U-Foes

U-Foes
Cover to Marvel Adventures: The Avengers by Sean Chen
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Incredible Hulk #254 (Dec. 1980)
Created by	Bill Mantlo Sal Buscema
In-story information
Member(s)	Ironclad Vapor Vector X-Ray

Further reading Vector at the Comic Book DB Vector at the Grand Comics Database

Further reading Vapor at the Comic Book DB Vapor at the Grand Comics Database

Further reading X-Ray at the Comic Book DB X-Ray at the Grand Comics Database

Further reading Ironclad at the Comic Book DB Ironclad at the Grand Comics Database

The U-Foes are a fictional supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics usually as enemies of the Hulk. The group consists of four members: Vector, the group's leader who can repel matter telekinetically; Vapor, who can transform into any form of gaseous matter; X-Ray, who can generate and project radiation and fly; and Ironclad, who has a metallic body and can control his density.

The U-Foes first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #254 (December 1980) and were created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema. Per The Incredible Hulk #254 credits, editor Al Milgrom designed the costumes of the U-Foes while editor-in-chief Jim Shooter helped with the names of the U-Foes

As noted on the first page of that issue, the group's name was inspired by the 1979 Graham Parker song "Waiting for the UFOs".

Simon Utrecht, a former politician and multi-millionaire, funds an operation to gain superpowers the same way the Fantastic Four had, by flying into space and being exposed to cosmic rays. He chooses three other members to join him: Ann Darnell, Jimmy Darnell, and Mike Steel. What the group did not know was that they would be exposed to much higher amount than the Fantastic Four and that it would most likely kill them. The Hulk, in his Bruce Banner form, brings the ship down by reprogramming their computer before the group was exposed to the terminal levels of cosmic rays. The group did manage to gain powers and the newly christened U-Foes attacked Banner for interfering, convinced they could have become even more powerful without his intervention. Banner transforms into the Hulk and a fight ensues, but the U-Foes lose due to their inexperience with their newly gained powers and inability to fight as a team. Sometime later they escape from jail, and X-ray discoveres a way to keep Bruce Banner in his human form by generating 'anti-gamma rays'. Hulk is freed by his allies and defeats the team.

After several defeats at the hands of the Hulk and his allies, each of the U-Foes are banished to a different dimension. They manage to reunite and find their way back to Earth when the mutant Portal's powers began manifesting. The U-Foes attempt to murder Portal to keep him from opening another portal to banish them, but are defeated by the Avengers. They later attempt to kidnap Portal to exploit his mutant powers, and are defeated once again by Captain America, Darkhawk, and Daredevil.

...
Wikipedia