Frederick Foswell, also known as the
Big Man and Patch, is a fictional character appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
.
Publication history
Frederick Foswell first appeared, as the Big Man, in ''
The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...
'' #10 (March 1964), and was created by
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
and
Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko. Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular ac ...
.
The character subsequently appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' Annual #1 (1964), ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #23-27 (April–Aug. 1965), #29-34 (Oct. 1965-March 1966), #37 (June 1966), ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' Annual #3 (1966), ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #42-47 (Nov. 1966-April 1967), #49-52 (June–Sept. 1967). The Big Man also made appearances in ''Marvel Team-Up'' #40 (Dec. 1975) and ''Marvels'' #2 (Feb. 1994). The character died in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #52 (Sept. 1967).
The Big Man received an entry in the ''
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition'' #16, and in ''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man'' #1 (2005).
Fictional character biography
Frederick Foswell was born in
Queens, New York
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
. He worked as a reporter at the
Daily Bugle
The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB!'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most ...
for evidently quite a number of years, though the sliding timescale puts some of the hints of this into question: in the Night Raven story in ''Marvel Super-Heroes'' (UK) #394 (Feb. 1983), Foswell is referred to as a friend of Scoop Daly and as having attended Scoop Daly's funeral. A man named Fredrick was shown working for the Bugle in ''Sgt. Fury'' #110.
Foswell begins leading a double life as the Big Man, head of New York's crime and the boss of the notorious
Enforcers. Frail and diminutive in stature, Foswell conceals his identity by wearing a mask, oversized coat, and giant platform boots whenever he appears as the Big Man. Although he has a considerable run of success as a crime boss, a confrontation with
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
ends with his Enforcers being apprehended, and shortly afterwards the police deduce his identity and arrest him.
After Foswell serves his sentence, his Daily Bugle boss
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Jr., known as J. Jonah Jameson, is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist St ...
rehires him, an act of trust which immediately earns Foswell's gratitude. When another masked crime lord called the
Crime Master
Tatiana Caban
Bethany Cabe
Caber
Caber is a character in Marvel Comics.
Caber is one of the Celtic gods of Avalon, a warrior god. Caber is a friend of Leir and usually accompanies him in battle.
Cable
Danielle Cage
Danielle "Dani" C ...
arises, working in collusion with the
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...
, Foswell again begins wearing a mask - an
eyepatch
An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...
ed face that he uses as the alter ego Patch. Acting as a stool-pigeon, he tips off the police to planned crimes while getting scoops.
Hoping to learn how his co-worker Peter Parker (Spider-Man's alter ego) always gets great photos of Spider-Man, Foswell follows him, and witnesses a (faked) conversation between Parker and Spider-Man indicating they've been conspiring to ensure that Parker is always present when Spider-Man goes into action. Parker and Foswell occasionally work together, with Peter tipping off Foswell as Spider-Man before a major bust and then taking pictures to go with Foswell's stories.
Following a crime war, the
Kingpin takes over New York's underworld. Foswell, his ego smarting at seeing another man in his place, tries to reinstate himself as the Big Man, but the Kingpin outwits him, instead forcibly enlisting him as a lieutenant. When Kingpin kidnaps Jameson because of his editorials on the new crime wave, Spider-Man tries to rescue him, but is beaten by Kingpin. Kingpin tries to drown both Jameson and Spider-Man, but Spider-Man uses his webbing to create an air bubble that keeps them both alive. The attempted murder of Jameson turns Foswell against Kingpin, who, sensing this, tries to kill him. However, Spider-Man enters and stops him. While Kingpin and Spider-Man battle, Foswell runs into the basement of the Kingpin's building to try to help Jameson. When he finds Jameson, Foswell protects him from the thugs trying to kill him, and takes a bullet meant for him. The Kingpin escapes, and Foswell dies from the bullet wound. Jameson memorializes him as a hero in the ''Daily Bugle''.
Frederick Foswell was revealed to have a daughter named Janice. Adopting the Big Man mantle, Janice teams up with a new
Crime Master
Tatiana Caban
Bethany Cabe
Caber
Caber is a character in Marvel Comics.
Caber is one of the Celtic gods of Avalon, a warrior god. Caber is a friend of Leir and usually accompanies him in battle.
Cable
Danielle Cage
Danielle "Dani" C ...
, the
Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The San ...
, and the
Enforcers to seek revenge on Spider-Man, battling him, the
Human Torch
The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...
and the
Sons of the Tiger
The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them.
0–9 198
A A-Force
A-Next
A.I. Army
The A.I. Army is a fictional organization appearing i ...
. However, when Janice and Crime Master get into an argument about who is in charge, Janice is shot by her erstwhile partner, who is subsequently revealed to be
Nick Lewis Jr., the son of the original Crime Master and - ironically - her fiancé. Many years later, his younger prodigy - Frederick Jr. - would also attempt to avenge his father and sister's death on Spider-Man, only to be defeated by him and Jameson, who felt remorse for his own role in leading Frederick Jr. to his revenge road.
During the ''
Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy'' storyline, Frederick Foswell as the Big Man is "reanimated" by
Ben Reilly
Benjamin "Ben" Reilly (), also known as the Scarlet Spider, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Grown in a lab by Jackal (Marvel Comics character), Miles Warren/Jackal, he is a Human cloning, clone of Spi ...
's company New U Technologies, before he apparently dies again to the Carrion Virus.
[''Clone Conspiracy'' #5]
In other media
* Frederick Foswell appears in the ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
'' episode "King Pinned". This version is an employee of the
Kingpin who works undercover at the ''
Daily Bugle
The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB!'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most ...
''.
* Frederick Foswell / Patch appears in ''
The Spectacular Spider-Man
''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics.
Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'', voiced by
James Arnold Taylor
James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice and television actor. He is known for voicing Ratchet in the ''Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in '' Final Fantasy X'', Shuyin ...
. This version is a reporter for the ''Daily Bugle'' who works undercover as a criminal. Additionally, he won a
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
for writing an exposé on
Silvermane
Silvermane (Silvio Manfredi) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A notorious crime boss and prominent figure in the Maggia, a fictional organized crime
Organized crime is a category of transnationa ...
's criminal activities.
References
External links
Frederick Foswellat Marvel Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foswell, Frederick
Fictional characters from Queens, New York
Marvel Comics supervillains
Marvel Comics male supervillains
Comics characters introduced in 1964
Fictional reporters and correspondents
Characters created by Steve Ditko
Characters created by Stan Lee
Spider-Man characters