 | |
| Robert Hunter | |
| Aliases: | Nitro Robert L. Hunter |
| Continuity: | Marvel Universe |
| Notability: | Antagonist |
| Type: | Supervillain |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Altered human |
| Location: | Scranton, Pennsylvania |
| Status: | Alive |
| First: | Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 #34 |
Robert Hunter is a fictional comic book super-villain who goes by the code name of Nitro. He is featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics and first appeared in Captain Marvel, Volume 1 #34 in September, 1974.
Biography[]
Robert Hunter lived somewhere out in the American midwest. A renegade faction of Kree known as the Lunatic Legion abducted Hunter and experimented on him, giving him the power of self-detonation. They sent him back to Earth as part of their ongoing agenda to preserve racial purity among their species by eliminating the white Kree, such as Mar-Vell.
Now calling himself Nitro, Robert Hunter obeyed the Lunatic Legion's orders to go to Gary, Indiana, where he was to attack a USAF armored truck and steal canister containing the top secret nerve agent, Compound 13. Having succeeded in this mission, he was on Interstate 80 when he encountered Rick Jones, Rachel Dandridge, and Mordecai P. Boggs. Jones switched places with Captain Marvel, who fought with Nitro. Nitro exploded, rupturing the Compound 13 canister. Mar-Vell quickly sealed it, but was exposed to the nerve agent. This would eventually have fatal consequences for Mar-Vell in just a few short years. [1]
Nitro and three other super-criminals were hiding out a safe house in Stamford, Connecticut. The house was raided by the New Warriors, which carried out onto the street. Speedball made several attacks against him, but it was Namorita, who slammed him into a bus. Nitro exploded, killing Namorita, Microbe, his colleagues, and more than six-hundred people in the city, including children at a nearby school. [2]
Powers[]
- Self-detonation: Nitro could spontaneously cause his body to explode. His essence would become disembodied particles that would eventually reconstitute themselves. The blast radius of his power increased dramatically after he had taken the Mutant Growth Hormone.
Equipment[]
- Compound 13: Nitro stole a canister of the Compound 13 nerve agent from a USAF base in Gary, Indiana. While fighting Captain Marvel, he exploded, rupturing the canister, exposing Mar-Vell to the agent. This would ultimately give Mar-Vell cancer and kill him. [1]
- Mutant Growth Hormone: Nitro was a beneficiary of the Mutant Growth Hormone, which substantially increased his powers. This was the power level he had achieved at the time that he destroyed Stamford, Connecticut.
Notes & Trivia[]
- Tucker Shockley from ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the Marvel Cinematic Universe counterpart to Nitro.
- In this first appearance, it was implied that Nitro suffered from Kyphosis, which is the "Hunchback" syndrome. An MP at a military base referred to him as a hunchback. [1]
- Nitro had his right arm chopped off by Wolverine.