Mettle (character)

Mettle (Ken Mack) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was recruited into training at the Avengers Academy to become an Avenger.^[1]

Mettle
Mettle as depicted in Avengers Academy #1 (June 2010). Art by Mike McKone (penciler, inker) and Jeromy Cox (colorist).
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Avengers Academy #1 (June 2010)
Created by	Christos Gage Mike McKone
In-story information
Alter ego	Ken Mack
Team affiliations	Avengers Academy
Notable aliases	Fortress
Abilities	Experienced surfer Iridium body grants: Superhuman strength and durability Virtual indestructibility

Publication history

Mettle first appeared in Avengers Academy #1 (June 2010) and was created by Christos Gage and Mike McKone. He appeared as a regular character in the series through its final issue, #39 (Jan 2013).

Mettle appeared briefly in Avengers Arena, the successor title to Avengers Academy, by Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker.^[2]

Fictional character biography

Ken Mack was a sixteen-year-old surfer with a laid-back and carefree attitude. While surfing, he fell into the water and another surfer hit him with their surfboard and ripped off part of his face from the impact, which revealed a red iridium skull underneath. Ken was taken to Norman Osborn, where Baron Von Blitzschlag explained that the trauma accelerated a transformation that was already taking place. Osborn further accelerated the transformation, changing Ken's body to be completely made of iridium.^[3]

Heroic Age

Mettle is recruited into the Avengers Academy along with five other students who have been affected by Osborn. In a sparring session with Reptil, he is shown to withstand intense heat from a flame thrower with no effect. Noticing that they have been joined by Veil, he comments on her costume, but she becomes frightened by his appearance, changing into her gas form.

He is portrayed as a more responsible member of the new recruits, after discovering that they will all have a training session with Justice and Speedball. Striker complains about the incident at Stamford, stating that Speedball was stupid in his battle with Nitro. Mettle instead stated that he would be the perfect teacher, given that with their abilities one wrong move, anyone could be a potential murderer. During their training session, Speedball increases the difficulty, with Hazmat responding with a radiation blast. Justice suggests that he take a break. Then Finesse notices Speedball and Quicksilver arguing about keeping a secret from the cadets. By accessing secret computer files, the students realize that they are not the most powerful, the smartest, or even the most highly trained kids that Osborn kidnapped. Instead, they have been chosen for the academy because they have the greatest potential to go rogue and become dangerous villains.^[1]

On a visit to the Raft, Mettle, Hazmat, and Veil plan to seek out Norman Osborn in his cell to kill him for revenge. Hazmat used her power to cause a blackout, giving them enough time for Mettle to rip the Osborn's cell door. However, they let him live when Osborn said he could fix them. When the students were questioned about who caused the blackout, Mettle lied and said it seemed fate led them to Osborn.^[3] Mettle has fought against Arsenal, Whirlwind, Mentallo, and the Absorbing Man.^[4] After a video of Tigra's assault by the Hood, Mettle refused to go with Hazmat, Veil, and Striker to get revenge.^[5]

In an attempt to bring back the Wasp, Veil mistakenly resurrects Carina Walters, Korvac senses her and arrives to take her back. When Carina refuses to go with him, Korvac attacks, but the Avengers show up to battle him. Carina temporarily transforms Mettle and his teammates to obtain powers from their future selves to defeat Korvac. He punches through Korvac, thinking that he killed him. It is later revealed that his future self seemed comfortable with killing, which scares Mettle. After the fight, Mettle seeks out Hazmat in the student's lounge where they share an emotional moment knowing they may never be cured.^[6]

At the Prom, Mettle and Hazmat shared their thoughts and feelings and decided to start a romantic relationship.^[7]

Fear Itself

In the Fear Itself storyline, Mettle throws a pole at an armored robot attacking Washington D.C., killing both the pilot and gunner. He feels guilt for doing so, but Tigra reassures him that by killing him, he saved the lives of innocent civilians. When Titania and the Absorbing Man attack the Infinite Mansion, Mettle and Hazmat choose to hold them back and sacrifice themselves for their teammates to escape. However, the Avengers Academy instructors show up to save them.^[8] In the aftermath of Fear Itself, Mettle and Hazmat attempt to have sex, but Hazmat is still traumatized over accidentally killing her previous boyfriend.^[9] This puts further strain on their relationship, especially when X-23 joins the academy and Reptil, under the control of his future self, creates jealousy.^[10]

Avengers Arena and death

In Avengers Arena, Mettle is abducted alongside Hazmat, Reptil, X-23, Juston Seyfert, and a dozen others by Arcade on Christmas Eve during the Marvel NOW! event. Mettle is killed by Arcade in Murderworld, as he sacrificed himself to spare Hazmat as the weak link among the 16.^[11] When suspicions arise as to where the abductees have gone, Arcade activates the "contingency," using a remotely operated copy of Mettle to assuage the worries of Hank Pym and explain the absence of the teen heroes.^[12]

The return of the Avengers Academy

In the web comic Avengers Academy: Marvel's Voices, Mettle is revealed to have been resurrected and given to Emplate, who feeds on his bone marrow.^[13] Mettle defeats Emplate and allows the rest of the Academy students to escape, after which he reunites with Hazmat. Healing from Arcade's bomb and Emplate's feeding has restored his face and skin, too.^[14][15][16]

Powers and abilities

Mettle's body is made of living iridium, which gives him immense superhuman strength and durability. His costume is made of unstable molecules which can adjust to his powers.^[1] Due to the tampering of Norman Osborn, Mettle has damaged nerves that diminish his sense of pain and touch.

Other versions

• A zombified alternate universe variant of Mettle from Earth-2149 appears in Marvel Zombies Halloween.^[17]
• An alternate universe variant of Mettle from Earth-11080 appears in Marvel Universe Vs. The Avengers.^[18]

Reception

In an article for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jerome Maida describes Mettle as an "invulnerable powerhouse."^[19]

A review of Avengers Academy #14 by David Pepose for Newsarama expressed his love of the expressions artist Sean Chen gives to the characters, including Mettle "whose face still speaks volumes even as it frozen in the shape of a skull."^[20] In his review of Avengers Academy #20, Pepose called Tom Raney's depiction of the "still-faced" Mettle "absolutely heartbreaking."^[21]