Man-Bull

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For the creature in ancient mythology, see Lamassu.
Man-Bull
William Taurens (Earth-616) from Howard the Duck Vol 5 3 0001.jpg
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceDaredevil #78 (July 1971)
Created byGerry Conway
Gary Friedrich
In-story information
Alter egoWilliam "Bill" Taurens
Team affiliationsDeath Squad
Frightful Four
Vil-Anon
PartnershipsMatador
Notable aliasesBull Taurus
AbilitiesSuperhuman strength, agility and endurance
High-level resistance to injury
Set of horns

The Man-Bull is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history[]

The Man-Bull first appeared in Daredevil #78-79 (July–August 1971), and was created by Gerry Conway and Gary Friedrich.[1]

The character subsequently appeared in Daredevil #95-96 (January–February 1973), Claws of the Cat #4 (June 1973), Iron Man #72 (January 1975), Daredevil #129 (January 1976), and Daredevil #144 (April 1977). The character did not appear again for some time, until The Incredible Hulk #341 (March 1988), and he then appeared in Marvel Year-in-Review '92, The Amazing Spider-Man: Chaos in Calgary #4 (February 1993), Captain America #413 (March 1993), and New Warriors #36 (June 1993). He disappeared again for a time, before appearing in She-Hulk #10 (February 2005), Gravity #1 (August 2005), Wolverine #30 (September 2005), Spider-Man Unlimited #12 (January 2006), Underworld #3 (June 2006), and Punisher War Journal #13-15 (January–March 2008).

The Man-Bull received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #6, and in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update #1 (2007).

Fictional character biography[]

William "Bill" Taurens was born in Camden, New Jersey. He was hired by Mister Kline to round up people to test an experimental serum (taken from bulls) made by his agent the Professor. Although assisted by Itch and Freak Face, his attempts were thwarted by Daredevil. As a result, Bill ended up being a guinea pig for the serum which turned him into a humanoid bull. Becoming the Man-Bull, he fought Daredevil, who defeated the Man-Bull by throwing him into a wall; the Man-Bull reverted to Taurens and was arrested by the police.[2]

When Itch snuck in the Man-Bull serum into Taurens' prison cell which permanently transformed him, the Man-Bull attempted to take his revenge on Daredevil and the two have clashed on several occasions.[3] He also clashed with the Cat in a bar fight.[4] The Man-Bull was later recruited by the Melter and Whiplash to join the Black Lama's Death Squad, where they ran afoul of Iron Man at a comic book convention.[5]

The Man-Bull eventually began to turn savage; he lost the power of speech, sprouted a tail, and grew more inhuman. In this state, he was encountered by the Grey Hulk.[6] As the Man-Bull continued to deteriorate, he was recruited by the Wizard to join his Frightful Four alongside himself, the Trapster, and the Dreadknight. They attacked a rodeo arena and ran afoul of Spider-Man and Turbine.[7]

The Man-Bull later regained his power of speech somehow and joined the Armadillo, Equinox, the Hypno-Hustler, Chip Martin, and Jackson Wheele at a Villains Anonymous meeting.[8]

The Man-Bull later joined the Constrictor, Tombstone, Warhawk, and a number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in raiding an A.I.M. facility which was working on a Null android from technology stolen from Reed Richards.[9]

Later returning to villainy and now sprouting green hair, he returned to New York City and fought the Thing.[10]

When Alyosha Kravinoff (the son of Kraven the Hunter) began collecting a zoo of animal-themed superhumans, the Man-Bull is clearly seen in one of the cages.[11] He later battled the Grizzly, who knocked him out and snapped off his left horn (yet the horn somehow regenerated by his next appearance).[12]

During the Dark Reign storyline, the Man-Bull was among the villains analyzed by Quasimodo for Norman Osborn.[13] When imprisoned at the Raft, the Man-Bull later fought the Absorbing Man in the Annual Raft Boxing Tournament and lost to him in the final round.[14]

During the "Fear Itself" storyline, the Man-Bull is among the villains who escaped from the Raft after what the Juggernaut, in the form of Kuurth: Breaker of Stone, did to it.[15] When he, the Basilisk and the Griffin are seen robbing a bank, Hercules arrives and discovers that the fourth person with the villains is actually Hecate. When a resurrected Kyknos ends up fighting Hercules, the Man-Bull and the Basilisk flee. After Hercules recovers from his fight with Kyknos, he and the Griffin managed to seek out the Basilisk and the Man-Bull and convince them to help fight Kyknos and Hecate. The villains approach Hecate and Kyknos, using a ruse involving Hercules being turned to stone. Hercules quickly revives and saves the villains by killing Kyknos. Hecate later escapes.[16]

Following the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, the Man-Bull was among the villains taking part in the riot at a prison. Rogue and Mimic were the only ones to stop the riot where they copied the powers of the Armadillo, Equinox, and the Man-Bull to do so.[17]

The Man-Bull later robs an armored truck and is possibly fatally shot by the Punisher.[18]

As part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel," the Man-Bull encountered the Emerald Warlock on Santorini and infused him with the energies that caused him to believe that he was the actual Minotaur. With some help from Hecate, the Scarlet Witch agreed to help the Man-Bull.[19]

During the "Hunted" storyline, the Man-Bull is among the animal-themed superhumans that were captured by the Taskmaster and the Black Ant for Kraven the Hunter's Great Hunt.[20] After most of the animal-themed superheroes regrouped, it was mentioned by the Toad that the Man-Bull was killed amidst the chaos caused by the Hunter-Bots.[21]

In the pages of Ruins of Ravencroft, the Man-Bull turns up alive and appears as an inmate at Ravencroft following its rebuilding.[22]

Powers and abilities[]

The Man-Bull possesses superhuman strength, agility, and endurance and a high-level resistance to injury. He also has a pair of bull horns, which he uses as weapons.

Other versions[]

Spider-Ham[]

In the Spider-Ham universe, the Man-Bull's counterpart in this reality is a frog named the Bull-Frog.[23]

References[]

  1. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 204. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  2. ^ Daredevil #78. Marvel Comics.
  3. ^ Daredevil #78-79, 95-96, 129, 144. Marvel Comics.
  4. ^ Claws of the Cat #4. Marvel Comics.
  5. ^ Iron Man #72. Marvel Comics.
  6. ^ The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #341. Marvel Comics.
  7. ^ Spider-Man: Chaos in Calgary #4. Marvel Comics.
  8. ^ Spider-Man Unlimited #12. Marvel Comics.
  9. ^ Wolverine vol. 3 #30. Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ Gravity #1. Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ Punisher War Journal vol. 2 #13. Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ Punisher War Journal vol. 2 #13-15. Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ Dark Reign Files #1. Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ Dark Reign: Lethal Legion #2. Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Thunderbolts #158. Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ Herc #3-6. Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ X-Men: Legacy #275. Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ Chip Zdarsky (w), Jason Latour (p), Jason Latour (i), Jason Latour (col), Travis Lanham (let), Wil Moss (ed). "Double's Jeopardy" Howard the Duck v5, #3 (13 May 2015), United States: Marvel Comics
  19. ^ Scarlet Witch vol. 2 #2. Marvel Comics.
  20. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #17
  21. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #19. Marvel Comics.
  22. ^ Ruins of Ravencroft: Dracula #1. Marvel Comics.
  23. ^ Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #2. Marvel Comics.

External links[]

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