The Titanium Man is the name of two

supervillains A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

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 ...

. The original Titanium Man, Boris Bullski, first appeared in '' Tales of Suspense'' #69 (September 1965) 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 Don Heck.

Fictional character biography

Boris Bullski

Boris Bullski was born in Makiivka,

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. According to the Black Widow, he was a

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

member when he was a young man, and she was his combat instructor for a time. An ambitious official of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

, Bullski was demoted after displeasing his superiors. While working as an administrator of a

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see British and American spelling differences, spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are unfree labour, forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have ...

, he commissioned the imprisoned scientists at the camp to build a suit of armor using the lab of Anton Vanko, the creator of the original Crimson Dynamo armor. Seeking to win back the Party's favor, Bullski conceived the idea of winning a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

victory against the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

by defeating the American superhero

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

. He assigned the scientists to create a powerful suit of

titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

armor based on Iron Man's technology, though the inferior resources available to the scientists meant that the armor was twice the size of Iron Man's. Bullski received permission to issue his challenge, and Iron Man accepted, defeating Titanium Man in a battle before a worldwide television audience. Undaunted, Bullski prepared for a rematch. The suit was redesigned, and he underwent medical treatments that increased his size and strength. Traveling to the US, Bullski fought Iron Man in the skies above Washington, D.C., but was defeated. Withdrawing for retrieval by a Soviet submarine, he discovered that he had been abandoned on orders from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Bullski worked for the Vietnamese Communist scientist Half-Face (who increased his power yet again). Then, he returned to the service of the

Government of the Soviet Union The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, All-Union Supreme Soviet. It ...

and was dispatched to the US to retrieve the third Crimson Dynamo, whom he found at Cord Industries. A three-way battle between Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, and Iron Man began, during which Titanium Man killed Janice Cord with an electronic beam. Enraged, Iron Man soundly defeated Titanium Man and left him in the murky depths of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

. After the defeat, the two disgraced Soviet agents fled to Communist-controlled Vietnam, where they joined with Radioactive Man to form the Titanic Three. Though Bullski enjoyed working as a sanctioned agent once again, he longed to return to the Soviet Union, and devised a new plan to win his superiors' favor. Adopting the alias The Other, he dispatched another former Soviet agent,

Unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

, to destroy Iron Man. When Unicorn failed, Titanium Man attempted to destroy Iron Man, but he failed again. Despite his failures, Bullski was in favor with the Soviet government, and he returned to the US on a mission for the KGB. By threatening the parents of a Soviet defector named Sergei, he forced the man to design technologically advanced armored suits that could be transformed into small card-like objects. Posing as "the Commander", Bullski used the suits to equip members of the Green Liberation Front (G.L.F.), an organization of disaffected

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veterans who felt ignored by their country. With the suits, the G.L.F. robbed a

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 ...

bank and the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the New York (state), State of New York, the 12 norther ...

; though the members believed that they were simply acting as thieves, Bullski used the robberies as a cover for implanting a

computer virus A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and Code injection, inserting its own Computer language, code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas ...

that would destroy American financial records, causing chaos in the

economy of the United States The United States has a highly developed mixed economy. It is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and second largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). As of 2025, it has the world's seventh highest nominal GDP per capita and ninth ...

. Beta Ray Bill and Sif opposed the G.L.F. and the Commander, but when Sergei discovered that his parents were dead he exposed Bullski's true identity and the angry members of the G.L.F. turned on the Titanium Man. Teleporting away, he rematerialized in card form, which Sergei then simply tore and threw away. Sometime later, the new Crimson Dynamo was sent to the US by the Soviet government to retrieve the remnants for reintegration.''Soviet Super Soldiers'' #1 (November 1992) The G.L.F. discovered the Crimson Dynamo's mission and attacked him, forcing him to seek assistance by reactivating the Titanium Man, who due to the incomplete nature of his reassembly was still missing body parts. Enraged, Bullski slaughtered the members of the G.L.F., and was only stopped when the Dynamo lured him over the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and returned him to card form. Bullski was later restored and continued to serve as Titanium Man, as a member of the Soviet Super-Soldiers and later Remont-4, but felt increasingly despondent as the Soviet Union declined. After an attack on a Stark Enterprises factory in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, he was believed killed while battling Tony Stark who was wearing Crimson Dynamo armor that was being controlled by

Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

Valentin Shatalov, a former friend of Bullski. Sometime later, during a space mission to destroy an enormous

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

that threatened to impact on Earth, a Titanium Man initially claimed his name was Andy Stockwell and had never had a connection with the USSR. (The name was an alias for Bullski.) Moments later, it was revealed he was a member of The Hammer, an international network of communist sleeper cells who wanted to destroy the US. He was lost in space, but being relatively close to Earth, may have returned under his own power. Later, as a mercenary, Bullski was hired by Tony Stark to fake an attack on Congress trying to show reasons to stop the Superhuman Registration Act. He battled

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 ...

there and made a withdrawal after Spider-Man damaged his helmet with his cybernetic claws, but not without saying to a camera in Spider-Man's Iron Spider suit a planned talk which Stark used in the Congress in rejection of the SRA. Titanium Man reappeared subsequently in Russia as a member of the rogue Soviet super-rebel group called Remont Six. He was knocked out by Darkstar but was apparently not captured. Later, Titanium Man was seen being beaten down by the Protector. The identity of this Titanium Man or the circumstances of the battle remain undisclosed, but he is presumably Bullski, because he was wearing that version of the armor. Doctor Octopus's scheme during ''Ends of the Earth'', included contacting Titanium Man as one of several villains to assist in his plans after two of the Sinister Six were defeated, but this backfired when the Titanium Man contacted the Black Widow to warn her about the scheme. He characterized himself as a Russian patriot rather than an American villain, and he answered

's call to rally others against Doctor Octopus. When Titanium Man entered one of Doctor Octopus' facilities, he was defeated by

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

despite his best efforts.

Kondrati Topolov

The second version was Kondrati Topolov, the

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 ...

formerly known as

Gremlin A gremlin is a mischievous fictional creature invented at the beginning of the 20th century to originally explain malfunctions in aircraft, and later in other machinery, processes, and their operators. Depictions of these creatures vary widely. ...

, and served with the Soviet-era

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 ...

group, the Soviet Super-Soldiers.

Third version

The third version's identity is the subject of some controversy. The first time this figure manifested itself, he attacked Stark Enterprises and Iron Man directly, apparently under orders of Stark-Fujikawa (possibly as a mercenary). While he was shown to cherish Soviet paraphernalia and newspaper clippings featuring Boris Bullski, his identity was not firmly established. Sometime later, during a space mission to destroy an enormous

that threatened to impact on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

, a Titanium Man, claiming to be this same person, stated his name was Andy Stockwell, and had never had a connection with the USSR. However, moments later it was revealed he was actually a member of "The Hammer", an international network of communist sleeper cells who wanted to destroy the United States. He was lost in space, but being relatively close to Earth, may have returned under his own power.

Gennedy Ovinnik

A fourth version was introduced under the name Gennedy Ovinnik, a Corporal in the Russian Military, 58th Army, North Caucasus District. He was sent as an agent of the Russian Government along with Crimson Dynamo to defend Russian interest in Transia. The two were quickly overwhelmed by an army of Iron Man Armors controlled by the Zmaj only to be saved by Iron Man and Radioactive Man.

Fifth version

A fifth version of Titanium Man was contacted and hired, ostensibly through the Hammer again, to do a mercenary job for Tony Stark in his effort to stop the superhuman registration bill.

Sixth version

In the same period, a sixth version of Titanium Man was seen being beaten down by Noh-Varr. The identity or the circumstances of the battle remain undisclosed.

Seventh version

A seventh version of Titanium Man was among Iron Man's villains recruited by the Mandarin and Zeke Stane to assist in a plot to take down Iron Man.

Eighth version

During the ''

Infinity Infinity is something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...

'' storyline, an eighth version of Titanium Man is among the villains recruited by Spymaster to help him attack the almost-defenseless Stark Tower. Titanium Man attacks Blizzard and Whirlwind when they try to abandon the mission. During the fight, it is revealed that Titanium Man is the

Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are an List of fictional extraterrestrials, alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and have a scientificall ...

Captain At-Lass who was sent by the Kree to steal Iron Man's armor.

Powers and abilities

The various versions of Titanium Man used green armor similar to that used by

and to that used by the Crimson Dynamo (their sometime compatriot). Neither suit of armor was as sophisticated as that used by Tony Stark as Iron Man, but some of its weapons were deceptively powerful, and the first Titanium Man's physical strength seems to have been greater than that of Iron Man. He also boasted that his armor was made to last, not, like American technology, "with planned obsolescence" (although he had actually received several significant upgrades himself). The Titanium Man armor increases the wearer's physical strength to superhuman levels, and is in fact stronger than Iron Man. It was also able to fly at supersonic speeds (it can even reach

escape velocity In celestial mechanics, escape velocity or escape speed is the minimum speed needed for an object to escape from contact with or orbit of a primary body, assuming: * Ballistic trajectory – no other forces are acting on the object, such as ...

), shoot concussive force blasts from the hands, project constrictive force "rings", fire an electromagnetically paralytic beam from the helmet, and was resistant to conventional artillery. Boris Bullski, the original Titanium Man, also possessed enhanced strength due to treatments given to him by the Soviet government to augment his physiology, making him grow into an -tall giant. The Gremlin, being a dwarf who seldom exercised, was weaker than most people, but he possessed superhuman intelligence, was capable of creating advanced devices and weapons, and was an accomplished genetic engineer.

Other versions

Heroes Reborn Iron Man

The '' Heroes Reborn'' continuity features a Soviet Titanium Man, which Victor von Doom created for the Russians to outperform the Iron Man prototype. Titanium Man later appears as a free agent working for Hydra, though he is later killed by Doombots.

Civil War: House of M

In the '' House of M'' reality, the second Titanium Man appears as a member of the Soviet Super-Soldiers.

Ultimate Marvel

The

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the ...

equivalent of Titanium Man is Jake Miller utilizing pirated technology in order to fight the

Ultimates The Ultimates is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from ''The Ultimates (comic book), The Ultimates'' ...

In other media

Television

* The Boris Bulski incarnation of Titanium Man appears in the "

" segment of ''

The Marvel Super Heroes ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' is an American animated television series starring five comic book superheroes from Marvel Comics. The first TV series based on Marvel Comics, Marvel characters, it debuted in broadcast syndication, syndication on Amer ...

'', voiced by Ed McNamara. * The Boris Bulski incarnation of Titanium Man appears in ''

'' (1994), voiced by Gerard Maguire. This version is a creation of Red Ghost and the Mandarin's most powerful henchman. In the first season, Titanium Man battles Iron Man until the latter throws him into space. In the second season, Titanium Man forms an alliance with Dark Aegis. Upon discovering their genocidal tendencies, he aligns himself with Iron Man and

War Machine War Machine (Col. James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, John Byrne, and Bob Layton as a supporting character for Iron Man, he first appeared i ...

to defeat them, sacrificing himself in the process. * The Titanium Man armor appears in '' Iron Man: Armored Adventures'' which is operated by Justin Hammer (voiced by

Michael Adamthwaite Michael David Adamthwaite (born September 1, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is credited with providing the voice for many characters in various anime series. He is also known for portraying the Jaffa (Stargate), Jaffa List of recurring alien charac ...

Video games

* The Boris Bullski incarnation of Titanium Man appears as a boss in ''

'' (2008), voiced by Dimitri Diatchenko. This version is an agent of A.I.M. ** In the PSP version of the game, the Titanium Man armor can also be unlocked as an alternate skin for Iron Man. * The third incarnation of Titanium Man appears as a boss in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', voiced by Crispin Freeman.Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 NPC Spotlight: Prodigy & Titanium Man
Posted: 2009-09-04 00:00:00 Updated: 2009-09-29 * The Boris Bulski incarnation of Titanium Man appears as a boss in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * The Boris Bulski incarnation of Titanium Man appears as a playable character and boss in '' Marvel Super Hero Squad Online'', voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.

Merchandise

* A figure of Titanium Man was released by Toy Biz as part of the 1994 ''Iron Man'' animated series tie-in line. * A figure of Titanium Man was released in

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

's tie-in toyline for the 2008 ''Iron Man'' film, based on his design from the tie-in video game of the same name. * A figure of Titanium Man was released in the ''Iron Man Face Off'' 4-pack from the '' Marvel Super Hero Squad'' line, packaged with figures of Iron Man,

, and Crimson Dynamo. A repaint of the figure was also released in the ''Armor Wars: Part II'' 3-pack, packaged with Iron Man and Crimson Dynamo. * A figure of Titanium Man was released in wave 32 of the ''Marvel Minimates'' line. * A figure of Titanium Man in his Mark II armor was released in wave two of

's 3.75" ''Iron Man 2'' film tie-in line. * A figure of Titanium Man was released in wave one of

's 6" '' Iron Man: The Armored Avenger Legends Series'' line.

Music

Titanium Man is mentioned in and serves as one of the titular characters of the Wings song " Magneto and Titanium Man", written and produced by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

References

External links

Titanium Man I
at Marvel.com
Titanium Man II
at Marvel.com

s entry at Marvel Directory.com * {{Stan Lee Characters created by Don Heck Characters created by Stan Lee Comics characters introduced in 1969 Fictional Soviet people Fictional Ukrainian people Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics spies