Thursday, December 26, 2013

Jim Morita

Real Name
Jim Morita 

Occupation 
Soldier 

Citizenship
USA
 
Place of Birth 
Unrevealed


Known Relatives
None
 
Group Affiliation
U.S. Army, Nisei Squadron, formerly Howling Commandos, Nick Fury 
 
Education

Unrevealed 

Height
5' 6"

Weight
135 lbs.

Eyes
Brown

Hair
Black

Powers
None

Abilities
Jim Morita is skilled in judo and karate in hand-to-hand combat. He is proficient with explosives, and familar with stealth tactics and standard-issue U.S. Army weapons. Morita is a novice parachutist.

Other Info
Born to Japanese immigrant parents, Jim Morita was raised in America. Therefore, he was considered a "Nisei" (second-generation Japanese-American). When World War II broke out, Jim joined the U.S. Army and soon became a member of the Rangers.

At one point, Morita was assigned to a squad of Nisei soldiers under the command of Captain "Happy Sam" Sawyer. Jim was sent to the Able Company base with his squad; however, Morita arrived on the base days before the rest of his squad. Once at the base, a couple soldiers picked on Jim for being Japanese, and when they got rough with him, he used judo to fight back. Sergeant Nick Fury sprang to Jim's aid and helped drive them away. (To learn about Nick Fury, click on the highlighted name above. Note: Beware of the low-cut outfit worn by one in the background on Nick Fury's bio page.)

Later, Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos went on a secret mission to rescue Dr. Warren Parker from a German concentration camp. Captain Sawyer asked Jim to assist them in their mission. When Fury began bellowing at Jim the same way he did with the other Howlers, Morita knew that he had found acceptance. Once at the camp site, the Howlers and Morita parachuted in from their plane and attempted to sneak in; however, one of the prisoners sent up an alarm. But, the Howlers and Morita still managed to break Dr. Parker out and fight their way out of the camp. Upon returning back to England, Jim found that his Nisei Squadron had finally arrived. In addition, one of the soldiers that had picked on Morita earlier apologized to Jim for his behavior because he had heard how Jim had helped the Howlers. (Click the highlighted name above to learn about the Howling Commandos.)

Some time later, when the Able Company base was invaded by Colonel Klaue, the Blitzkrieg Squad, and supplementary Nazi forces, Morita and his Nisei Squadron helped defend the base. In the end, Colonel Klaue was defeated by the Howling Commandos. Jim congratulated the team on their victory and said that he hoped he would able to serve with them again soon. (To learn about the teams above, click on the highlighted names.)

Later on, during a mission with his Nisei Squadron, Morita and the others were captured by Nazis and sent Prison Camp 13. Soon after, the Howling Commandos allowed themselves to be captured and placed in the camp so that they could help Morita and the others escape. Once the Howlers arrived, they learned that numerous escape attempts had already been tried, but the guards always caught and killed the men trying to escape. One prisoner, Bodenschatz, accused Morita of being an informer because of his Japanese heritage. Others in the group suspected the ranking officer in the prison, Captain Tim Corbett. Eventually, the Howlers and Morita's men made secret plans to escape; however, they spread a false plan for the informer to leak so that the Nazis would be unprepared for the real breakout. It was a success, and Morita destroyed the Nazi motor pool so that they couldn't follow them. 

As the escapees were trekking home, they stopped for water, and Gabe Jones offered his canteen to Bodenschatz after having a drink himself. However, Bodenschatz refused and exposed himself as a Nazi spy--just as Nick Fury had suspected; therefore, Captain Corbett killed Bodenschatz. Afterwards, Morita led the Howlers and the other prisoners to a nearby Nazi radio shack so they could radio for a pick-up so they could all return back to England. (To learn about Gabe Jones, just click on his highlighted name above.)

There is nothing there, but here is the link to Jim Morita's bio page on Marvel.com, http://marvel.com/universe/Morita,_Jim.

Jim Morita appeared in the film Captain America: The First Avenger as a Prisoner of War, and later joins Captain America and members of the Howling Commandos in attacking HYDRA bases.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Happy 5th Birthday!

It all started December 22, 2008 with a post about The Incredible Hulk. Now, 5 years later...the Madness continues!

To commemorate the 5 years that the blog has been going, a new limited time "Happy 5th Birthday" Marvel Madness header has been added to the blog.

Thank you for all your support in keeping the Marvel Madness blog, and my obsession, going! You are all awesome! And as always...Keep Up The Madness!

-Cory Garr
Founder of the Marvel Madness Blog

Monday, December 16, 2013

Bambi Arbogast

Real Name
Bambina Teresa Bliss Arbogast


Occupation 
Partner to Tony Stark; formerly personal assistant to Mr. Stark 

Citizenship 
USA

Place of Birth
Long Island, New York 


Known Relatives
Norman Arbogast (husband, deceased), Uranus Bliss (sister), Alison Arbogast (niece), Fred (first cousin, twice removed) 
 
Group Affiliation
Resilient; Heroes for Hire; Stark International

Education 
Masters in Business Administration (MBA) 

Height
5' 1"

Weight 

132 lbs.

Eyes 
Blue

Hair 
Black

Powers 
None

Abilities 
Secretarial skills

Other Info 
Mrs. Bambina "Bambi" Arbogast began her administrative career in US Army services as a clerk to a mobile army surgical hospital unit. After this, she spent ten years in the US Department of Defense.

Later on, Bambi interviewed for a position as an executive assistant to Tony Stark--head of Stark International. While she was waiting for Stark to arrive for the interview, Bambi was caught in the midst of a battle between Iron Man and the villain known as Whirlwind (Bambi was unaware that Stark was Iron Man). However, she refused to run and instead she calmly managed the incoming calls on Stark's phone and even rescued items in the office from damage during the fight. At one point during the fight, Bambi distracted Whirlwind with the telephone which gave Iron Man the opportunity to knock Whirlwind unconscious. Afterward, Iron Man returned to his identity as Tony Stark and immediately hired Bambi without an interview due to her impressive capabilities. (To learn more about Iron Man and/or Whirlwind, just click on their highlighted names above.)

Over the years, Bambi became one of Tony Stark's most important employees at Stark International. During her time with the company, Bambi became friends with her fellow employees including James Rhodes. (Click on the highlighted name above to learn about War Machine.)

At one point, when Stark International was set ablaze during a battle between Iron Man and Whipash, Bambi risked her life trying to rescue Stark's personal papers from the flames. (To learn about Whiplash, click on the highlighted name above.)

Babmi kept Stark International up and running, until Tony's drinking problem lead to the ruin of the company. After, Obidiah Stane took over Stark International, Bambi left the company. (To learn about Iron Monger, just click on the highlighted name above.)

More recently, when Tony reinvented his company as Stark "Resilient," he again hired Bambi--who was a millionaire investor at the time.

There is nothing there, but here is the link to Bambi Arbogast's bio page on Marvel.com, http://marvel.com/universe/Arbogast,_Bambi.

Babmi Arbogast makes a brief cameo in Iron Man 2 as Pepper Potts' secretary. She is also mentioned in Iron Man 3 by Happy Hogan who is reminding everyone about wearing their badges for security. However, she is not seen on on screen.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Christine Everhart

Real Name 
Christine Everhart

Occupation 
Daily Bugle reporter 

Citizenship 
USA

Place of Birth 
Unknown 

Known Relatives 
None 

Group Affiliation
Daily Bugle
 
Education 

Unrevealed 

Height
Unknown

Weight 

Unknown

Eyes 
Unknown

Hair 
Blonde

Powers 
None

Abilities 
Trained in the field of investigative journalism.

Other Info
Christine Everhart worked for the Daily Bugle as an investigative reporter. She was part part of the Washington D.C. press who attended the press conference held by Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) to formally announce his candidacy for U.S. Secretary of Defense. As part of Everhart's job, she provided the Daily Bugle with that news coverage. In attendance with Stark were Stu Conrad (from the Pentagon's acquisitions department) and Artemus Pithins (U.S. President's press secretary). Towards the end of the conference, Christine stepped forward with a question for Tony Stark. Tony stopped and agreed to answer her question as he complimented her for having a beautiful name. Based on his announcement, Everhart asked boldy if he had been "hit on the head one too many times by the Mandarin?" Quickly, Conrad and Pithins pulled Tony away to avoid the question. (To learn about the above place and/or characters, just click on their highlighted names.)

Later on, Christine appeared on "Morning USA" in which she commented about the footage from a senate hearing held years ago by Senator Harrington Byrd to determine the identity of Iron Man. At the time, Tony was trying to conceal his identify from the public; however, Everhart voiced her skepticism of Stark because of the lies he had told over the years. In addition to that, Christine had also been to visit Senator Byrd and prepared an interview with him on the subject matter. (Christine on Morning USA is shown in the fourth picture posted above.)

There is nothing there, but here is the link to Christine Everhart's bio on Marvel.com, http://marvel.com/universe/Everhart,_Christine.

Christine Everhart appeared in both the Iron Man and Iron Man 2 films. However, instead of working for the Daily Bugle, Everhart was employed by the magazine Vanity Fair.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Grundroth

Real Name
Grundroth 

Occupation
Frost Giant
  
Citizenship
Jotunheim 

Place of Birth
Jotunheim 

Known Relatives
Ymir (ancestor) 

Group Affiliation 
Frost Giants 

Education 
Unknown 

Height
Unknown


Weight
Unknown 


Eyes
Unknown; his left eye has been replaced by a golden orb


Hair
Bald


Powers 
Like most Frost Giants from Jotunheim, Grundroth possess superhuman strength and resistance to physical injury. (The flesh and bone of the Giants of Jotunheim are about three times denser than similar human tissue, contributing to their superhuman strength and weight.) His powers are directly affected by the cold, which will cause him to grow and gain power. As the opposite is true as well, sufficient heat will cause him to shrink and lose ability. Frost Giants are extremely long-lived, but their life spans are not as long as those of the Asgardian gods, who have been able to extend their lives through consumption of the enchanted apples of Idunn.

Abilities
Grundroth is particularly aggressive even for a Frost Giant. Also, his field of vision is limited to a degree as he only has one eye.


Other Info 
Grundroth is a Frost Giant of Jotunheim. He appeared to have some form of seniority among his fellow Frost Giants; in fact, he was quite possibly their temporary leader after they had another failure under the leadership of thier Frost Giant monarch and traditional leader, Utgard-Loki. Unfortunately, after one particularly loss at the hands of the Asgardians, (again being led by Utgard-Loki) Grundroth and his fellow Frost Giants were reduced dramatically in their physical size--average-sized humans now towered over them. (To learn about the races and/or place above, just click on the highlighted names.)

Later on, Grundroth and his fellow shrunken Frost Giants were approached by the Asgardian Loki in Jotunheim. Loki offered Grundroth and his fellow Frost Giants that he would restore them to their once former glory and stature, if they would serve him for a time. Grundroth and his Frost Giant agreed. However, once they were restored to their proper size, the giants turned on Loki. They sought the means to how Loki had restored them, so they could take this power source for themselves. (Loki had actually used the young mutant X-Man, Iceman, against his will to revitalize the Frost Giants) Although Loki was able to hold his own against the Frost Giants--even severely damaging some with heat attacks--he eventually fell under their group assault and both he and Iceman were at the mercy of these re-energized and angry Frost Giants. However, Thor arrived in time and brought a quick destruction to the giants. Realizing the battle was lost, Grundroth called for a retreat and he and his fellow giants fled.  (Click the highlighted names above to learn about the characters and/or team. Note: Beware of the low-cut outfit worn by Loki in his woman-form on his bio page.)

Later on, Grundroth and his band of Frost Giants went to Midgard (Earth) to seek revenge on Thor by unleashing the Midgard Serpent (Jordmungand) on the God of Thunder. Once they arrived in Norway, Grundroth himself summoned the mighty beast and the Midgard Serpent departed to confront Thor. Grundroth and his Frost Giants followed so they could witness Thor's destruction. However, during their pursuit, they came across the lifeless body of Thor. Grundroth planned to take Thor's body back to Jotunheim so he could claim ruler-ship of the Frost Giants as his reward for besting the Thunder God; however, in an odd twist of fate, Loki intervened (still bitter about the Frost Giants' earlier betrayal, Grundroth in particular) and tricked one of Frost Giants into infusing his life force into the virtually invincible Destroyer, which then slew Grundroth and the rest of the Frost Giants present. (To learn about the above highlighted place, character, and/or armor, click on their names.)

There isn't anything there, but here is the Marvel.com bio of Grundroth, http://marvel.com/universe/Grundroth.

Grundroth appeared in the film, Thor, as one of Laufey's Frost Giant soldiers. He fought against Thor when he invaded Jothunheim with Loki, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three. However, he was defeated by a single strike from Mjolnir, which sent him flying against a frozen mountain. He was then seen fighting Hogun of the Warriors Three with twin Ice Daggers. Grundroth was also one of the Frost Giants that was brought to Asgard to assassinate Odin. In addition, he was one of the Frost Giants assigned to guard the Bifrost bridge and an incapacitated Heimdall. However, when Heimdall finally broke free of his icy prison, Grundroth was decapitated by Heimdall. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the characters, team, weapon, and/or place. Note: Beware of the very revealing outfit worn by Lady Sif on her bio page.)

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Battle Royal 19 Results

And the victor of Battle Royal 19 is...GRAVITON! He received 50% of the votes (3 votes). Kind of a low turn-out at the polls this time around, but thanks to those that voted! Malekith, Fin Fang Foom, and Madeline Drake all tied for 2nd place--receiving 1 vote each. 

Remember, Marvel Maniacs, this holiday season to...KEEP UP THE MADNESS!