Balladeer’s Blog’s recent look at the short-lived comic book company Atlas-Seaboard was a big hit. As a follow-up here’s a look at an Atlas figure I did not cover in the main article, which can be found HERE
MAN-MONSTER
Secret Identity: Paul Sanders, Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist
Origin: Hedonistic Paul Sanders lives the life of a playboy from his endorsement deals and his resented oil baron father’s vast fortune. After a flirty/ bickering battle of the sexes-style interview with two female reporters from Women’s Lib Magazine Paul boards a motorboat for one of his father’s offshore oil wells.
To show off for the still-watching ladies Paul leaps overboard to swim the rest of the way to the oil drilling platform. As fate would have it, the oil drilling had just churned up some rare, mutated bacteria from the ocean floor. Sanders winds up covered by the bacteria, which causes changes to his body.
Paul barely escapes the bacteria and makes it back to shore, where he transforms into a red-scaled amphibious monster. After a brief rampage he becomes human again and the female reporters take him home.
From then on in times of danger the transformation comes over Paul again and he finds himself battling various forces of evil.
First Appearance: Tales of Evil #3 (July, 1975). His final appearance came in September of that same year.
Powers:
Man-Monster possessed massive super-strength, the ability to withstand the immense pressure of the ocean depths and scaly skin which made him impervious to bullets and other projectiles as well as certain energy blasts.
As Man-Monster, Paul Sanders retained his human mind and ability to speak. Think of him as a hybrid of the Sub-Mariner and the Thing.
Comment: Atlas Comics was frenziedly grasping at straws by this point in their lone year of existence. In their desperation to build the kind of shared fictional universe that Marvel and DC had, they tried jamming in Man-Monster crossovers with other Atlas characters.
Man-Monster battled Hellblazer, a villain who had also fought the Grim Ghost, and his first issue hyped a crossover with Demon Hunter, who mistakenly believed Paul Sanders’ mutated alter ego was one of his infernal foes trying to bring about Xenogenesis.
FOR MY ARTICLE ON THE MAIN LIST OF CENTAUR COMICS SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE
FOR THE AUSTRALIAN SUPERHERO PANTHEON CLICK HERE
FOR MY ARTICLE ON THE MEMBERS OF INFINITE HORIZON CLICK HERE
FOR MORE SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE: Superheroes
© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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Too bad the character didn’t last.
I agree. He seems just as good as any from the big-name companies.
Like a Thing and Submariner. How come not the Hulk?
Because this guy kept his human mind.
This character is better than the Thing. I got sick of Ben Grimm’s self-pity.
That’s a good point. I always looked at it more as Stan Lee pointlessly inflicting cruel storylines on Ben Grimm.
Olympic swimmer as a secret identity?
Pretty unique.
Interesting comments on your article.
I agree.
Even at less than a year, Atlas Comics titles lasted longer than some of Marvel’s new titles these days.
Ha! That is so true.
Did you mean to say a combination of SubMariner and Hulk, not the Thing?
No, because when this character came out in the 70s the Hulk was still a mindless brute. The Thing still had his normal mind.
Women’s Lib magazine! lol
Ha! That’s the 70s!
Love the idea behind some of Atlas’ heroes.
I agree. Too bad they didn’t get time to develop.
Atlas Cinematic Universe baby!
You said it!
Atlas was a royal screwup!
Yes they were!
Very good post! The Atlas heroes weren’t that bad.
Thanks! I agree.
I can write better than the entire Atlas staff on my worst day.
This bragging is getting boring Donny.