By Christina Diem Pham
Beginning with the series premiere of “Marvel’s Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.” this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. ET inside Marvel Universe on Disney XD, the Hulks will face some of the biggest threats known to the Marvel U.!
To kick things off, we’re bringing you a smidgen of background on Annihilus, Ego, Leader, and Sauron, just a sampling of the show’s baddest baddies--the ones that’ll give Hulk, Red Hulk, She-Hulk, A-Bomb and Skaar the most smashing headaches.
Which villain are you most looking forward to seeing on the show? Better yet, which agent is your favorite? Sound off in the comments below, or go ahead and Tweet us your responses @Marvel!
In the meantime, read on to learn more about these vicious villains, and don’t forget to tune in this weekend!
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| Annihilus in Marvel's Hulk & the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. |
ANNIHILUS
“Oh you know, just chillin’ like a villain in the Negative Zone,” said no one ever, except for Annihilus. His Marvel Universe debut was in FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #6, when Reed Richards and family ran into this wretched winged warrior while gallivanting the cosmic subspace, and it went all sorts of crazy from there.
Some of Annihilus’ abilities include flight, superhuman strength and durability, flying at 150 miles per hour and, perhaps most disturbingly, spawning clones of himself that actually retain his memory. Ah yes, and he also holds in his possession the Cosmic Control Rod. Long story short, the rod allows Annihilius to restructure matter and fire chaotic energy beams, just to name a few. Great, just…great.
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| Ego in Marvel's Hulk & the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. |
EGO
Ego, or rather Ego the Living Planet, developed much differently than other celestial bodies in the Black Galaxy. And what a temper! In his first appearance in THOR #132, it didn’t take long for this ginormous mass to pick a fight with his first Marvel foe, the almighty Thor!
From there, his powers became stronger with time, and he acquired an immeasurable amount of smarts--knowledge that he deems much too advanced for humans on earth--along with strength.
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| The Leader in Marvel's Hulk & the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. |
LEADER
Kids, stay in school. Otherwise, like Samuel Sterns, you might somehow expose yourself to gamma radiation and turn 50 shades of green. In the midst of Leader’s introduction to Marvel fans in TALES TO ASTONISH #62, he strove to acquire scientific secrets through illegal spy rings, even going as far as raiding the Watcher’s home at one point. Major yikes on that one.
His skill sets include superhuman intelligence, psychokinesis and telepathy with a plethora of highly advanced weapons up his sleeve. In the meantime, why the long face, Leader?
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| Sauron in Marvel's Hulk & the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. |
SAURON
As a psychologist, Karl Lykos made his first appearance in UNCANNY X-MEN #59, but after turning into Sauron during UNCANNY X-MEN #60 this treacherous fiend found a new home in the Savage Land and wreaked havoc on Ka-Zar, the X-Men and Spider-Man, just to name a few.
Sauron’s capabilities enable him to absorb mutant powers as well as use them to his advantage. For those nearby, possible death and destruction dwelled near. At one point, Black Widow shot him in the head, yet the trauma from his wounds only caused Sauron’s powers to mutate further. Now ain’t that peachy?
Now remember to tune in to the premiere of “Marvel’s Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.” inside Marvel Universe on Disney XD this Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. ET!
