Taurus (Marvel Comics)

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Taurus is the name of several characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2017)

The Cornelius Van Lunt version of Taurus first appeared in Avengers #72 (Jan 1970) and was created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema.^[1]

Fictional character biography

Cornelius Van Lunt

Taurus
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Avengers #72 (Jan 1970)
Created by	Roy Thomas Sal Buscema
In-story information
Alter ego	Cornelius Van Lunt
Team affiliations	Zodiac Great Wheel

Cornelius Van Lunt was a multimillionaire businessman and professional criminal mastermind. He was also the founder and financer of the original

Taurus later attempted to compete against the

It was revealed much later that the archetype for the Zodiac was a Great Wheel organized by

Android Taurus

Scorpio (Jake Fury) constructed the android Zodiac members, although his plan was thwarted by the

Led by Scorpio in a new android body, the android Zodiac massacred the human Zodiac, and took over their criminal operations. They battled the West Coast Avengers, but were rendered inert when they were transported to the dimension of the Brotherhood of the Ankh.[13]

Ecliptic Taurus

This Taurus was a humanoid bull that was sprung from Ryker's Island by Scorpio. He was also a loud thug who is easily angered. Taurus was killed with the rest of the Zodiac by Weapon X.

Thanos' Taurus

The fourth Taurus is an unnamed man who was recruited to join Thanos' incarnation of the Zodiac.^[14] He and the other Zodiac members perish when Thanos abandons them on the self-destructing Helicarrier where Cancer was the only survivor.^[15]

Powers and abilities

Taurus wore a costume that he designed, of synthetic stretch fabric and leather, reinforced with kevlar. The costume came with an armored helmet with horns constructed of an unknown hard material, making them formidable weapons. His personal fighting style involved bull-like charges at opponents with his lowered horns. He also controls the Zodiac's "Star-Blazer" energy weapons invented by

; these included the Star-Blazer handgun which fired intense blasts of stellar energy, and the Star-Blazer cannon which was a larger, more powerful version of the handgun. Cornelius van Lunt was a normal human with no superhuman powers. He had a degree in business administration and was a skilled businessman, organizer, and strategist. He was also an amateur astrologer with extensive knowledge of astrology.

In its original form, the android Taurus had retractable horns mounted on its arms and attached to cables so that it can be fired at opponents. It also possessed internal sensors enabling it to detect heat. In its second form, the android Taurus had enhanced strength and was immune to energy blasts.

The Ecliptic version of Taurus had superhuman strength and carried the Zodiac teleportation device.

Thanos' Taurus wears a special suit given to him by Thanos which enables him to possess super-strength and transform into a minotaur-like form.

In other media

• Taurus appears in The Avengers: United They Stand, voiced by Gerry Mendicino.^[16] This version is a Minotaur-like alien and the leader of Zodiac who can temporarily take on a human form with the alias of Cornelius van Lunt.
• Taurus appears in the
  Shuuhei Sakaguchi in the Japanese version and by Roger Craig Smith in the English dub),^[16][18] who was offered cybernetic enhancements that would allow him to race again, in return for killing Iron Man. Kawashima nearly succeeds until Wolverine
  intervenes. When the Taurus mech begins to take over Kawashima, Iron Man and Wolverine destroy it and rescue him.
• Taurus-inspired foot soldiers appear in Ultimate Spider-Man as members of Zodiac.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0
   .
2. ^ Avengers #72
3. ^ Avengers #77
4. ^ Avengers #80-81
5. ^ Avengers #120-122
6. ^ Avengers #124
7. ^ Iron Man #183-184
8. ^ West Coast Avengers #26-29
9. ^ Secret Warriors #25
10. ^ Defenders #48-50
11. ^ Iron Man #183
12. ^ West Coast Avengers Annual #1
13. ^ West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #26-28
14. ^ Avengers Assemble Vol. 2 #1
15. ^ Avengers Assemble Vol. 2 #4
16. ^ ^{a b} "Taurus Voices (Marvel Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
17. ^ Iron Man Anime: "A Twist of Memory, A Turn of the Mind" Review - IGN, 20 August 2011, retrieved 2021-05-10
18. ^ "Iron Man (TV) - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved 2021-05-10.

External links

• Taurus at Marvel.com
• Taurus at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Android Taurus at Marvel Appendix