THERMAL THIEF

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human mutate, citizen of the United States

Occupation: Supervillain, energy thief

Group Membership: Energy Drainers (Cold Air Crook, Doomsday Man, Wattage Waster)

Affiliations: Unrevealed

Enemies: Campbell Kids (Clean Clara, Reading Ricardo, Soap Box, TV Tanya), Captain America (Steve Rogers)

Known Relatives: Unidentified

Aliases: Unrevealed

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly Energy Museum

First Appearance: Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 (1980)

Powers/Abilities: The Thermal Thief is able to drain thermal energy from any source, including solar, geothermal and even body heat. His control is so absolute, he can instantly cause temperatures to drop far below zero. He has frozen large bodies of moving water within seconds. Thermal Thief can manipulate the thermal energy he absorbs for a variety of effects: he can fire heat blasts, launch a barrage of icy shards and manipulate air currents to generate strong winds. He uses a flying platform made of negative energy, generated by the Doomsday Man.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'4")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 250 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed (continuously ablaze)

History:

(Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 - BTS) - Unbeknownst to Thermal Thief and the others, Captain America had been invited to give a guided tour of the museum to Clean Clara, Reading Ricardo, Soap Box and TV Tanya. These four, bright kids had each come up with an energy based science exhibit that was on display at the fair.

(Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1) - Thermal Thief was the first to make his presence known. He appeared on the dam of the hydro-electric exhibit and instantly turned the flowing water into a frozen waterfall. Cap scaled the icy wall, dodging the Thief's heat blasts and barrage of ice shrapnel. He knocked him out by throwing Thermal Thief off the exhibit. This left him vulnerable to attacks from the Thief's teammates Wattage Waster and the Doomsday Man.

(Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 - BTS) - Cap was saved by Soap Box who pedaled his soap box race car at full speed towards the nearby geothermal exhibit. The car slammed into the geyser causing a blinding steam cloud to fill the room, which distracted Thermal Thief and Energy Drainers long enough for Cap to break free.

( Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1) - Thermal Thief and the others flew off on a disc of solid, negative energy created by Doomsday Man who told Cap and the kids about the secret weapons hidden in the museum that would allow them to rule the world. As they disappeared into the distance, they dared their opponents to find a way to defeat them before they located the weapons.

(Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 - BTS) - In preparation for their final showdown against Thermal Thief and the Energy Drainers, Cap took the four kids to their exhibits. He showed them the various ways in which they could have conserved energy. Cap reasoned that the key to beating the Energy Drainers was by becoming Energy Savers. Captain America left the kids in the relative safety of their exhibits while he went looking for the villains.

(Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 - BTS) - Clean Clara, Reading Ricardo, Soap Box and TV Tanya watched Cap's fight against the Energy Drainers from a safe distance.

(Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1) - Thermal Thief attacked Captain America when he entered the museum's wind power exhibit. Floating near a Darrieus wind mill on a disc of negative energy, he manipulated cold and hot air currents to sweep Cap off his feet. Thermal Thief planned to kill the hero by hurling him into the blades of the mill, but Cap used his shield to bounce off the device and on to the Thief's platform. The villain was once again tossed to the ground and knocked unconscious on impact.

(Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Captain America effortlessly took down Wattage Waster and, with some timely assistance from his four friends, also depowered the Doomsday Man who faded away into nothingness.

Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo, Alan Kupperberg, Herb Trimpe, Dan Green.

The Energy Drainers were created by Marvel for a special educational campaign launched by the U.S Department of Energy... and the Campbell Soup Company because 'corporate synergy' counts as a type of energy, I suppose. They also appeared in a televised PSA that featured a slightly different line up from the comic. Thermal Thief and Wattage Waster were joined by the 'Cold Air Crook' instead of Doomsday Man.

Cap referred to this particular trio as 'The Energy Wasters'. In the PSA, Cap is able to defeat Thermal Thief simply by shutting the front door and keeping the heat in, causing him to vanish. In the comic, he seems a lot more solid but it's never made clear if the Thief is human or not. Until we get confirmation of the contrary, I have him listed as a mutate.

For a bunch of throwaway villains, the Energy Drainers actually look pretty decent with Thermal Thief having a particularly memorable design. He almost looks like a minion of Surtur. Of course, there's nothing in this story that even hints at a Muspelheim connection.

There's also nothing in the story that explicitly prohibits it from taking place on Earth-616, so who knows where and when Thermal Thief and the Energy Drainers might pop up again.

Profile by Norvo

CLARIFICATIONS:
Thermal Thief should not be confused with

• Pyron the Thermal Man, industrial saboteur--Avengers I#206
• Thermal, member of MLF--Punisher III#12
  
• Thermo the Thermatronic Man, thermal energy drainer--Marvel Team-Up I#108
• Thermal Man, android created by Chinese communists--Thor I#168
• Or any other "Thermal" or "Thief" characters

Images: (without ads)
Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 p9, pan1 (main image)
Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 p10, pan2 (icy barrage)
Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 p23, pan5 (defeated)

Appearances:
Captain America and the Campbell Kids I#1 (1980) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Alan Kupperberg & Herb Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks)

First Posted: 07/01/2024
Last Updated: 07/01/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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