He was an industrialist who specializes in providing munitions to the United States government. After an initial encounter with hero Iron Man, the character reappears in The Avengers #6 (Jul. 1964) as part of supervillain team the Masters of Evil. A version of the Masters of Evil return in The Avengers #15-16 (Apr.-May 1965), with the Melter being jailed. The Melter reappears to battle Iron Man in Tales of Suspense 89-90 (May-Jun. 1967), and then The Avengers #54-55 (Jul.-Aug. 1968) as part of the next version of the Masters of Evil (formed without the villains' knowledge by the robotUltron) and again in The Avengers #83 (Dec. 1970). The character becomes a perennial villain in the title Iron Man, appearing in issues #72 (Jan. 1974); #92 (Nov. 1976) and #123-124 (Jun.-Jul. 1979) and #127 (Oct. 1979). After another attempt to sabotage the company Stark International in Iron Man #166 (Jan. 1983), the character reappears in Marvel Two-in-One #96 (Feb. 1983) before being assassinated during the Scourge of the Underworld storyline in The Avengers #263 (Jan. 1986). As writer Mike Conroy stated "Bruno Horgan was one of those villains who suited simpler times...Times moved on, though, and Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's creation didn't. Despite numerous upgrades to his weaponry, the Melter was never a major player."[2]
...Mark Gruenwald had compiled a list of villains who were either less than inspired or had outlived their welcome. I picked the Melter because he was such a doof. There had been maybe one good Melter story...which had been repeated over and over again by various writers. Mind you, there's nothing wrong with the name.[2]
Another character using the name "Melter" debuted during the Dark Reign storyline in the limited series Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1 - 5 (July-Dec. 2009).
Fictional character biography
Bruno Horgan
Bruno Horgan is driven into bankruptcy when a government safety inspection team proves that he is using inferior materials, with the defense contracts awarded to his competitor Tony Stark (the alter ego of hero Iron Man). Discovering that one of his faulty devices is capable of generating a beam capable of "melting" anything composed of iron, Horgan redesigns the device so that it can be strapped to his chest, and after donning a costume adopts the alias the Melter. As the Melter, Horgan becomes a professional criminal and embarks on a campaign of industrial sabotage against Stark, hoping to ruin him. He eventually encounters Iron Man after Stark is told he could lose his government contracts. Despite damaging the hero's armor and forcing Iron Man back, the Melter is defeated when Stark builds a temporary duplicate armor composed of aluminium, but leaps into the sewer, though Stark is unaware whether he was killed or not.[3]
The Melter reappears as an employee of Baron Zemo (who has upgraded the melting beam to affect all metals) as part of supervillain team the Masters of Evil. He helps spray Adhesive X over the city. The Melter meets Iron Man as the Avengers first meet the Masters, but Iron Man knocks him away using his magnetic repulsor. The Masters are defeated, with the Melter being jailed after Iron Man drenches him with water, preventing his beam from working.[4] Melter is placed in a cell with bars that have been chemically treated so they cannot be melted. The Masters of Evil have a second encounter with the Avengers after Melter and Black Knight are broken out of jail by the Enchantress and Executioner. The Melter nearly finishes Iron Man after welding his boots to a roof, but he is stopped by Thor using his uru hammer, which the Melter cannot melt. The Masters of Evil are eventually defeated after Thor transports them and the Avengers to another dimension with different laws of physics, making their weapons rebound. The villains are bound and returned to Earth.[5]
The Melter has several battles with Iron Man: at the direction of Black Lama, the Melter joins fellow villains Whiplash and Man-Bull to form the Death Squad.[6] Melter reappears, with many other villains, as an employee of criminal mastermind Justin Hammer.[7]
Eventually, the Melter manages to augment his melting ray's power to its peak. Before he can employ it, he is ambushed and killed by the Scourge of the Underworld, who destroys his melting ray.[8]
Ability to mentally agitate the molecules in solid matter so that it loses cohesion
The second Melter character first appears in Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1 (July 2009) and was created by Paul Cornell and Mark Brooks.
Christopher Colchiss is a mutant with innate melting abilities who later adopts the Melter name and is recruited to lead the "Young Masters", a teenage super team opposing the Young Avengers. Unlike the original Melter, his abilities also extend to organic material. Melter has serious doubts about the moral conviction of most his teammates, and twice he has made mistakes with his powers that killed people. These incidents have resulted in making him hesitant to use his powers in combat.[9]
Melter is later recruited by Mandarin and Zeke Stane, who give him an upgraded suit and recruit him to assist a group of villains in taking down Iron Man.[10]
Christopher is welcomed into the mutant nation of Krakoa and given a clean slate. For unknown reasons, he begins destroying parts of the island and spying on the Quiet Council of Krakoa. Despite claiming he only wanted to help Krakoa and being given two warnings, Melter is thrown into the Pit of Exile. Once in the pit, he and the other prisoners are greeted by Sabretooth.[12] Sabretooth teaches the prisoners to channel their consciousnesses through the island to manifest themselves above ground in artificial bodies. He sends them all on missions to recruit people to their cause. However, Melter holds back due to his loyalty to Professor X. Sabretooth attacks Melter, who destroys his body.[13] The destruction of Sabretooth's body almost kills everyone in the Pit due to it being controlled by his mind. Third-Eye saves everyone by dragging their consciousnesses into the astral plane while Krakoa fixes their bodies. Melter is taken to a recreation of Sabretooth's childhood home with the other prisoners. After having dinner together, they all discuss what they did to get thrown in the pit and whether they deserve to be there.[14] Shortly afterwards, they meet with Cypher, who informs them that Sabretooth has betrayed them and escaped the Pit on his own. He offers to release them from the Pit on the condition that they take fellow prisoners Nanny, Orphan-Maker, and Toad with them and hunt down Sabretooth so he can be punished for his crimes.[15]
While tracking down Sabretooth, Melter and the exiles infiltrate a series of mutant prisons and experimentation centers established by Orchis. After Orphan-Maker is kidnapped and manipulated into taking off his armor by Doctor Barrington, meaning his potentially world ending powers are no longer contained, Third-Eye takes the exiles to the astral plane to buy time while Nanny and Madison Jeffries build a new suit for Orphan-Maker.[16] The team escapes with the freed Orchis prisoners on their boat, which Madison transforms into a vessel large enough to contain them all. After arriving at the final Orchis base underwater, the team are hit by a tidal wave and trapped in the base with a group of mutant children, who attack them out of fear that they are there to perform more experiments. Nanny shuts down the brains of everyone except herself and Orphan-Maker, allowing them to escape. Nanny, Orphan-Maker, Barrington, and Sabretooth all leave to pursue their own goals, with Nanny and Orphan-Maker taking the mutant children with them.[17]
Roderick Kingsley sells the original Melter's costume and gear to an unnamed criminal. Melter is present with Hobgoblin (Kingsley's butler Claude) when he leads his forces into battling the Goblin King's Goblin Nation. After Hobgoblin is killed by Goblin King, Melter defects to the Goblin Nation.[20]
Melter appears as a member of Swarm's Sinister Six, who attack Spider-Man and the students of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. After Hellion defeats Swarm, Melter and the other villains surrender.[21]
Powers and abilities
Bruno Horgan invented a device which projected a form of energy that loosened the bonding forces between the molecules of substances, causing these substances to change from solid form to liquid form, thereby melting. The Melter's first melting beam could affect iron, while a later version could affect almost any substance. The melting effect did not appear to involve heat, but when used on a human being, the beam inflicts burns as opposed to truly melting. The Melter uses several of these devices, including hand-held pistol versions and a device worn on his torso in a harness. Horgan possesses extensive knowledge of weapons and munitions.
The Christopher Colchiss incarnation of Melter is a mutant with the ability to mentally agitate the molecules in solid matter, causing it to lose cohesion and melt. Unlike the first Melter, he is able to affect organic matter, with fatal effects.
The third Melter wields the original Melter's equipment.
Melter appears in the Iron Man: Armored Adventures episode "The Invincible Iron Man Part 2: Reborn".[citation needed] This version is a Makluan Guardian created by the first Mandarin to guard one of his rings and test potential successors. His successor Gene Khan and Howard Stark arrive to claim the ring and pass the Melter's test, with the former trapping it in an amber-like substance before it can reach the latter.
The Bruno Horgan incarnation of Melter appears in M.O.D.O.K., voiced by Eddie Pepitone.[25] This version is a self-proclaimed boomer who wants to open a food truck that serves specialized sandwiches. In the episode "If Saturday Be... For the Boys!", he died due to his poor health before he could help MODOK steal Captain America's shield, leaving behind a widow and son who appear in the episode "What Menace Doth the Mailman Deliver!".[26][27]
Video games
The Bruno Horgan incarnation of the Melter appears as a boss in Iron Man, voiced by Gavin Hammon.[25] This version is an operative of A.I.M..
Melter appears in Lego Marvel's Avengers as a member of the Masters of Evil via the group's self-titled DLC pack.[29]
Miscellaneous
Melter appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) tie-in comic one-shot Iron Man: Coming of the Melter. This version is a former inventor who failed to pitch a suit of armor to the United States military. After modifying the design, he attacks Tony Stark and War Machine in the hopes of using the publicity to sell his armor to the highest bidder. However, the pair defeat Melter and destroy his armor.[30]
1234"Melter Voices (Iron Man)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 19, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
↑Towner, Eric and Alex Kramer (director); Patton Oswalt (writer) (May 21, 2021). "If Saturday Be... For the Boys!". M.O.D.O.K. Season 1. Episode 4. Hulu.
↑Towner, Eric and Alex Kramer (director); Geoff Barbanell and Itai Grunfeld (writer) (May 21, 2021). "What Menace Doth the Mailman Deliver!". M.O.D.O.K. Season 1. Episode 9. Hulu.
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