Frederick "Fred" J. Dukes
Occupation
Former criminal, terrorist, government agent, carnival performer
Citizenship
U.S.A. (criminal record)
Place of Birth
Lubbock, Texas
Known Relatives
None
Group Affiliation
Formerly X-Cell, X-Corps, Magneto's army, Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants, Freedom Force, Factor Three, former partner of Unus
Weight
(Originally) 510 lbs.; (currently) 210 lbs.
Eyes
Brown
Hair
Brown
Powers
The Blob could create a mono-directional gravity field extending five feet from his center of balance, rendering himself virtually immovable as long as he was in contact with the ground. His body formerly had superhuman strength and durability; the fat tissues could absorb the impact of bullets, cannonballs, and even missiles. Unable to feel pain, the Blob’s skin could not be punctured, lacerated, frostbitten, or ravaged by disease due to its great elasticity and highly accelerated cell replacement rate. His eyes, ears, nose and mouth were not as resistant to injury, nor was he as resistant to fire or heat. The Blob’s size and strength have been temporarily increased to various levels over the years.
Believing that he was a freak, Fred Dukes used his abilities to become a carnival performer. Here, he got the nickname “the Blob.”
Charles Xavier sensed Dukes powers and sent the X-Men to invite Dukes to meet with him. Dukes accepted and went with them to the X mansion. At the mansion, Dukes was invited to join the X-Men; however, he arrogantly refused, believing himself superior to them. Because of this decision, Xavier decided to wipe Dukes of his knowledge of the X-Men. Unfortunately, Dukes escaped back to the carnival, took it over, and led his fellow performers back to attack the X-Men. However, his group was defeated, and Xavier was able to wipe Dukes' group's memories of the incident and Dukes knowledge of the X-Men. (To learn about the character, team, or place above, just click on their names.)
Later, Magneto offered Dukes membership into the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He accepted Magneto’s offer. But, during a battle with the X-Men, Magneto sent a barrage of torpedoes at the X-Men, not caring that Dukes was in the way. Fortunately, due to his abilities, the Blob was uninjured, but he felt betrayed and therefore quit Magneto's Brotherhood. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about Magneto and/or his Brotherhood.)
After quitting, the Blob returned to the carnival. Here, Dukes met a fellow mutant named Unus the Untouchable. The duo quickly became friends and went on to join Factor Three (an organization that sought world conquest). However, the X-Men were able to convince the Blob and his teammates that their leader, the Mutant Master, was merely using them, and the two groups joined forces to unmask the Mutant Master as an alien of the Sidri race. (To learn about the characters and the team above, click on their names.)
After this, the Blob reformed the Brotherhood with Unus and they attempted to fool Beast into believing he had killed Iron Man. Through this, they were able to manipulate Beast into joining them. However, after realizing the truth, Beast single-handedly defeated them. (To learn about Beast or Iron Man, click on their names above.)
Then, Dukes briefly joined a few different teams...a band of super-criminals posing as the Defenders, but they were defeated by a Defenders team led by Hercules. Then, Dukes was freed from prison by the Mystique and he joined her reorganized Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The Brotherhood attempted to assassinate Senator Robert Kelly; however, they were stopped by the X-Men. Mystique’s Brotherhood next attacked the Avengers, but again they were defeated. Then, Dukes joined Unus in battling the Hulk and subsequently witnessed Unus’ apparent death, which sent Dukes on a grief-stricken rampage that was stopped by Spider-Man and the Black Cat. Then, Mystique had the U.S. government pardon the Brotherhood for their crimes in exchange for them becoming federal agents as the Freedom Force with their first mission to capture Magneto. (To learn about the different character and teams that the Blob interacted with, click on their highlighted names above. Note: Beware of the Black Cat's bio page! She's a very tight-fitting and revealing outfit! Also, Mystique is wearing revealing clothing on her bio page.)
After a disastrous Middle East clash with the Arabic super-team Desert Sword, the Blob and his teammate Pyro were captured by Iraqi military forces. During this time, the two served as personal bodyguards of the Iraqi commander until Toad arranged for their release. In return, the Blob and Pyro agreed to join Toad's new Brotherhood. But, after many defeats, Toad's Brotherhood broke up. (Click on the team and characters above to learn more about them.)
After he was overlooked for a new Brotherhood formed by Exodus, Dukes decided to consult with a psychologist named Sean Garrison. Garrison convinced Dukes to be true to himself. Because Dukes Believed the “truth” laid in opposing the X-Men, he went to the Xavier Institute; however the X-Men were gone. Not stopping at that, he attacked the Institute anyway, but he was defeated by the students and was taken into custody. (To learn about Exodus, click on his name above.)
When the world was restored to normal after M-Day, the Blob was horrified to discover that he had been stripped of his mutant powers. This resulted in tremendous folds of skin hanging loosely off his frame (shown in the fifth picture above). Distraught, Dukes even attempted suicide with a knife, but due to his excess skin, he was unable to get the blade close enough. (To learn about M-Day, click on the highlighted name above. Note: watch out for a couple characters in tight-fitting/revealing outfits on the M-Day bio page.)
Recently, the Blob resurfaced as a member of X-Cell (a group of depowered mutants who accuses the government to be responsible for M-Day). (Click on the the name above, to learn a little more about X-Cell.)To learn more about the Blob, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Blob.