Mauvais (comics)
| Mauvais | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Wolverine #161 |
| Created by | Frank Tieri and Sean Chen |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jean-Pierre |
| Notable aliases | Wendigo |
| Abilities | Vast magical abilities, gains power from consuming human flesh. (As Wendigo): superhuman strength, regeneration. |
Mauvais is a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He is a sorcerer who derives power from cannibalism, and has clashed with both Alpha Flight and Wolverine. He first appeared in Wolverine #161 and was created by writer Frank Tieri and artist Sean Chen.
Fictional character biography
Mauvais was a French sorcerer during the 18th century, who fought during the French and Indian War. During this war, he came into conflict with the Inuit gods. Mauvais had learned to draw power from the human flesh he consumed and had become nearly immortal. Several years after the war, Mauvais was defeated by the gods and imprisoned upon a remote island, held immobile by their spells.
During the late 20th century, the United States government built a prison for superhuman criminals on this island. The spells the Inuit gods had woven, somehow also negated the powers of some superhumans, while a technological forcefield over the island negated most other superhuman powers, turning all inmates into regular humans. The island's location in international waters, also allowed the unconstitutional treatment of the prisoners. This prison was known as the Cage.
When the superheroes Wolverine and Beast were imprisoned in the Cage, the director and one of his guards decided, after several incidents, that Wolverine was troublesome and should be eliminated. They knew about Mauvais' existence and offered Mauvais his freedom if he would kill Wolverine for them. Wolverine was taken to Mauvais, who was little more than a corpse by then and he fed upon Wolverine's flesh and was restored. Mauvais teleported away, but Wolverine survived due to a timely rescue by Sabretooth and Weapon X.
Several weeks later, Wolverine saw Mauvais on TV in a bar. Mauvais had infiltrated a reality television show, "Stay Alive" (basically a version of Survivor in the arctic) and was killing and eating the contestants. Wolverine travelled to the set and tried to stop Mauvais, but their fight attracted the attention of the Wendigo, as Mauvais had planned. Mauvais usurped the power of the Wendigo and planned to use his new powers to get revenge upon the Inuit Gods. Wolverine and the Canadian superheroes Alpha Flight fought Mauvais and banished him to the dimension of the Great Beasts.
Powers and abilities
Mauvais has extensive knowledge of magic. He uses cannibalism to empower his magical spells and keep himself young and alive. He could use his magic for teleportation, hypnotism and many more effects. When possessed by the curse of the Wendigo, Mauvais gained the superhuman strength, endurance, reflexes and the regenerative abilities of the Wendigo, but due to his magic he retained his intelligence and magical abilities.