3-D Man

Creation

In a text piece in Marvel Premiere #36, writer Roy Thomas described the 3-D Man as a homage to the Joe Simon and Jack Kirby character Captain 3-D, and was intended by Thomas as a commentary on contemporary societal themes using 1950s analogues. Thomas was a noted user of retroactive continuity in his work for Marvel, notably on the World War II-set series The Invaders. Part of the inspiration was due to a relative dearth of Marvel Universe characters between the mid-1950s cancellation of most of Atlas Comics' superhero titles and the beginning of the company's Silver Age in Fantastic Four #1.

There are conflicting accounts as to how the character received his name; according to the character's artist co-creator Jim Craig, Thomas had initially told him 3-D Man was going to debut in his own magazine-format series in actual stereoscopic 3D, but after further researching the cost informed him that the budget would not cover it. However, other sources suggest the name was planned for a mooted back-up feature in a planned Spider-Man 3-D title in 1965 and that Thomas created a character based around the name. Because 3-D Man's adventures took place in the 1950s, Craig had to spend extensive time at a library doing research for the story's setting.

Publication history

The character debuted in a three-issue run of the anthology series Marvel Premiere, issues #35–37 (1977). There are several graphic elements in these comics—the first issue in particular—that were intended for their originally planned 3-D presentation. Marvel Premiere was considered a 'try-out' book—successful features such as Doctor Strange and Iron Fist had previously been promoted to their own titles. However, the 3-D Man did not receive such an honor, and instead would not appear again until the following year. He returned in What If #9 as part of a forgotten team of 1950s Avengers, with the rest of the roster made up of Atlas characters. Whereas What If stories usually took place in a branched reality, the events of the issue were intentionally left open-ended at the time the issue was published. It was then another couple of years until the character appeared again, in The Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #251–252 (1980), in a storyline which effectively wrote the character out of the present-day Marvel Universe.

The character then did not appear in print for 15 years, before resurfacing in Avengers Forever #4 (1999), which established the events of What If #9 as taking place in an alternate reality. However, Avengers Forever writer Kurt Busiek would later revisit the character in his run on the main Avengers title, leading to the 3-D Man featuring in The Avengers (vol. 3) #50–55 (2002) in the closing stages of the "Kang Dynasty" storyline in a plot that tied his fate in with Triathlon. After another period out of the limelight, the character returned in the 2008 Secret Invasion: Skrulls one-shot, which would lead to Triathlon taking on the 3-D Man mantle in Avengers: The Initiative #14.

Fictional character biography

Chuck Chandler and Hal Chandler

Brothers Chuck Chandler and Hal Chandler were born in Los Angeles, California. As a test pilot for NASA in 1958, Chuck was piloting the experimental XF-13 rocket plane when he was captured by Skrull invaders. They attempted to interrogate him but Chuck escaped, damaging the Skrulls' warp drive in the process. The Skrull saucer exploded as Chuck flew away, exposing him to strange radiation. He crashed the XF-13 in the Mojave Desert and when his younger, crippled brother Hal attempted to rescue him, Chuck disappeared, and was believed dead. Hal, a research scientist, discovered that Chuck's image had been imprinted on the lenses of his glasses, and that Chuck had been transformed into a two-dimensional being. When Hal wore the glasses and concentrated, he triggered a dimensional shift that caused Chuck to materialize into a three-dimensional existence. In his new form Chuck wore a green and red bodysuit, and his normal strength, speed, and durability had been tripled. As the costumed 3-D Man, Chuck fought another group of Skrull agents. He battled more Skrull infiltrators, and then battled the Cold Warrior.

At some point after his 1950s adventures Hal Chandler decided to stop functioning as 3-D Man and left his brother floating around in another dimension. Hal married Peggy Clark, and they had two children, Chuck Chandler II and Hal Chandler, Jr. Hal later encountered a down-on-his-luck Bruce Banner and, afraid that the Hulk might show up, used the glasses to summon 3-D Man once more. After this encounter, 3-D Man returned into his brother's glasses, determined never to return.

Delroy Garrett

Main article: Delroy Garrett

in Avengers World #15 (September 1998) (as Triathlon) George Pérez (artist) Triune Understanding Secret Avengers Agents of Atlas Skrull Kill Krew The Initiative Point Men Avengers Triathlon 3-D Man

• Ability to see Skrulls in their original form
• Regenerative healing factor

Events involving the former Avenger Triathlon revealed the true origins of 3-D Man's powers—one of a trio of pyramid-shaped "fragments of light", apparently created by the universe itself to counterbalance the emergence of an other-dimensional fragment of pure evil into Earth's dimension. The Skrull ship that had captured Chuck Chandler had also found one of the light pyramids, and the ship's explosion infused Chuck with the pyramid's power.

The Chandler brothers' power was stolen by Jonathan Tremont, founder of the Triune Understanding, who used Hal's connection to what Tremont termed the "tri-power" to track down a second light pyramid before attacking and capturing Hal. Tremont and the Understanding then drained the tri-power from a captive Hal and empowered Triune member and disgraced former Olympic athlete Delroy Garrett, dubbing him "Triathlon". Though initially unaware of his powers' source, Triathlon later discovered both the truth and the third light pyramid, and during the events of the Kang War used the combined might of all three "tri-powers" to defeat both Tremont and the other-dimensional evil, release Hal and Chuck from captivity, and restore Chuck to a separate human form - Garrett retaining the powers of 3-D Man.

After Garrett underwent and completed Initiative training at Camp Hammond, he officially took on the identity of 3-D Man with the Chandlers' blessing, including Chuck passing on his original costume and goggles. Donning the goggles awakened one of the original 3-D Man's powers in Garrett: the ability to perceive Skrulls in their true form, even when in shapeshifting disguise. With these goggles, Garrett played an important role in foiling the Skrull invasion of Earth, outing several Skrull infiltrators placed within the Initiative. Garrett managed to maintain this new ability even after the goggles were destroyed in combat.

Powers and abilities

The Chandler brothers received their superhuman abilities through exposure to an unknown radiation in the explosion of a Skrull starship. Hal Chandler could, by concentrating on the image of his brother Chuck imprinted on his glasses, summon a super-powered version of his brother: 3-D Man. Chuck had a telepathic link with Hal, who would lose consciousness and become comatose when the 3-D Man is active. The 3-D Man's consciousness is apparently a synthesis of Chuck and Hal's minds, with Chuck's usually dominant. 3-D Man, in turn, could only remain in a three-dimensional reality for three hours at a time before Hal would wake up, causing 3-D Man to subsequently disappear and return to his two-dimensional existence. The 3-D Man wore a specially designed NASA flight suit (circa late 1950s), altered in appearance and bonded to his skin. Chuck was an expert pilot and a talented football player. Hal is an experienced scientific researcher. Hal is astigmatic, and requires special glasses. A poliomyelitis victim as a child, he now requires crutches to walk. As 3-D Man, Chuck Chandler possessed approximately three times the physical capabilities of an extremely physically fit but otherwise normal human male. As his name suggests, 3-D Man is three times as strong, fast, and durable as military pilot Chuck Chandler. The sensory acuity of each of his five senses is three times more powerful than the maximum capabilities of a normal human being. In addition, 3-D Man had the limited quasi-telepathic ability to perceive the distinctive aura of the Skrull race, even when a Skrull has assumed another form.

Other versions

''What If''

In What If #9, FBI agent Jimmy Woo brought the 3-D Man together with several other heroes, including Gorilla-Man, Human Robot, Marvel Boy, and Venus, to form the 1950s Avengers. These heroes battled the Yellow Claw and his superhuman minions, but the team was asked to disband by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. While the events of this story took place on an alternate Earth, as revealed in Avengers Forever, a similar mission involving the Atlas-era characters did take place in the 1950s of the mainstream continuity, as shown in the 2006 miniseries Agents of Atlas. Writer Jeff Parker has explained that he did not use 3-D Man in Agents of Atlas in part due to his being a 1970s retcon, and not an original Atlas Comics character.

References

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