Man-Bull

For the creature in ancient mythology, see Lamassu.

Man-Bull
Man-Bull as depicted in Howard the Duck (vol. 5) #3 (July 2015). Art by Jason Latour.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Daredevil #78 (July 1971)
Created by	Gerry Conway Gene Colan
In-story information
Alter ego	William "Bill" Taurens
Species	Human mutate
Team affiliations	Death Squad Frightful Four Menagerie Vil-Anon
Partnerships	Matador
Notable aliases	Minotaur Savage Bull Taurus
Abilities	Superhuman strength, speed and endurance Razor-sharp horns Bovine empathy

The Man-Bull (William Taurens) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Man-Bull made his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law , portrayed by Nate Hurd.

Publication history

The Man-Bull first appeared in Daredevil #78 (July 1971), and was created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Gene Colan. ^[1] The character subsequently appeared in Daredevil #95-96 (January–February 1973), Claws of the Cat #4 (June 1973), Iron Man #72 (January 1975), Daredevil #129 (January 1976), and Daredevil #144 (April 1977). The character did not appear again for some time, until The Incredible Hulk #341 (March 1988), and he then appeared in Marvel Year-in-Review '92, The Amazing Spider-Man: Chaos in Calgary #4 (February 1993), Captain America #413 (March 1993), and New Warriors #36 (June 1993). He disappeared again for a time, before appearing in She-Hulk #10 (February 2005), Gravity #1 (August 2005), Wolverine (vol. 3) #30 (September 2005), Spider-Man Unlimited #12 (January 2006), Underworld #3 (June 2006), and Punisher War Journal (vol. 2) #13-15 (January–March 2008).

The Man-Bull received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #6, and in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update #1 (2007).

Fictional character biography

William Taurens is a criminal who was hired by Mister Kline to round up people to test an experimental serum made from bull enzymes by his agent, the Professor. After being thwarted by Daredevil, Taurens is subjected to the serum and temporarily transformed into a humanoid bull. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

After his former partner Itch sneaks into his prison cell and permanently transforms him, Taurens attempts to get revenge on Daredevil and becomes a recurring enemy of him. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]} He, Melter, and Whiplash later join Black Lama's Death Squad and encounter Iron Man at a comic book convention. ^[9] Man-Bull later joins the Wizard's Frightful Four and encounters Spider-Man and Turbine. ^[10]

In the "Hunted" storyline, Man-Bull is captured by Taskmaster and Black Ant as part of Kraven the Hunter's Great Hunt and killed by Hunter-Bots. ^{[11] [12]} In Ruins of Ravencroft, Man-Bull appears alive and was imprisoned at Ravencroft following its rebuilding. ^[13]

In the"King in Black" storyline, Man-Bull was seen at the Bar with No Name when Wilson Fisk offers jobs to everyone there. ^[14] Man-Bull was later seen at Ravencroft during Knull's invasion, and joins the Thunderbolts to battle him. ^{[15] [16]}

Powers and abilities

Man-Bull possesses bull-like physiology that gives him superhuman physical abilities, powerful horns, and the ability to mentally control other bovines. However, he is prone to periods of feral violence caused by adrenaline and the side effects of the serum that gave him his powers. ^{[17] [18]}

Other versions

Bull-Frog, an alternate universe funny animal variant of Man-Bull from Earth-8311, appears in Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham . ^[19]

In other media

Man-Bull appears in the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode "The Retreat", portrayed by Nathan Hurd. ^{[3] [4] [20] [21]} This version gained a cattle-like head and hair on parts of his body following an experiment gone wrong and is a member of Emil Blonsky's spiritual retreat, Summer Twilight.

References

1. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains . New York: Facts on File. p. 204. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
2. Daredevil #78-79 (July - August 1971)
3. Polo, Susana (September 29, 2022). "She-Hulk just assembled Marvel's most D-list supervillain squad". Polygon . Retrieved September 18, 2024.
4. Kaplan, Rebecca Oliver (September 30, 2022). "Man-Bull and El Aguila: Who Are the New She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Marvel Characters?". MovieWeb . Retrieved September 18, 2024.
5. Daredevil #95-96 (January - February 1973)
6. Daredevil #129 (January 1976)
7. Daredevil #144 (April 1977)
8. Claws of the Cat #4 (June 1973)
9. Iron Man #72 (January 1975)
10. Amazing Spider-Man: Chaos in Calgary #4 (February 1992)
11. The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #17 (May 2019)
12. The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #19 (June 2019)
13. Ruins of Ravencroft: Dracula one-shot (March 2020)
14. King in Black #2 (February 2021)
15. King in Black: Thunderbolts #2 (April 2021)
16. King in Black: Thunderbolts #3 (May 2021)
17. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #6 (June 1983)
18. All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update #1 (March 2007)
19. Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #2 (July 1985)
20. Mitovich, Matt Webb (September 28, 2022). "She-Hulk Sneak Peek: Blonsky's Back, With a Pair of Marvel-ous Friends". TVLine . Retrieved September 18, 2024.
21. Glazebrook, Lewis (September 29, 2022). "Who Plays She-Hulk's Man-Bull & Porcupine?". Screen Rant . Retrieved September 18, 2024.