Porcupine

The Porcupine, born Alex Gentry, is an American military scientist turned criminal, specializing in bank robbery. He is equipped with a bulky, spined "porcupine" suit that shoots various substances from its "quills."

Biography

In 1963, army scientist Alex Gentry developed a special combat suit that he predicted would be unstoppable on the battlefield. But he also anticipated that the government would take his idea and brush him aside, and desired greater success. He decided to call himself the Porcupine and use the suit for crime, setting his sights on a bank that was to open soon. The bank was promoted as being "burglar-proof," using security technology developed by Dr. Henry Pym. Porcupine took the crowd there and the security forces by surprise, using liquid cement and various gases from his quills to disable any threats, and easily stealing the cash in the safe. Porcupine escaped unscathed, and over the next several days continued his criminal ways with no resistance. He however anticipated reprisal from the heroes Ant-Man and the Wasp, and his readiness would soon pay off to some degree. He was trailed to his lab, undisguised, by Ant-Man's loyal ants, and eventually Ant-Man himself. But Gentry was ready for him, and picked up Ant-Man and dropped him in a filled bathtub as he left the room to don his Porcupine suit. When he returned several minutes later, Ant-Man had not only escaped the tub, but was now accompanied by Wasp and an army of ants. They used bags of Porcupine's own liquid cement to clog his quills, taking away his offense. Porcupine was knocked from the window, but survived the fall several stories down with some unclogged jet tubes, and escaped, vowing revenge.

Porcupine exacted his revenge several months later, attacking Ant-Man—now primarily using his size-changing powers to become the 12-foot-tall Giant-Man—and the Wasp at a public performance of their powers. He assaulted them from afar with a series of quills as they performed in the air, sending Giant-Man falling to the ground and fracturing his ankle. Porcupine devised a plan that next involved joining a local Giant-Man and Wasp fan club, suggesting that he and the other members visit the injured Giant-Man and cheer him up by dressing as one of his former foes. Porcupine went as himself, and the club soon arrived at Giant-Man's rented loft downtown, where he rehabbed in his personal makeshift gym. Porcupine asked Wasp to fetch a gift from his car for Giant-Man, and she obliged, but was suddenly caught in a booby trap that Porcupine had laid there. With Wasp handled, Porcupine released a sleeping gas from his quills. The other fans, mostly teenage boys, were knocked out in seconds, while Giant-Man's larger frame allowed him a greater resistance. The injured but still remarkable Giant-Man used the various equipment in the room to spin at great speeds, thinning out the gas. Porcupine escaped, declaring that he had taken Wasp prisoner. He took the heroine to his home and threw her into an isolated room, telling her that she wouldn't be freed until she gave up Giant-Man's identity. In fact, he actually wanted her to escape, deliberately leaving a small hole in the wall through which she could fly. She did so very quickly, and he sent an electronic radio quill to fly after her and follow her to Giant-Man's personal home. This plan worked flawlessly, and Porcupine followed the trail to the heroes' domicile, taking the fight straight to them. Wasp was quickly taken out of action with flypaper, while the still injured Giant-Man fought valiantly. Porcupine's hubris eventually got the best of him, as he grabbed several capsules from Giant-Man's belt and downed them all at once. He thought that they were enlarging capsules, but they were in fact for shrinking. The Porcupine shrunk unceasingly, until he eventually blipped out of sight; his fate is unknown.