Unus the Untouchable#Ultimate Marvel

{{Short description|Marvel Comics fictional character}}

{{Redirect|Unus|the village in Azerbaijan|Unus, Azerbaijan|the American community|Unus, West Virginia}}

{{Infobox comics character

|image=Gunther Bain (Earth-616) from Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 1 11 001.jpg

|caption=Unus the Untouchable as depicted in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #11 (August 1983).

|real_name=Angelo "Unus" Unuscione; legally changed to Gunther Bain

|species=Human mutant

|publisher=Marvel Comics

|debut=X-Men #8 (November 1964)

|creators=Stan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)

|alliances=Factor Three
Brotherhood of Mutants
Secret Empire

|aliases=

|powers=Force field generation

}}

Unus the Untouchable (also known as Gunther Bain, born Angelo Unuscione) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Unus is a mutant, and is named for his ability to consciously project an invisible force field which protects him from harm.

Publication history

{{expand section|date=June 2020}}

Unus first appeared in X-Men #8 (November 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.{{cite book |last=Rovin |first=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains |date=1987 |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=0-8160-1356-X |location=New York |page=360 |authorlink=Jeff Rovin}}[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsu0000rovi_h5r9/page/360/mode/2up]

Fictional character biography

=Origin=

Angelo Unuscione was born in Milan, Italy. After his arrival in the United States, he legally changed his name to Gunther Bain.Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #14 (January 1987) He became a wrestler, and, when Beast briefly left the X-Men, he was able to defeat him in a wrestling match.X-Men #8 (November 1964) Once in America, he sought out the Brotherhood of Mutants to join them. He turned criminal, and joined with the Brotherhood as they fought the X-Men. During the battle, his powers were enhanced by a shot fired from Beast's gun, increasing his power beyond his ability to control it, and making him unable to touch anything. He promised to reform, and his normal power level was restored by Beast. He became a good friend of the Blob,X-Men #20 (May 1966) and they teamed up together on various schemes, such as posing as the X-Men and framing them for robbery, before both mutants went their separate ways. It was revealed the alien invader Lucifer was behind this, and had made sure Beast's weapon did not work on Unus anymore.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=July 2011}}

=Factor Three/Brotherhood=

Unus then joined the villainous organization Factor Three in a conspiracy to conquer Earth. They fought the X-Men, but turned against the Mutant Master when the latter was exposed as an extraterrestrial.X-Men #37-39 (October - December 1967) Unus later visited Ogre at their Mt. Charteris base.Thunderbolts #33 (December 1999) However, shortly after he was captured by Sentinels alongside several others mutants, but was later released,X-Men #60 (September 1969)Avengers #103 (September 1972) after which he teamed with Blob and Mastermind as agents of the second Secret Empire; they were defeated by Beast,Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #12-13 (May - July 1972) and then held prisoner by the Secret Empire. Unus then joined an incarnation of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.Defenders #15 (September 1974) As a member of the Brotherhood, Unus joined in their battle against the X-Men and Kruger.X-Men: The Hidden Years #11 (October 2000) Alongside the Brotherhood, Unus battled the Defenders, but Magneto and the Brotherhood were reduced to infancy by their team member Alpha the Ultimate Mutant.Defenders #16 (October 1974) Unus and the others were kept at Muir Island.X-Men #104 (April 1977) When the Brotherhood was reverted to adulthood and reorganized, Unus teamed with the Vanisher, Blob, and Mastermind and fought alongside the group against the Champions.Champions #17 (January 1978) However, he left the team disheartened.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=June 2009}} He came in conflict with Doc Samson,Incredible Hulk Annual #11 (October 1982) and Power Man, and then embarked on a New York crime spree, but was defeated by Iron Fist and Power Man.Power Man and Iron Fist #90 (February 1983)

Not long after, Unus decided to retire from the life of the organized supervillain, deciding to use his talents in less "lofty" ways; he was making a living as a wrestler.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=June 2009}} At some point, he fathered the Canadian mutant Radius.Alpha Flight (vol. 2) #10 (May 1998) It is also believed that the Acolyte Carmella Unuscione is either his daughter or sister, but no official confirmation of this has ever been given.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}

Coming out of retirement and teaming with his friend the Blob again, Unus discovered, during a fight against the Hulk, that his powers had become nearly uncontrollable, and his field was smashed by the Hulk.Marvel Fanfare #7 (March 1983) Unus lost control of his powers and his force-field became so thick that it suffocated him, causing him to lose consciousness. Blob, believing Unus to be dead, rampaged through Brooklyn, leading to a fight with both Spider-Man and Black Cat.Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #91 (June 1984)

=Genosha=

Years later, Unus reappeared on the decimated island of Genosha,New X-Men #132 (November 2002) traumatized by the devastation and speaking of "ghosts". Usually arrogant and somewhat fearless, due in no small part to his invulnerable force field, he was shaken by apparent "ghosts" being able to pass through it. At some point, he stopped seeing them, and returned to his former hubris.

Unus later formed his own band of mutant rebels (which included Toad and Paralyzer), trying to survive on the harsh island that Genosha had become.Excalibur (vol. 3) #2 (August 2004) They most commonly had arguments with Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto, and surprisingly never recognized Magneto out of costume. In their first confrontation, the mutant known as Freakshow ends up literally swallowing Unus in order to end the tensions. His powers protected him.Excalibur (vol. 3) #3 (September 2004)

Unus leads Appraiser and Stripmine, two superhuman poachers, to Genosha which caused him to be at odds with all the remaining mutants on Genosha.Excalibur (vol. 3) #5 (November 2004)Excalibur (vol. 3) #7 (January 2005)

=House of M and death=

Unus stayed on the island until before the House of M,{{Volume needed|c=y|date=June 2009}} and was depowered after the events of Decimation.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=June 2009}}

Unus is later found by Quicksilver on Genosha, who restores his powers using Terrigen Mist.Son of M #5 (June 2006) The Office of National Emergency soon step in and take the mists from Quicksilver and his daughter Luna. Lockjaw teleports Luna and Pietro away before ONE can capture them, leaving a battle between the Inhumans and the repowered mutants of Genosha. Unus's powers evolve beyond his control, forming a pink force field that suffocates and kills him.Son of M #6 (July 2006)

=Resurrection=

During the "Necrosha" event, Unus is among the many deceased mutants resurrected by Selene and Eli Bard using the Transmode Virus.X-Force (vol. 3) #21 (January 2010) He becomes a citizen of Krakoa during the Krakoan Age.X-Men (vol. 5) #12 (November 2020)

Powers and abilities

Unus the Untouchable is a mutant who possesses the power to generate a field of invisible psionic energy around his body. The field acts to deflect objects and even energy beams, and can withstand great concussive force. Normally, Unus can control the force field at will and certain types of radiant energy, such as sunlight, can pass through the field, as do air and sound waves (at least within certain unknown limits). Unus has deflected beams of energy, objects of high mass, objects traveling at high speed and telepathy, including that of Charles Xavier. Unus was at one point vulnerable to Beast's ray gun that augmented his force field power beyond his control;{{Volume needed|c=y|date=June 2011}} in later years Unus's power again became uncontrollable for unknown reasons, finally repelling air molecules.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=June 2011}}

Unus's force field was not impenetrable, and could be disrupted by a sufficiently powerful force. The Hulk did this on two occasions, the first time by simply shattering it with a punch enhanced by his anger.

Other versions

=Age of Apocalypse=

An alternate universe variant of Unus the Untouchable from Earth-295 appears in Age of Apocalypse. This version is a servant of Apocalypse who is later killed by Iceman.X-Men Alpha one-shot (February 1995)

=House of M=

An alternate universe variant of Unus the Untouchable from Earth-58163 appears in House of M. This version is a lieutenant of Exodus, who tasked him with eradicating humanity.Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #83 (September 2005)

=Ultimate Marvel=

An alternate universe variant of Unus the Untouchable from Earth-1610 makes minor appearances in the Ultimate Marvel imprint. This version is a member of Magneto's Brotherhood who possesses additional mind-control abilities. In The Ultimates 3, Unus is killed by Thor.Ultimates (vol. 3) #4 (April 2016)

=X-Men Noir=

An alternate universe variant of Unus the Untouchable from Earth-90214 appears in X-Men Noir. This version is a human mob boss and a rival of the Brotherhood, who later kill him.X-Men Noir #2-4 (March - April 2009)

References

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