3-D Man was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Jim Craig. The character was originally created as a tribute to the unsuccessful Harvey Comics character Captain 3-D. 3-D Man was originally supposed to appear as the back-up feature in a stereoscopic comic book featuring Spider-Man, but the idea was cancelled and 3-D Man made his premiere in Marvel Premiere #35 (1977). [1] 3-D Man is described as having three times the strength, speed and physicality of an average man. [2] 3-D Man is the alternate persona of Chuck Chandler, a test pilot who was abducted by the Skrulls. Chandler was imbued with powers by a Skrull artifact during his escape, but the same incident connected him with his brother Hal Chandler, with Hal giving up his energy and going into a coma whenever Chuck needs to access the power of 3-D Man. The character retained his association with the Skrulls, and they became his main adversaries. [3] The original 3-D Man remained an obscure character. [2]
The character of Delroy Garrett was created by Kurt Busiek and George Pérez. [2] Garrett is a former Olympic sprinter who joined a cult, the Triune Understanding, after he was disgraced for using steroids. [4] Originally known as Triathlon and first appearing in Avengers #8 (1988), [4] he is given the powers of 3-D Man by the Triune Understanding after they steal them from Chandler. Triathlon joined the Avengers as the new 3-D Man, but he believed himself to be a token hire as he was African-American and the team was being accused of racism at the time they allowed him to join. The character played a prominent role during the Kang Dynasty story arc, but he was unpopular with readers and was not heavily used. [2] He played another prominent role in Avengers: The Initiative #19, in which he joins the Skrull Kill Krew and uses his abilities to see through the disguises of shapeshifting Skrulls. [5] This ability brings him to kill Z'Reg, a defecting Skrull who he falsely believed to be hostile. [4]
An alternate version of Chandler's 3-D Man portrayed him as a hero in the 1950s who joined that world's version of the Avengers. [3]
4D Man is a version of Kyle Richmond from Earth X, first appearing in Universe X #0 (2000). [6] He was cursed by Mephisto to see the future, and he works alongside Isaac Christians, the Gargoyle, to document all of history. This is used as a framing device for 4D Man to be a narrator for the story. [7] 4D Man is ultimately betrayed by the Gargoyle. [6]
8-Ball is the name of two characters appearing in Marvel Comics.
8-Ball was created by Bob Budiansky and Bret Blevins, and first appeared in Sleepwalker #2 (1991). [8] 8-Ball has no superhuman powers. [9] Wearing a spherical helmet designed to look like a billiards 8 ball, he wields a concussive cue stick and exploding balls. [10] Screen Rant listed him among the worst Marvel Comics villains introduced in the 1990s. [9] Jeff Hagees is introduced as a defense contractor and engineer who is also a skilled pool player. [8] [9] He develops problem gambling and adopts the villainous persona of 8-Ball to recoup his losses. Initially an enemy of Sleepwalker, 8-Ball goes on to fight various superheroes. He did not achieve popularity as a villain, and was eventually killed by Wrecker. [8] 8-Ball is later resurrected, and for a time he is the cellmate of Moon Knight, giving him another character to interact with and allowing for character growth. [11] 8-Ball questions his choices after luring Moon Knight into a trap: unhappy with his identity as a failed supervillain and the assumptions that this creates about him, he changes his mind and goes back to save Moon Knight. [8]
An unnamed character wearing the 8-Ball costume appears in a fight sequence in The Amazing Spider-Man #600. The third version of 8-Ball is introduced in The Superior Spider-Man #26. Created by Dan Slott, Humberto Ramos, and Victor Olazaba, this version of 8-Ball is recruited into Hobgoblin's team of supervillains. [12]
803 is a service robot who joins Agent Venom (Flash Thompson)'s crew. [13] He appears in the series Venom: Space Knight , where he plays a sidekick role. The character was created by Robbie Thompson, who described his history as if "C-3PO had stayed with Jabba for thousands of years", saying that this made the character "self effacing" and "somewhat suicidal". [14] To help Agent Venom move without his legs, 803 builds him a set of prosthetic legs. This idea inspired editor Jake Thomas to focus on the wounded veteran aspect of Thompson's character, including a partnership between Marvel Comics and the Wounded Warrior Project. [15]