Mentallo

Mentallo
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Strange Tales #141 (February, 1966)
Created by	Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Marvin Flumm
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	A.I.M. S.H.I.E.L.D. HYDRA Resistants New Enforcers
Partnerships	Fixer
Notable aliases	Think Tank
Abilities	Telepathy Limited psionic powers Wears a battle-suit Use of various weapons Ability to send mental probes that function as a radar-sense (As Think Tank): Rides a small tread-propelled vehicle equipped with weapons

Mentallo (Marvin Flumm) is a fictional supervillain, a mutant appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. After having been fired for cause after attempting a covert S.H.I.E.L.D. takeover, he has since operated as both a freelance criminal and subversive and a high-ranking agent of HYDRA. He is usually depicted as using technology to increase his power.

Publication history

Mentallo first appeared in Strange Tales #141 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Fictional character biography

Marvin Flumm was born in Watford City, North Dakota. He once worked as a shoe salesman. As a mutant telepath of moderate ability, Mentallo was recruited by the original S.H.I.E.L.D. as a candidate for their ESP Division. However, he teamed with the Fixer in an attempt to take over S.H.I.E.L.D., and clashed with Nick Fury for the first time.^[1] He then served as a division leader in the HYDRA fragment led by Silvermane.^[2] Mentallo teamed with the Fixer again, and they placed Deathlok (Luther Manning) under their control. They attempted to make the U.S. President their slave, but were thwarted by the Fantastic Four.^[3] Mentallo and the Fixer were employed by HYDRA again, but Mentallo was rendered comatose by the Micronauts.^[4] In the custody of Professor Power, Mentallo battled Professor X on a psychic plane.^[5] Mentallo was captured by the Super-Adaptoid, impersonating the Fixer, but he was rescued by the Avengers.^[6]

Under the name Think Tank, he was a member of the Resistants, which was originally an incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The Resistants opposed the Mutant Registration Act. As Think-Tank, he fought the then-current Captain America (John Walker).^[7] He was imprisoned, and resumed his identity as Mentallo. He started a mass breakout at the Vault. However, his powers were briefly amplified and used by Iron Man to compel the escapees to surrender.^[8] He then directed an unsuccessful attack on the Hulk and the Thing.^[9] Mentallo later attended the A.I.M. weapons exposition.^[10]

Mentallo once worked for the Red Skull and partnered with the Juggernaut in a successful attempt to brainwash the Hulk to attack the Avengers. Mentallo managed to mentally impersonate the Hulk's wife-killing father and bully him into submission.^[11]

Shortly after the events of World War Hulk, Mentallo was among the members of Hood's Crime Syndicate.^[12] He remained with them until they were defeated by the New Avengers.^[13]

Some time after, Mentallo was hired by MODOK to be part of a supervillain heist squad. Due to his psychic powers, he realised MODOK was creating a psychic illusion of money to secure everyone's loyalty, and MODOK secretly told him the "full extent" of the plans would be revealed to him, and several other villains.^[14] Mentallo quickly decided that instead he was going to sell the villain out to whoever stumped up the cash. After noticing the Chameleon had a telepathic shield and Spider-Man's powers and Spider-Sense, he went to offer to betray MODOK's plans to the Avengers for cash. Unfortunately for Mentallo, it wasn't Spider-Man at all but A.I.M.'s Ultra-Adaptoid which incinerated him to protect its cover.^[15] He was presumed dead, but Mentallo was revealed to be alive when he appeared at Ryker's Island to inform the Fantastic Four and S.H.I.E.L.D. about the New Defenders.

In Secret Invasion, a person who look likes Mentallo appears as part of the Hood's alliance with super-powered heroes. The group is intent on defeating the Skrull invasion force of New York City.^[16] He was later seen, during an attack on the New Avengers.^[17]

During the Dark Reign storyline, Norman Osborn (as Iron Patriot) has Mentallo torture Clint Barton for the New Avengers's location.^[18]

During the Heroic Age storyline, Mentallo once again encountered the Avengers. He attempted to control the mind of Reptil, but Reptil transformed himself into a dinosaur. Mentallo was unable to control the reptillian mind. Reptil was unable to control himself as well, and Mentallo was badly savaged as a result.^[19]

Mentallo psychically enslaved the Kaiju monsters of Monster Island on behalf of the Roxxon Corporation (who attempted to seize control of the Island in order to drill for oil). He was stopped and defeated by the X-Men, after he double-crossed Roxxon and tried to flee with his professional fee of a billion dollars. While attempting to flee, one of the giant monsters dropped a cargo hold directly on top of him, which contained the entire billion dollars in cash.^[20]

Mentallo later appears as part of the new High Council of A.I.M. (consisting of Andrew Forson, Graviton, Jude the Entropic Man, Superia, Yelena Belova, and an undercover Taskmaster) as the Minister of Public Affairs.^[21]

During the Avengers: Standoff! storyline, Mentallo was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D.^[22]

Powers and abilities

Mentallo is a mutant with limited psionic powers which can be augmented through scientific means often provided by the Fixer. Mentallo has telepathy and can read the thoughts of any human mind within an approximate five mile (8 km) radius. He has the ability to project "mental bolts" at opponents, create psionic screens to protect himself from psionic assault, control the bodies and minds of other humans, communicate telepathically, and cast mental illusions. Mentallo has difficulty focusing his powers on moving targets. He is unusually vulnerable to psionic attack unless he erects a mental screen.

Mentallo wears a modified S.H.I.E.L.D. battle-suit. He has used various weaponry, including conventional firearms, rocket-guns, and a "sonic whammer" which projects intense vibratory blasts. He usually wears a special helmet to protect him against telepathic feedback, background noise, and psionic assault from other telepaths. Fixer has supplied him with "electronic masks" (or "servo-pods") which adhere to victims' faces and place them under Mentallo's control. Fixer's "mentascope" enables Mentallo to use his psionic power to locate and attack victims from afar. Mentallo is capable of flight via Fixer's "anti-grav propellant unit" or "flying discs" and has also used a tank that can bore through the ground.

Mentallo also has the ability to send out mental probes to identify the shape and size of objects in his near vicinity, effectively acting as a radar-sense. He can even locate invisible and intangible objects this way.

As the Resistants member Think Tank, he rode within a small tread-propelled vehicle in which he sat, with his upper body and head still exposed. This tank unit was armed with a wide range of weapons — machine guns, metal grappler arms etc. — which Mentallo directly controlled with his telepathic ability and a special interface helmet.

Other versions

House of M

In the House of M reality, Mentallo (alongside Arclight and Wild Child) is a member of the Red Guard that was positioned in Australia to serve Exodus.^[23]

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Marvel incarnation of Marvin Flumm is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. introduced in Ultimate Comics: Ultimates.^[24] After Reed Richards's nuclear attack on Washington, D.C. killed the President and almost the whole cabinet, he took advantage of the new civil war chaos by replacing Nick Fury as the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director and ordered the capture of the Ultimates.^[25] After Iron Man (Tony Stark) defeats the Maker and Captain America (Steve Rogers) is elected President, Flumm tries to kill the new President under orders from Mr. Morez (aka Modi). However, Flumm's traitor status is ultimately revealed by Monica Chang and he is subsequently fired from S.H.I.E.L.D..^[26]

The Ultimate version of Mentallo makes a minor appearance in Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man. In Jefferson Davis's flashback story, Mentallo is captured by Toad and used as the first genetic source to create a "mutate" (a Marvel term for genetically-modified humans as opposed to natural mutants) for Wilson Fisk and the Enforcers. Although Nick Fury led a S.H.I.E.L.D. team to stop the illegal transaction, Mentallo's fate is unknown.^[27]

See also

• List of S.H.I.E.L.D. members

References

External links

• Mentallo at Marvel.com