Flatman (character)
Flatman | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | The West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #46 (July 1989) |
Created by | John Byrne |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Matt (surname unrevealed)[1] |
Species | Human mutant |
Team affiliations | Great Lakes Avengers |
Notable aliases | The 2-D Defender Dr. Val Ventura |
Abilities |
|
Flatman (Matt) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by John Byrne, the character first appeared in West Coast Avengers #46 (July 1989).[2][3] Flatman belongs to the subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities.[4] He is a member of the Great Lakes Avengers.[5][6]
Publication history
Flatman debuted in West Coast Avengers #46 (July 1989), created by writer and artist John Byrne.[7] He appeared in the 2005 GLX-Mas Special one-shot.[8][9] He appeared in the 2016 Great Lakes Avengers series.[10][11][12] He appeared in the 2018 Fantastic Four series.[13] He appeared in the 2022 Avengers Unlimited Infinity Comic series.[14]
Fictional character biography
Flatman's real name is actually Matt. After dropping out of community college, he worked as a barista when he was approached by a party organizer named Andrew. Matt worked for him pretending to be Mister Fantastic. He grew sick of the job and changed his name to Dr. Val Ventura in the hopes of becoming a superhero.[15]
Flatman became a member and second-in-command of the Great Lakes Avengers, an unauthorized division of the regular Avengers superhero group. The GLA watches over the Wisconsin area. Although no true origin was given at first for his stretching abilities and odd appearance, it was later revealed that he is a mutant.[16]
He was first seen in public with the team by
Called the "2-D Avenger," his primary roles include long-ranged rescues and helping the team solve crimes with his extensive knowledge of fashion which he was reported to have "studied in college."[22] He was able to identify a woman's shoe and describe it in detail, and later rescued Weasel — referring to him as "sailor" — which led his team to question his sexuality.[22]
At first, Flatman denied any claims that he is gay. However, when a new Avenger recruit called Living Lightning first approached the Great Lakes Avengers (usually abbreviated as GLA), he thought they were actually the Gay/Lesbian Alliance. After apologizing, he left quickly, but his willingness to come out to others gave Flatman the courage to do it himself.[23] He revealed that he is in fact gay to his teammates, though he felt one-upped by Mr. Immortal being dubbed the pinnacle of human evolution (using the ambiguous phrase "Homo Supreme").[16]
Over time, Flatman's doctoral degree began to come into question. He is not able to present a degree to prove his education and when asked by
GLA: Misassembled
During the G.L.A. mini-series, the team took on
GLX-Mas Special
During the GLX-Mas Special, the team confronted Dr. Tannenbaum, who had released an army of living Christmas trees on the citizens of Wisconsin.[26]
Great Lakes Champions
The team was invited to the annual Superheroes Poker Tournament. In the end, Flatman won the tournament with a straight-flush, beating the Thing's four fours. After being discouraged from using the names "Great Lakes X-Men" and "Great Lakes Defenders" by members of those teams present at the tournament, and since Flatman was the champion of the tournament, the team was inspired to rename themselves the Great Lakes Champions, despite protests from former Champions of Los Angeles member Hercules.[27]
Civil War/The Initiative
All of the Great Lakes Champions registered with the United States government as required by the
Flatman has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes who are part of the
Flatman and his teammates became the Initiative group in charge of Wisconsin, calling themselves the Great Lakes Initiative. They were given a rescue mission to save
Secret Invasion
During the
Fear Itself
During the
Great Lakes Avengers (2016 series)
In the ongoing series The Great Lakes Avengers, it is revealed that the team had disbanded and gone their separate ways. Flatman had written a mostly exaggerated autobiography book and has been living off the residual checks from it. He then receives a visit from
After Connie tells the team to lie low for a couple of days, Bertha goes to a modeling gig while Flatman and Mr. Immortal are visited by Good Boy's brother Lucky, who tells her that they need to leave town due to what she did to Nain Rogue.[37] Later, while fixing the Flatmobile, Flatman and Mr. Immortal receive a text message from Bertha, who was injured while fighting Dr. Nod and his squad.[38] During the battle, Dr. Nod takes more of the weight-loss supplements, becoming much bigger and monstrous. On Mr. Immortal's suggestion, the team performs a maneuver that has Doorman and Mr. Immortal get inside Dr. Nod's body, where Mr. Immortal manages to kill him by punching his heart. After their victory, the team is visited by Deadpool who tells them that they've been fired and can no longer use the Avengers name, leaving them confused.[39]
Powers and abilities
Flatman possesses the ability to stretch any part of his body to great lengths.[40] He can withstand all forms of physical injury at a superhuman level, appear to be nearly invisible by standing at just the right angle and slip through very thin spaces, owing to his nearly two-dimensional body.[41] He can also turn his entire body into any shape, including animals such as frogs or monkeys, in the style of origami.[42] Initially, Flatman never appeared to be able to assume a "normal" three-dimensional shape. However, he has since revealed that he can assume that shape at will.[43]
Additionally, he is also an excellent hand-to-hand combatant.
Reception
Critical response
Comic Book Resources ranked Flatman 1st in their "10 Marvel Superheroes Who Are ISFJs" list,[44] 6th in their "Great Lakes Avengers: Every Member" list,[45] and 5th in their "10 Most Powerful Members Of The Great Lakes Avengers" list,[46] Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly ranked Flatman 24th in their "Let's Rank Every Avenger Ever" list.[47]
In other media
Television
- Flatman appears in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episode "The Cure",[48] voiced by Brian Dobson.[citation needed] This version is a failed applicant to the Fantastic Four.
- Flatman appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "The Ice Melt Cometh!", voiced by Jonathan Mankuta.[citation needed]
Merchandise
- Flatman received an "action figure" (paper doll) packaged with the one-shot GLX-Mas Special.
References
- ^ Zac Gorman (w), Will Robson (p), Will Robson (i), Tamra Bonvillain (col), VC's Joe Caramagna (let), Tom Brevoort (ed). The Great Lakes Avengers, vol. 2, no. 3 (29 December 2016). United States: Marvel Comics.
- ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Casey, Dan (July 5, 2016). "Marvel Reveals New GREAT LAKES AVENGERS Series (Exclusive) — Nerdist". Nerdist. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Iacobucci, Jordan (October 25, 2022). "The 15 Strangest Marvel Comics Superheroes Of All Time". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (July 22, 2022). "The Russo Brothers Don't Have Plans for a Marvel TV Series - But They Have a Fun Suggestion for One". IGN. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Singleton, Seth (October 19, 2020). "Elongated, Plastic, Fantastic: Every Super-Bendy Superhero, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ISBN 978-1465455505.
- ^ "GLX-Mas Special: First Look". IGN. November 9, 2005. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ ICv2 (September 13, 2016). "Preview: 'Great Lakes Avengers' #1". ICv2. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ AIPT (February 17, 2017). "Marvel Preview: Great Lakes Avengers #5 • AIPT". AIPTComics.com. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Schreur, Brandon (May 17, 2022). "Marvel's Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Just Lost a Major Fight - With Fatal Consequences". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Trumbull, Tori (January 1, 2023). "Marvel Unlimited Just Brought Back the Avengers' Silliest Team - And it's Great". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ a b The Great Lakes Avengers #3 (2016)
- ^ a b c GLA: Misassembled #4
- ^ The West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #46
- ^ The West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #48-49
- ^ The Avengers Annual #19
- ^ Thunderbolts #15–17 (June–August 1998) and #25 (Apr. 1999)
- ^ Deadpool #10–11 (November–December 1997) and #61 (2002)
- ^ a b Deadpool #11 (1997)
- ^ GLA: Misassembled #2
- ^ GLA: Misassembled #3
- ^ GLA: Misassembled #1–4 (2005)
- ^ GLX-Mas Special #1
- ^ The Thing vol. 2 #8 (2006)
- ^ Cable & Deadpool #30
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #1 Character Map
- ^ Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular (2007)
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #19 (Dec. 2008)
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #25
- ^ Fear Itself: The Home Front #6 (2011)
- ^ The Great Lakes Avengers #1 (2016)
- ^ The Great Lakes Avengers #2 (2016)
- ^ The Great Lakes Avengers #4 (2016)
- ^ The Great Lakes Avengers #5 (2016)
- ^ The Great Lakes Avengers #6 (2016)
- ^ The Great Lakes Avengers #7 (2016)
- ^ Epps, Justin (June 5, 2023). "13 Totally Unique Superpowers That Only Exist in Marvel Lore". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Shayo, Lukas (April 16, 2023). "10 Most Ridiculous Superpowers In Marvel Comics". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Sim, Bernardo (April 17, 2017). "15 Stretchiest Superheroes, Ranked". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ The Great Lakes Avengers #1
- ^ "MBTI®: 10 Marvel Superheroes Who Are ISFJs". Comic Book Resources. 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Harn, Darby (2020-10-12). "Great Lakes Avengers: Every Member, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
- ^ Avina, Anthony (December 12, 2019). "Marvel: 10 Most Powerful Members Of Great Lakes Avengers, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- ^ Franich, Darren (April 29, 2015). "Let's rank every Avenger ever". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
- The Cure". Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes. Season 1. Episode 18. 2007-06-09.
External links
- Flatman at Marvel.com