List of Marvel Comics characters: P

Dr. Thaddeus Paine, created by Len Kaminski, first appeared in Morbius the Living Vampire #4 (December 1994). He is a sadist who was unable to feel pain and has prosthesic hands equipped with surgical tools. He is a silent partner of Dr. David Langford which got threatened, resulting in the deaths of Martine Bancroft and his business partner.[1] Paine then experiments on Morbius, the Living Vampire much like his inhumane medical experiments on the homeless, resulting in the Living Vampire vengefully destroying his facility while the Doctor escaped.[2] Paine next tortured Eddie Brock and experimented on the Venom symbiote, resulting in both individuals as Venom getting revenge by imbalancing his brain.[3]

Dr. Erich Paine, created by Peter Milligan and Salvador Larroca, first appeared in X-Men (vol. 2) #175 (November 2005). He is a genetics specialist who specialized in genetic mutations which turn humans into mutates to serve as slaves which the X-Men tore down. However, Paine worked under the Nigandan Government's monarchial overlord M'Butu which incurred the Black Panther. Having modified himself into an artificial mutant, Paine managed to hold his own until he's killed by the Red Ghost.[4][5]

Panda-Mania appears in the Spider-Man episode "Bring on the Bad Guys" Pt. 1, voiced by Teala Dunn.

In the mainstream Marvel Comics universe, Perun is the name of a fictional Russian superhero who serves in Russia's government-sponsored super-team alongside Fantasma, The Red Guardian, Vostok and Crimson Dynamo.

He wears a helmet and red cloak similar to those of Thor. He had long hair and a beard, with a great deal of body hair. Perun is an avatar of the Slavic god Perun inhabiting the body of Valeri Sovloyev.

Perun evidently first joined the Russian super-team when it was known as the Supreme Soviets. When the Soviets attacked their predecessors, the Soviet Super Soldiers, Perun is disguised as Thor due to Fantasia's magic. Nearly killing Ursa Major with his lightning.

Perun and his team, subsequently renamed the People's Protectorate, are featured in Avengers, working with the Canadian team Alpha Flight and the American team Avengers.[35]

Perun and his team, now called the Winter Guard (a name it has retained ever since), come into conflict with the Hulk and the Pantheon over the kidnapping of Igor, a Russian spy. The Hulk believes Igor to have been responsible for his, the Hulk's, creation. Igor is put through a re-creation of the incident, which causes great distress. The Hulk easily defeats Perun and takes his weapons, using them to temporarily entrap Vostok. The confrontation ends in a stalemate, for Igor had gone mad with guilt and nobody was sure what to do.[36]

When a group of aliens calling themselves Starblasters tries to push the moon away from Earth, Quasar assembles a group with some of the most powerful heroes of the world, recruiting Perun, Carol Danvers, Black Bolt, Hyperion, Ikaris, Darkstar, Vanguard and Monica Rambeau.[37]

Perun and fellow Slavic god Chernobog later join the Winter Guard.[38]

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Perun is a member of The Liberators, described simply as a "Soviet Thor." His appearance is vastly different from his mainstream appearance; he is clean-shaven and has no visible head hair. His powers are seemingly derived from a force-belt similar to that of Thor. Like his mainstream Marvel counterpart, he carries a hammer and sickle (the latter of which was dropped by Gregory Stark for loss of Soviet symbolism, but decided to keep the hammer to be Fury's own Thor).[39]

Perun was originally an unnamed soldier who was given the same equipment as Thor. Alongside the other members of the Liberators, Perun attacks and rapidly subdues the forces of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the weakened Ultimates. Strategic locales all across the United States are taken. The Liberators kill thousands of soldiers and citizens alike. Perun personally incapacitates Quicksilver with a lightning strike.[40]

Perun and the Crimson Dynamo attack Air Force One capturing U.S. President George W. Bush. The plane and the passengers are brought back to the White House in Washington D.C. This is where most of Perun's teammates are killed in battle.[41] He is seen wandering the streets, trying to find someone to surrender to.[42]

He can also be seen in the cover of Ultimate Comics: Avengers #1.[43] Despite their invasion failing, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Nick Fury, and Dr. Gregory Stark decided to give Perun a second chance, instead of him being executed in his home country. Perun was spared a chance for Avengers operation, but is later killed by a vampiric Nerd Hulk (a clone of Hulk) in Ultimate Avengers 3.[39] His hammer is later used by Captain America in a last-ditch effort to save the Triskelion and its inhabitants, using the hammer to teleport it to Iran. With all the vampires dead thanks to sunlight, Captain America then beheads the vampiric Hulk clone in retribution.[44]

Pestilence
Pestilence attacks members of Alpha Flight in his first cover appearance. From Alpha Flight #37 (August 1986). Cover art by Dave Ross.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Alpha Flight #36
Created by	Bill Mantlo & David Ross
In-story information
Alter ego	F.R. Crozier
Abilities	Shapeshifting Various mystical powers and abilities

Pestilence is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has battled the Canadian super-team Alpha Flight. The character Pestilence is a literary version of the real life Captain Francis Crozier, R.N., an Ulsterman who was second in command in Franklin's lost expedition to the Northwest Passage and later disappeared after taking command of the expedition from the deceased Franklin.

In 1845, F.R. Crozier was appointed doctor and chief science officer for an Arctic expedition led by famed explorer Sir John Franklin, who sought the fabled Northwest Passage; the expedition consisted of two ships, the Terror and the Erebus. Six months after the departure of the expedition, the ships became trapped in the Arctic ice, which never melted; in October 1847, Sir John set forth with a party in search of help and was never seen again. On April 22, 1848, with the stores of food nearly exhausted, Crozier led the remainder of the crew out of the doomed ships and set out over the ice for a 600-miles march to safety. Many of the crew died of exposure during the march and were left unburied, and a number of advance scouts were apparently flash-frozen where they stood; with the remaining crew dying one by one, on the night of 8 May Crozier, desperate to find a way to survive, ingested an elixir he had prepared before, which induced a state of suspended animation that his men mistook for death. His plan was to remain where he fell, allowing the ice to preserve him until the weather warmed enough to revive him, upon which he wouldn't need food or substance; what he had not anticipated was that, out of respect for him and his position, his remaining crew decided to bury him. Interred in permafrost, the sun never reached Crozier and he spent the next 148 years buried alive and going insane.[45]

Nearly a century and a half later, the demigoddess Snowbird was pregnant with her first child. Because of her mystical nature, a place of power was necessary to complete her delivery. Shaman used his power to beseech spirits for aid to lead Alpha Flight to such a place of power and they transported Snowbird there. During the journey they were joined by Shaman's daughter, Talisman.[46] As the child was being born and Shaman was in the process of binding its life force to Earth, the child's life force and Alpha Flight were subject to a mystical attack. Talisman had been corrupted by her power over the spirits of the Earth and was deeply angry at her father. She told Shaman that she had ordered the spirits he had beseeched to lead him to a place of power that was also a place of death. She had sensed a spirit trapped between life and death and led Alpha Flight there to precipitate the attack on them. She wanted to show Shaman up through his failure to save Snowbird's child, at which time she would step in and bind the attacking spirit. Snowbird's baby was possessed by Crozier, calling himself Pestilence. However, Talisman had fatally miscalculated, because Pestilence had never truly died, thus he was not a spirit and was not subject to her powers. Pestilence attacked Alpha Flight anew and grappled with Talisman, tearing the mystical circlet that was the source and focus of her powers from her head.[45] Alpha Flight plunged Pestilence through the ice. Emerging from the water, Pestilence tricked Snowbird into assuming the form of Sasquatch, who was in truth one of the Great Beasts. In that form Pestilence was able to take control of her. He then summoned the spirits of the remaining Great Beasts to the battle. Shaman donned the circlet of power, becoming the new Talisman. He bound the spirits of all the Great Beasts save Snowbird-as-Sasquatch, using her to attack Pestilence directly, forcing him to flee the battle.[47]

Still in possession of Snowbird's child, Pestilence went south, leaving behind him a trail of strange death, until he reached a mining town in Klondike; he was followed by the child's father, Douglas Thompson, who however caught the same incurable plague that killed off the town's population, although he was able to warn Snowbird and Talisman about his location. In an abandoned mine, Alpha Flight again battled Pestilence, until he again seized control of Snowbird in the form of Sasquatch, ordering her to kill him. She did, and Pestilence was released to seek another host body to possess. In trying to keep Snowbird from being possessed, Vindicator slew Snowbird, but was too late, as, after Snowbird's and her family's funeral, Pestilence rose from Snowbird's grave, still in Sasquatch form, and again attacked Alpha Flight. When hard-pressed, Pestilence's spirit tried to possess yet another, but this time Vindicator was able to trap his spirit in the void held within the medicine bag formerly belonging to Shaman.[48]

Recently, it was revealed that Pestilence had found a new host, but he was caught in "some sort of disintegrator blast".[49]

Pestilence had a number of supernatural abilities of unknown origin, perhaps deriving from his being buried at a place of power for over a century (Talisman theorized it had something to do with Llan the Sorcerer and his 10,000-year cycle of evil). He had the power to spontaneously generate life forms symbolic of disease and death, including maggots and flies. He could control the spirits of the dead, including those of the great Beasts. Pestilence could transform his appearance into that of other people, both alive and dead. Pestilence had the power to generate disease, could cause instantaneous but temporary rapid aging and had the power to draw upon the "bodily decay" of other living beings to rejuvenate himself. Pestilence had extensive knowledge of chemistry beyond what was commonly known in the 19th century. His knowledge was such that he could create potions which could induce a deathlike state of suspended animation.

Petra was a "terrakinetic" or "geo-morph",[54] having the ability to psychokinetically manipulate, control, levitate and reshape the classic element of earth—sand, stone, rock, lava, and/or dirt—and could even transform the consistency of earth and rock, such as turning a lump of coal into a diamond.[50] She also could use this power to cause minor earthquakes and create shapes out of solid rock. The word "petra" means "rocky" in Latin and "stone" in Greek.

A character based on Petra named Christy Nord appears in Wolverine and the X-Men, voiced by Kari Wahlgren as an adult and Danielle Judovits as a child. This version is the geokinetic daughter of Christopher Nord who lives on a farm near the U.S.-Canadian border. In flashbacks depicted in the episode "Past Discretions", Wolverine was tasked by Weapon X to kidnap Christopher, but stopped upon realizing this would make Christy an orphan. Nonetheless, Sabretooth completed the mission and Christopher was brainwashed. In the present, Christy attacks Wolverine, believing the latter killed her father before realizing the truth. In "Stolen Lives", Christy is abducted by Christopher, but is rescued by Wolverine and Mystique. Afterward, Emma Frost undoes Christopher's brainwashing, allowing the Nords to reunite.

• The Carl Mach incarnation of Phage appears as a boss in Spider-Man and Venom: Separation Anxiety.
• The Carl Mach incarnation of Phage appears as a playable character in Spider-Man Unlimited.

• Chester Phillips appears in The Marvel Super Heroes.
• Chester Phillips appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
• Chester Phillips appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones.[69] First appearing in the live-action film Captain America: The First Avenger, this version is a colonel, leader of the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR), and a co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D. Additionally, an alternate timeline version of Phillips appears in the Disney+ animated series What If...? episode "What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?", in which he is shot and killed by Heinz Kruger and succeeded by John Flynn.

The original Phobos first appeared in the "A Gathering of Fear" storyline in Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme[74] #32 (August 1991) written by Roy Thomas and Jean-Marc Lofficier. He reappeared in "The Great Fear" storyline in DS:SS #39 (March 1992).

Phobos and his brother Deimos are sons of Ares and Nox (posing as Venus) but were killed by Thor and Hercules in their first appearance.[75] Later the Fear Lords release so much fear that Nox is able to bring her sons back, creating them from the Darkforce but they were eventually defeated again.[76] Phobos meets his final fate when Amatsu-Mikaboshi assaults Olympus and kills him.[77]

The current Phobos, Alexander, first appeared in the Ares limited series in 2006 written by Michael Avon Oeming. Here, he is manipulated by Amatsu-Mikaboshi into becoming a warrior until his father, Ares, saves him many years later, a young adult with god-like powers.[71] This ending is ignored for future storyline purposes. The character returns, retconned by Brian Michael Bendis and reduced to a ten-year-old boy with no specialized training in Mighty Avengers #1, then reappears in the Secret Invasion crossover, in Mighty Avengers and the Secret Invasion limited series. Once Dark Reign started, he began appearing regularly in Secret Warriors.

The current Phobos is a young boy named Alexander Aaron.[78] In the 2006 Ares: God or War mini-series, Alexander is taken from his father, Ares, by Zeus, and then kidnapped by the Japanese god Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Mikaboshi, in an attempt to destroy the Marvel pantheons, trains and manipulates Alex for at least five Olympian years – which vary substantially from human years in that years can pass to the gods while simultaneously only a few days or months passing for humans – under the guise of a mother-figure who eventually turns him into a deadly swordsman. He is saved from the evil deity when the combination of Zeus and Ares's influences broke his brainwashing. Their salvation apparently eliminates his skills.

Brian Michael Bendis then ret-conned these events in Mighty Avengers. When Alex / Phobos is first approached by fellow Secret Warrior Daisy, he is once again a young boy, untrained, and aware that his father is the god Ares (Mighty Avengers #13). (The general story of Mikaboshi destroying the Marvel pantheons and Zeus' sacrifice remains canon however).[79] It's at this point that Daisy reveals to Alex that he is Phobos.[80] After this, he begins to gain fear like powers, having inherited the original's abilities. However, in Mighty Avengers #13 he scared off a couple of boys, and after that he lied to Daisy that he doesn't have any powers, but she doesn't believe him. After talk with her he says 'that explains so much' because he realises then that he's new Phobos, and was born mortal, but after drinking Mikaboshi's blood he became god and now he has fear powers and Daisy told him who he really is (new god of fear). In that issue Ares tells him that he's an Avenger right now and he cannot worry about his grades.

During the Secret Invasion storyline, Alex is recruited by Nick Fury for his team of Secret Warriors.[81] Post-invasion, he remains a member of the team and has shown evidence of additional pre-cognitive powers.[72] However, his father has noticed his absence upon receiving a truancy notice.[82] In the aftermath of Utopia, Ares followed Alex and Daisy to one of Fury's base, where he discovers his son's affiliation with the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director. Fury tells Ares that his son has potential. Ares ultimately accepts his son's decision, meaning that he doesn't need to hide his allegiance anymore.[83] Phobos later pilots a Fury Life Model Decoy to assist Black Widow and Songbird but they are captured by the Thunderbolts. As soon as Norman Osborn shoots the LMD in the head, Phobos reveals himself, inflicting Osborn with the fear that he will lose his mind soon enough.[84] During Siege, Phobos tried to tag along with the other secret warriors to help the Asgardians, but Nick Fury wouldn't let him, because he knew his father would die and he didn't want him to witness it. When the fiasco was over, Thor confronted Phobos telling him that Ares was dead and he offered to take him to see his next of kin in Mount Olympus. However, he declined his offer. Thor offered that if he ever changed his mind, he would take him there. Although he had mixed feelings with his dad, he still felt sad that he died.

Phobos is now in Elysium after having been stabbed and killed by Gorgon wielding the sword Godkiller. His last appearance had his father proud of his actions as they were reunited in the afterlife.[85]

Both versions of Phobos control the power of fear, a power that has been seen to cause victims to run for their lives as well as attack their partners. Certain characters have proven immune to this ability (i.e. Nick Fury, Gorgon) – citing they lack fear as the reason.[86] The current version of Phobos (Alex) was at one time a highly trained swordsman and possessed strength and endurance similar to other Olympian gods in the Marvel universe,[78] however this has since been ret-conned.[80] Secret Warriors #10 re-establishes his training with a sword. He was denied use of it by his father Ares, who required him to be proficient in all forms of arms before returning his sword. Currently he, like the previous Phobos, can instill fear in others. Additionally, he has shown evidence of pre-cognitive powers.[72] When utilizing his fear based powers, Alex's eyes glow. The color has shown to vary between white and red. Whether this is simply due to the artist's rendering or the level of power usage is unknown.[86] [80]

According to the Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica, the original Phobos and the current Alex are two separate characters. More specifically, they are half-brothers. The Phobos profile indicates that the original Phobos (and his brother Deimos) were killed during Mikaboshi's invasion of Olympus, and that Alexander inherited the fear-based powers of his slain older half-brother following his return to Earth.[87]

• In 2019, CBR.com ranked Phobos 9th in their "Marvel Comics: The 10 Most Powerful Olympians" list.[88]
• In 2022, Sportskeeda ranked Phobos 9th in their "10 best Greek gods from Marvel comics " list.[89]

Piecemeal was a cyborg created in a secret Amazon laboratory by a scientific team supervised by the Red Skull. Piecemeal was assembled from a combination of human and animal corpses and high-tech weaponry for the purpose of being the ultimate killing machine. Before the Red Skull could fully program Piecemeal's mind, the Hulk attacked the laboratory, but Piecemeal escaped in the confusion. The mindless Piecemeal wandered through the Amazon before stowing away on a cargo plane en route to Scotland. A retired Pantheon member residing on Loch Ness later summoned the Hulk when Piecemeal began attacking tourists and draining their minds. Piecemeal battled the Hulk – during which he revealed his ability to duplicate the Hulk's appearance and powers – and was apparently killed.[90]

The character first appeared as Charles Little Sky in Avengers #304 (June 1989) and as Portal in Darkhawk #5 (July 1991).

Native American Charles Little Sky was born in Hartsdale, New Mexico. As a teenager, he manifested his dimension-spanning powers during a confrontation between the Avengers and Puma, the superhuman protector of Little Sky's tribe. Little Sky fled the reservation he lived on, moving to New York City where he took a job as a construction worker. He was followed by Puma, who had set out in pursuit of Little Sky out of fear that the powers he'd soon manifest would prove dangerous. When Puma finally tracked him down at Ellis Island, Little Sky's powers activated for the first time, opening a portal to the dimension where the U-Foes had been exiled, freeing them. The U-Foes attempted to kill Little Sky to keep him from using his powers to banish them again, and the Avengers and Puma were forced to team up to protect him. During the fight, Little Sky escaped, using his powers and began traveling the dimensions.[91]

Along the way he picked up a variety of weapons, including a gun that fired 'energy harpoons,' and learned to control his powers. In one dimension he encountered Kistur, the leader of an intergalactic gang of criminals who was armed with one of the android Darkhawk bodies created by Dargin Bokk. Kistur asked Little Sky to join the gang so they could use his powers to plunder other dimensions. Little Sky refused and Kistur tried to kill him, but Little Sky fought back and ended up accidentally shooting Kistur's Darkhawk amulet, the focal point of his powers, out of his chest. The loss of the amulet killed Kistur's Darkhawk body, and Little Sky removed and donned Kistur's body armor for further protection. Worried that Kistur might revive, Little Sky attempted to destroy the amulet, but when that failed, he discarded it in another dimension.[92] Little Sky eventually managed to return to Earth, opening a portal to a museum in New York City that Chris Powell and his family were touring. Powell transformed into his Darkhawk persona, and Portal, mistaking Powell for a reborn Kistur, attacked. Darkhawk managed to incapacitate Portal, who was taken in federal custody by a Guardsman.[93] Portal had been injured during the fight and was placed in a hospital under the guard of Captain America. The U-Foes wanted Portal to take them to a dimension they'd once happened upon while they were exiled from Earth, and they attacked the hospital. Captain America, Darkhawk and Daredevil defeated the U-Foes, but Portal revived and after explaining how he had acquired parts of his armor from an opponent resembling Darkhawk, escaped to another dimension during the fight.[94]

Portal surfaced again to retrieve his weapons and equipment from a federal research center, battling some Guardsmen.[95] Portal was targeted by the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Toad, whose member Sauron brainwashed Portal into assisting them.[96] He was rescued by Darkhawk, Spider-Man, and Sleepwalker, after which he escaped again into another dimensional warp.[97] Portal would later return as Darkhawk's ally, protecting New York in his stead at a time when Darkhawk seemed to be dying and needed time to recuperate. During this time, Portal was targeted by Shaper, a superhuman snuff artist who'd targeted Darkhawk for death. Shaper ended up going after Portal instead when Portal began using Chris Powell's amulet to become the Darkhawk in Chris's place. Meanwhile, members of the Mahari race, another alien species from the same home world as Kistur, took control of the Darkhawk ship in a plan to avenge Kistur. They reanimated Kistur in a redesigned Darkhawk android as Overhawk, and went after Portal's family. In the end, Portal and Darkhawk managed to prevent them from destroying the Earth.

Charles is one of the few mutants that retained their superhuman powers after the M-Day. He is shown as the director of A.R.M.O.R. and he used his powers to transport Machine Man and Jocasta to the Marvel Zombies universe.[98] He collects Jocasta after Machine Man retrieves a sample of the still-living Vanessa Fisk's tissues, but is forced to leave a badly damaged Machine Man behind.[99] After fending off, with the help of Jocasta, Machine Man and the 616-Earth Morbius, the Zombies that invaded A.R.M.O.R., Portal discovered that some of them managed to escape. He then approved Morbius' project to re-form the Midnight Sons to destroy the living dead.[100]

Portal is a mutant capable of opening rifts in space passing through extra-dimensional warps to transport himself and others. His portals allow instantaneous travel between different vibratory-attuned planes of reality, or "dimensions". Opening a portal without preparation will give him access to another dimension completely at random. He seems to possess some talent for finding dimensions he has been to before, yet he could not immediately find Earth again once he first got lost in the dimensional planes. Presumably, then, Portal has a kind of extrasensory "marking" ability, allowing him to record the space/time coordinates of a dimension while he is present in it, so that he could return to it again in the future if he chooses. He could not automatically return to Earth because he had not consciously "marked" it before leaving. Portal is capable of using his powers for teleportation, traveling instantly across about a few miles within a single dimension. Trying to transport himself more than a few miles in one jump, however, will destabilize the portal and send him off into another dimension, even if he is trying to stay anchored in one. Dimensional warps created by Portal cease to exist when he is rendered unconscious.

Portal has also been shown to be able to home in on other people who have gone through one of his portals, opening a new gateway to retrieve or follow them if necessary. He used this ability to rescue Spider-Man from the dimension he had thrown the wall-crawler into while under Sauron's control. Portal is also armed with a wide variety of weaponry, including a huge gun that shoots 'energy harpoons' (fires concussive force blasts capable of leveling an office building), a hand-weapon (capable of firing a fast-hardening adhesive substance which impedes physical movement of target), a wheel (a 1⁄2-inch-thick (13 mm) throwing disc which can separate into components with independent guidance systems, each of which contains a burst of concussive force equal to several hand grenades), and a suit of body armor composed of alien materials that he stole from a dead Darkhawk android that has been outfitted to allow him to survive in space. Portal also carries a supply of adhesive ammunition contained in his belt, and a directional mechanism that focuses his warp power. Little Sky also has a quantity of gymnastics training.[92] He is highly skilled in the use of his own weaponry, and a skilled motorcyclist.

Malcolm Joseph Ducasse appeared in the Netflix series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Eka Darville.

• Malcolm Ducasse first appears in Jessica Jones.[107] This version is Jessica Jones' neighbor whom she meets while saving him from two muggers, a meeting she does not recall because that was also the night that Kilgrave first brought her under his control. It is later revealed that Malcolm was planning on getting into social work, but after Jessica escaped from Kilgrave's control, Kilgrave tracked Malcolm down and ordered him to get addicted to drugs, and made him secretly take pictures of Jessica. When Jessica finds out, she leaves Malcolm handcuffed in her bathroom and forces him to go into withdrawal.[108] He soon becomes the leader of a support group for Kilgrave's victims,[109] helps Robyn get closure after Kilgrave kills her brother,[110] stays by Luke's bedside while he's recovering from a concussion, and after Kilgrave is defeated, begins to work for Jessica as her secretary.[111]
• Malcolm appeared in The Defenders. He is introduced popping in to Jessica's apartment while she is invested in a missing persons case, much to Jessica's annoyance, and offers a helpful tip that allows Jessica to track down her mysterious caller's location.[112] Later on, John Raymond, learning that Jessica is trying to find him, forces his way into Jessica's apartment and holds Malcolm at gunpoint. Malcolm and Jessica try to talk Raymond into going to the police, but Elektra breaks into the apartment and tries to kill Raymond, who shoots himself rather than let her kill him. Elektra flees the scene while Jessica and Malcolm are arrested by Detective Misty Knight.[113] Misty attempts to interrogate the two for information, but Matt Murdock shows up to bail them out of custody.[114] Later on, when the Hand begin targeting the heroes' loved ones, Jessica has Trish and Malcolm hide with Colleen Wing, Claire Temple, Karen Page and Foggy Nelson at Misty's precinct.[115] After the Hand is defeated, Malcolm is last seen helping Jessica fix up her apartment and painting over the bullet holes left from Jessica and Trish's fight with Simpson.[116]
• In the second season of Jessica Jones, Malcolm continues to be an associate to Jessica and is constantly taking notes of advice from her, regardless of whether they are intentional or not.[117] Jessica uses him to track down leads on IGH as well as settle a tenancy dispute with their new building superintendent Oscar Arocho. When Jessica and Trish find an IGH nurse named Inez Green, they task Malcolm with delivering Inez to Jeri Hogarth.[118] In the midst of the IGH investigation, Malcolm also helps Jeri uncover dirt on her partners who are tried to get her fired. Malcolm later hooks up with Trish and begins a sexual relationship with her,[119] though this ends when Trish, seeking to get powers like Jessica from Dr. Karl Malus, knocks out, ties up and stuffs Malcolm in the trunk of her car when he tries to bring Dr. Malus in. Then finally, she kidnaps Dr. Malus and threatens to shoot Malcolm if he tries to stop her.[120] Fed up with Trish and Jessica using him, Malcolm quits and goes to work for rival private investigator Pryce Cheng, who in turn has been retained by Hogarth's new private law firm.[121]
• In the third season of Jessica Jones, Malcolm continues to work for Hogarth and is in a relationship with a woman named Zaya Okonjo at a party in his new apartment, although he is disturbed by the methods used to help a baseball player client out of town, a drunk driving incident, resulting in another career-damaging accident for the client.[122] Malcolm must protect Erik Gelden's sister, Brianna, who must stay away from Gregory P. Salinger, an intellectually formidable, psychopathic serial killer.[123] Malcolm asks to rejoin Alias Investigations, to which Jessica accepts; assigning him to look into the files of Jace Montero. After breaking up with Zaya, Malcolm begins a relationship with Brianna.[124] After Trish killed Sallinger in the courthouse elevator, Malcolm decides to help Jessica to demand to stop her, and suggested that she involve the police, but if that happened, the public would find out and chase her out of town. After Malcolm saw the news detailing Trish's savage assault on Demetri Patseras, Jessica leaks to the news Trish's identity of her as the masked vigilante. The next morning, a trucker tells Malcolm that he saw Trish in a silver Lexus, and he was heading east where the old airport was located. Malcolm and Erik stay because Jessica wanted to deal with Trish alone. In the end after Trish was arrested, Malcolm sees Jessica go on a trip and she gives him the keys to Alias Investigations and told him not to screw it up.[125]

Powderkeg first appeared in Captain Marvel Special #1 and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and Mark D. Bright.

Little is known about the man who became Powderkeg. He was a mercenary hired to steal high-tech circuitry for Brazilian crime lord Kristina Ramos. He ran afoul of Captain Marvel II (Monica Rambeau) who had thought she lost her powers after stopping a mutated Marrina. She encounters Powderkeg and used her new powers to defeat him.[126] Powderkeg fights the Avengers during a failed mass prison escape occurring at the Vault ("Venom Deathrap: The Vault"). During the incident, he follows the leader of the breakout, Venom. Teamed with Mentallo and Vermin, they temporarily defeat Iron Man and Hank Pym. The entire breakout is soon neutralized by technological means, with energy pumped through Mentallo.[127]

Powderkeg is later recruited by Doctor Octopus to join his incarnation of the Masters of Evil during the Infinity War. The Masters of Evil confront the Guardians of the Galaxy in the Avengers Mansion. Everyone becomes embroiled in a fight against evil doubles of both teams. Magus, the villain behind the Infinity War, had recruited an army of super-powered doubles to defeat and absorb Earth's superpowered resistance.[128] Both groups work together to survive the assault. The doubles only stop apperearing with other forces stop the Magus. Doctor Octopus wants to continue his assault on the Mansion and on the Guardians. Powderkeg and his other allies are displeased with this, unwilling to turn on those who they had literally fought back to back with just minutes ago. The Masters turn on Octopus, pursuing him out of the Mansion.[129]

At some point, Powderkeg is finally captured and imprisoned, where he would later team up with a number of other villains against the She-Hulk, although they are defeated.[130] He's appeared in Brand New Day as one of the patrons of the Bar With No Name.[131] At some point in time between then and the fall of Norman Osborn, he was captured and sent to The Raft, where, during a visit by the Avengers Academy, there was a power failure caused by Hazmat (on the team), allowing the prisoners to run riot. Powderkeg almost crushes Hazmat and Mettle, but the timely intervention of Tigra saved them. He is put back in his cell in the end.[132]

Powderkeg is superhumanly strong and highly resistant to injury. Further, he sweats a nitroglycerin-like compound which can detonate on impact, lending explosive force to his punches.

Powderkeg receives a brief mention in the non-fiction book From Krakow To Krypton. His fight with the Yancy Street Gang and Thing of the Fantastic Four is discussed.[133]

Presence appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2.[151]

Prodigy
Prodigy. Art by Ariel Olivetti.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Slingers #0 (Sept. 1998)
Created by	Joseph Harris Adam Pollina
In-story information
Alter ego	Ritchie Gilmore
Species	Human
Team affiliations	Slingers Initiative Heavy Hitters New Warriors
Abilities	Adept wrestler Mystically infused costume grants: Vast superhuman strength, speed and stamina Near-flight leaping Gliding via cape

Prodigy (Ritchie Gilmore) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Prodigy first appeared in Slingers #0 (Sept. 1998), and was created by Joseph Harris and Adam Pollina. Prodigy was one of the feature characters in the 2011 six-issue limited series Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt. Prodigy eventually joined the Avengers Initiative.

Ritchie Gilmore is a typical jock, captain of his college wrestling team, and one of the most popular guys in school. But Ritchie wants more from life; he wants to be stronger and more powerful. The Black Marvel gives him the Prodigy costume, and the chance to be something better. The costume had been imbued with power: it gives Ritchie superhuman strength, he can leap so far and high that it appears that he is flying, and his cape even allows him to glide. Black Marvel makes Ritchie the leader of his new team, the Slingers. As Prodigy, Ritchie can finally be the person he always wanted to be and finds that he enjoys the life of a superhero. However, he is cold and unfeeling towards his teammates, not even showing concern when Dusk falls to her death, and isn't even shocked when she comes back to life. Prodigy feels that he should not have to help his team, and that they need to learn how to handle things on their own. Once, he leaves the Slingers in a collapsing tunnel, saying that if they are truly heroes, they would be able to survive. He is just as prone to beat his friends as his enemies. When he feels that Ricochet challenges his authority, he attacks him, and is only prevented from seriously injuring him by Hornet's intervention. Hornet also has to blast Prodigy with his laser "stingers" to keep him from killing a gang member. Prodigy learns that Black Marvel had made a deal with a demon called Mephisto to give him his costume, and that the demon had collected his "mentor's" soul as payment. While the other three members of his team go to save Black Marvel, he abandons them. But when Ricochet is confronted with an illusion of his dead mother, Prodigy comes back to snap him out of his trance. Prodigy admits that his heart was filled with hate, and he lets that hatred go, and helps his friends free the Black Marvel's soul. The team disbands, but Prodigy apologizes for his actions before he leaves, and says he needs to check on his grandmother, as she had been missing quite a while.[152]

Prodigy returns very drunk standing on a rooftop and openly defies the Superhuman Registration Act during the Civil War storyline. Iron Man soon arrives on the scene along with agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Prodigy declares Iron Man a traitor and then attacks him. Prodigy is defeated by Iron Man and apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Prodigy succeeds, however, in sending a message to the people of the Marvel Universe. This is considered the first act of Civil War.[153] Prodigy is later shown, where he is one of the inmates imprisoned within the Negative Zone Prison Alpha; where he was seen by Peter Parker (during his tour with Iron Man) in regards to the status of those that refused to register.[154] Prodigy is one of the heroes that is freed from his cell when Hulkling, under the guise of Dr. Hank Pym, opens the cells. He joins Captain America's side to fight Iron Man.[155]

Prodigy next appears as one of The Initiative's new recruits. One of the stipulations of his release from jail is that he takes responsibility for his drunken actions against Iron Man, then appear to fully support the Initiative. Hank Pym talks to him about his drinking 'problem' which Gilmore denied, yet one of the first things he does is go out and buy beer for the group, although he doesn't allow the under-age Batwing to drink.[156] During the Secret Invasion storyline, Prodigy is one of the many heroes who fight rampaging powered Skrulls in Times Square.[157] After the invasion, Prodigy is placed on a probationary period, rather than being assigned to an Initiative team.[158]

After agreeing to work for Norman Osborn as seen in the Dark Reign storyline, Prodigy is placed on the Heavy Hitters.[159] However, eventually he becomes disillusioned with the reorganization of the Initiative under Osborn, who had placed criminals on Initiative teams and publicly seceded his team from the Initiative. Part of this was team member 'Outback' who was in reality the violent thief 'Boomerang'. Prodigy waits for Osborn's reprisal out in the open, intending for the fight to be caught on camera. Force of Nature attack him, and are soon joined by the U-Foes, Freedom Force, members of the Shadow Initiative, and some members of the Hood's army. Justice offers to help, but Prodigy wants to do this alone. He is then ganged up on by the Initiative members while his teammates Telemetry and Nonstop upload footage of the combat to YouTube.[160] Prodigy was held at Prison 42. Norman Osborn insisted he be treated well so the public will eventually forget about him.[161] After Osborn is removed from power following the Siege of Asgard, Prodigy is released and honored for his resistance against Norman Osborn. He has joined the motivational speaker circuit, but he's also trying to reunite the longtime fractured roster of Slingers.[162]

During the Fear Itself storyline, he takes an office job. Then, Commander Steve Rogers has him assemble a new incarnation of the Avengers Initiative, to deal with the fear and chaos that was happening. At the end of the story-arc, he gets a promotion, only to find out his "promotion" is storage arrangement.[163] Prodigy later appears amongst the heroes on Jeremy Briggs' side, a millionaire who convinced Prodigy a more independent super-team was best. He worked with Komodo and Hardball, among others.[164] However, Briggs' real plan was to eliminate all powers forever, no matter who he had to kill to do it. Briggs was slain in a later fight.[165]

Prodigy's costume is mystically infused with power, giving him vast superhuman strength, speed, and stamina. He can leap incredible distances and when he jumps, it appears that he is flying. His golden costume is completely bulletproof, and can withstand most physical assaults. His cape functions as a hang glider, and enables him to glide on air currents.

Prodigy is also adept in the skills of collegiate wrestling. He himself is the captain of the wrestling team at Empire State University. He often employs these grappling techniques when he fights. Prodigy has used submission moves as well, which may stem from the recent trend of collegiate wrestlers competing in MMA.

• Prodigy appears in Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro as an alternate costume. It doubles the damage given and allows the player to jump longer and swing farther.
• Prodigy appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Robert Tinkler. He appears as a boss for the Pro-Registration side and fights them on the roof tops of New York City.
• Prodigy appears as a downloadable content costume in Spider-Man: Edge of Time.[166][167]

Professor Thorton first appeared in Marvel Comics Presents #73 and was created by Barry Windsor-Smith.

In 1972, nearly twenty years before Logan was romantically involved and abducted with Silver Fox at Windsor snow lodge, Professor Thorton experimented on numerous mutants including Sabretooth and Mastodon. He hired Carol Hines as his assistant and the scientist Abraham Cornelius. His experiments on Wolverine are responsible for his adamantium-laced skeleton.[168] He is also connected to the creation of Alpha Flight on to developing super-soldiers for the US government. During the adamantium-lacing process, the physical trauma causes Wolverine to regress to violent animal behavior, prone to attacking anyone who comes near.[169] At one point, Thorton's mysterious "master" takes control of Wolverine and has him attack everyone in the facility, cutting off Professor Thorton's right hand and killing him.[170] Though an ending scene clarifies to the reader that this was a virtual reality simulation of an escape attempt by Wolverine, in later appearances Thorton has a metal hook in place of his right hand.[171]

Years later, Professor Thorton and Carol Hines lure Wolverine into an abandoned warehouse in Canada which was once the secret location for the Weapon X program. Codenamed Project X, Wolverine discovers Weapon X was funded by the CIA and sheltered in Canada. Professor Thorton activates a robotic android named Shiva which is programmed to destroy all of Project X's test subjects starting with Wolverine. Silver Fox (who works for another secret organization called HYDRA) is revealed to be behind the entire plan and steps forward to interrogate Professor Thorton at gunpoint. He tries to grab the gun from Silver Fox and she shoots him fatally.[172] It was shown that Romulus was in control of Weapon X and gave orders to Truett both observing Wolverine as he was unconscious.[173] Although it is stated that Romulus had known Logan in a past life, it is unclear if he knew of Logan while he was young and living at the Howlett estate if this he did then he would have known of Truett's connection to Logan.[174]

• A version of the Professor (although insane) appears in the pages of Mutant X, but is killed by Captain America.[175]
• In a What If issue that asks "What If Logan Battled Weapon X", Professor Thorton was present when former Mountie and Marine Guy Desjardins went through the Adamantium-bonding process after the Weapon X soldiers failed to capture Logan.[176]
• The Professor appears in Wolverine: The End in a flashback. He was not killed by Silver Fox and is living out his rich days on an unknown beach.[177]

• Professor Oyama[178] (an amalgamation of Lord Dark Wind and Thornton) first appears in the X-Men episode "Repo Man", then later in reused footage from this episode in the two-parter "Out of Time". He also appears in "Weapon X, Lies & Videotape". His voice actor was uncredited.
• Professor Thorton appears in the X-Men: Evolution episode "Grim Reminder", voiced by Campbell Lane.
• Professor Thorton appears in Wolverine and the X-Men, episode "Past Discretions" voiced by Tom Kane.
• Tom Kane reprises his role of Professor Thorton who appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "Behold...The Vision". He is the head at a Weapon X facility when the Vision attacks looking for Adamantium for Ultron.

• Professor Thorton appeared in the Wolverine portion of Hulk Vs, voiced by Tom Kane. In the film, Thorton plans to have the Weapon X scientists brainwash Hulk and make him a part of Weapon X's Team X which consisted of Sabretooth, Deadpool, Lady Deathstrike, and Omega Red. He was present when Wolverine was also captured and announced that he will have the Weapon X scientists erase his memories again. Professor Thorton is later slashed in the back by Sabretooth.

• Professor Thorton appeared in X2: Wolverine's Revenge, voiced by Don Morrow. After Weapon X breaks free following the Adamantium-bonding procedure, he confronts Professor Thorton restraining him at claw-point while telling Abraham Cornelius and Carol Hines to take their leave. Professor Thorton reveals that all Weapon X subjects were implanted with a dormant and deadly virus known as the "Shiva Strain" as a failsafe. He also reveals that the virus would kill a normal human in one year, but has no idea how long the virus would kill a human mutant. Professor Thorton isn't seen again after that scene.
• Professor Thorton appeared in X-Men: Legends, voiced by Earl Boen (though the credits listed him as "Doctor"). He is seen in Wolverine's flashback level which depicted Wolverine escaping from the Weapon X facility.

Pulse first appeared in X-Men vol. 2, #173 (September, 2005).

Sometime after having Gambit was not right for her. Mystique's plan to rid Rogue of Gambit involved sowing discord in the couple's romance and, once the pair was soon to be no more, introduce Rogue to Augustus. Given the dialogue between Mystique and him,[198] in which Mystique says she "wanted to see for [herself] that [Augustus] is the man she hopes he is," it can be assumed that the associates did not yet know each other well.

Augustus and Mystique were next seen,[199] stealing paintings from a house. Mystique asks what he does with all of the money he gets from selling stolen goods on the black market, he replies that he invests the money into stocks he knows will soon crash, as he gets some kind of sick pleasure out of losing other peoples' money. Mystique replies, "Time you were safely married, Augustus." Augustus is worried about Gambit's reaction, and comically remarks upon the authenticity of how Cajun he really is. Mystique then reveals she is certain that of all the men she checked out to be Rogue's new romance, Augustus is the one who can "make my daughter happy." Mystique and Augustus make their way back to the Xavier Institute and Mystique announces she is joining the X-Men[200] after what happened last time—before making it very clear that she is going to set Augustus up with Rogue. In a moment alone, Augustus and Rogue sit down in a tree to talk to one another. At first, Rogue is defensive and declares that no matter what her "crazy mother" told Augustus, she and Gambit are happy together. She explains that they, of course, have their problems, and Augustus replies that he doesn't have problems. Continuing on, Augustus states that Mystique wants Rogue to be happy, and no for sexual harassment?" Rogue replies that she isn't, and explains her power to him. He tells her not to worry about it and his eyes begin to glow. Rogue looks down at his hand and notices that nothing has happened to him; she asks how long his hand has been there without anything happening. He replies, "Don't worry about that, either."[201]

Outside of Apocalypse's temple, Mystique suggests that they use Pulse to neutralize Apocalypse;[202] the X-Men argue over the idea. Rogue interrupts, stating that they should ask Augustus if he can do this to Apocalypse. He smiles coyly and replies that he "doesn't know." Later that issue, Gambit is revealed to be the new Horseman of Death. In his time as a Horseman, Gambit twice attempted to kill Rogue so as to break his ties to his former life. Both times, Pulse was able to save Rogue by neutralizing Gambit's powers and physically overcoming him. Afterwards, Pulse attempted to woo Rogue; at first, Rogue seemed somewhat accepting of the idea, but once Pulse made a comment about Gambit, Rogue rejected him, stating that she "never [wants] to worry about romance again."[203] As Rogue left, Mystique commented on his poor timing. Pulse told her to go away, and his current status is unclear. Since Decimation he was one of the few mutants to retain his powers and was forcibly relocated to the mutant camp for the 198.

Augustus produces a disruptive pulse from his eyes which can disable systems and people, including mutant and non-mutant powers, and scramble electronic systems. His power also creates a masking effect to disguise his brain wave patterns from psychics.

• Pulse is portrayed by Zach Roerig in his first live-action appearance in Fox's live-action TV series The Gifted.[204]

Pyko appears in the Guardians of the Galaxy episode "We Are Family", voiced by Brian George. This version is the leader of a resistance against the robots of Halfworld.