A cunning creature from a way-off watery world, the Manphibian joins with others to protect Earth’s monsters from those who would use and abuse them.
A Fish Out of Water
Much more than a thousand years ago on an alien world, two of its normally peaceful, water-breathing denizens enter into a deadly dispute when one murders the other’s mate and flee the planet to escape punishment. The wronged alien follows in hot pursuit and tracks the killer across the cosmos to Earth, where both become trapped for centuries far below the crust of the blue-green world, alive but in suspended animation.
In the modern era, oil-drilling releases the two and they resume their cat-and-mouse roles until the mate-less hunter is mistaken for the predator by oil tycoon Aaron Fox when he rescues Fox’ wife. Fox vows revenge and a new monster is “born” on Earth—the Manphibian.
Strength Below the Scales
The Manphibian possess all the incredible strength of his race and longevity of life, as well as the ability to breathe and operate with great agility under water. In addition, his claws can be used to rend most materials apart and his thick hide protects him from many conventional weapons, including small missiles. He also heals much more rapidly than a human. He’s an accomplished scientist on his world of origin.
Swimming in Schools
As these things go, the Manphibian forges alliances on Earth in the form of its more monstrous citizens, and has made few if any friends among normal humans. His greatest compatriots can be found among the Legion of Monsters, such as Morbius, the Living Vampire, Jack Russell, AKA Werewolf by Night, and N’Kantu, AKA Living Mummy, as well as the monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone. He also joins S.H.I.E.L.D.’s monster squad, the Howling Commandos, under Dum Dum Dugan.
His most heinous enemies are the unnamed member of his species that killed the Manphibian’s mate on their planet, and torturer Robert Hellsgaard who killed his offspring. The magician Merlin should be included in the ranks of his foes, too.
Out of the Bowl, Into the Fire
On the run after unsuccessfully dealing with his mate’s killer, the Manphibian came into contact with the law enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D. and agreed to join its Howling Commandos strike force alongside other supernatural beasts. Following the disbanding of both the unit and S.H.I.E.L.D. he joined the so-called Legion of Monsters to help defend the planet’s arcane citizens from Robert Hellsgaard’s Hunter of Monster Special Force, a group dedicated of ridding Earth of his kind. The Manphibian also aided the Legion in the creation of a Monster Metropolis in old Morlock tunnels below Manhattan, a sanctuary for monsters away from Hellsgaard’s search-and-destroy mission.
The Legion later fought and captured Frank Castle, AKA the Punisher, after he’d been brought back to life following his death and dismemberment. Then, the Manphibian was captured by Hellsgaard’s Special Force and flown off to the team’s base in the Alps for torturing by the man himself. Unable to learn the location of Monster Metropolis from the alien amphibian, Hellsgaard presented him with the bodies of the Manphibian’s offspring, the children he’d had with his long-dead mate. Castle and the legion swooped in to rescue their companion, but not before he’d been attacked with a buzz saw by his jailer.
Hellsgaard and the Legion transferred their battle to Limbo where he and the Manphibian traded blows and the creature got the better of the man. In the end, Castle prevented the Manphibian from killing Hellsgaard and together they left him in Limbo while the Legion returned to Earth. Badly wounded, the alien was offered the chance to execute the Special Force soldiers who’d been previously captured, but he declined the offer, feeling he shouldn’t lower himself to his attackers’ level.
Frank Castle subsequently went on a rampage in Tokyo, forcing the Manphibian and the Legion to recover him along with help from monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone. The group then battled the Dimensional Man, aided General Thaddeus Ross, AKA Red Hulk against Leonard Samson, AKA Doc Samson’s evil ghost, and moved to evacuate an entire town out from under the threat of the dreaded Ultimate Nullifier. During this time, the aquatic alien personally protected a good friend of his compatriot in the legion, Morbius, the Living Vampire.
Subdued by the otherworldly Mojo, the Manphibian found himself forced to act as one of the “Avengers of the Supernatural” for a new movie the corpulent filmmaker was producing. He later joined a new Howling Commandos unit, and aided Old Man Logan in the rescue of the mutant Jubilation Lee, AKA Jubilee, from Vlad Dracula, AKA Dracula, and recently worked alongside the mercenary Wade Wilson, AKA Deadpool. He has since been seen teaching exotic cooking classes in Monster Metropolis beneath Manhattan.
