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The Thermal Man (also known as Project 16) is a fictional character, an artificial being who appears in comics published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. It made its first appearance in Thor #168 (1969).
A powered suit of metal, the Thermal Man was originally designed to perform laborious feats, but was confiscated after its creation and sent to cause disorder in the United States. Seemingly indestructible, the Thermal Man underwent two subsequent revivals after a battle with his initial opponents, the Asgardian gods.
Publication history
The Thermal Man made its official debut in Thor #168 (September 1969), which was written by writer-plotter Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. It introduced the robot's origins and also featured Galactus. The story was continued in Thor #169, which saw Thor battling the Thermal Man. Kirby had initially intended for Galactus to assist the Thunder God in fighting the robot; however, this concept was discarded (presumably on orders from Lee, who may have thought that such a plot would not stay true to Galactus' character). This incident apparently made Kirby, who left Marvel Comics a few months later, feel dissatisfied and unhappy. The story arc ended in Thor #170. The character reappeared in Thor Annual #15 (September 1990), followed by Marvel Super-Heroes (April 1992). It was thereafter re-imagined in Thunderstrike #14 (November 1994).
Fictional character biography
Origins
The Thermal Man was the brainchild of Kai Chen, a Chinese professor based in Beijing. Chen was a former accomplice of The Mandarin. Harnessing its power from exothermic nuclear processes, the Thermal Man was envisaged as an "industrial super-soldier" by his creator. However, the Communist forces thought otherwise; seizing the artificial being after its construction at the Atomic Experimental Center, the Thermal Man was transported to the United States via missile travel.
Fighter jets are dispatched to subdue the Chinese robot, although the efforts of the American soldiers are to no avail. As havoc ensues, Odin calls for the Warriors Three and Balder the Brave to take down the mechanical menace. The four Asgardians are no match for the Thermal Man either. At last, Thor is commanded to join the fight. Using his wits, Thor tricks the robot into following him to the docks, where he then calls upon a gigantic typhoon, which sends the Thermal Man hurtling towards the Arctic. Finally, it becomes frozen in a massive iceberg.
Return
The Thermal Man is sent into a period of deep slumber, although is awakened when a Chinese neutron bomb is launched into the Arctic, destroying the iceberg it is encased in. It makes its way to New York City, where it starts destroying everything in its path. Thor arrives at the scene in the nick of time, ignoring his father Odin's orders to assist in a war against the Frost Giants. Thor is unable to stop the robot single-handedly and fortunately is saved by the American military, which traps the Thermal Man in a plasma cage. The artificial being breaks free, but is stopped in its tracks by Professor Chen, who has created a device that can halt the robot's functions temporarily.
The humanoid is unfazed and proceeds to kill Chen.
Loki wages a war against Asgard, with the aid of the Thermal Man as well as the Frost Giants he had helped. The Asgardian defenses are shrugged off by the Thermal Man, who repeatedly projects blasts of thermal energy. Seeing this, and realising that Loki is pulling the strings, Thor hatches an ingenious plan - he absorbs the rays of energy using Mjolnir, before throwing them back at the Thermal Man. The robot is almost completely destroyed and goes haywire. The Frost Giants open a teleportation portal and escape back to their homeland; Thor flings the robot towards the portal. The Thermal Man lands in Jotunheim and promptly explodes, engulfing the majority of the Frost Giants' country in thermonuclear energy.
A showdown between Code: Blue and Thermal Man ensues. Although initially at the losing end, Code: Blue turns the tables around with a special weapon, Stark Industries-manufactured monomolecular adamantium wire, which he uses to slice off the Thermal Man's head, ending its reign of terror.
Powers and abilities
An intelligent humanoid built out of fifteen tonnes of atomic-powered material, the Thermal Man is granted a certain degree of independent thought and commands a considerably adequate knowledge of the English language, which allows him to string together coherent sentences. In addition, it has superhuman strength and peak endurance levels. The Thermal Man is capable of projecting high-intensity thermal energy from its mechanical digits and eyes.<ref name="Handbook 1"/> These blasts are powerful enough to melt army tanks. Its body is forged out of a metal similar to adamantium, and is impenetrable to bullets.<ref name="Thor 169"/>