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Pandemic (comics)
Encyclopedia
Pandemic is a fictional supervillan from the Marvel Universe
was first mentioned in X-Men vol. 2 #188 (2006) and appeared in X-Men vol. 2 #194 (2007). He was created by Mike Carey and Humberto Ramos
.
(who, at the time, Xavier had admitted as a member of his X-Men) control her absorbing ability. Obtaining a DNA sample from Rogue and mutating it into a viral strain called Strain 87, Dr. Palance theorized that he would gain immortality with Rogue's ability to absorb a person's powers, skills, memories, and personality upon physical contact. Injecting Strain 87 into himself proved to be only a partial success as he only gained the ability to copy the mutant powers of others upon contact.
After establishing a hospital called the Fordyce Clinic, Dr. Palance used the hospital to lure mutants so as to absorb more powers and secretly experiment with splicing mutant DNA into viruses and then infecting baseline human subjects, with the intent of discerning if mutation can be contracted like a disease. While continuing to amass several abilities, Dr. Palance began calling himself Pandemic and sought to create Strain 88 to replicate Rogue's power to the point where it can be used to permanently absorb a person's entire personality, leaving the victim summarily erased.
He easily defeated Rogue's team of X-Men and then infected Rogue with Strain 88, hoping to gain her powers for himself as well. But he was eventually defeated when Sabretooth
tricked Pandemic into coming in contact with him, thus resulting in Pandemic absorbing Sabretooth's healing factor into his body. This automatically cured the Strain 87, transforming him back to human form and removing all of his acquired abilities. Shortly after that Lady Mastermind uses her abilities to trap him in a psychic maze.
He later recovers from this and is later seen during the Endangered Species
storyline as one of the scientists Beast requests help from in reversing the effects of Decimation
.
called Strain 87 and injected himself with it. This gave him the ability to copy and permanently retain the powers of any mutant he came into contact with. Unlike Rogue, he wasn't absorbing powers, only copying. Moreover, he couldn't absorb memories and personalities and could activate his power through contact with a mere DNA or tissue sample.
Although he claimed to have copied over 300 super-powers, the only ones that could be readily identified were those of Rogue (power absorption), Jean Grey
(telepathy
and telekinesis), Nightcrawler
(teleportation
), Lady Mastermind (illusion casting), Chamber
(bio blasts), Cyclops
(optic blasts), Havok (plasma blasts), Storm
(weather control), Bishop
(energy absorption/redirection), Alchemy
(elemental transmutation
), Sunfire (pyrokinesis
), Husk
(omnimorphing), Iceman
(cold and ice manipulation), Shadowcat (phasing), Cannonball
(thermochemical energy generation) and 17 types of invulnerability until he absorbed Sabretooth
's healing factor
, which ironically cured the virus in his veins.
reality, Dr. Richard Palance works with Kavita Rao to make a cure for the mutant gene. However, he is killed by Kavita Rao during a battle with Wolverine.
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
was first mentioned in X-Men vol. 2 #188 (2006) and appeared in X-Men vol. 2 #194 (2007). He was created by Mike Carey and Humberto Ramos
Humberto Ramos
Humberto Ramos is a Mexican comic book penciller, best known for his work on American comic books such as Impulse, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man and his creator-owned series Crimson.-Career:...
.
Fictional character biography
Pandemic was a geneticist named Dr. Richard Palance. A colleague of Professor Charles Xavier, Dr. Palance was consulted by Xavier when the latter requested his aid in helping RogueRogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...
(who, at the time, Xavier had admitted as a member of his X-Men) control her absorbing ability. Obtaining a DNA sample from Rogue and mutating it into a viral strain called Strain 87, Dr. Palance theorized that he would gain immortality with Rogue's ability to absorb a person's powers, skills, memories, and personality upon physical contact. Injecting Strain 87 into himself proved to be only a partial success as he only gained the ability to copy the mutant powers of others upon contact.
After establishing a hospital called the Fordyce Clinic, Dr. Palance used the hospital to lure mutants so as to absorb more powers and secretly experiment with splicing mutant DNA into viruses and then infecting baseline human subjects, with the intent of discerning if mutation can be contracted like a disease. While continuing to amass several abilities, Dr. Palance began calling himself Pandemic and sought to create Strain 88 to replicate Rogue's power to the point where it can be used to permanently absorb a person's entire personality, leaving the victim summarily erased.
He easily defeated Rogue's team of X-Men and then infected Rogue with Strain 88, hoping to gain her powers for himself as well. But he was eventually defeated when Sabretooth
Sabretooth (comics)
Sabretooth is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne. The character first appeared in Iron Fist #14...
tricked Pandemic into coming in contact with him, thus resulting in Pandemic absorbing Sabretooth's healing factor into his body. This automatically cured the Strain 87, transforming him back to human form and removing all of his acquired abilities. Shortly after that Lady Mastermind uses her abilities to trap him in a psychic maze.
He later recovers from this and is later seen during the Endangered Species
X-Men: Endangered Species
"Endangered Species" is a 2007 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. Starring the X-Men, it ran from June to October 2007. It begins with the Endangered Species one-shot written by Mike Carey and drawn by Scot Eaton....
storyline as one of the scientists Beast requests help from in reversing the effects of Decimation
Decimation (comics)
Decimation is the late 2005 Marvel Comics storyline spinning off from the House of M limited series. It focuses on the ramifications of the Scarlet Witch stripping nearly all of the mutant population of their powers, thereby reducing a society of millions to one of scant hundreds.This event, which...
.
Powers and abilities
Pandemic obtained a DNA sample from Rogue and synthesized her power into a virusVirus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
called Strain 87 and injected himself with it. This gave him the ability to copy and permanently retain the powers of any mutant he came into contact with. Unlike Rogue, he wasn't absorbing powers, only copying. Moreover, he couldn't absorb memories and personalities and could activate his power through contact with a mere DNA or tissue sample.
Although he claimed to have copied over 300 super-powers, the only ones that could be readily identified were those of Rogue (power absorption), Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
(telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
and telekinesis), Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler (comics)
Nightcrawler is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Universe. He has been associated with both the X-Men and Excalibur, originally appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1...
(teleportation
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
), Lady Mastermind (illusion casting), Chamber
Chamber (comics)
Jonothon "Jono" Evan Starsmore, better known as Chamber or Decibel, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men and the New Warriors....
(bio blasts), Cyclops
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
(optic blasts), Havok (plasma blasts), Storm
Storm (comics)
Storm is a fictional character that appears in a number of comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum...
(weather control), Bishop
Bishop (comics)
Bishop is a fictional comic book superhero, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books...
(energy absorption/redirection), Alchemy
Alchemy (comics)
Alchemy is a fictional British mutant in the Marvel Comics universe. Alchemy, created by British comic book fan Paul Betsow, was the winning entry of a contest held by Marvel Comics for the best fan-created character. Marvel agreed to publish the winning character in an issue of New Mutants...
(elemental transmutation
Transmutation
Transmutation may refer to:*Biological transmutation, the claim that nuclear transmutation occurs within living organisms*Dimensional transmutation, a physical mechanism that transforms a pure number into a parameter with a dimension...
), Sunfire (pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...
), Husk
Husk (comics)
Husk is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. Guthrie is a superhero associated with the X-Men.A mutant, Husk has the ability to remove one layer of skin - or "husk" - revealing an epidermis of a different composition beneath...
(omnimorphing), Iceman
Iceman (comics)
Iceman is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero, a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men vol. 1 #1, ....
(cold and ice manipulation), Shadowcat (phasing), Cannonball
Cannonball (comics)
Cannonball is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero, associated with the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, Cannonball first appeared in Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants ....
(thermochemical energy generation) and 17 types of invulnerability until he absorbed Sabretooth
Sabretooth (comics)
Sabretooth is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne. The character first appeared in Iron Fist #14...
's healing factor
Healing factor
A healing factor is a term used to describe the ability of some characters in fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate...
, which ironically cured the virus in his veins.
Age of X
In the Age of XAge of X
"Age of X" is a comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics which features an alternate reality of the X-Men. The first issue of the storyline, Age of X: Alpha, was published in January 2011. Publication continued in February, March, and April 2011...
reality, Dr. Richard Palance works with Kavita Rao to make a cure for the mutant gene. However, he is killed by Kavita Rao during a battle with Wolverine.