LUMP

Real Name: None

Identity/Class: Extra-terrestrial (see comments)

Occupation: Child

Group Membership: S.H.I.E.L.D.

Affiliations: Captain America, Nick Fury, Red, Wilhelm Schmidt, Werner von Strucker

Enemies: Death's Head Squadron, HYDRA, Knockabout, Leviathan, Psi-Borg, Violence

Known Relatives: Gnobian mother (parent), Wilhelm Schmidt ("father", deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
formerly, S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, New York
formerly, Germany

First Appearance: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#1 (September, 1989)

Powers/Abilities: Lump possesses empathic abilities, allowing him to sense emotions, and has a psychic link to Red. After maturing, Lump gained some measure of physical toughness, and at least an enhanced strength level.

History: (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#5 (fb)) - As Baron Wolfgang von Strucker became determined to learn the secrets of the extraterrestrial Gnobians who were stranded outside of Gruenstadt, Germany, his aide Wilhelm Schmidt stole an embryonic Gnobian, hiding it within his coat. When the Gnobians were later corrupted by Strucker's mind, the egg Wilhelm had taken was unaffected.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#6) - When the egg finally "hatched," it produced a being which Schmidt named "Lump," and adopted him as his son. Although Lump was spared from Strucker's madness, his mental and physical growth were stunted. Lump accompanied Wilhelm as he and Werner von Strucker awoke the other Gnobians, who had slept since 1944, but they awoke deranged by Strucker's madness, and became the Death's Head Squadron.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#1) - Wilhelm brought Lump with him to visit Werner von Strucker as he prepared to deal with the Death's Head Squadron, matured Gnobians who were on a killing spree. Lump sensed pain in Werner, and tried to warn him that "pain cannot heal pain," but Werner was disgusted with Lump for being a Gnobian, and drove him off.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#2) - Wilhlem left Lump behind as he was taken to see the Gnobian mother. When one of the Death's Head Squadron came to bring Lump to see his father, Lump sensed from touching the creature that it was evil, and ran away. As he ran, Lump made psychic contact with Red, the sole-surviving Deltan-model LMD, who was based upon the Gnobians. The Death's Head Squadron member finally caught up to Lump and showed him Wilhelm, supposedly all right. When Lump ran to Wilhelm, the Squadron member shot Lump in the back. He was taken to the Squadron's scanning chamber, where they learned of his psychic contact with Red, and they sent out the Squadron to retrieve Red.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#4) - When Lump awoke, he observed how Wilhelm had changed, and was distressed by this. Horrified to see the Squadron intended to launch a Kree Death Missile, Lump ran to the Gnobian mother, who showed him an image of Nick Fury, who was currently inside of their memory chamber, re-enacting incidents from 1944. Lump went into the chamber to get help from Fury.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#5) - Lump appeared before Fury and his allies Network Nina, Red, Alexander Goodwin Pierce and Al MacKenzie, and Red recognized him from their earlier contact. When she touched Lump, she shared some of her memories with him, allowing him to learn English. Lump watched with the others as the memory chamber recreated Strucker's slaughter of the people of Gruenstadt

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#6) - Lump was brought before the Gnobian mother, who was disgusted by Lump's weakness and began to destroy him. Fury arrived with Wilhelm, who was killed by the Gnobian mother when he tried to reason with her. As he died, Wilhelm told Lump that he was the key to defeating the Death's Head Squadron. Fury realized that Lump's innocence was indeed the key, and had Network Nina link Lump's mind with the Gnobian mother. The mother was purged of Strucker's madness, but chose to destroy itself to prevent the Strucker within it from re-emerging. Lump departed the ruins of the Gnobian base alongside Fury and his agents.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#9-10) - Lump was kidnapped from S.H.I.E.L.D. Central by Leviathan, who presented Lump to his followers as a demon in an attempt to maintain his control over them. Captain America and Nick Fury led a S.H.I.E.L.D. team to defeat Leviathan, and rescued Lump in the process.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#12) - While Pierce worked out at S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, Lump tried to master the game of jacks, which Fury had taught to him. Red told Lump about Pierce's connection to Madame Hydra. Lump told her that their psychic link would grow, so that they would have no secrets from each other. Neville and N'Gami took care of Lump and Red, and Red saw Lump off to bed.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#14) - Red and Lump waited with Fury and his friends while they waited for news on Kate Neville and Al MacKenzie, who had both been injured battling Madame Hydra. Happily, both agents were fine.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#25 - BTS) - Lump was believed slain when S.H.I.E.L.D. Central was destroyed by a HYDRA agent.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#42 (fb) - BTS) - Red and Lump survived the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, and lived together in the structure's sub-levels. Lump matured during that time, becoming large and muscular. He and Red had run-ins with several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had been brainwashed by HYDRA, and discovered that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had been replaced by the Deltite were in suspended animation in the lowest levels of S.H.I.E.L.D. Central.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#42) - When Nick Fury returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, he was reunited with Red and Lump, and they told them what they had discovered in the sub-levels.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#43) - Red and Lump brought Fury to the suspended animation tubes, but found that some of the agents had gone missing. They were then attacked by a team of brainwashed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Clay Quartermain. Red and Lump helped Fury defeat the agents, then returned with him to the Helicarrier.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#45) - When members of the Super-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were revealed as HYDRA agents and attacked Nick Fury, Lump came to help Fury, and fought Knockabout. Lump killed Knockabout by impaling him on a sharp piece of glass.

(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#47) - Lump and Red attended the funeral of Kate Neville after she was killed by Baron Strucker.

Comments: Created by Bob Harras, Bob Hall and Kim DeMulder.

Red and Lump appeared together in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms at the end of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#47, which seems to indicate that they are official agents.

Fury I#1 seems to claim that the Gnobians were all created by Arnim Zola as a hoax, but it doesn't jive with the actual story-- it doesn't explain where the Sentry or Kree Death Missile came from, why Strucker killed everyone in Gruenstadt, or where Lump came from. I think it's best to ignore the retcon.

Lump has been identified as a Deltan LMD, but that's an error-- the LMDs are derived from Gnobians, and Deltans are the most advanced LMDs, but still not quite the same thing.

by Prime Eternal

CLARIFICATIONS:
Lump should not be confused with:

• Lump, of the Warpies, @ Captain Britain I#7
• Lump, Werewolf foe, @ Werewolf By Night II#4
• Tino Lumpkin of Earth-Amalgam, Willie Lumpkin/Tino, rock 'n roll mailman, @ Challengers of the Fantastic#1
• Billie Lumpkin, niece of Willie Lumpkin, @ Fantastic Four III#2
• Willie Lumpkin, mailman for the Fantastic Four, @ Fantastic Four I#11

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