Real
Name: Jackson Arvad Occupation: Former scientist Identity:
Publicly known Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with a criminal
record Former Aliases: None Place of Birth: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Marital Status: Single Known Relatives: None Group
Affiliation: Former agent of Jonas Harrow Base of Operations: Mobile First
Appearance: AMAZING SPIDERMAN #167 History: Jackson Arvad was the
chief scientist for electromagnetic research at the Brand Corporation, a subsidiary
of the Roxxon Oil Company. His superior in the Brand bureaucracy, James Melvin,
drove Arvad relentlessly to develop projects for Melvin under threat of being
fired. During a laboratory mishap, a gravitic energy surge shattered the "magno-chamber"
in whose vicinity Arvad was working. The accident plunged Arvad's body directly
into the magno-chamber's self-sustained electromagnetic field, and the residual
high frequency field weakened the electromagnetic attractions between the molecules
of Arvad's body This caused the molecules of Arvad's body to gradually disperse.
Melvin held Arvad in the magno-chamber long enough to question him on any useful
scientific applications the accident might have had, and then left Arvad to die. Arvad
soon discovered, however, that he possesses a certain degree of mental control
over the dispersion of his body's molecules. Unfortunately, every time he relaxed
control over his molecular cohesion, it was more difficult for him to resume a
solid state. Finally he began to fear that his body's molecules would drift apart
and he would be unable to reintegrate them. He contacted criminal scientist Dr.
Jonah Harrow, the man who gave Hammerhead and the Kangaroo their superhuman attributes,
in a desperate attempt to find a cure for his deteriorating condition. Pretending
to help him, Harrow implanted a tiny receptor in the Wisp's skull with which he
could disrupt the Wisp's mental control over his molecules by means of a powerful
mind numbing signal. Harrow then forced the Will O' The Wisp to carry out certain
criminal activities to further Harrow's ends. While committing theft, the Wisp
encountered the crime fighter Spider-Man, who
later tried to persuade him to resist the man controlling him. After much deliberation,
the Will O' The Wisp finally decided to turn against Harrow rather than to jeopardize
another innocent person. Realizing the Wisp's intent, Harrow activated the device
in the Wisp's skull and dissipated him. Despite his corporeal disintegration,
Will O' The Wisp's intelligence remained intact, and he eventually devised a scheme
to reintegrate himself. Taking control of the battlesuit of the criminal Killer
Shrike, the Wisp coerced him to kidnap scientist Dr. Maria Madison and bring her
to the laboratory where he was originally transformed. There he was restored to
corporeal form. The Wisp then destroyed the laboratory and fled into the night,
plotting vengeance on James Melvin, the man responsible for the state he was in. Will
O' The Wisp eventually got his opportunity for revenge against Melvin, but his
better judgment stopped him from killing his ex-boss. Turning Melvin over to the
authorities, the Wisp forced him to expose some of Brand's illicit activities
to the news media. This exposure, brought about with the aid of Spider-Man, caused
the shutdown of Brand's major plant in Long Island. Will O' The Wisp departed
after that incident to contemplate what to do with his powers. His current whereabouts
and activities are unknown. Height: 6 ft. 1 in. Weight:
195 lbs. Eyes: White Hair: Blond Strength Level:
Will O' The Wisp possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) approximately
12 tons while in his state of maximum density. Known Superhuman Powers:
Will O' The Wisp possesses the power to exert conscious control over the sub-atomic
electromagnetic particles that carry the force of attraction between the molecules
of his body. This enables him to control his density, granting him such powers
as superhuman strength, flight, and intangibility. Mentally willing himself to
his maximum density, he can make his flesh and substance as hard as the mineral
feldspar. At this density, his muscles become denser and stronger, granting him
superhuman strength. Will O' The Wisp can maintain this state of density for about
10 minutes before fatigue forces him to let up. Mentally willing himself to his
minimum density, Will O' The Wisp allows a non-critical number of random molecules
to oscillate at a small distance from his body, granting him intangibility. (Unlike
the Vision, who shunts his excess molecules extradimensionally, Will O' The Wisp
disperses them omnidirectionally in this dimension.) The process of dispersing
his molecules produces a bright, sparkling light, Will O' The Wisp can also
selectively solidify parts of his body For example, he can keep his arm solid
while making the rest of his body intangible. By creating a short, highly accelerated
oscillation of the energy states in the molecules of his chest, he can cause a
dazzling light that gives him various degrees of hypnotic control over those who
witness it, depending upon the person's susceptibility, Will O' The Wisp
can fly by becoming lighter than air and expelling excess molecules in a single
direction behind him, causing him to be propelled forward. When he travels faster
than 5 miles per hour, the expenditure of molecular energy causes him to give
off so much light that he appears to be an ethereal glowing sphere. Will O' The
Wisp can fly at a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour, and because he is intangible
while flying, he is not deterred by solid obstacles. It is not known how many
molecules are needed to accelerate him at his maximum speed, whether he can replenish
"shed" molecules, or if there is a limit to how many he can expel before
doing himself injury. In addition to his molecular powers, the Will O' The
Wisp can mesmerize people into performing certain simple acts. To do so, he disperses
molecules from the vicinity of his chest emblem, causing it to glow brightly.
For reasons not fully revealed, gazing into this light puts the looker into a
highly suggestible hypnotic trance, susceptible to the Wisp's commands. This hypnotic
state generally lasts ten to thirty minutes, depending upon the subject's mental
state and the length of exposure to the light. |