Real
Name: Arthur Parks
Occupation: Ex-scientist, professional criminal
Identity: Publicly known
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with a
criminal record
Former Aliases: None
Place of Birth: New Brunswick, New
Jersey
Marital status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Former member of Mandarin's minions,
Batroc's Brigade, and the Lethal Legion
Base of Operations: Mobile
First Appearance: AVENGERS #34
History: Arthur Parks was a research
scientist who worked on developing the laser (Light Amplification
through Stimulated Emission of Radiation) for use as an
offensive weapon. Building the smallest laser capable
of use as a weapon yet devised, Parks fitted two of the
miniature projectors to his wrists and fashioned himself
a costume. Upset by the breakup with his girlfriend, Parks,
calling himself the Living Laser, first used his weaponry
in an attempt to vent his rage against his ex-girlfriend's
fiancé. However, he soon became infatuated with
the Wasp, and in an attempt
to impress her, began to lay waste to portions of New
York City. Finding himself in battle with the Avengers,
the Living Laser kidnapped the Wasp and fled the country.
The Avengers tracked him down in Costa Verde,
a tiny South American nation whose guerrillas the Laser
was aiding. The Avengers thwarted his schemes, rescued
the Wasp, and extradited him to America. Serving time
for his rampage in New York, the Laser freed himself from
prison with the aid of the Mandarin.
He then began a career as a henchman, working for the
Mandarin, Batroc, the Lethal
Legion, and others.
After suffering various defeats, the Living
Laser spent over a year in his laboratory and devised
a way to incorporate laser devices into his own body With
the assistance of underworld scientist Jonas Harrow, Parks
had an array of miniature laser diodes implanted in various
places over his body. Defeated again by the Avengers when
he attempted to procure the Serpent Crown, the Living
Laser was then contacted by Count
Nefaria, who offered to augment his power further.
Agreeing, Parks learned too late that Nefaria was using
him as a dupe to acquire superhuman power for himself.
Nefaria's treatment activated the energy-gathering
diodes in Parks' skin so that he could not shut them down.
Desperate, the Living Laser met with East German agents
and agreed to help them power their laser-armed satellites
in exchange for their siphoning off sufficient energy
to save his life. However, months later, he met Iron
Man in battle and his energy began to overload. To
prevent the satellites from being armed, Iron Man destroyed
the siphoning machine. The Laser's power overloaded and
he exploded. Although the Living Laser was seemingly killed
by the explosion, he continues to exist as a sentient
energy being.
In this form, the Living Laser was captured
by Iron Man and his ally James Rhodes, remanded to the
Avengers' West
Coast compound, where the Avenger Henry
Pym sought to restore him to normal. The status of
the Living Laser is unknown at this time.
Height: Currently inapplicable; his
mortal form was 5 ft. 11 in.
Weight: Negligible; his mortal form weighed 185
lbs.
Eyes: Formerly blue
Hair: Formerly brown
Strength Level: Unknown, perhaps
inapplicable. He formerly possessed normal human level
strength.
Known Superhuman Powers: The Living
Laser is a bodiless quantity of photons (particles of
light) possessing human consciousness. Formerly human,
he can exert mental control over the particles that comprise
his form, determining their direction of travel and concentration.
Through concentration, he achieves a critical density
of photons, allowing him to laser. The maximum potency
of this laser is not yet known, but it is known he can
travel at the speed of light (186,274 miles per second).
The full extent of his light-based powers has not yet
been demonstrated, although he is believed to be able
to maintain a holographic three-dimensional image of his
physical self. It is possible that the Living Laser's
body has not been totally destroyed, but was shunted permanently
into the energy dimension from which Captain Marvel derives
her powers, and replaced by an equivalent "quantity"
of light. Possibly the Living Laser can replenish the
energy he expends by drawing new photons from this energy
dimension.