GRABBER

Classification: Terrestrial technology

Creator: Dr. Doom (Victor von Doom)

User/Possessors: Dr. Doom (Victor von Doom), Dr. Doom (Kristoff Vernard), Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie)

First Appearance: Fantastic Four I#6 (September, 1962)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: The original cylindrical Grabber was a small magnetic device which could render even a skyscraper immune to the effects of gravity, allowing the person at the remote control unit to raise and redirect it to another location.

A later version of the Grabber was disguised as a thrown brick, but displayed the same power.











History:
(Fantastic Four I#6) - As part of his scheme to destroy the Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom went to the Sub-Mariner's undersea villa and formed an alliance with him. Doom presented his Grabber device and displayed its power by remotely raising a huge idol from the sea floor, demonstrating how it could lift any object it was attached to and redirect it; he then disassembled the Grabber and planted the tiny parts within the hollow of Namor's belt buckle, so that Namor could take the components to the Baxter Building.

   Namor surreptitiously assembled the device in a dark corner of the Baxter Building's basement; but Dr. Doom double-crossed him and activated the Grabber so that it lifted the entire skyscraper into the sky. As they reached the ionosphere and drew closer to the twilight edge of space, Doom intended to release the Baxter Building into the sun, to kill Namor and the Fantastic Four. But realizing he had been tricked, Namor stole aboard Doom's aircraft and knocked him out into space, then he took control of the device so that he could return the Baxter Building to Earth. Once the structure was safely returned to its original location, the Sub-Mariner had the Grabber return to the interior of Doom's aircraft, then he sent the flying vehicle spinning into the ocean.

(Fantastic Four I#278) - After having been "educated" by the Doombots via the Remembrancer, Doom's ward Kristoff Vernard believed himself to actually be Dr. Doom; but he stopped the memory-tapes just as they reached the point of Doom's defeat with the original Grabber. Believing he could correct "his" earlier mistake, Kristoff sent another Grabber (disguised as a thrown brick) into the Baxter Building's lobby, and pulled the skyscraper into space. Once he had done this, "Doom" destroyed the Baxter Building immediately, but the Fantastic Four still managed to survive.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.

New and additional images by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Grabber should not be confused with:






images: (without ads)
Fantastic Four I#6, p9, pan4 (Grabber and control unit, held by Dr. Doom; Sub-Mariner (background))
Fantastic Four I#6, p24, pan3 (Fantastic Four find Grabber on basement ceiling)
Fantastic Four I#6, p24, pan6 (detached Grabber flies away)
Fantastic Four I#278, p18, pan4 (Grabber, disguised as brick, in Baxter Building's lobby)

Appearances:
Fantastic Four I#6 (September, 1962) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan Goldberg (colors), Terry Szenics (letters)
Fantastic Four I#278 (May, 1985) - John Byrne (writer/pencils), Jerry Ordway (inks), Glynis Oliver (colors), John Workman (letters), Michael Carlin (editor)

First Posted: 01/29/2006
Last updated: 07/14/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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