full bodyEELAR

Real Name:   Inapplicable

Identity/Class:   Terrestrial electric eel mutate

Occupation: Inapplicable

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None;
    formerly indirectly connected to Brotherhood of the Badoon

Enemies: Defenders (Dr. Strange, Hulk, Nighthawk, Valkyrie), Ferdinand Flynn and Mickey, Guardians of the Galaxy (Charlie-27, Martinex, Vance Astro, Yondu), the entire human race or anything that moves

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None known

Base of Operations: New York Harbor

First Appearance: Giant-Size Defenders#5 (July, 1975)

Powers/Abilities: While powered by the Badoon Mento-Programmer, Eelar had the powers of flight and super-strength, as well as the abilities to generate an electric force field, fire electric blasts, mentally control fish (dead or alive), and emit telepathic messages in the form of Badoon war propaganda.

full bodyHistory:
(Giant-Size Defenders#5(fb)) - At some point, a Badoon Mento-Programmer (containing pre-empire war propaganda tapes) fell into New York Harbor. It is unknown how the device got there. A family of electric eels made their nest in the device, however. The Guardians of the Galaxy (Charlie-27, Martinex, Vance Astro, Yondu) traveled from the 31st century back in time to the modern era in order to retrieve the device and learn more about the history of their greatest enemies, the Badoon. The temporal energies released by their travel activated the radiation in the helmet and the helmet mutated one of the eels, filling its mind with the war propaganda, granting it powers, and making Eelar the ultimate good soldier. Eelar, in his new form, immediately struck out at whatever he saw moving.

(Giant-Size Defenders#5) - While the Defenders (Doctor Strange, Hulk, Valkyrie) were investigating the unique energy in the harbor, Eelar struck at the first target he saw, a large ferryboat in the harbor. Eelar brought together hundreds of dead fish from the sea bottom, and erupted them out of the water on to the ship, terrorizing the passengers. While the Hulk and Valkyrie tried to do something about the fish, Eelar grabbed a flying Doctor Strange from out of the air and yanked him beneath the water. Eelar inundated Strange with telepathic Badoon propaganda. Strange went into mild shock from the information, and when he stopped moving, Eelar covered himself with his force field and flew away proclaiming -- "To the cities! The centers of civilization must be the first to fall!" Valkyrie, on Aragorn, rescued Strange from the waters, and she and Hulk watched Eelar fly away.

Later in the day, two toll-booth operators--Ferdinand Flynn and Mickey--investigated a riot of people rushing from their cars in the bridge tunnel. Eelar was on top of the bridge, telepathically shouting of Badoon conquests, as he brought another deluge of fish on the bridge, eventually breaking through into the tunnel beneath. Mickey ran for help as Ferdinand was frozen with terror, but the three Defenders arrived just in time. The Hulk and Valkyrie plugged up the hole made by the fish with a crunched-up car.

full bodyEelar moved on to Times Square, and began zapping cars and people with electric blasts, still spouting the propaganda. The Hulk soon attacked Eelar, knocking him to the ground with a krak. As the Defenders gathered around Eelar slowly, he attacked Valkyries horse, Aragorn. Valkyrie tried to attack Eelar, but an electric charge through her sword took her aback. The Hulk and Doctor Strange moved in on Eelar again, but his electric field kept them from harming him. Soon, Nighthawk and the Guardians of the Galaxy (sans Martinex) joined the fray, but Eelar was flying off toward another target.

Doctor Strange began to suspect Eelar's origins, and retrieved the Badoon Mento-Programmer from the harbor, the other electric eels scampering out of it as he pulled it from the water. The Defenders caught up to Eelar again, this time while Eelar battled a tree (causing Hulk to proclaim--"Eelar is crazy! Tree can't fight!"). Doctor Strange confirmed his suspicions when his spell revealed that Eelar had no thoughts of his own. The Guardians joined them again, and they were able to piece together Eelar's origin and craft a plan. As Eelar prepared to attack Nighthawk, Yondu distracted Eelar with a Yaka arrow. Then Doctor Strange and Vance Astro negated Eelar's force field. Finally, Hulk and Charlie-27 knocked Eelar to the ground. Valkyrie drew her sword to finish Eelar off, but Doctor Strange stopped her. He invoked a spell that returned Eelar to his original state--that of an eel. Doctor Strange later returned Eelar to the sea.

Comments: Created by Steve Gerber, Don Heck, and Mike Esposito.

    You can't blame poor Ferdinand Flynn for freezing in his tracks. Imagine being caught in a deluge of hundreds of fish corpses! Yuck!
--Mickey Flynn, huh?

    Eelar is an interesting one-shot villain. They never do explain how an eel got mutated into a humanoid being with arms and legs, but that's a story for another day. Darn those Badoon!

Profile by Chadman.

Clarifications:

Eelar has no known connections to

full body Ferdinand Flynn and Mickey

 

   Ferdinand Flynn and Mickey were two toll-booth operators working the day Eelar attacked their bridge and tunnel. Flynn had just purchased a gun, and was bragging to Mickey about his bravery and calling himself Deadeye. When the two investigated the tumult in the tunnel, they were shocked to find a deluge of water and fish pouring through the roof. Ferdinand was frozen with shock, leaving Mickey to run for help. Fortunately, the Defenders arrived to save them both and the bridge.

Ferdinand Flynn and Mickey have no known super-powers.

--Giant-Size Defenders#5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

full body

Badoon Mento-Programmer

    The Badoon Mento-Programmer is a helmet device containing tapes filled with Badoon war propaganda. The helmet apparently educates its wearer on Badoon tactics and information. Temporal energies somehow interacted with the radiation in the programmer, causing an eel to be mutated into Eelar, with super-powers and a telepathic replay of the propaganda. Doctor Strange retrieved this helmet. A second helmet was found in the briefcase of an old man Charlie-27 rescued from a gang, but its tapes were empty.

--Giant-Size Defenders#5

 

 

 

 

 

images:
Giant-Size Defenders#5, cover
Giant-Size Defenders#5, page 31, panel 4
Giant-Size Defenders#5, page 43, panel 7
Ferdinand Flynn and Mickey—Giant-Size Defenders#5, page 18, panel 2
Badoon Mento-Programmer—Giant-Size Defenders#5, page 36, panel 3

First Posted: 02/13/2005
Last updated: 02/13/2005

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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