Armadillo (comics)

Superherobox|


caption=Armadillo, as seen in "Marvel Universe"
Art by John Byrne.
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Armadillo
real_name=Antonio Rodriguez
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Captain America" (1st series) #308 (August 1985)
creators=Mark Gruenwald
Paul Neary
Dennis Janke
alliance_color=background:#cccccc
alliances=Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation The Rangers
aliases= Awesome Armadillo, 'Dillo, Mr. A, Tony
powers=Superhuman strength, stamina, durability and endurance
Hardened talons
Thick hide|

Armadillo (Antonio Rodriguez), is a fictional character, a minor former supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in "Captain America" #308.

Fictional character biography

Origin

Antonio Rodriguez was born in San Antonio, Texas. He was given superhuman strength and durability by Dr. Karl Malus. This process bonded his costume to his body giving him a freakish appearance, causing him to resemble a humanoid armadillo.

The Armadillo's original motivation during his criminal career was to get enough money to be able to pay a doctor to discover a way to cure his girlfriend, Maria, of an unspecified terminal illness. When she was cured from her treatment, Maria abandoned him because of his appearance. Since that time his motive has been to secure enough money to pay the Power Broker or some other scientist to reverse the process which transformed him.

Life of Crime

As part of the Armadillo's first encounter with superheroes, he was dispatched by Dr. Karl Malus to break into the West Coast Avengers Compound and free Goliath. There, the Armadillo battled Captain America, who released him after learning of the sacrifice he made for the comatose Maria. ["Captain America" #308]

The Armadillo later joined the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation. While on tour with the UCWF, he battled Captain America and Hawkeye atop the Empire State Building. He had apparently gone berserk after discovering his estranged wife Bonita with another man, and was intending to commit suicide. Captain America tried to talk him down, but the Armadillo jumped off the building. He survived the fall, but was arrested. ["Captain America" #316] cite book | last = Sanderson | first = Peter | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City | publisher = Pocket Books | date = 2007 | location = New York City | pages = 49-51 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1-14653-141-6]

He was later seen incarcerated in the Vault. Having been talked out of a criminal career by Captain America and his allies, he surrendered to Vagabond to avoid further prosecution. ["Captain America" #340] Armadillo only wished to serve out the remainder of his sentence. To this end, he fought against various supervillains who wished to engineer large-scale breakouts, including Venom and later various supervillains released by the Thunderbolts as they broke out Moonstone.

Ultimate Fighting League

After being released from the Vault, Armadillo became the regional champion of the Ultimate Fighting League. After his defeat by Daniel Axum (formerly the villain Battler), Armadillo was reduced to begging in an alleyway. There, he talked Daniel Axum out of joining a Spider-Man Revenge Squad.

Having fallen on hard times, Armadillo proceeded to join the Constrictor and Jack O'Lantern in robbing an armored car. After his defeat by Hercules, Armadillo was incarcerated at The Raft, and chained to Tiger Shark. During the break-out initiated by Electro, Armadillo and Tiger Shark escaped and hid out in the town of Fairbury, Illinois. There, they were confronted by the New Warriors, resulting in a battle in which both fugitives were defeated. Afterwards, Armadillo joined Vil-Anon, a twelve-step group dedicated to helping individuals overcome their criminal tendencies.

Civil War/The Rangers/MODOK's 11

During the Civil War, ["The Punisher War Journal" (2nd series) #4] , he is spotted at the funeral of Stilt-Man. After poisoning the guests, the Punisher blew up the bar in which the wake had been held. It was later mentioned that "they all had to get their stomachs pumped and be treated for third-degree burns." ["She-Hulk" (2nd series) #17]

Around this time, he is briefly seen entering the office of 'The Hippo', one of the many aliases for a man who works on improving super-villains. [Underworld limited series (2006)

The Armadillo later took place in the Fifty State Initiative, as a member of Texas' superhero team, The Rangers. However, he was a washout extremely quickly.

He was next seen doing lucha libre wrestling in Mexico for small cash, eventually being recruited by MODOK. After being one of the few villains that does not betray MODOK, Armadillo gains more money than initially promised. He happily departs with Puma and Nightshade, with whom he'd developed a friendship, and shows a desire for them to remain as a team.

The Hood hires him as part of his criminal organization to take advantage of the split in the superhero community caused by the Superhuman Registration Act.

ecret Invasion

Armadillo is mentioned as being incarcerated at The Raft next to Doctor Doom prior to the breakout in "Secret Invasion". ["Secret Invasion" #1]

Powers and abilities

Due to a genetic altering procedure performed on him by the villainous Dr. Karl Malus, the Armadillo has superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. Originally it was thought that his costume, a scaly nine-foot-tall orange armored hide with claws useful for digging through earth, was bonded to his skin by this process. It was later revealed that it was not a costume, but part of his body that had been mutagenically altered with the genetic material of an actual armadillo. His armor is bulletproof and his claws can tear through all but the densest of substances.

The Armadillo is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant as he was a skilled street fighter prior to his superhuman transformation.

Bibliography

List of titles

* "Avengers Spotlight" #26
* ""
* "Fantastic Four" #336
* "Sensational She-Hulk" #9, 30
* "Thunderbolts Annual" '97
* "Civil War" #7
* "" #3
* "" #1
* "Deadline" #2
* "Thunderbolts (1st series)" #76-81
* "New Avengers" #1-4
* "New Warriors (3rd series)" #1
* "Spider-Man Unlimited (2nd series)" #12

References

External links

* [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/armadillocap.htm Armadillo at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe]
* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Armadillo Armadillo Bio on Marvel.com]