Maria
THE RIPPER
Real Name: Rico ??
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: Human test subject
Affiliations: test object to the Foundation, Maria (former girlfriend), Tony (former friend), Thing
Enemies: Thing, Maria, Tony
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: a condemned building in New York
First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents I#21/4 (June, 1989)
Powers/Abilities: Blasts of unstable molecules from his hands.
History: Rico was offered money by the Foundation which he needed to settle down with his girlfriend Maria. They wanted to experiment on him for a week but then it turned into a year. At the end he was able to produce blasts of unstable molecules from his hands. He is now the first of a new generation of safeguards for humanity against mutants and so-called heroes.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#21/4) - Rico just killed his former friend Tony who had married his former girlfriend Maria. Then he tried to do the same to Maria because she betrayed him with Tony after he was gone, but she gets away with a cut in her face. Maria goes to the Fantastic Four and asked the Thing to talk to Rico. The Thing finds Rico in a condemned building. Rico is now the Ripper, and he doesn't want to talk to the Thing. Rico told the Thing how he had become the Ripper, and then tried to kill the Thing with his blasts, which proved able to even damage the stone skin of the hero. Maria appeared and told Ripper that the Thing just wanted to help him. The Ripper wouldn't listen and attacked the Thing again, but the Thing used his costume (made up of unstable molecules) to block the blasts until he got near enough to knock Ripper out. Thing and Maria brought Ripper to the outside before the building collapsed. At the end Rico laid unconscious in the arms of his former love.
Comments: Created by Marc McLaurin and Kevin VanHook
Foundation? Never heard of this organization anywhere else in Marvel Comics. Has somebody more
info on them or were they just behind the scenes of this story and nowhere else?
I believe the latter, unless they were any one of a dozen other shadowy
research organizations, going by similar names--Snood.
Profile by Markus Raymond
CLARIFICATIONS: Ripper should not be confused with:
Maria
She was the former girlfriend of Ripper. After Rico's disappearance she and Tony, the best friend of Rico, tried to find but they couldn't. She married Tony a short time after that. Her husband Tony was killed by Rico and he even tried to kill her. She asked Thing to help her and even saved the life of Rico together with Thing. She really loved Rico but it is not clear if she still does after all the pain.
--Marvel Comics Presents I#21/4
The group that allegedly kidnapped and mutated Ripper (Rico) as culmination of experiments in unstable molecules designed to turn him into the first of a new generation to safeguard humanity against mutants.
They have yet to actually appear on-panel, unless they were related to the Project, the Fortress, etc.
--[Marvel Comics Presents I#21/4]
images: (without ads)
Marvel Comics Presents I#21, p30, pan1 (main image)
Appearances:
Marvel Comics Presents I#21 (June, 1989) - Marc McLaurin (writer),
Kevin VanHook (pencils), David & Dan Day (inks), Terry Kavanagh
(editor)
Last updated: 12/27/03
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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