The Blob (Frederick J. Dukes) is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #3 (January 1964).

A mutant, the Blob claimed to be unmovable. He possessed an extreme amount of pliable body mass, which granted him superhuman strength, and his own gravitational pull. Possessing the mindset of a bully, he mostly used his powers for petty crime and as a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants and Freedom Force.

He was one of the most prominent, long-running mutants to be de-powered as a result of the "Decimation" storyline.

Character biography

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Fred J. Dukes started out as a member of a circus sideshow under the name the Blob. He was contacted by Charles Xavier, who told him that he was a mutant and asked him to join the X-Men. At the mansion, the other X-Men disliked him for his obnoxious attitude. The Blob refused Xavier's invitation, saying he was better than the other X-Men. When Xavier tried erasing his mind of what had transpired, the Blob escaped. He gathered up the other Circus members and they attacked the mansion. Xavier was able to wipe everyone's minds, and the Blob went back to the circus.

The mutant Magneto sought The Blob out to recruit him into his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, restoring The Blob's memory through a jarring hit to the head. The Blob would accept the invitation temporarily, but later when it was shown that Magneto had no real concern for The Blob or his safety, he left the brotherhood. He would later join the Freedom Force, and after Freedom Force's dissolution, he rejoined the Brotherhood under Mystique's lead.

His major weaknesses are his short temper, lack of foresight, his lack of intelligence, and his easily-manipulated self-esteem.

Due to the Scarlet Witch's magicks the Blob was one of the thousands of mutants to lose his powers, though his skin has not shrunk to compensate the loss of his bloated mass, giving him huge folds of loose skin all over his body and causing him to become suicidal.

In the last panel of Thunderbolts #103, The Blob can be seen in the background in Baron Zemo's prison for super villains that the Thunderbolts have apprehended. It is obvious that he has been taken prisoner by the team.

Powers and abilities

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Though now depowered, the Blob's mutant physiology granted him a number of advantages. He had vast superhuman strength and his resistance to injury was among the greatest of all Marvel characters. Indeed, his greatest asset was his superhuman resilience; his highly elastic blubbery skin had proven to be difficult to penetrate by gunfire, missiles, and even Wolverine's claws; though with sufficient force the claws could lacerate his flesh. Anything short of adamantium could not damage his skin, or even cause him pain. On one occasion however, a concentrated optic blast fired by Cyclops was sufficient to puncture a hole through his shoulder, much to the shock of Dukes himself. He could also alter his personal gravity field to make him virtually immovable, although an incredible force (such as the Juggernaut or Colossus) could uproot him, along with a chunk of whatever he was standing on (the only beings on record to have been able to lift the Blob against his wishes are the Incredible Hulk and Strong Guy). Despite his morbidly obese appearance, his agility was the same as that of a fairly athletic male of normal stature, a fact which frequently caught his opponents by surprise.

The Blob had superhuman strength which had greatly increased over the years, in a manner very similar to that of the Thing; originally the Blob had enhanced strength enabling him to lift about 1 ton, but right up to losing his powers he had become strong enough to lift roughly 70 tons. This improvement was said to be a result of his ongoing mutation.

What few weaknesses the Blob did have mostly circumvented his physical resistance. He was able to be injured by attacks directed at his face, as his eyes, nose, mouth and ears did not have the same blubbery protection as the rest of his body. Dukes was susceptible to psionic attacks and psychic manipulation. The Blob could also be incapacitated by sensory assaults; for example, Banshee was able to render Blob unconscious solely through the use of his sonic scream. He could be incapacitated by drinking alcohol, although due to his immense body mass it would require a great deal.

Other media

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• The Blob appeared in the animated pilot Pryde of the X-Men as well as the X-Men arcade game loosely based on said pilot, and made occasional appearances in X-Men animated series, usually in a henchman role.

• The Blob has also appeared in the X-Men Evolution animated television series, where he was a classmate and bully of the X-Men prior to joining Mystique's Brotherhood.

• The Blob was originally suppose to appear in the first X-Men movie, but didn't make off the concept page. A hidden easter egg on the 1st X-Men DVD (not X-Men 1.5) shows concept art of the Blob & Beast.

• The Blob was an enemy in the game X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse.

• The Blob was the Stage 2 Boss from the X-Men arcade game.

• He appeared in numerous episodes of the 1990s X-Men animated series helping Mystique.

• The Blob was a boss in the video game X-Men Legends, but like many characters of this game, he only made a brief appearance in the sequel.

X-Men villains | Avengers villains | Brotherhood of Evil Mutants members | Defenders members | Marvel Comics mutants