main image

FRANK

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Unrevealed (see comments)

Occupation: Adventurer

Group Membership: First Line (Black Fox/Robert William Paine, Blackjack, Doctor Mime, Effigy/Velmax, Firefall, Flatiron/Russell, Frank (see comments), Liberty Girl/Beverly, Major Mercury/Makkari, Mr. Justice/Timothy "Tim" Carney, Morph, Nightingale, Oxbow/Sam Matonabbe, Pixie, Positron/Veronica, Rapunzel, Rebound, Reflex, Squire, Templar/Ian Fitzwilliam Dare, Vulcan, Walkabout/William Carmody, Yankee Clipper/Patrick "Pat" Carney, Yeti)

Affiliations: Captain Hip (Fred MacRae), Sunshine (Autumn MacRae), Thor Odinson, Venus

Enemies: Rumor and his gang

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "The First Line's monster" (as called by Rumor)

Base of Operations: First Line headquarters, Colorado Mountains

First Appearance: Marvel: The Lost Generation I#5 (October, 2000)

Powers/Abilities: The gray-skinned Frank was endowed with great strength (perhaps Class 25 or higher (see Comments)) and was able to effortlessly lift an automobile and hurl the four-door sedan through the air. The simple-minded Frank could act impetuously without considering the consequences of his actions, and on one occasion he unintentionally worsened a potentally bad situation. Despite his monstrous appearance, Frank was a loyal team-member, with a friendly disposition and a soft-spot for children. His voice had an unearthly timbre (as exemplified by his unusual word balloons). Unlike his costumed cohorts, Frank wore simpler attire--a black t-shirt, green pants, and combat boots.

Height: 7'2" (by approximation)
Weight: 350 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Dark purple/black

History:
Marvel: The Lost Generation I#5 - (fb) - BTS) - The past of Frank is unrevealed, but at some point during the mid-1960s, he joined the First Line. In those days, the line-up consisted of, among others, Black Fox, Effigy, Major Mercury, Mr. Justice, Oxbow, Pixie, and Rebound.
 
(Marvel: The Lost Generation I#5 - BTS) - Acting on a tip from Captain Hip and his partner Sunshine, Frank and the other members of the First Line decided to investigate a youth oriented pop event hosted by Venus. Suspecting there might be mind-control at work, Pixie and Effigy joined Hip and Sunshine on a fact-finding mission at the festival. There, Sunshine fell under the mental persuasion of both Venus and Rumor (who was secretly adding his power to hers). While Captain Hip went off to rescue his wife, only to succumb to the insidious influences himself, Pixie learned of Rumor's involvement moments before running into Thor (who had been ordered to Earth by Odin to deal with the situation as well).
 
(Marvel: The Lost Generation I#5) - Frank was standing among his team-mates in the First Line's temporary headquarters, waiting for Pixie and the others to return. Black Fox, however, was less than relaxed and angrily lamented that Effigy had talked him into working with "those blasted hippies." Black Fox revealed that the reports suggested a mind-altering agent was involved, and Rebound wondered if he meant drugs, but the Fox explained he suspected the involvement of Rumor, an enemy he had faced two decades ago. Just then, Pixie arrived with Thor and confirmed Rumor was still very much alive. Before the First Line could properly process being in the presence of the actual Norse god of thunder, Major Mercury spotted a gigantic mob coming from the festival, led by Captain Hip and Sunshine, who guided them in a planned take-over of city hall and the state house. Frank voiced his concerns that even he couldn't turn back a mob of children ("We can't hurt kids!"), but Mr. Justice assured him the Black Fox had a plan, and the First Line and Thor went into action.
 
    Seeing what was beginning to turn into a riot, Rebound warned the others that things were getting ugly and they had to do something to contain the mob. Frank heard this and wanted to help out, so the good-intentioned gray goliath proceeded to lift up a car and hurled it over the mob to block them in, just as Mr. Justice warned Frank about the resultant fire that would occur when the car hit the ground; fortunately, the fleet-footed Major Mercury reacted in time, and the speedster created a vortex to cushion the impact, thus preventing an even greater catastrophe from Frank's blunder.


 
    When Rumor and Venus entered the fray, Thor immediately felt the effects of her love powers and was about to switch sides. Frank reluctantly punched Thor in the jaw, telling the entranced thunder god that he didn't know what he was doing. Seeing that Frank appeared to be a physical match for "the long-haired Aryan" (Thor, see comments), Rumor turned his attention to Frank, reasoning that his fading power would still work on the child-like "monster." Rumor convinced Frank that Thor was his enemy, so Frank hurled the stunned thunder god several blocks away. Then Rumor had Venus order her subjects to surround and kill Frank, Major Mercury, Mr. Justice, and Rebound.
 
    Luckily, Effigy and the Black Fox disabled the Nazi's vocal cords, an act that immediately released Venus and everyone else he had swayed. In the aftermath, Frank watched as Thor rather brusquely rejected Black Fox's invitation to join the First Line. The thunder god flew off, declaring he had carried out Odin's orders and now Asgard's mead houses awaited him. Then Frank saw the returning Captain Hip and Sunshine and suggested that the hippy heroes might like to join the First Line, but Captain Hip announced that he and his wife would be retiring (Sunshine had told her spouse earlier that she was pregnant).

Comments: Created by Roger Stern (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks).

    This was Frank's only appearance in the series. He was not seen in the heroes' final battle with the Skrulls, so like several other Lost Generation characters, Frank's final fate is unrevealed.
 
    We don't know what Stern/Byrne had in mind for the origin of Frank. Since this particular story was set around the mid-1960s, maybe Frank was their salute to the "monster craze" that was going on at that time (as exemplified by Aurora's Movie Monsters plastic model kits and TV's "The Munsters" (Frank reminds me of what the clumsy and bumbling Herman Munster would be like as a superhero)). Also in the 1960s , Dell Comics even did a (thankfully) short-lived Frankenstein series, wherein the green-faced monster was revived in modern times and became a crime-fighting superhero, then he'd put on a rubber mask and disguise himself as playboy-millionaire Frank N. Stone (Not all comics of the 1960s were of the same caliber as Marvel's).
 
    There have been some questions as to whether Frank is the Frankenstein's Monster. Although he does have a similar visual appearance to the Monster (like the original 1940s Human Torch resembles Johnny Storm), the Frankenstein's Monster profile from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005 (which I realize is only "official" until Marvel says otherwise) states: "It is unknown whether there is a connection between the Monster and the First Line member known only as Frank." I would argue that they're two separate individuals, and to support my theory, I'll offer the following points:
 
            1. Frank is smooth skinned and doesn't appear to have any of the patchwork scar tissue the man-made Monster (who was assembled from spare parts) was covered with; artistic interpretation aside, Byrne's
            drawings of Frank seem to suggest that Frank never underwent any major transplant surgeries; if anything, Frank more resembles the early Hulk (who was colored gray in his first issue in 1962).
 
            2. In the late 1800s, the Monster was rendered mute when his vocal cords were lacerated; the Monster entered suspended animation shortly afterwards until he was revived in the latter 20th century. Veronica
            Frankenstein eventually surgically restored the Monster's speech. Frank was able to speak in the 1960s.
 
            3. The Monster always seemed to be a loner with anti-social tendencies and seemed prone to fits of rage. Frank, although a bit dull-witted, had a much better temperament, and was able to work with
            a team (he even seemed eager to make new friends, when he wondered if Captain Hip and Sunshine would join the group).
 
            4. The Handbook lists the Monster's hair color as brown. Frank's hair is dark-purple/black in color.

 
    So it seems like the only "logical" way Frank could be the Monster and fit into the Monster's time-line is if at some future point, the Monster had cosmetic surgery to clear up his scars, underwent psychiatric therapy to alleviate his anti-social behavior, dyed his hair, then used a time machine to travel back to the 1960s to join the First Line as Frank--assuming no one ever uses such an outrageously convoluted (i.e. stupid) explanation, I would say the two are different characters, and he was only called "Frank" because of his resemblance to the various versions of the Frankenstein Monster seen in pop culture.
    Or, perhaps, it's not so ridiculously preposterous as you labor to make it to be. Perhaps a magic spell, or perhaps the transmutation powers of Makkari and Pixie (or their fellow Eternal Sersi), or something changed him for a time...and then after he left the First Line, the changes faded and he reverted to his previous status quo. I've asked Roger Stern, and he did not want to clarify whether Frank was the Frankenstein's monster, preferring it to be unrevealed for now. Nonetheless...
    As the head writer of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe at that time, I can tell you, the official policy is: Frank of the First Line is apparently either a Frankenstein monster – meaning a creature created in the manner of Victor Frankenstein’s first creation – or just a being with a similar appearance and abilities who adopted the name Frank due to the notable similarities. However, it as yet remains unrevealed whether Frank is actually the original creation of Victor Frankenstein, aka “the Frankenstein monster.” Previous entries referencing Frank as “Frankenstein monster” were unclear in specifying/clarifying this point.
--Snood
 
    The full extent of Frank's strength is unrevealed, and Rumor only assumed he was a match for Thor. Although he lifted that car easily enough, I doubt Frank was quite in the thunder god's class, and his punch may have only taken the spellbound Thor by surprise. But I'd say that Frank was definitely the "muscle" of this particular grouping of the First Line.
 
    And--assuming Frank and the Monster are separate individuals--Thor would later (relatively speaking) take on the "real" Monster when he was recruited as one of Kang's original Legion of the Unliving.
 
    So exactly what was Frank--Zombie? Mutant? Alien? One of Arnim Zola's weekend projects? The son of Victor Avery? The uncle of Digger?... Your guess is as good as mine.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Frank could have some connections to

Frank should not be confused with

images: (without ads)
Frank main (Marvel The Lost Generation I#5 p17, pan3)
Frank head (Marvel The Lost Generation I#5 p10, pan2)
Frank wallops Thor (Marvel The Lost Generation I#5 p15, pan3)

Appearances:
Marvel: The Lost Generation I#5 (October, 2000) - Roger Stern (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)

Last updated: 03/02/15

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Back to Characters