Summary
- The Blob, a frequent enemy of the X-Men through the years since they debut, has now joined the Avengers Unity Squad, marking a significant step forward in his redemption story.
- Captain America successfully convinces the Blob to abandon Orchis and join the Avengers, demonstrating his ability to see the good in villains and turn them into assets.
- The Blob’s inclusion on the Avengers team is a long overdue opportunity for the character, who has often been depicted as a joke, or low-level villain, and now could become one of their most loyal and valuable assets.
Warning: Spoilers for Uncanny Avengers #4!
59 years ago, the Blob debuted as an enemy of the X-Men, but now he has become not just an ally to the Avengers, but a member of the team. Despite his very first appearance teasing his hero potential, and the character’s turns away from overt villainy throughout the years, joining the Avengers Unity Squad in their escalating fight against Orchis is a major step forward for the Blob.
Uncanny Avengers #4 – by Gerry Duggan, Javier Garron, Morry Hollowell, and VC’s Travis Lanham – finds Steve Rogers succeeding where Professor Xavier once failed; while the powerful mutant leader and founder of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters was unsuccessful in his attempt to recruit the Blob, Captain America is able to win the mutant enforcer’s approval.
With this moment, Blob is finally able to kickstart a long overdue redemption story. With most of his original cohorts in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants having had a heroic tenure at some point or another in the past six decades, Blob was overdue to have his own go at saving the world.
The Avengers Need Everyone In The Fight Against Orchis – Including The Blob
Blob begins Uncanny Avengers #4 as a member of Orchis’ Mutant Liberation Front, led by Captain Krakoa, taking part in a confrontation with the Avengers Unity Squad. As it turns out, Blob is operating under several false pieces of information, having been misled by Orchis, in order to be used as a means to their ends. He thinks Captain Krakoa is Scott Summers – which decidedly isn’t the case, as Cyclops is, in fact, imprisoned by Orchis. In an impressive display of his ability to persuade, Captain America unravels how the Blob has been misinformed, while keeping him in check in a physical altercation.
Frederick J. Dukes, the mutant who would become known as the Blob, made his first appearance in 1964’s The X-Men #3 – by Stan Lee, Paul Reinman, Art Simek, and Jack Kirby. Immediately, he made an impact by refusing to join the X-Men and attacking their school.
Saying that Blob is, “fighting a righteous war with the wrong soldiers,” and calling Blob, “a reasonable man,” Captain America patiently talks the powerful mutant into abandoning Orchis’ side. By the end of Uncanny Avengers #4, Blob is standing alongside the Avengers Unity Squad, ready to fight with them in the next stage of their battle with Orchis, the evil, manipulative anti-mutant organization. Now that Blob has been saved from their influence, he’s likely to be one of the Avengers’ most loyal, valuable assets in the ongoing conflict. This is a long overdue opportunity for the character, who has been around since the earliest days of the X-Men franchise.
The Blob Finally Gets His Shot At a Hero Arc
The Blob has frequently proved himself to be an impressive character, but the longer that he has existed within Marvel canon, the more that his depiction has descended into becoming a joke of a character. Even compared to his first appearance, Blob continues to be downgraded into a low-level villain, who gets tossed around with ease or made the butt of a sizeist joke. These depictions have stunted his progression, but Captain America has found a way to open the door for the Blob to become the hero he could have been, if he had said “yes” to the X-Men’s offer when he debuted.
Captain America holds the long-established belief that every villain is capable of doing good, just as every hero is capable of doing evil. Under this impression, Rogers has always tried to go out of his way to turn his enemies into allies, or at the very least, turn his villains into assets. Steve’s determination to see the good in people is practically a superpower in itself and here, it pays off in bringing the Blob onto his side. It’s one thing for X-Men’s the Blob to finally begin his hero arc, but to do so with the co-sign of someone as iconic as Captain America is a good sign for his bright future.
Uncanny Avengers #4 is on sale now from Marvel.
