3-D Man

In a text piece in Marvel Premiere #36, writer Roy Thomas described the 3-D Man as a homage to the Joe Simon and Jack Kirby character Captain 3-D, and was intended by Thomas as a commentary on contemporary societal themes using 1950s analogues.[4] Thomas was a noted user of retroactive continuity in his work for Marvel, notably on the World War II-set series The Invaders. Part of the inspiration was due to a relative dearth of Marvel Universe characters between the mid-1950s cancellation of most of Atlas Comics' superhero titles and the beginning of the company's Silver Age in Fantastic Four #1.[5]

There are conflicting accounts as to how the character received his name;[5] according to the character's artist co-creator Jim Craig, Thomas had initially told him 3-D Man was going to debut in his own magazine-format series in actual stereoscopic 3D, but after further researching the cost informed him that the budget would not cover it.[6] However, other sources suggest the name was planned for a mooted back-up feature in a planned Spider-Man 3-D title in 1965 and that Thomas created a character based around the name.[5] Thomas himself would recall "I wanted to do a comic set in the late 1950s, so I made up 3-D Man, even though 3-D was really a phenomenon of 1953 to 1955 or so at the latest. I gave him a costume based on the original Daredevil of Lev Gleason comics, only colored red and green instead of red and blue, and with a chest symbol. Young Canadian artist Jim Craig drew, which makes him co-creator. I named him Chuck Chandler, which was the real name of another Lev Gleason character, Crimebuster... and I borrowed and altered a couple of elements of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's one-issue CAPTAIN 3-D as well. I had hoped it could be a real 3-D comic, but that was not to be.[7] Because 3-D Man's adventures took place in the 1950s, Craig had to spend extensive time at a library doing research for the story's setting.[6]

The character debuted in a three-issue run of the anthology series Marvel Premiere, issues #35–37 (1977). There are several graphic elements in these comics - the first issue in particular - that were intended for their originally planned 3-D presentation.[6] Marvel Premiere was considered a 'try-out' book - successful features such as Doctor Strange and Iron Fist had previously been promoted to their own titles. However, the 3-D Man did not receive such an honour, and instead would not appear again until the following year. He returned in What If #9 as part of a forgotten team of 1950s Avengers, with the rest of the roster made up of Atlas characters. Whereas What If stories usually took place in a branched reality, the events of the issue were intentionally left open-ended at the time the issue was published. It was then another couple of years until the character appeared again, in The Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #251–252 (1980), in a storyline which effectively wrote the character out of the present-day Marvel Universe.[5] 3-D Man did make a brief cameo in Contest of Champions #1 in 1982, one of several remnants of the series actually being intended for publication in 1980.[8]

The character then spend the next 15 years in limbo before resurfacing in Avengers Forever #4 (1999), which established the events of What If #9 as taking place in an alternate reality. However, Avengers Forever writer Kurt Busiek would later revisit the character in his run on the main Avengers title, leading to the 3-D Man featuring in The Avengers (vol.3) #50–55 (2002) in the closing stages of the "Kang Dynasty" storyline in a plot that tied his fate in with the newer character Triathlon. After another period out of the limelight, the character returned in the 2008 Secret Invasion: Skrulls one-shot, which would lead to Triathlon taking on the mantle of the 3-D Man in Avengers: The Initiative #14.[3]

The Chandler brothers received their superhuman abilities through exposure to an unknown radiation in the explosion of a Skrull starship. Hal Chandler could, by concentrating on the image of his brother Chuck imprinted on his glasses, summon a super-powered version of his brother: 3-D Man. Chuck had a telepathic link with Hal, who would lose consciousness and become comatose when the 3-D Man is active. The 3-D Man's consciousness is apparently a synthesis of Chuck and Hal's minds, with Chuck's usually dominant. 3-D Man, in turn, could only remain in a three-dimensional reality for three hours at a time before Hal would wake up, causing 3-D Man to subsequently disappear and return to his two-dimensional existence. The 3-D Man wore a specially designed NASA flight suit (circa late 1950s), altered in appearance and bonded to his skin. Chuck was an expert pilot and a talented football player. Hal is an experienced scientific researcher. Hal is astigmatic, and requires special glasses. A poliomyelitis victim as a child, he now requires crutches to walk. As 3-D Man, Chuck Chandler possessed approximately three times the physical capabilities of an extremely physically fit but otherwise normal human male.[23] As his name suggests, 3-D Man is three times as strong, fast, and durable as military pilot Chuck Chandler. The sensory acuity of each of his five senses is three times more powerful than the maximum capabilities of a normal human being. In addition, 3-D Man had the limited quasi-telepathic ability to perceive the distinctive aura of the Skrull race, even when a Skrull has assumed another form.

• 3-D Man (Chuck and Hal Chandler) at Marvel.com
• 3-D Man (Chuck Chandler) at Marvel Wiki
  • Hal Chandler at Marvel Wiki
• 3-D Man at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012.