Sometimes I need help deciding who I will showcase and sometimes my showcases are dropped in my lap. For example, I had no idea who I was going to showcase this week until I saw the latest episode of She-Hulk. It is while watching this episode that I realized I need to showcase the classic Ant-Man villain, the Porcupine. There are 3 known versions of the Porcupine in the Marvel Universe but I am going to showcase the original Porcupine also known as Alexander Gentry.
Alexander Gentry was originally a scientist who worked as a weapons designer for the United States Army. He conceived the idea of designing a battle-suit in imitation of a porcupine: it would be covered with quill-like projections for defense. Moreover, it would be able to shoot its quills, or gases, flames, chemicals, paralysis-inducing pellets, or weapons from quill-like tubes, at an opponent. Gentry spends months working overtime to create his porcupine battle-suit. He is proud of his achievement when the suit was finished, and believes his invention is worth a fortune. Yet Gentry also believes that the government would pay him, one of its employees, virtually nothing for his creation. Angrily, Gentry decides to keep the porcupine battle-suit and to use it to become wealthy through crime. Thus Gentry became the Porcupine, one of the first costumed professional criminals of his generation.
Hank Pym aka Ant-Man, and his partner, Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, soon defeat the Porcupine while he attempted to rob a bank. However, the Porcupine succeeds in escaping. After Pym had also assumed the superhuman powers and identity of Giant-Man, Porcupine returns for revenge. During the resulting battle, the Porcupine consumes what he thinks is a Giant-Man growth medium, but which instead shrinks him to microscopic size. Eventually the capsules wear off, leaving him shaken by his defeat.
His self-confidence still shaken by his failures in battling Giant-Man and the Wasp, the Porcupine eagerly accepts the invitation of Count Nefaria, a powerful figure in the criminal Maggia, to join his group of costumed agents. Among Nefaria's agents are Plantman, the original Eel, the original Unicorn, and the Scarecrow, all of whom the Porcupine would ally himself with in the future as well. The Porcupine and the other costumed agents aid Count Nefaria in his attempt to hold much of Washington D.C. for ransom. However, the X-Men thwart Nefaria and his agents.
Once again, the Porcupine escapes being taken prisoner, and he blames the failure of the blackmail scheme on Nefaria and the other agents. Gentry comes to suspect that in fact, he himself was inadequate for the role of being a "super-villain" battling superhuman opponents.
After his battle and escape from the X-Men, Alexander has had run-ins with Iron Man, Captain America, the Defenders, She-Hulk, and many others throughout his career. He eventually is captured and sent to prison only to escape countless times. He evidentially goes underground, never to be heard from again. Well, maybe not never...lol.
Publication Information
Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: Tales to Astonish #48 (October 1963)
Created by Stan Lee & Don Heck
Alter Ego: Alexander Gentry
Team Affiliations:
- United States Army
- Lethal Legion
- Maggia
Abilities
Skilled Automotive Mechanic
Porcupine Suit grants:
- Enhanced strength and durability
- Razor-tipped quill-like surface
- Short-distance flight via belt jets
- Wide variety of Offensive and Defensive Weapons
Until next time, get your READ on!
