Radioactive Man (comics)

Radioactive Man
The Radioactive Man on the cover of Thunderbolts: International Incident (Apr. 2008). Art by Marko Djurdjević.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Journey into Mystery #93 (June 1963)
In-story information
Alter ego	Chen Lu
Species	Human Mutate
Team affiliations	People's Defense Force Thunderbolts Masters of Evil Titanic Three
Abilities	Genius nuclear physicist Radiation manipulation Armored suit grants: Superhuman strength and durability Flight via boot jets Hand-blasters Computer and radio transmitter and receiver Smokescreen Backpack rocket launcher

Radioactive Man is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics: Chen Lu and Igor Stancheck.

The Chen Lu version of Radioactive Man first appears in Journey into Mystery #93 (June 1963), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

The Igor Stancheck version of Radioactive Man first appears in Black Panther Vol. 4 #3 (June 2005) and was created by Reginald Hudlin and John Romita Jr.

Chen Lu is a nuclear physicist and Communist agent in the People's Republic of China. He first appears in Journey into Mystery #93 (June 1963). Ordered to find a way to defeat Thor - who thwarts the Red Army's invasion of India - the character exposes himself to small doses of radiation until he is able to endure a massive barrage, becoming a living "Radioactive Man". He plans to eventually take over the world.

Traveling to New York City, Chen battles Thor who is first defeated when Chen hypnotizes Thor into throwing the hammer away. But Don Blake is able to recover the hammer from a river, and defeats the villain by creating a vortex, sending Chen back to China, where he apparently explodes.

Radioactive Man becomes a recurring foe of the Avengers, being coerced by Baron Zemo to join the original Masters of Evil in a bid to destroy the Avengers. He is the first to confront the Avengers, and sticks Captain America and Giant-Man to the pavement with an adhesive, which Thor dodges. He is defeated by Giant-Man and Iron Man when they imprison him in lead coils. He is then deported back to China. The character reappears with the new Masters of Evil, organized by the robot Ultron. The villains, however, are betrayed by the Black Knight. Radioactive Man and his teammates appear once again during a Halloween parade and are defeated by a coalition of superheroines called the Lady Liberators.