Abner Jenkins
| Abner Jenkins | |
|---|---|
Abner Jenkins as MACH-VII, as depicted in The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #2 (October 2013). Art by Steve Lieber. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | As Beetle: Strange Tales #123 (August 1964) As Mach-1: Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997) As Mach-2: Thunderbolts (vol. 1) #37 (April 2000) As Mach-3: Thunderbolts (vol. 1) #57 (December 2001) As Mach-IV: New Thunderbolts #1 (December 2004) As Mach-V: Thunderbolts (vol. 2) #144 (July 2010) As Mach-VII: The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #2 (October 2013) As Mach-X: Thunderbolts (vol. 3) #1 (July 2016) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Carl Burgos (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Abner Ronald Jenkins |
| Team affiliations | Commission on Superhuman Activities Thunderbolts Masters of Evil Sinister Syndicate Sinister Six |
| Partnerships | Collector Justin Hammer Gladiator |
| Notable aliases | Beetle, MACH-1, MACH-2, MACH-3, MACH-IV, MACH-VII, MACH-X |
| Abilities |
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Abner Jenkins, also known as the Beetle, MACH-1, MACH-2, MACH-3, MACH-IV, MACH-V, MACH-VII and MACH-X, is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Carl Burgos, he debuted in Strange Tales #123 (August 1964) as the original Beetle, a supervillain wearing an armor plated, mechanical suit he had designed himself after growing frustrated with his ordinary job as an aircraft mechanic and deciding to turn to crime. Although in his first appearance he fought the Human Torch and the Thing of the Fantastic Four, later storylines established Jenkins as a recurring foe of Spider-Man, usually working as a henchman for various criminal organizations opposing the hero. Jenkins later formed his own criminal organization known as the Sinister Syndicate.
After abandoning his Beetle persona, Jenkins was recruited into the Thunderbolts—a supervillain team assembled by Helmut Zemo to pose as superheroes to gain access to the technology of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, groups which had both seemingly perished while fighting Onslaught. Jenkins became known as "MACH-1", using a modified version of his Beetle armor that was designed for faster flight and higher altitude. The Thunderbolts were introduced in Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997), and although they originally went along with Zemo's plan, later storylines depicted them as disobeying him due to enjoying the attention and adulation they received as heroes. Seeking redemption, Jenkins was convinced to give himself over to authorities to serve out an outstanding prison sentence in exchange for the Thunderbolts being granted immunity. During his time in jail, Jenkins helped the authorities out, which led to him working for the government after his release from prison. He later began working at the Raft prison as head of security and re-joined the Thunderbolts, now a team of reformed criminals trying to earn time off their sentence by working for the government.
The character has been adapted from the comics into several other forms of media, such as animated television series and video games.