Sleeper is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first Sleeper is the name of a series of five destructive robots created by the Red Skull. The second Sleeper is a Symbiote.
The first Sleeper first appeared in Tales of Suspense #72 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
The second Sleeper was created by writer Mike Costa and artist Mark Bagley and first appeared in Venom #165, while making its first named appearance in Venom: First Host #3.
Sleeper | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Tales of Suspense #72 (December 1965) |
Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
In-story information | |
Species | Robot |
Team affiliations | Skeleton Crew |
Notable aliases | SL-4, the Fourth Sleeper |
The Sleepers are five robots who were created by the Nazis as agents of destruction. They attack various villages in Europe and attempt to destroy the Earth by targeting its core before destroyed by Captain America. [1] [2] [3]
The Machinesmith later restores one of the Sleepers and uses it to attack Avengers Island and free the robots incarcerated there. It is thwarted by Captain America and badly damaged before being repaired. [4] [5] [6] [7]
The Sleeper symbiote is the child of Venom, who initially keeps its existence secret from Eddie Brock. [8] [9] [10] The two entrust Liz Allan with caring for Sleeper before it lobotomizes the Kree soldier Tel-Kar and takes over his body to explore the universe. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
The Fourth Sleeper's robotic materials, design, and construction provide it with superhuman physical abilities and limited artificial intelligence. It additionally has optic lasers and could formerly become intangible and generate thermal energy.
The Sleeper symbiote has all of the powers of the predecessor's first human host Spider-Man. It also possesses limited shapeshifting, camouflage, and a Symbiote's autonomous defense capabilities. In addition, it is undetectable by Spider-Man's spider-sense and possesses chemokinesis.
The Sleeper robot appears as the final boss in Captain America: Super Soldier . This version was discovered during the Middle Ages by Heller Zemo, who built Castle Zemo around it. Centuries later, during World War II, Heller's descendant Heinrich Zemo acquires the castle and activates the Sleeper before Captain America destroys it.
The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1, in which his secret identity is revealed to be George Maxon. It would later be retroactively established that Maxon was merely a decoy who was working for the real Red Skull, Johann Shmidt. Other individuals, including Albert Malik and Shmidt's own daughter Sinthea, have also adopted the Red Skull persona.
MacDonald "Mac" Gargan is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #19. Mac Gargan is a recurring antagonist of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He debuted as a private investigator hired by J. Jonah Jameson to learn how Peter Parker took pictures of Spider-Man. In the following issue, Jameson decided to turn Gargan into a deadly adversary for Spider-Man through a barely-tested procedure, which left Gargan with an irremovable scorpion-themed armor and the predatory instincts of the arachnid. Driven insane by his mutation, Gargan instead turned to a life of crime as the Scorpion, and went on to menace both Spider-Man and Jameson, whom he held responsible for his transformation. Since then, having finally removed the armor, Gargan has also served as the third host of the Venom symbiote, and a member of the Dark Avengers as Spider-Man, but eventually returned to his Scorpion alias as it kept him alive due to the strain both the neural-armors and symbiote put on his body.
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15.
The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in The Avengers #6, with the lineup continually changing over the years.
The Thunderbolts are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team consists mostly of reformed supervillains. Created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, the team first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #449.
The Falcon is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was introduced by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan in Captain America #117 and was the first Black American superhero in mainstream comic books.
The Super-Adaptoid is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has appeared in over five decades of Marvel continuity and featured in other Marvel-endorsed products such as animated television series and merchandise such as trading cards.
Hydra is a fictional terrorist organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Its name alludes to the mythical Lernaean Hydra, as does its motto: "If a head is cut off, two more shall take its place," proclaiming the group's resilience and growing strength in the face of resistance. Originally a Nazi organization led by the Red Skull during World War II, Hydra is taken over and turned into a neo-fascist international crime syndicate by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Hydra agents often wear distinctive green garb featuring a serpent motif. Hydra's plans for world domination are regularly foiled by Marvel Universe superheroes and the intelligence organization S.H.I.E.L.D.
Jack O'Lantern is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Crossbones is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Mark Gruenwald and Kieron Dwyer, the character first made a cameo appearance in Captain America #359, before he was fully introduced later that month in issue #360 and his name was revealed in issue #362.
Arnim Zola is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by Marvel Comics. He is a master of biochemistry and a recurring enemy of Captain America and the Avengers. The character first appeared in Captain America and the Falcon #208, and was created by writer/artist Jack Kirby. When he was first introduced, Zola was a Nazi scientist experimenting with genetic engineering during World War II. His skills as a geneticist drew the attention of the Red Skull, who recruited him into Hydra to aid their efforts to create super soldiers. One of his experiments led to the brain of Adolf Hitler being copied into a being later known as Hate-Monger. Later in life, Zola transferred his own mind into a sophisticated robot body which protected it by storing it in its chest and displaying a digital image of Zola's face on its chest plate. This robot body allowed Zola to survive until modern times, as whenever it is destroyed, Zola could simply upload his consciousness into a new body.
Venom is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a sentient alien symbiote with an amorphous, liquid-like form, who survives by bonding with a host, usually human. This dual-life form receives enhanced powers and usually refers to itself as "Venom". The symbiote was originally introduced as a living alien costume in The Amazing Spider-Man #252, with a full first appearance as Venom in The Amazing Spider-Man #300.
Helmut Zemo is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella and Sal Buscema, the character first appeared in Captain America #168. Helmut Zemo is the son of Baron Heinrich Zemo and the thirteenth Baron Zemo in his family lineage. He is a recurring adversary of the Avengers, especially the superhero Steve Rogers / Captain America. The character has also been known as Citizen V at various points in his history.
Heinrich Zemo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first made a cameo appearance in The Avengers #4, before officially being introduced in The Avengers #6. He was retroactively added into the history of Captain America upon the superhero's reintroduction in the Silver Age of Comics two issues prior. Baron Zemo is a Nazi scientist and the founder and original leader of the Masters of Evil, and is commonly depicted as one of the greatest enemies of Captain America and the Avengers. He is the twelfth Baron Zemo in his family lineage, and his legacy is continued by his son, Helmut Zemo.
Madame Hydra is the name of several different fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a name given to a top female operative of HYDRA.
James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally introduced as a sidekick to Captain America, the character was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Captain America Comics #1. Barnes' original costume and the Bucky nickname have been used by other heroes in the Marvel Universe over the years.