2 (fb) – BTS) – Jude the Entropic Man joined the new government of A.I.M. as the Minister of Health.
(Secret Avengers II#2) – The New High Council of A.I.M. met on Barbuda, the new A.I.M. Island.
(Secret Avengers II#8) – A scientist visited Jude in the Cathedral in which he had housed himself. Jude showed him “the secret knowledge hidden within all men,” then consumed the man, whose flesh withered away to dust.
(Secret Avengers II#12) –
Posing as Andrew Forson, Mockingbird called a meeting of the High
Council to discuss the Extremis and nanobot projects, then “he” asked
for more time to work on them.
Jude and the other leaders later met to
discuss Forson’s inadequacies as a leader.
Jude later approached Mentallo, wondering if he truly believed in their cause.
(Avengers World I#2) – Superia, Graviton, and Jude oversaw the captivity of Avengers members Smasher, Cannonball, and Sunspot. With Forson, Jude oversaw Smasher being overwritten with biotechnology, and they called her their Messenger.
(Secret Avengers II#15) – Sensing that A.I.M. was about to be defeated, Superia wondered if they could stop it, but Graviton and Jude assured her that the end was inevitable.
(Avengers World I#5) – On Barbuda, Superia, Graviton, and Jude met with Forson to discuss A.I.M.’s expansions, and they prepared to utilize the controlled Smasher against the attacking Avengers.
(Avengers World I#6) – Jude was present when the Avengers attacked Barbuda.
(Avengers World I#9) – Jude interacted with the leadership of A.I.M. on Barbuda.
(Avengers World I#10) – Jude, Superia, and Graviton stood with Forson as he assembled A.I.M.’s soldiers on Barbuda.
(Avengers World I#14) – Jude stood with Graviton, Superia, and Forson before Barbuda fell, with A.I.M. defeated by the Avengers.
Comments: Yagzan was created by Steve
Gerber and Mike Ploog.
Jude was created by Ralph Macchio and Mr.
Miyagi...no wait, it was Ralph, Sal Buscema, A. Alcala, and S.
Grainger.
Gerber? The Giant-Size Man-Thing story was Gerbest!
I know Jude was the author of the New Testament Epistle of Jude in the Bible, and there's the Beatles song, "Hey Jude."...any other reason for this name you know of?
The Cosmic Cube that Victorius used is the one that went on to become Kubik.
Yagzan and Ploog...names that are fun to say.
Jude had a profile in 2010's Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update#1.
Original profile by Snood. Updated with 21st century appearances by Chadman.
Clarifications: Jude the Entropic Man should not be confused with:
Images:
Giant-Size Man-Thing I#1
Incredible Hulk II#197
Marvel Two-In-One#42
#43
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update I#1: Jude entry
Secret Avengers II#8, p16, pan4 (Mister of Health)
Appearances:
Giant-Size Man-Thing I#1 (August, 1974) - Steve Gerber (writer), Mike
Ploog (pencils), Frank Chiaramonte (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#197 (March, 1976) - Len Wein (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Staton (inks), Len Wein (editor)
Iron Man Annual#3 (1976) - Steve Gerber (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Marvel Two-In-One#42 (August, 1978) - Ralph Macchio (writer), Sal
Buscema (pencils), Alfredo Alcala & Sam Grainger (inks), Roger
Stern (editor)
Marvel Two-In-One#43 (September, 1978) - Ralph Macchio (writer), John Byrne (pencils/inks), Roger Stern (editor)
Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update I#1: Jude entry (April,
2010) - Jeff Christiansen (writer), Gus Vasquez (artist), Jeff
Youngquist (editor)
Secret Avengers II#2,8 (May, October, 2013) - Nick Spencer (writer), Luke Ross (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Secret Avengers II#12 (February, 2014) - Nick Spencer, Ales Kot (writers), Butch Guice (artist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
Avengers World I#2 (March, 2014) - Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer (writers), Stefano Caselli (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Secret Avengers II#15 (April, 2014) - Nick Spencer, Ales Kot (writers), Luke Ross (artist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
Avengers World I#5 (June, 2014) - Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer (writers), Stefano Caselli (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Avengers World I#6 (July 2014) - Nick Spencer (writer), Marco Checchetto (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Avengers World I#9 (September, 2014) - Nick Spencer (writer), Stefano Caselli (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Avengers World I#14 (December, 2014) - Nick Spencer (writer), Marco Checchetto (aritst), Wil Moss (editor)
First posted: 11/30/2001
Last updated: 12/05/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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