Madcap (comics)
| Madcap | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Captain America Vol. 1, #307 (July 1985) |
| Created by |
Mark Gruenwald (writer) Paul Neary (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human Mutate |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Team affiliations |
Wild Pack Unkillables Masters of Evil Mercs for Money Ghost Rider Assassination League Mercs for Money |
| Notable aliases | Deadpool |
| Abilities |
Healing factor Insanity inducement |
Madcap is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Madcap first appeared in Captain America #307 (July 1985), and was created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary.
Most of the villains Gruenwald introduced in Captain America were created to symbolize aspects of contemporary American culture and the world political situation. Gruenwald stated, "Madcap represents purposelessness, the disaffected youth of today who thinks 'What's the reason for doing anything?' The ultimate dropout generation."
Madcap (true name unknown) was originally a deeply religious young man. On the way to a picnic with his family and church community, their bus collides with a tanker truck full of Compound X07 (an experimental nerve agent developed by A.I.M.). Everyone aboard the bus, including his parents and sister Katy, are killed, leaving him as the only survivor, his body mixing with the Compound. When being told of the deaths of all his friends and family, his mind shatters, his belief in a rational universe swept away.
Leaving the hospital, he attempts suicide by throwing himself in front of traffic. He is injured but the wounds heal almost instantly. This pushes him further over the edge. After purchasing a toy soap bubble pistol from a dime store and donning a garish clown costume stolen from the Ace Costume Shop, the newly christened Madcap sets out to convince others that life is entirely without reason. Spewing absurdist philosophy, he runs rampant through the streets of Manhattan, causing mass chaos and a riot. Nomad tries to stop him, but Madcap uses his madness-inducing powers on him as well. Nomad recovers, tracks Madcap to a shack in an old fairground at Coney Island, and defeats him there.
Madcap is confined to a mental hospital but escapes. He gets back into costume and breaks up a shipment of illegal arms organized by the Rose. In the course of the fight he meets Dollar Bill, who runs a Manhattan public-access television cable TV show. The two film A Day in the Life of a Superhero, which is interrupted when Rose's underlings abduct Madcap. Taken to a warehouse, Madcap is tied up, beaten, and assaulted with an axe. Daredevil intervenes, but in the subsequent fight the warehouse is burned down, and Madcap ignores Daredevil's repeated appeals to get out of the fire. When his body is found, Madcap is declared legally dead but slowly returns to life while in the morgue. He returns to Dollar Bill's show.
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Wikipedia