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Attributes

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 175 lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Features: Became dark-skinned.

Summary

Created By: Unknown

Real Name: Abner Jenkins

Current Aliases: Mach-5, Abe

Former Aliases: None

Dual Identity: Secret, although known to the authorities

Current Occupation: Rogue hero.

Former Occupation: Factory mechanic, Professional criminal

Citizenship: U.S.

Legal Status: Known criminal record

Place of Birth: Baltimore, Maryland

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives: None

Known Confidants: None

Known Allies: Fellow Thunderbolts members

Major Enemies: Spider-Man (former), Daredevil (former), Silver Sable (former), Henry Gyrich, Graviton, Baron Zemo.

Usual Bases: New York City

Former Bases: None

Current Groups: None, since the Thunderbolts were disbanded.

Former Groups: Sinister Syndicate, Masters of Evil, Lethal Foes of Spider-Man, Justin Hammer's hit-squad, Thunderbolts

Education: At least a high school education

Powers & Paraphenalia

Strength Level: Normal human strength

Powers: None

Abilities: Jenkins is a competent group leader, and a gifted mechanical engineer. He is capable of advanced computer programming and analysis.

Equipment: Jenkins' most recent battle suit retains the suction fingertips of the original, without the dangling digits. Equipped with micromotors for speed and magnanium body armor for protection, the Beetle can ram through thick brick walls without sustaining any injuries. After Iron Man crushed his original wings, the Beetle replaced them with retractable ones protecting by metallic sheaths.

Weapons: The Beetle's exoskeleton gives him the ability to lift nearly 4 tons of weight. He has electrically-based discharges that he can fire from his hands, but which require him to divert power from the rest of his suit for really big explosions.

Limitations: Extremely self-centered. Inclined to make powerful enemies, like the Kingpin. Despite his organizational and leadership skills, will betray team members for any slight glimmer of personal gain.

Background

He tried many different crimes, ranging from theft to assassinations. He once took Aunt May hostage as he was escaping from Spider-Man. (Funny how she is always at the wrong place at the wrong time.) He joined the Sinister Syndicate, with members Rhino, Hydro-Man, Speed Demon and Boomerang. They tried to take on the Kingpin, and were beaten.

After a long and unsucessful career, Jenkins even got to the point of wanting only distance from super-heroes. Following the events of Onslaught, when the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and many other heroes were seemingly dead, the people desperately needed heroes, and the Thunderbolts showed up. Formed by Baron Zemo, they were all super-villains, in different uniforms, posing as heroes to gain people's trust. After a while, some of them, including Jenkins, decided that the side of good was right after all, and some Thunderbolts truly became heroes. A woman named Leila Davies suceeded him as The Beetle, but she was ill-fated.

Jenkins upgraded his flight-armor several times, sometimes with the help of the Tinkerer. When he first joined Thunderbolts he was Mach-1. He is currently Mach-5. He also underwent the same kind of operation the Punisher once did, so he could become black and thus avoid recognition by the forces of law. Mach-1 teamed up with Spidey once, when he was still a disguised villain, and his inner dialogue was a riot. As Mach-3 he helped defeat the menace of Graviton, yet he and some teammates were exiled to Counter-Earth for a while. Abe was dating Songbird, who used to be Screaming Mimi.

It's unsure what will happen to these guys now that the heroic Thunderbolts have been disbanded, and the book's theme changed from a hero team of former-villains to a villain-fights-villain book. Abe decided to turn himself in and finish serving his his sentence. Some of the villanous Thunderbolts (the ones that didn't want to become heroes, such as Man- Killer), led by Zemo, were left planning world domination.

Thanks To:

The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.

This profile was completed with information used with permission from the Appendix of Marvel Universe website, mantained by Jeff Christiansen (Snood). If you want to find out about that odd-ball character you've only seen once, or even about that character you haven't ever seen, that's the site you're looking for. An impressive amount of obscure characters await you there!

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