MVP | |
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MVP from Avengers: The Initiative #1
Art by Stefano Caselli. |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Avengers: The Initiative #1 (March, 2007) |
Created by |
Dan Slott Stefano Caselli |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Michael Ian Van Patrick |
Team affiliations |
(All) The Initiative (Michael, Van & Patrick) Shadow Initiative (Michael & Patrick) Counter Force New Warriors (Patrick) Avengers Resistance |
Notable aliases | MVP (sometimes written M.V.P.) |
Abilities | Peak human intelligence, strength, speed, reflexes, agility, and endurance. |
Michael "Mike" Ian Van Patrick is a fictional comic book character created by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. Although the character died in his debut appearance, the character is said to have been cloned after his death, with his clones continuing to play roles within the ongoing Avengers: The Initiative series.
Described by Slott as an archetypal " boy", the character is introduced in the pages of Avengers: The Initiative #1 as the great-grandson of Dr. Abraham Erskine, the inventor of the super soldier serum within Marvel Comics' shared universe the Marvel Universe.
The first clone was sent back to Van Patrick's parent's home to prevent them from learning of his death. The next three clones, named Michael, Van and Patrick, originally worked as the Scarlet Spiders, as part of the Black Ops group within The Initiative. They were revealed to be clones in Avengers: The Initiative #7. He was cloned once more, in the Killed in Action story arc when some of the vacant positions in the Initiative teams were filled with MVP clones.
The original's only appearance outside the pages of Avengers: The Initiative was a brief cameo in an alternate reality What If comic. All that is known about the original character has been revealed in that series, with Van Patrick's (and the first sets of clones) origins being shown in the 2007 Avengers: The Initiative Annual. However, the Scarlet Spiders (Michael and Patrick) became the first clones to appear outside The Initiative when they appeared in New Warriors vol. 4 #14 (September 2008). The first MVP clone appeared in the following issue of the New Warriors series.