Publication history
The first Ani-Men debuted in Daredevil #10 (October, 1965) and were created by Wally Wood (writer, co-artist) and Bob Powell (co-artist). [1] [2]
The second Ani-Men debuted in Daredevil #157 (March, 1979) and were created by Roger McKenzie (co-writer), Jo Duffy (co-writer), Gene Colan (artist), and Klaus Janson (inker).
The third Ani-Men debuted in Scarlet Spider Unlimited #1 (November, 1995) and were created by Glenn Herdling (writer), Todd Smith (artist), and John Nyberg (inker).
The fourth Ani-Men debuted in Code of Honor #3 (April, 1997) and were created by Chuck Dixon (writer), Bob Wakelin (co-artist), and Dærick Gröss Sr. (co-artist).
The fifth Ani-Men debuted in GLA #1 (June 2005) and were created by Dan Slott (writer) and Paul Pelletier (artist).
Fictional team history
Original Ani-Men
The original lineup of the Ani-Men (consisting of Ape-Man, Bird-Man, Cat-Man and Frog-Man) are recruited by a man calling himself the Organizer, who gives them costumes themed after their codenames. Gordon "Monk" Keefer became Ape-Man because of his great strength, Henry Hawk became Bird-Man, Towshend Horgan became Cat-Man because of his "feline agility", and François LeBlanc became Frog-Man who had Olympic-level leaping abilities. The Organizer is secretly Abner Jonas, a candidate running to become mayor of New York City, and sends the Ani-Men to undermine the standing of the current administration. Daredevil defeats them and the Ani-Men and the Organizer are all imprisoned. [3] [2] [4] [5]
Count Nefaria has Ape-Man, Bird-Man, Cat-Man, Frog-Man, and their new female member Dragonfly be submitted to a processes at the hands of Dr. Kenneth Sturdy that gives them superhuman powers and animalistic appearances. Following an assault on the NORAD base at Mount Valhalla, they are all captured by the X-Men. [6]
With the Ani-Men regressed back to normal and using their special costumes again, Count Nefaria sends Ape-Man, Bird-Man, Cat-Man, and Frog-Man to kill Tony Stark. However, Spymaster had intended to kill Stark with a bomb, which kills the Ani-Men instead. [2] [7]
Death-Stalker's Ani-Men
The Death-Stalker recruits a new team of Ani-Men and gives them the costumes of the original Ani-Men members. Roy McVey became Ape-Man, Achille DeBacco became Bird-Man, and Sebastian Patane became Cat-Man. He sends the new Ani-Men to capture Daredevil. Black Widow defeats Bird-Man, and the Death-Stalker kills Ape-Man and Cat-Man upon the completion of their mission. [8]
Bird-Man survives, but is later killed by the Scourge of the Underworld. [9]
High Evolutionary's Ani-Men
The third incarnation of the Ani-Men (also spelled Animen) are a group of New Men that consist of Buzzard (an evolved hawk), Crushtacean (an evolved crab), Flying Fox (an evolved bat), Komodo (an evolved Komodo dragon), and Spinneret (an evolved spider). The High Evolutionary dispatches the Ani-Men to a laboratory operated by his former assistant Miles Warren (the Jackal) to clean up Warren's files. After three weeks, the Ani-Men are almost done with their cleanup and have spread a virus into all of Warren's files, but they are discovered by the Scarlet Spider. When the High Evolutionary teleports the Ani-Men back to his home base at Wundagore, the Scarlet Spider is accidentally brought with them, having stuck himself to Crushtacean with his webbing. Later, the Scarlet Spider joins members of the Cult of the Jackal in sneaking into the citadel of the High Evolutionary in an attempt to learn the truth about Warren's involvement with the High Evolutionary. The Ani-Men come to face the cult members and the Scarlet Spider, but the fight is brought to an end after the Scarlet Spider is able to learn the truth from the High Evolutionary. The High Evolutionary sends the Scarlet Spider home, but Crushtacean foolishly touches a ball of impact webbing the hero has left behind, covering himself and the other Ani-Men with webbing, much to their embarrassment. [10] [2] [4] [5] [11]
Hammerhead's Ani-Men
During the Secret Wars storyline, a new version of the Ani-Men (consisting of Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and Frog Man) commit crimes while the heroes are on Battleworld. They obtain the equipment of the original Ani-Men and use it to rob a vault wagon, only to be opposed by the NYPD. [12]
These Ani-Men (consisting of Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and a new Cat-Man) are among the many criminals hired by Hammerhead during the "Civil War" in an effort to take over the underworld while Kingpin is incarcerated. Unbeknownst to them, Kingpin has tricked Iron Man into leading a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit to the warehouse where they are meeting, which Iron Man believes to be the headquarters of Captain America's Secret Avengers. Iron Man and the S.H.I.E.L.D. unit break in and a huge fight breaks out. The battle results in arrests, injuries and death, but it is unrevealed if any of those apply to the new Ani-Men. [13]
Independent Ani-Men
This Ani-Men assemblage has no known connection to any prior incarnations or any info on their history except for the fact that they resemble humanoid versions of the animals they represent. This group consists of Giraffe-Man, Great Horned Owl-Man, Pig-Man, and Rabbit-Woman. They attack the Milwaukee Convention Center, holding humans responsible for transgressions against the animal kingdom. Model Ashley Crawford (a.k.a. Big Bertha) is at a modeling shoot there and phones her teammates in the Great Lakes Avengers for help. By the time the Great Lakes Avengers show up, the actual Avengers are there and tell them to sit this one out so that they will not get hurt. The Ani-Men are defeated by the Avengers. [14]
Other versions
Carnage: Black, White & Blood
A sixth incarnation of the Ani-Men appears in Carnage: Black, White & Blood. The group consists of Elephant Man, Giraffe Man, and Boar-Man where they all resemble humanoid versions of the animals they represent. In a "You Are Carnage" story that evokes the traits of "Choose Your Own Adventure" and takes place in an unidentified reality, the Ani-Men are shown robbing a bank as the reader as Carnage is left with a choice on what to do with them. If the reader decides to kill them, Carnage beheads Boar-Man, drowns Elephant Man in a lethal swirly using a makeshift toilet, and rips out Giraffe Man's spine. If the reader decides not to kill them, Carnage will just knock them out. [2] [15]
Earth X
An original incarnation of the Ani-Men appear in Earth X . These versions are animals from a Wakandan preserve who Black Panther accidentally mutated into anthropomorphic forms using the Cosmic Cube. They include but are not limited to humanoid elephants, humanoid giraffes, humanoid gorillas, humanoid turtles, and zebra-like centaurs. After the Wendigo attacks Wakanda, Black Panther brings the Ani-Men to live in the Savage Land. [16] [17] [18]
Ultimate Marvel
An alternate universe incarnation of the Ani-Men from Earth-1610 appear in the Ultimate Marvel universe. This version is associated with Dr. Arthur Molekevic and resembled mud monsters. [19]
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