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Quantum (comics)
Encyclopedia
Quantum is a fictional character
, an alien supervillain appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics
. He first appeared in West Coast Avengers
, Volume 2, #12 (Sep. 1986).
Searching for his comrades, he was summoned to earth, becoming part of a supervillain team assembled by Graviton
to resemble the Unified Field Theory
. Halflife
represented the weak force, Quantum represented the strong force, while Zzzax
represented electromagnetism
. Graviton himself represented gravity, and promised Quantum that he would help to locate the missing soldiers. Graviton and his allies were defeated by the West Coast Avengers
. Quantum, no longer believing Graviton's promises, fell from Graviton's high-altitude headquarters during a disagreement with Halflife and Graviton; Quantum abandoned the team and went his own way.
Although he didn't locate the other members of Elect, Quantum did find one other superpowered Dakkamite on earth — the Aquarian
, the now-pacifist whose powers had originally inspired the plan to enhance Dakkamite soldiers. Quantum considered the Aquarian, the son of a renegade, to be a traitor to the fatherworld, so Quantum attempted to kill him. However, Quasar
intervened, saving the Aquarian, and used his abilities to distort Quantum's powers, trapping him as a trio of intangible duplicates. The whereabouts of his fellow members of the Elect, imprisoned on the Stranger
's laboratory world, were later revealed.
Quantum reappears as one of the beings who have been subtly drawn to the planet Godthab Omega by the manipulations of Glorian
. This is only a cameo appearance - Quantum does not speak and does not play a major role in the story, although he no longer appears to be trapped in an intangible form. The planet is later assaulted by the Annihilation Wave, killing many of the inhabitants. It is unclear whether or not Quantum survived.
He may also possess some form of enhanced senses, as he was able to detect gravity waves (emitted by Graviton) - and was still far from earth at the time.
Quantum can also seemingly create 'copies' of himself - this is done by constantly shifting (teleporting) his form between several nearby locations several times per second at incredibly high speed, so that he appears to be a dozen or more duplicates. He has used this ability to bypass solid barriers and escape from confinement, by appearing on the other side of the barrier and then vanishing from his original position.
Hawkeye
believed that Quantum's powers relied on the radiation of the closest star and was able to render him unconscious by obscuring the sunlight with a cloud of smoke. When Quasar later encountered Quantum, he stated that this theory was incorrect - but was unable to explain why the smoke had been so effective.
Quantum was trained as a professional soldier in the fighting arts of the planet Dakkam.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, an alien supervillain appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. He first appeared in West Coast Avengers
West Coast Avengers
The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The team first appear in The West Coast Avengers #1 and was created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall.- Publication history :...
, Volume 2, #12 (Sep. 1986).
Fictional character biography
Quantum is an alien soldier from the planet Dakkam, one of the platoon of superpowered Dakkamite troops known as The Elect. The scientists of his race noted that exposure to earth's sun had given one Dakkamite renegade superpowers - they sought to exploit this by placing a platoon of soldiers inside specially designed 'incubator capsules', which were then located close to the sun. Quantum awoke at the end of this treatment to discover that his powers had manifested - but that the rest of The Elect had already gone.Searching for his comrades, he was summoned to earth, becoming part of a supervillain team assembled by Graviton
Graviton (comics)
Graviton is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Avengers #158 and was created by Jim Shooter and Sal Buscema....
to resemble the Unified Field Theory
Unified field theory
In physics, a unified field theory, occasionally referred to as a uniform field theory, is a type of field theory that allows all that is usually thought of as fundamental forces and elementary particles to be written in terms of a single field. There is no accepted unified field theory, and thus...
. Halflife
Halflife (comics)
There are two fictional characters in the Marvel Universe that are named Halflife with two distinct origins. They are detailed separately below.- Halflife :...
represented the weak force, Quantum represented the strong force, while Zzzax
Zzzax
Zzzax is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in The Incredible Hulk #166 and was created by Steve Englehart and Herb Trimpe.-Fictional character biography:...
represented electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
. Graviton himself represented gravity, and promised Quantum that he would help to locate the missing soldiers. Graviton and his allies were defeated by the West Coast Avengers
West Coast Avengers
The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The team first appear in The West Coast Avengers #1 and was created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall.- Publication history :...
. Quantum, no longer believing Graviton's promises, fell from Graviton's high-altitude headquarters during a disagreement with Halflife and Graviton; Quantum abandoned the team and went his own way.
Although he didn't locate the other members of Elect, Quantum did find one other superpowered Dakkamite on earth — the Aquarian
Wundarr the Aquarian
Wundarr the Aquarian is a Marvel Comics character created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik in Adventure into Fear #17. His first appearance is thought of as a parody of the origin of Superman.-Publication history:...
, the now-pacifist whose powers had originally inspired the plan to enhance Dakkamite soldiers. Quantum considered the Aquarian, the son of a renegade, to be a traitor to the fatherworld, so Quantum attempted to kill him. However, Quasar
Quasar (comics)
Quasar is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the . He is one of Marvel's cosmic heroes, a character whose adventures frequently take him into outer space or other dimensions...
intervened, saving the Aquarian, and used his abilities to distort Quantum's powers, trapping him as a trio of intangible duplicates. The whereabouts of his fellow members of the Elect, imprisoned on the Stranger
Stranger (comics)
The Stranger is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics.The Stranger first appeared in X-Men #11 , and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.-Fictional character biography:...
's laboratory world, were later revealed.
Quantum reappears as one of the beings who have been subtly drawn to the planet Godthab Omega by the manipulations of Glorian
Glorian
Glorian is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in Fantastic Four vol. 1, #135 .-Fictional character biography:...
. This is only a cameo appearance - Quantum does not speak and does not play a major role in the story, although he no longer appears to be trapped in an intangible form. The planet is later assaulted by the Annihilation Wave, killing many of the inhabitants. It is unclear whether or not Quantum survived.
Powers and abilities
Quantum possesses enhanced strength and is highly resistant to harm, far tougher than a normal human being. He can fly at high speed and it appears that he can survive indefinitely without food, air, or water - after he first gained his powers, he was able to fly to earth under his own power. Quantum has also stated that he has flown through the sun itself without harm. Quantum has the ability to generate a sheath of flames about his body.He may also possess some form of enhanced senses, as he was able to detect gravity waves (emitted by Graviton) - and was still far from earth at the time.
Quantum can also seemingly create 'copies' of himself - this is done by constantly shifting (teleporting) his form between several nearby locations several times per second at incredibly high speed, so that he appears to be a dozen or more duplicates. He has used this ability to bypass solid barriers and escape from confinement, by appearing on the other side of the barrier and then vanishing from his original position.
Hawkeye
Hawkeye (comics)
Hawkeye , also known as Goliath and Ronin, is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57 and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck. Hawkeye joined the Avengers in Avengers Vol. 1 #16 Hawkeye...
believed that Quantum's powers relied on the radiation of the closest star and was able to render him unconscious by obscuring the sunlight with a cloud of smoke. When Quasar later encountered Quantum, he stated that this theory was incorrect - but was unable to explain why the smoke had been so effective.
Quantum was trained as a professional soldier in the fighting arts of the planet Dakkam.