Hydro-Man
(pop culture)Spider-Man's hard-to-hold foe, Hydro-Man, dove into the Marvel Universe in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #212 (1981). The creation of writer Dennis O'Neil and artist John Romita, Jr., this aquatic antagonist is actually Morris “Morrie” Bench, a cargo ship swab who is inadvertently tossed overboard by Spidey during the testing of an experimental generator. One splashy disaster later, Bench undergoes cellular reconstruction and surfaces as Hydro- Man, able to transform himself into living liquid. Predictably peeved at Spidey for the loss of his humanity, Hydro-Man attacks the wall-crawler, turning his arms into geysers and evading Spider- Man's grasp by simply slipping through his fingers. Spidey prevails by splattering Hydro- Man over such a distance that the villain evaporates before being able to reassemble his dispersed molecules. Drably dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, Hydro-Man has never risen above B-level status in Spider-Man's rogues' gallery, but his water-based powers have provided some interesting challenges for the hero—traveling through water sources, transforming into tsunamis, and firing himself like a water cannon are among Bench's superpowers. Hydro-Man once teamed with Sandman to tackle Spidey, and has also joined forces with the Frightful Four and Sinister Syndicate. In addition to numerous encounters with Spider-Man, he has fought the Fantastic Four, Captain America, and other heroes. Rob Paulsen voiced Hydro-Man on FOX's Spider- Man animated series (1994–1998), while Brad Garrett of Everybody Loves Raymond fame voiced the villain in a 1995 episode of the Fantastic Four cartoon (1994–1996). Hydro-Man is one of the supervillains “seen” in the 3-D “The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man” ride at Universal Orlando's Marvel Super Hero Island, soaking riders who narrowly elude his grasp.
The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood © 2006 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.