Woodgod

Origin

Drs. David and Ellen Pace were biogeneticists hired by the government to synthesize a lethal toxic nerve gas. Despite being opposed to violence, the couple accepted the job so that they could use its resources for their own project, gene-splicing human and animal DNA to create a new hybrid species which they hoped would combine man's intellect with the animal kingdom's tendency for peaceful coexistence. The Paces created a satyr-like being who they dubbed Woodgod. He was given an accelerated metagrowth rate designed to bring him to maturity quickly. After three days, his physical growth had stopped but his curiosity did not.

Creation

Woodgod was created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen (with a cover by Jack Kirby) and first appeared in Marvel Premiere issue 31 (1976).

Mayor Story Arcs

A new Life

A year earlier, the base had spilled some nerve gas, killing local sheep and causing illness among the people. Local man Greg Davis snuck onto the farm to spy, and after seeing Woodgod he left only to return with a drunken mob demanding the Paces to hand over the "freak." When David Pace tried to reason with them, the mob attacked him, and then shot the confused Woodgod. Finding glass canisters containing bubbling liquid, the mob concluded that the Paces were brewing more monsters, and despite desperate warnings from the Paces that the tanks contained nerve gas, the townsfolk shattered them. Within seconds a cloud of purple gas killed everything in a 15 mile radius except for Woodgod who had healed from his wound.

Woodgod then wandered to the nearby village to search for his parents. Personnel at the nearby Vertigo Base detected the demise of the village and Major Del Tremens led a squad of men to capture Woodgod. Woodgod defeated the men and Tremens was the only one who survived as Woodgod began to wander away. Tremens quarantined the area seeking to destroy the evidence before a government inquiry team arrived.

Hulk, Spider-man and X-Men

Later that day, the Hulk wandered into this town and fought with Woodgod. Tremens ordered his men to destroy both creatures but this message was also picked up by the X-Men as they were flying back home after a mission. Concerned for the well-being of the Hulk's alter ego Bruce Banner, Spider-Man, who was with the X-Men asked them to drop him off. When Spider-Man arrived, Hulk and Woodgod deemed him a common enemy and stopped their fight so that they could fight him.

Tremens then subdued all three with an anesthetic gas and took them to Vertigo Base. Tremens' plan was to blast Woodgod into outer space and blame the destruction of the village on the Hulk and Spider-man. Spider-man escaped and freed the others and Woodgod and Hulk destroyed Tremens' atomic cannon, which he was using to try and stop them. The shockwave from the destruction of the atomic cannon knocked Spider-man into the spaceship which Tremens then launched.

While the Hulk tried to rescue Spider-man, Woodgod killed Tremens, then left after watching his new friends vanish high in the atmosphere. Woodgod returned to his parents' farm where he uncovered and studied their gene-splicing techniques. He swore that he would continue the work of the Paces and began creating more hybrids like himself, who he called the Changelings.