| “ | I've made some new friends and I figured out what I want to do with myself. | „ |
| ~ Demolition Man. |
| “ | I know you're new here, Mojo Jr., but kidnapping is very against the rules!!! | „ |
| ~ D-Man to Mojo Jr. |
Dennis W. Dunphy, also known as Demolition Man and D-Man, is a superhero from Marvel Comics.
Once a college football player, Dennis agreed to be enhanced by the Power Brokers in hopes of being recruited by any team in the league. After failing to go professional, he became a wrestler for the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation addicted to pills supplied by the criminal organization. Once breaking free from their influence, he became a superhero known as Demolition Man and the sidekick of Captain America.
He was created by Mike Carlin, Brett Breeding and Ron Wilson, and first appeared in Thing #28 in June of 1985.
Biography[]
Background[]
Dennis W. Dunphy was born in Detroit, Michigan to unnamed parents, and has a sister named Ruth "Rufus" Dunphy. Little is known about his childhood, but he grew up idolizing superheroes such as Daredevil and Wolverine. In college, he attempted to become professional but wasn't able to join any teams presumably due to his skills. Dunphy was then offered a chance by Power Broker, Inc. to receive enhancements to get into the big leagues. Believing it could, he agreed but later discovered that couldn't compete safely in sports do to his augmentations. Unbeknownst to Dennis, the Power Brokers was a criminal organization that made their clients addicted to pills to keep them under their servitude.
After losing his chance to go professional, the organization offered Dennis a chance to join the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation to use his enhancements to fight against those with superhuman abilities. As a wrestler, he found success as Demolition Dunphy and became friends with The Thing and Sharon Ventura. The two Fantastic Four members discovered the truth behind the Power Broker's crimes, and Dennis and their clients were ordered to capture the superheroes. Despite their threats to deny them more pills, Dunphy refused the organization's demands and got passed his addiction.
Superhero Career[]
When Captain America investigated the Power Broker, Dunphy joined the war hero and created a costume from Daredevil's suit and Wolverine's cowl. The duo captured Doctor Karl Malus, but Dennis was kidnapped and experimented on once again. He suffered a heart attack during the treatment, but was rescued soon after and later went by the nickname "Demolition Man". After Captain America was displaced by John Walker, Dunphy joined him, Falcon, Vagabond and Nomad in stopping threats such as the Serpent Society. During this time, Demolition Man and Nomad butted heads since the latter believed Dunphy was interested in Vagabond.
Demolition Man later participated in helping Rogers fight against Madame Viper in Washington, but was poisoned by her when she escaped. Thankfully, he received an anti-toxin from Diamondback before fighting Walker's sidekick Battlestar. Due to his weakened condition, he was defeated and imprisoned by the Commission on Superhuman Activities. Dunphy then refused to escape from confinement since he believed Rogers would serve his sentence, remaining there while Nomad and Diamondback escaped with Sidewinder's assistance.
After being released, he joined the reconstructed Avengers under Rogers, as he re-formed the team with the United Nations' jurisdiction. However, his first mission ended with his presumed death when he crashed the quinjet into U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M.'s base on Rogers' orders. It's later he survived and was captured by U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M., but was saved by Walker and the Falcon and brought to the Avengers. Around this time, Dunphy discovered people in the underground known as Zerotown, and became the protector of the Night People. He also developed schizophrenia presumably due to the effects of the augmentations he received from the Power Broker, but was persuaded by Daredevil to get treatment.
Despite his steady career in super-heroism, Dunphy enlisted in the United States Armed Forces after Captain America's "death" after the Superhuman Civil War. After his service, he returned to heroics and joined the Revengers, a team led by Wonder Man to dissolve the Avengers. D-Man was then interrogated by the Avengers and New Avengers, but became the pawn of the Grandmaster for information on the Infinity Gems. He was later freed from his imprisonment by unknown means, and brainwashed by Henry Gyrich to become Scourge. The mind-controlled Dennis murdered Leon Murtaugh and attempted to kill Captain America, but was killed by Sharon Carter to save Rogers.
Return[]
Demolition Man returned to the living when a boy wished to summon a demon, and returned to the Avengers before being killed when Earth-616 and Earth-1610 merged together. Once the the main universe was restored, Dennis became the partner of Sam Wilson when he became Rogers' successor. He then participated in fighting against the Hive during the invasion, but was forced to become a host for a symbiote and killed by a poison. However, a depowered Dunphy returned via unknown means and became a security guard for the Ravencroft Institute. Additionally, he became the head of Supertrans and was briefly in a relationship with a man named Chris.
At the institute, Dunphy worked with Man-Wolf in his attempt to stop Mr. Hyde, but was critically injured by the supervillain. He was then turned into a vampire to save his life, giving him superhuman capabilities despite needing to maintain his sustenance to human blood.
Portrayals[]
Television[]
- In LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition, he was voiced by Will Friedle, who also voiced Ron Stoppable in Kim Possible and The Protagonist in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.
Film[]
- In Captain America: Brave New World, he was played by William McCullough.
Trivia[]
- He was once a disliked superhero, with Newsarama ranking D-Man ninth in their worst Avengers list. This is also implied to be due to his costume being a mix between Daredevil and Wolverine, which could confuse readers at the time.
