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Lockjaw (character)

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Lockjaw
Lockjaw, from Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #4.
Art by Karl Kerschl.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceFantastic Four #45 (Dec. 1965)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
SpeciesInhuman
Place of originAttilan
Team affiliationsInhumans
Fantastic Four
Pet Avengers
Notable aliasesSparky
AbilitiesSuper-canine strength in his jaw
Teleportation
Precognition
Matter ingestion

Lockjaw is a fictional bulldog-like being appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

He first appeared in Fantastic Four #45 (December 1965), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Fictional character biography

Lockjaw was born on the island of Attilan, formerly in the Atlantic Ocean. Lockjaw resembles a giant bulldog and serves in the capacity of the Inhumans' teleporter and escort to the Royal Family of the Inhumans. Many times he has brought Inhumans to Earth and back again. At times, his powers have been manipulated by evil forces, most usually Maximus the Mad.

Lockjaw and the Royal Family encountered Maximus' creation, the Trikon, and were driven from Attilan's Great Refuge in exile.[1]

Lockjaw first appeared as a member of the Inhumans when they attempted to retrieve Medusa from the outside world and take her back to Attilan. This led them into conflict with the Fantastic Four, the first humans they met, who were harboring Medusa after rescuing her from the villainous Frightful Four. Accordingly, Lockjaw is indirectly responsible for revealing the existence of Attilan to the outside world. They returned to Attilan and became trapped in Maximus' "negative zone" barrier around the Great Refuge.[2]

Lockjaw is able to escape and becomes separated from his city. He roams the country for some time, accidentally terrorizing the local citizens, until he meets up with Johnny Storm and Wyatt Wingfoot. He journeyed with the pair in their attempt to breach the "negative zone" barrier.[3] Before long, the Inhumans were freed from the "negative zone" barrier, and Lockjaw transported Crystal to New York, and brought Triton from Attilan to rescue Mister Fantastic.[4] Lockjaw was later compelled to return Crystal to Attilan by Maximus.[5]

With Crystal, Lockjaw was captured by Diablo.[6] They later rescued the injured Quicksilver.[7] Before long, Lockjaw attended the wedding of Quicksilver and Crystal.[8] He also brought the Fantastic Four to Attilan to battle Thraxton.[9]

Seemingly speaking

At one point, Quicksilver and the Thing witnessed what appeared to be Lockjaw, apparently a sentient being once mutated by Terrigen Mists, speaking to them. This convinces Quicksilver not to expose his daughter Luna to the Mists.[10] However, Lockjaw later brought Quicksilver to Washington, D.C., in search of X-Factor, and Quicksilver there stated that Lockjaw's sentience was actually a hoax perpetrated on the Thing by Karnak and Gorgon.[11]

Lockjaw brought the other Inhumans to Earth in search of Medusa when she fled Attilan to avoid a compulsory abortion. He also transported the injured Triton back to Attilan.[12] With Crystal, he later summoned the Avengers to help battle Thane Ector and the Brethren.[13] With the Avengers, he battled the Brethren.[14]

As noted in Ka-Zar #12, Lockjaw also travels to the Heroes Reborn universe with his Inhuman family. This visit lasts for about a year; all are returned successfully.[15]

Having always been particularly fond of Ben Grimm, Lockjaw elects to stay with him. Ben, fondly recounting that he "always wanted a dog", accepted. It is not known why Lockjaw did not accompany Ben Grimm when he felt the need to retreat to France during the Civil War.[volume & issue needed]

Lockjaw is featured into the 2006 limited series Son of M. With the majority of the mutants on Earth having been rendered powerless, Quicksilver decides to steal the Inhumans mutagenic Terrigen Mists and re-power willing mutants. Lockjaw is convinced to help him on the mission. Traveling with Quicksilver's daughter Luna, they traverse the Earth, heading to such places as Genosha. The other Inhumans follow.[16]

Later, Lockjaw rejoins Black Bolt, Medusa and other Inhumans in order to assist a super-human strikeforce in taking down the confused Sentry.[17]

Lockjaw assists his family tracking down Black Bolt, who had been captured by the Skrulls. Using technology gained from their allies, the Kree, Lockjaw's abilities are upgraded, allowing him to teleport much farther.[18]

New allies

In 2009, Lockjaw received a four-issue mini-series titled Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers, teaming with Lockheed, Redwing, Ms. Lion (Aunt May's puppy from Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends), Zabu, Niels the Cat/Hairball, and a new frog named Throg. This series involves Lockjaw bringing the Infinity Gauntlet together with the assistance of animal allies.[19] The series was well-received enough[citation needed] that there have been two additional mini-series with the Pet Avengers.

Lockjaw re-joins his Inhuman family for the conflicts that eventually led to them taking over the Kree empire. This leads to the seeming loss of Black Bolt despite Crystal and Lockjaw's best efforts.[20] This conflict also leads to the ravaging of the Shi'ar Empire. As his family determines who will rule, Lockheed is seen playing closely with Luna and assisting with Shi'ar recovery efforts.[21] Lockjaw again becomes involved with gathering the Infinity Gauntlet together when the Soul Gem is lost and later found.[22] Lockjaw was also sent by Medusa to keep an eye on recent Inhuman Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan),[23] and helps her in her battle against a bird/human hybrid clone of Thomas Edison known as The Inventor.[24]

Powers and abilities

Lockjaw seemingly has "super-canine" strength in his jaw for a dog his age and size. At one time, he locked on to the Thing's arm and the Thing could not get him to let go. Lockjaw can also teleport himself, and nearby living creatures and matter to anywhere he wants, from the Earth to the Moon, and can even open passages between dimensions. Energy barriers that are seemingly impenetrable to others seem to pose no problem to him. Lockjaw also has the ability to psionically trace a given "scent" across dimensional space.

Lockjaw also once seemingly sensed danger from far off, when Doctor Doom had manipulated Silver Surfer's powers.[volume & issue needed]

Lockjaw is capable of chewing and swallowing inorganic material, such as scraps of sophisticated robots, with no ill effect. It is not known if this is his primary source of nourishment.[citation needed]

In the Secret Invasion: Inhumans mini-series, the Royal Family enter into an alliance with the Kree to free Black Bolt from his Skrull captors. To that end, the Kree greatly enhance Lockjaw's teleportation powers, enabling him to teleport himself and others over vast interplanetary distances.[25]

Other versions

Earth X

In the alternate future of Earth X, Lockjaw is shot by some gaseous bullet and murdered by Maximus. His teleportation-forehead assembly is seemingly the only part of him that has survived. It is used by Black Bolt and the other Inhumans to investigate happenings on Earth.

Marvel Knights 2099

Lockjaw is one of the few Royal family members to survive to the year 2099; Maximus the Mad had slain the rest. The Inhumans had established themselves on a space station also called Attilan.[26]

Marvel Zombies

Lockjaw appears zombified along with the Royal Family of the Inhumans, creating a portal for them to meet with the Kingpin.[27] He is later seen trying to attack Machine Man. The heroic android tricks Lockjaw into teleporting to the mainstream Marvel Universe. Lockjaw is tricked into eating an explosive-laden human brain. He is destroyed in the explosion.[28] Another Lockjaw is seen when the zombie virus spreads to "Earth Z". He too is zombiefied and assists in slaying the "Warbound". He was captured by Machine Man, Ultron and Jocasta.[29]

Ultimate Marvel

Lockjaw also appears in Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1. In this incarnation, he has teleportation powers as well. He leaves the Inhumans' Himalayan refuge with Crystal, who is running away because she was being forced to marry Black Bolt's brother, Maximus (only Crystal suspects he is mad). Lockjaw assists in saving Crystal from her pursuing guards but they eventually drag her back home anyway. They leave him behind and he brings the Fantastic Four for assistance. This is not well received as most of Inhuman society severely dislikes any outsiders. Black Bolt ends up destroying the evacuated Attilan simply because the Four "contaminated" it. Several of the Inhumans indicate they had conspired for Lockjaw to be left behind in the human world.[30]

In other media

Television

  • Lockjaw appears in the 1978 Fantastic Four animated series. In the episode "Blastaar, the Living Bomb Burst," he teams up with Blastaar.
  • Lockjaw appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "Inhuman Nature." In the episode "Planet Monster" Pt. 2, Lockjaw (alongside Black Bolt and Gorgon) are among the superheroes that help the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and the Avengers fight the forces of the Supreme Intelligence.
  • Lockjaw appears in the Guardians of the Galaxy episode "Crystal Blue Persuasion."[citation needed] He brings the Guardians of the Galaxy to Attilan at the time when the Inhumans have come down with a plague that causes crystals to grow on their bodies. Lockjaw was present when Maximus uses mind-control technology on Black Bolt. When Ronan the Accuser steals Maximus' mind-control helmet as part of his plan to destroy Attilan, Lockjaw is ordered by a mind-controlled Black Bolt to take him and Star-Lord to the Terrigen Crystal caverns beneath Attilan. Upon Star-Lord using the CryptoCube, Lockjaw was among the Inhumans cured of the plague. After Medusa thanks the Guardians of the Galaxy on Black Bolt's behalf, Star-Lord has Lockjaw fetch his baseball.

Video games

  • Lockjaw appears as a non-playable hero in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. His duty was to send the heroes to the Shi'ar galaxy and Skrull homeworld to gather implements necessary to defeating a divinely-empowered Doctor Doom. Also though not there in appearance, the game implies that the mini-portals used in the game for midpoint to home-base transport are made by Lockjaw since every time the player tries to create a portal outside the circumstances when that is possible, the message "Lockjaw cannot create a portal in that area" appears. This creates somewhat of a continuity error since when the player gains that ability, it is attributed to an experimental teleportation device created by S.H.I.E.L.D. He also has special "conversations" with Spider-Man, Deadpool, and Thing.

Non-fiction

  • The debate over Lockjaw's sentience is discussed in Peter David's non-fiction book 'Writing For Comics'. In this, he discussed how he tried to go with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's original assertion that Lockjaw was a 'dumb animal'.[31] He appears in a discussion of Marvel comics in a reprinted segment of a Casey At The Bat parody in 'The Penguin Book of Comics'. In the context, he has accompanied Crystal to the baseball game.[32]

Reception

In August 2009, TIME listed Lockjaw as one of the "Top 10 Oddest Marvel Characters".[33]

References

  1. ^ Inhumans Special #1
  2. ^ Fantastic Four #45-48
  3. ^ Fantastic Four #55-58; Fantastic Four Annual #4
  4. ^ Fantastic Four #61-62
  5. ^ Fantastic Four #82-83
  6. ^ Fantastic Four #117
  7. ^ Avengers #110
  8. ^ Fantastic Four #150
  9. ^ Fantastic Four Annual #12
  10. ^ The Thing #3
  11. ^ X-Factor #71–72
  12. ^ Marvel Graphic Novel: The Inhumans
  13. ^ Avengers #334
  14. ^ Avengers #336-338
  15. ^ Ka-Zar #12
  16. ^ Son of M (2006)
  17. ^ New Avengers #9
  18. ^ Secret Invasion: Inhumans
  19. ^ "Inside Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers". Newsarama. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  20. ^ War of Kings #1-6 (March-Aug. 2009)
  21. ^ War of Kings: Who Will Rule? One-Shot (Nov. 2009)
  22. ^ New Avengers #3 (2013)
  23. ^ Ms. Marvel #7 (2014)
  24. ^ Ms. Marvel #8-11 (2014)
  25. ^ Secret Invasion: Inhumans #3
  26. ^ Marvel Knights 2099 (2004)
  27. ^ Marvel Zombies 3 #2
  28. ^ Marvel Zombies 3 #4
  29. ^ Marvel Zombies Return #4 (2009)
  30. ^ Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1 (2005)
  31. ^ David, Peter (2006). Writing for Comics. Impact. p. 112. ISBN 9781581807301.
  32. ^ Perry, George (1971). The Penguin Book of Comics. Penguin Group. p. 181. ISBN 0-14-002802-1.
  33. ^ "Top 10 Oddest Marvel Characters". Time. August 31, 2009.
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