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Quote1 When I was eight, I hunted my first bear. Big grizzly. That was 1922, in the Yukon, and he kept us through a cold winter. In Spain, I fought bulls and fascists-- and I let the bulls live. In Nepal, I hunted the Tiger God and killed all fear in me. I've fought queens of dreams and the world's secret master. I've fought demons in hell and stolen their thrones-- and those thrones haven't bound me. And it all comes back to one thing. I was eight, full of bear meat and adventure -- and I made a vow, Mr. Creel. I vowed I would live an interesting life. I think I've done okay so far, eh? Quote2
Puck[src]

History

Origin[]

Born in 1914, Eugene Milton Judd was both a giant of a man[5] and an incredible athlete. When he was eight, in 1922, he caught a bear which kept his family through a hard winter; he swore then to live an interesting life.[6] He became a mercenary with experience with the supernatural. In 1939, he sought the Black Blade of Baghdad. Upon claiming it, he was attacked by the being known as Black Raazer that possessed the blade. The spirit of Black Razer lengthened Judd's lifespan and increased his strength, but also caused him great pain and to become much shorter.[5]

Judd continued to travel the world. His reputation as a mercenary was such that although they did not meet at the time, Wolverine was aware of Judd when they fought on opposite sides in an unrevealed adventure in Maracaibo.[7] He met the author Ernest Hemingway in Spain; Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff); and Modred the Mystic while battling the Brass Bishop. Occasionally, Eugene attempted to put down roots and get in touch with his humanity, such as when he worked as a construction worker in Orloo, Ontario. There, he also worked as a volunteer at the Hull House orphanage.[8]

Judd would return to his wild ways eventually and, calling himself Puck, he hooked up with a team of other paranormal mercenaries known as the Outcasts. Eugene's flagrant disregard for the laws of man eventually got him imprisoned for murder.[9]

Alpha Flight[]

Years later, Guardian had Puck released from jail and offered him a place in Department H. He agreed[10] and underwent training, eventually rising to the secondary team, Beta Flight. When Department H shut down, Alpha Flight decided to remain together as super-heroes independent of the government. Judd joined Alpha Flight at this time.[11]

During his time with Alpha Flight, he encountered a new city deep in the Arctic Circle. There his team and the X-Men discovered Fire Fountain. Several humans associated with the X-Men had gained vast powers via the fountain. Puck was cured of his dwarfism by the well-intentioned Anodyne. He discovered a problem with walking because his center of balance was off. Later, the group discovered that the powers came at a price too high to bare. The group split along ideological lines, and both groups battled for some time before turning on the main threat. This turned out to be the trickster god Loki who was behind all this. He was eventually persuaded to remove all effects of the fountain, which unfortunately included Puck's new height. The pain associated with his dwarfism was now worse than ever.[12]

Soon after, he battled Black Raazer who temporarily freed himself from the prison of Puck's body.[5] He told his teammates about his past, and then took Raazer back into his body once more. He had romantic interest in Heather McNeil Hudson, but she instead turned to their teammate Madison Jeffries.

When Northstar and Aurora both fell deathly ill (him physically and her mentally), Alpha Flight took them to the site of the Fire Fountain. Loki led them to a dark fountain instead (emanating from a deep pit), and sent demons to attack them. During the resulting fight, Puck was knocked into the fountain. The spirit's curse was removed, leaving Puck as a taller but much older man. Loki transported Puck to Tibet as part of his schemes.[13] While there, Puck sought out a lama, hoping to get away from everything, as he had grown tired of the world. Tibet itself was being overtaken by the Chinese military at the time. After meeting with him, the lama offered Puck a choice: to be reunited with his friends who were in danger or to travel throughout the other dimensions. He chose to save his friends and was sent to the realm of the Dreamqueen.[14]

Although the others were freed, Dreamqueen captured Puck and tortured him. She restored his youth to ensure she could torture him endlessly. Puck was reunited with the others and freed as they returned from battling the evil sorcerer Llan.[15] Puck was placed in a hospital to recover from his injuries. He was then abducted by the Master of the World and experimented on. Sasquatch was able to undo the damage, and Puck was 'compressed' into his younger, diminutive form.[16] He, along with the rest of Alpha Flight stood to block the Collective from entering Canada. The Collective didn't even stop and left behind the deceased bodies of Puck and Alpha Flight.[3]

Ruler of Hell[]

Later, during the attack by the Chaos King, Alpha Flight was returned to life by a then-omniscient Hercules, sans Puck[17] who, unlike the others, had been sent to one of the realms of Hell. After fighting his way through the damned and claiming a seat of power, he learned that his friends were in trouble (due to Gary Cody putting Canada under martial law and arresting Alpha Flight), and gave up his throne to return to Earth, though his seeming mental instability makes these claims potentially dubious.[4]

Reforming X-Force[]

Eugene Judd (Earth-616) from Uncanny X-Force Vol 2 4 Larroca Variant Cover

Puck as a member of X-Force

Puck sent Psylocke an email when she and Storm were tasked with tracking down a drug dealer in Los Angeles, selling TAO, a drug that makes people susceptible to a hive mind mentality.[18]

Psylocke and Storm met Puck at a bar, and he leads them to an old bank from the '20s that the drug dealer – the diva of downtown LA - used to sell drugs and dance. Storm and Psylocke quickly realized the diva was Spiral and Betsy was unable to resist attacking her.

Meanwhile, Storm and Puck headed to the bank vault, since it was where Spiral had hidden her things. Ororo and Puck found a scared little girl inside the vault, who was upset Psylocke was fighting Spiral. The little girl mentally ordered the people at the club to attack Betsy. The two fled to Spiral's flat, followed by the three heroes, but they were all attacked by Bishop, who had just returned from the future to kidnap the girl.[19]

Gamma Flight[]

When Talisman was introduced to Alpha Flight, Puck became her physics instructor. Much later at the time of a mass Wendigo outbreak, the two became lovers.[20] Puck later became a member of the Alpha Flight space program.[21] When Alpha Flight's commander Captain Marvel decided to create a task force to locate the Hulk, the unit was named Gamma Flight, and it was comprised of Puck and the depowered Sasquatch. Alongside reporter Jackie McGee, Gamma Flight intercepted a confrontation between the Hulk and the Absorbing Man, who had been possessed by the One Below All, at Los Diablos Missile Base. The fight saw the One Above All use the Absorbing Man to open a Green Door, shunting everybody on the scene into his dominion, the Below-Place.[22] During their passage through the Below-Place, Puck spurred the Absorbing Man on to help stop the One Below All's plan to emerge on Earth.[6] Creel managed to repower the Hulk, who then stopped the One Below All. After returning to reality, Puck invited the Absorbing Man into Gamma Flight.[23]

Gamma Flight subsequently became tangled in the ongoing battle between the Hulk and Shadow Base, a conflict that ended in the green goliath taking control of it.[24] When the Hulk waged war against Roxxon, the company deployed a group of giant monsters to wreak havoc in Phoenix, Arizona. Gamma Flight assisted the Hulk and his allies.[25] However, Gamma Flight came at odds with the Hulk after the Leader set him up to cause the destruction of a small town by overloading him with gamma, causing him to detonate.[26] The Hulk was ultimately taken down and held prisoner at the Alpha Flight Space Station, but he managed to escape in his human form, slipping past Gamma Flight in the process. After Alpha Flight's acting commander Henry Gyrich threatened to take action against Gamma Flight for their failure, the team walked out on him.[27]

After learning that the Leader was pulling the strings, the scrambled team reassembled and intercepted a fight between the Hulk and the Avengers. They helped the Hulk and his allies escape,[28] and once they parted ways with them, Gamma Flight went into hiding. The team resurfaced after a new gamma mutate codenamed Stockpile went on a rampage, leading to the discovery that a rogue government agency called Project Green Spring was experimenting with gamma on the townsfolk of Thomasville. Gamma Flight allied themselves with Stockpile and shut down Green Spring's operations.[29]

Fall of X[]

Puck would eventually return to Alpha Flight. After the attack on the third Hellfire Gala by anti-mutant terrorist group Orchis left most of Earth's mutant heroes dead, captured, or missing, the world's mutant diaspora would find itself subject to large-scale persecution.[30] Alongside his teammates, Puck would be tasked by the Canadian government to arrest and apprehend Canada's mutant population. However, the team were secretly working to help save Canada's mutants, allowing Northstar, Aurora, Feedback, and Fang to evacuate them to the decommissioned Alpha Flight space station, from which they would be shepherded to safety on planet Chandilar by Marrina and Walter Langkowski. For this crime of treason, Puck and the rest of his team would be arrested and incarcerated.[31]

Attributes

Power Grid[41]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Master: Several Forms of Combat:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/None:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Enhanced:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Superhuman:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Superhuman (800 lbs-25 ton):Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Learned

Powers

Compressed Rubber Physiology: Due to genetic manipulation of his cellular structure, Puck's tissues are condensed at a molecular level which renders his body akin to compressed rubber. As a result, Puck possesses superhuman abilities but due to the effects of his genetic manipulation lessening his powers have decreased.[32]

  • Superhuman Strength: After being compressed, Judd gained the strength to lift up to 10 tons[33] but his strength has decreased to the point where he can now lift only 1 ton.[32]
  • Superhuman Speed: After having his body compressed, Puck gained superhuman speed, originally with the ability to run a peak of 111-115 miles per hour[33] he can now only run at roughly 40 mph.[32]
  • Superhuman Durability: After the having his body compressed, Puck gained meta-human durability. Which allowed Puck to withstand extreme temperatures and pressures, and virtually all toxins, corrosives, punctures (including bullets), and concussions (such as high impacts). He has been shown to be invulnerable to being engulfed in a fire as well as taking explosions with no effect on him. Puck's tissues were condensed at a molecular level, causing his body to become akin to compressed rubber.[34] It was stated he was nearly indestructible and invulnerable to harm, being able to survive blows from the Juggernaut without serious damage.[35] However, due to his powers decreasing, he is now only slightly more durable than the average human.[32]
  • Superhuman Agility: He is adept at gymnastics, and is capable of executing a series of cartwheels with such speed and force that he can bowl over a crowd of people almost twice his size.[11]
  • Superhuman Reflexes: Puck's reflexes are superhuman, giving him virtually instantaneous response time.[33]
  • Superhuman Stamina: After having his body compressed, Puck gained superhuman stamina: the ability to sustain peak exertion before fatigue impairs performance up to one day although his body originally eliminated all fatigue toxins almost instantaneously.[32]

Extended Longevity: Puck's lifespan has been artificially extended by the Black Razer[5] and Dreamqueen.

Death-like State: He can put himself into a temporary death-like coma.[32]

Abilities

Eugene Judd (Earth-616) from Alpha Flight Vol 1 119 001

Master Martial Artist: Puck is a professional-level athlete and fighter, with astounding skill in these areas for a man of his size. He is one of the most skilled fighters in the Marvel universe. Prior to receiving his superhuman abilities, Puck had trained himself to be as strong and physically capable as it is possible for a person of his size to be. He had the speed and agility of a 6-foot tall athlete. He knows a mixture of various martial arts, street fighting techniques, acrobatics, and gymnastics. He combines moves such as cartwheels with his extensive martial arts and gymnastics knowledge to devastating effect, for a special fighting style designed to take advantage of his stature. He is also stealthy enough to sneak up on Wolverine's enhanced senses: "Who...? You! Well, well, well. I shoulda known you'd be the only one who could sneak up on me like that."

High Intelligence: Puck is able to think very fast on his feet in battle. He has a love for Shakespeare, and will often quote the bard. In a battle with Atlanteans, he quoted: "Let the foils be brought the gentlemen willing, and the King hold his purpose, I will win for him if I can, if not, I will gain nothing but my shame and the odd hits!" He is a scholar and often reads works by Shakespeare and was friends with Ernest Hemingway. Puck can speak 17 languages fluently including English, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, German, Tibetan, and various other languages, but not Sarcee.[36] He has a great deal of knowledge about magic, folklore and magical rituals.[citation needed]

Puck also has many other unusual talents, most of which have yet to be revealed. He is a successful bullfighter, a world class climber, skilled lock-pick, has some knowledge of sorcery (although no real ability at practicing it).

Paraphernalia

Weapons

On a few occasions, Judd used the Black Blade of Baghdad.

Notes

  • Although his association with Alpha Flight was considered classified information, Puck never went to great lengths to conceal his secret identity.[citation needed]
  • Puck was mistaken for a mutant (along with Doop) when he appeared among the mutant masses at Cyclops' mutant unification speech in Washington, D.C.[37]
  • Puck was shown to disappear along with various mutants as a result of the Scarlet Witch's spell to unite mutankind away from Earth, cast in Uncanny Avengers #15, while Namor (a mutant himself) and other non-mutant heroes were left back, even when close to mutants.
    • According to Handbook writer Stuart Vandal, that was probably an artist error, explained as "Scarlet Witch's spell worked on him because she thought he was a mutant - her subconscious picked who did and didn't get teleported."[38]
    • Tom Brevoort stated that "Wanda's spell cast a wide net." as an in-universe explanation, and "Or we goofed—your choice.", stating it was clearly an artist error.[39]

Trivia

  • It is his spinning technique that earned him a comparison to a hockey puck, and hence his codename.[citation needed]
  • According to Alpha Flight (Vol. 2) #1, Eugene Milton Judd's astrological symbol is Capricorn. This indicates Eugene was born under this sign of the zodiac, sometime between December 21 and January 19.
  • Eugene Judd's "one true love" is Heather McNeil Hudson. But he has kept his feelings secret because he fears that Heather cannot love a man of his stunted height.[40]

See Also

Links and References

References

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