Gremlin (comics)

The Gremlin (Kondrati Topolov) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #163 (May 1973).

Although initially an adversary of the Hulk, the Gremlin is apparently killed in battle with Iron Man during the Armor Wars.

Concept and creation
Co-creator Steve Englehart recounted, "I’ve always treated the entire run of a book, up to the point that I took it over, as worthy of respect. So I was always interested in where series started out, and how they developed in their early days. The Gargoyle had indeed been in Hulk #1, so I thought it would be fun to connect to him—but I had to make something interesting for my time, not just wave at the past. I thought, ‘Gargoyle + Kremlin = Gremlin’."

Fictional character biography
Kondrati Topolov is the son of Russian scientist Yuri Topolov, also known as the Gargoyle, and is himself a mutant. Kondrati inherited his father's grotesque appearance and superhuman intelligence, although he was born disfigured unlike his father, who was mutated over time due to exposure to radioactive materials. His father was cured by a captured Bruce Banner using gamma rays and died killing other Soviets in an explosion. A brilliant scientist like his father, he created the high-tech gear used by the Soviet Super-Troopers (the immediate precursor to the Soviet Super-Soldiers), and for a time wore the Titanium Man power armor. He operated out of a secret base named Bitterfrost in Khystym, Siberia. He created a pet for himself named Droog, which was an intelligent, talking, Triceratops-like monster created through genetic engineering. As the Gremlin, he first clashed with the Hulk at the Gremlin's secret base in the Arctic. Gremlin's men then captured General "Thunderbolt" Ross.

The Hulk and General Ross later invaded the Gremlin's Bitterfrost base in Siberia to rescue the captured Major Glenn Talbot. The Gremlin and his pet Droog contended with the Hulk, but Bitterfrost was destroyed by S.H.I.E.L.D. Later, with the Soviet Super-Soldiers, Rom and Starshine, the Gremlin helped defeat the alien Dire Wraiths. The Gremlin then officially joined the Soviet Super-Soldiers.

The Gremlin next appeared as the second Titanium Man, wearing a new suit of the power armor he had originally created for Boris Bullsky. With the other Soviet Super-Soldiers, he contended with the X-Men and the Avengers in an attempt to capture Magneto.

Later, the Gremlin fought Iron Man while wearing the Titanium Man armor during the "Armor Wars". Iron Man - despite using his weaker stealth armor - managed to defeat the Crimson Dynamo in the fight but was unable to neutralize the Gremlin, who destroyed Iron Man's negator pack. When the Gremlin grabbed Iron Man and the armored Avenger attempted to escape, his booster jets ignited the titanium armor. The Titanium Man armor exploded, apparently burning the Gremlin to death within it and forcing Iron Man to flee.

Gremlin later turned up alive and was operating as Titan as part of an Echidna Security-sanctioned group called the Assembly which also consisted of Cadet Marvel, Hellrune, Liberty, and Moon Squire. They helped Spider-Woman fight Zzzax when he was attacking Echidna Security. He wore an armor that resembled an armored Hulk and helped to defeat Zzzax by knocking him into the fountain. Titan and the Assembly later fought against Quicksand. When Spider-Woman found Angar the Screamer attacking an Echidna Security facility, Titan and the rest of the Assembly showed up where Angar the Screamer got away from them. He was aggressively subdued after using his scream on Liberty. When at the Assembly's cliffside clubhouse, Gremlin pilots the Titan armor to enter his secret lab mentioning that Liberty needs to be brought back in for reconditioning. Gremlin is secretly working with Hydra when meeting up with Viper who learns that Spider-Woman is in San Francisco. Gremlin states that Spider-Woman is getting too close to their recruitment program. Not wanting to have his life's work dashed, Gremlin states that they must bring Spider-Man down hard and fast. When Gremlin in the Titan armor arrives with the Assembly at Alcatraz, Titan claims that Liberty is betraying them. Liberty opens the cages containing Angar the Screamer, Icemaster, Quicksand, and Zzzax. When Angar uses his powers on the Assembly, Spider-Woman notices that Titan wasn't affected as he tosses Angar aside. As the rest of the Assembly start to remember the facility where they were trained, Spider-Woman uses her Venom Blast to melt the fake skin off the Titan armor's head as Titan mentions that she is about to see the face of the person who turned Gerry Drew into Green Mamba.

Powers and abilities
The Gremlin is a mutant who has inherited the immense intelligence of his father, the Gargoyle, where he gained it from an atomic accident. He had completed doctoral programs in various sciences and attained mastery over many areas of technology.

Equipment
Gremlin wore the Titanium Man battlesuit that granted him tremendous strength, physical resistance, hypersonic flight, and the ability to utilize energy as weapons.

Gremlin's Titan armor resembles an armored Hulk and possesses super-strength.

Other characters named Gremlin

 * There was a Gremlin who appeared in Sub-Mariner #61. He is an agent of Doctor Hydro and one of his Hydro-Men where he hijacked an airplane that Namorita and Betty Dean Prentiss were on. The Gremlin used a disc which could hypnotize others.
 * There was a Gremlin who is a synthezoid that fought Vision.