Slapstick (comics)
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Slapstick (Steve Harmon) is a fictional
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
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 ...
. He resembles an
animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...
and has the abilities of a slapstick cartoon character, such as one from ''
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...
'', including warping reality to match that of an animated cartoon.


Publication history

Slapstick debuted November 1992 in ''The Awesome Slapstick'' #1 and was created by writer Len Kaminski and artist James Fry. Afterwards, he made a notable appearance with the
New Warriors The New Warriors are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics) ...
in ''
Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...
'' and was unseen until a "
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
" cameo in ''
She-Hulk She-Hulk (Jennifer Susan Walters) is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she First appearance, first appeared in ''The Savage She-Hulk ...
''. He also regularly appeared in '' Avengers: The Initiative'' as a recruit. In 2015, Slapstick became a regular member of the
Mercs for Money Mercs for Money is a fictional superhero mercenary team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Mercs for Money first appeared in ''Deadpool'' #1 (Dec. 2015) and were created by Gerry Duggan. Eight month ...
series. In 2017, he got a second solo series created by Reilly Brown, Fred Van Lente and Diego Olortegui that lasted six issues. In ''Slapstick'' #4, Slapstick's full name is revealed to be Steven Winsor McCay Harmon, a reference to animator
Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–1914; 1924–1927) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he w ...
.


Fictional character biography

Slapstick was originally junior high school class clown Steve Harmon, from
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. In a plan to get back at his archrival Winston, Steve dresses as a clown to blend into the crowd at a strange new carnival. Before Steve can enact his plan, Winston and his date Heather are kidnapped by clowns. Steve picks up a mallet as a weapon and follows them. The group enters a portal disguised as a mirror at a carnival funhouse. Steve is transformed into a form made of unstable molecules, which essentially makes him a living cartoon character. The Scientist Supreme of Dimension X, who resembles
Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...
, helps Steve master his powers and free the clowns' prisoners. Steve destroys the mirror, eliminating the clown's influence on reality. Minutes afterward, Steve is found by his best friend, Mike Peterson, who agrees to assist him.


Other enemies

Steve has other villains to confront: a
Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...
copycat called the Overkiller attacks Steve, believing him to be a
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...
. The two fight in a mall, destroying most of it. Steve ends the fight by kissing Overkiller and then walloping him as he reacts with disgust. Slapstick also battled the super smart,
preteen Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...
Dr. Denton and Teddy, and rescued Barbara Halsey. There was also a homeless man, the Neutron Bum, with the power to cause explosions. Dozens of superheroes gather to battle Neutron Bum, but Slapstick neutralizes the situation by getting him what he had desired — a cup of coffee — and attacking him as he is drinking it.''Slapstick'' #4 (February 1993) Later, Slapstick works with the New Warriors to fight Dr. Yesterday, partly because doing so will impress women. At some point prior to
Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
and Firestar leaving the New Warriors to become
Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
, Slapstick and Ultra Girl were made official members of the Warriors after helping them stop a
Badoon The Badoon are a fictional Reptilian humanoid, reptilian List of extraterrestrials in fiction, alien species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Badoon Exfulgence are notable for living under strict Sex segregation, ...
invasion.'' Avengers: The Initiative'' #10 (May 2008)


The Initiative

Slapstick is later seen on the bus of new recruits arriving at Camp Hammond as part of the
Initiative Popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put direct ...
training program. He is later seen, with other heroes, confronting Ben Grimm as part of a training mission. Slapstick and other Camp Hammond members are sent out as crowd control when the
Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
and his
Warbound 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 ...
crew leads an attack on New York. He is assigned morale support for the evacuating citizens under command of the Avenger
Triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...
. A fellow recruit,
Rage Rage may refer to: * Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger Games * Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game * Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell * ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first- ...
leads a rebellion against the crowd support mission in order to go confront the Hulk. Slapstick joins in. His team is swiftly defeated by the Hulk's forces. The recruits are imprisoned by Hulk's forces in Madison Square Garden and neutralized with power-sapping technology. They are rescued by black ops forces associated with the Camp. Later it is Slapstick who attacks and almost kills Gauntlet out of loyalty to the New Warriors, in retaliation for Gauntlet's use of the team's name as an insult. He has since tried to admit this to his teammates but is always comically interrupted. He later comes in possession of a device containing the memory and personality of KIA, a villainous clone of
Michael Van Patrick Vagabond Vagabond (Priscilla Lyons) is the former partner and girlfriend of Nomad (Jack Monroe). She prevented Black Racer's assassination attempt on Sidewinder. She thwarted and captured Dr. Karl Malus during his attempt to take over Power Bro ...
, and decides to keep it for further use.''Avengers: The Initiative'' #11 (June 2008) Slapstick and several other former New Warriors are recruited by Justice and apparently deserted from the Initiative, after Justice finds evidence of shady activities within the organization. After helping stop KIA's rampage, this new group officially quits the Initiative, intending to act as a form of independent oversight for the program. As legally registered heroes, they are free to act unless they break the law while doing so. When asked to change to his human form, Slapstick admits that he has not done so since joining the Initiative, and claims that the mechanism that activates the change no longer works. He later returned to Camp Hammond with the team, now calling themselves the New Warriors again, and battled Ragnarok, the cyborg clone of Thor. Slapstick is also a noted presence in the multi-hero effort to rebuild New York after the events of ''World War Hulk''.


Fear Itself

During the '' Fear Itself'' storyline, Slapstick appears at a meeting held by
Prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and m ...
regarding magical hammers that have crashed into the earth. He later joins forces with other heroes to battle the Worthy.


Mercs for Money

When
Deadpool Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is ...
founds
Mercs for Money Mercs for Money is a fictional superhero mercenary team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Mercs for Money first appeared in ''Deadpool'' #1 (Dec. 2015) and were created by Gerry Duggan. Eight month ...
, he employs Slapstick and other vigilantes to pose as him and extend his reach across the globe.


Powers and abilities

As Slapstick, Steve Harmon's body is made out of Electroplasm after exposure to an unknown alien device, which makes him indestructible. He possesses superhuman strength and durability as well as virtually unlimited physical malleability. Slapstick's gloves also possess alien technology. His left glove allows him to transform to and from his human form. His right glove contains an extra-dimensional storage pocket which functions similar to
hammerspace Hammerspace (also known as malletspace) is an imaginary extradimensional and instantly accessible storage area in fiction, which is used to explain how characters from animation, comics, and video games can produce objects out of thin air. Typic ...
.


Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Slapstick from Earth-1298 appears in '' Mutant X'' as a member of the Lethal Legion, a group of supernatural heroes, who is later killed by
Madelyne Pryor Madelyne Jennifer Pryor is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Paul Smith (comics), Paul Smith, the character first appeared in ''Uncanny X-Men'' #168 (April 19 ...
.


In other media

* Slapstick makes a cameo appearance in Deadpool's ending in ''
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a 2011 crossover fighting game developed by Capcom in collaboration with Eighting. It is an updated version of '' Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds''. The game features characters from both Capcom's video game franchises and comic book ...
''. * Slapstick appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Future Fight''.


Collected editions


References


External links


Slapstick
at Marvel.com * {{Mercs for Money Comics characters introduced in 1992 Fictional characters from New Jersey Fictional characters who break the fourth wall Fictional characters who can stretch themselves Fictional clowns Fictional hammer fighters Fictional pranksters Marvel Comics shapeshifters Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics teenage superheroes Marvel Comics titles Parody superheroes