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Strong Guy

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Strong Guy
Strong Guy and Polaris as depicted in X-Men Series 1 (1992) Impel Marketing trading cards. Art by Jim Lee.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe New Mutants #29 (July 1985)
Created byChris Claremont
Bill Sienkiewicz
In-story information
Alter egoGuido Carosella
SpeciesHuman Mutant
Team affiliationsX-Factor Investigations
Singularity Investigations
X-Factor
The Arena
AbilitiesAbility to rechannel kinetic energy into physical strength

Strong Guy (Guido Carosella) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz and first appeared in The New Mutants #29 (July 1985).[1]

Publication history

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Strong Guy first appeared in The New Mutants #29 (July 1985) as Lila Cheney's bodyguard known only as Guido. He joined X-Factor in X-Factor #71, and was first called Strong Guy in X-Factor #72. Guido's struggles with picking a codename are used for comic effect in the story, and X-Factor writer Peter David admitted that in real life he had difficulty coming up with a decent codename for the character.[2]

Fictional character biography

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Early life

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Born in Rhinebeck, New York to working-class Italian parents, Guido Carosella gained a fortune in a settlement when his parents were killed by falling space debris, and was subsequently taken in by his aunt and uncle. His mutant powers were triggered in childhood during a battle with schoolyard bullies, causing him to become overly muscular and isolate further from his peers. Guido coped with his pain by developing an outgoing "public face", rarely letting even those close to him see him in discomfort.

During the incident with the bus, another boy, Charlie Ronalds, was hurt by Guido's flailing. Due to luck, Charlie survived with only a slight limp. He would later become the villain Charon.[3]

Lila Cheney and Muir Island

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After losing much of his fortune, Guido becomes a roadie and bouncer for Lila Cheney.[4][5][6][7] He later works with several Muir Island mutants to defeat the Shadow King, after which they form a new incarnation of X-Factor.[8][9]

X-Factor

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Guido's teammates are Havok, Polaris, Wolfsbane, and Quicksilver. Required to come up with a codename, Guido announces himself as "Strong Guy" at an X-Factor press conference after hearing a reporter say, "He must be the strong guy! Every super-group has a strong guy!".[10]

Mister Sinister manipulates Strong Guy into destroying the Washington Monument while fighting Slab.[11] With X-Factor, he aids the American-supported Trans-Sabal government in a war against rebels, and fights the Hulk, then battles the Mutant Liberation Front.[12][13] He also fights the Brotherhood of Mutants.[14]

In The Infinity War, Strong Guy is among the superheroes who travel across the multiverse to battle Adam Warlock's alter-egos, the Magus and the Goddess.[15][16] Lila Cheney later attempts to have him return to her, but he refuses.[17]

Strong Guy also develops a deep friendship with Wolfsbane. At one point, he personally brings her to Muir Island to get her medical attention.[18] His other best friend on the team, Multiple Man, is seemingly killed attempting to remove the Legacy Virus from his body.[19]

Strong Guy remains a member of X-Factor until an incident in Madripoor. While battling the K'Lanti, he absorbs the energy of one of their bombs and suffers a severe heart attack.[20] Afterwards, he is put in suspended animation to recover until Forge heals him.[21] Afterwards, he chooses to accompany Lila and her band in their travels instead of rejoining the increasingly fractious X-Factor.[22]

Strong Guy was later seen in Tokyo as a member of a mutant fighting club called the Arena, in which the mutant fighters were being secretly enslaved by other mutants. He helped Storm and Callisto in taking down the enslavers.[23]

X-Factor Investigations

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In Peter David's run on X-Factor, in the aftermath of Marvel's "Decimation" storyline, Strong Guy moves to New York City to become an enforcer for Jamie Madrox's detective agency, X-Factor Investigations. In the process, he rejoins many of his former teammates from the previous incarnation of X-Factor.[24][25]

Strong Guy later considers becoming the sheriff of Mutant Town, but changes his mind when Arcade destroys the town.[26][27] He is later killed protecting J. Jonah Jameson from super-powered assassins, but is resurrected by Layla Miller. However, Strong Guy no longer has a soul, which leads him to become more aggressive and kill Wolfsbane's son Tier to become the lord of Hell.[28][29][30][31][32][33] Red Hulk eventually convinces Strong Guy to abandon the position, but he remains in Hell to regain his soul.[34]

Return to Earth

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Strong Guy returns in Death of X, along with other mutants, helping the X-Men.[35]

In Secret Empire, Strong Guy is seen among the inhabitants of the mutant nation of New Tian following Hydra's takeover of the United States.[36]

New Mutants: Dead Souls

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At some point, Strong Guy regains his soul with help from Magik and joins her team of New Mutants. While fighting his teammates, who have been infected with the Transmode virus, he suffers from a heart attack, but Danielle Moonstar saves him by infecting him with a techno-organic virus.[33]

Last X-Men and Death

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A still techno-organic Strong Guy is held captive by O*N*E and placed inside a Sentinel. He is rescued by Cyclops and Wolverine before sacrificing himself to save the others by absorbing massive amounts of energy.[37]

Revived on Krakoa

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Strong Guy is later seen on Krakoa, having been revived by the Krakoan council like many other previously dead mutants.[38]

Powers and abilities

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Strong Guy possesses superhuman strength which he can increase by absorbing kinetic energy and use it to enhance his physical strength to an unmeasured limit. He cannot store the energy he absorbs for very long, and must physically expel it within 90 seconds to prevent it from permanently distorting his body.[39] He possesses superhuman stamina and durability.[volume & issue needed]

An unusual percentage of his body mass is stored in the upper half of his body, causing him to appear top-heavy and thus very imposing. Strong Guy's powers first appeared after being beaten by bullies and hit by a bus; unable to expel the energy, his body was permanently warped.[3] Strong Guy's maximum strength level is such that he has sufficient power to move the Blob,[40] or briefly stand toe to toe with the Hulk, although the latter's rage-enhanced strength was so powerful that the energy of channeling merely one blow put Strong Guy in danger of a heart attack afterwards.[41][33] Guido is formidable at hand-to-hand combat in the style of street fighting.[volume & issue needed]

Guido has a gifted intellect and is a talented actor and comedian. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in drama from New York University.[volume & issue needed]

Strong Guy is nearsighted and wears corrective "bottlecap" lenses.[volume & issue needed]

Reception

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  • In 2014, Entertainment Weekly ranked Strong Guy 94th in their "Let's rank every X-Man ever" list.[42]
  • In 2018, Comic Book Resources (CBR) ranked Strong Guy 8th in their "Age Of Apocalypse: The 30 Strongest Characters In Marvel's Coolest Alternate World" list.[43]

Other versions

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An alternate universe variant of Strong Guy from Earth-295 appears in Age of Apocalypse.[44]

In other media

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Television

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Video games

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Strong Guy appears as a playable card in Marvel Snap.[47][39][48]

Merchandise

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  • In 1993, Toy Biz released an action figure of Strong Guy sporting his X-Factor uniform as part of their X-Men series.
  • Marvel and Planet Studios released a 1.25 inch/3.175 cm Full Figure pin of Strong Guy, 1994.
  • Bowen Designs produced a Strong Guy Mini-Bust, sculpted by Jeremy Pelletier, July 2012. It was released in Phase 5, Bust # 288.[49]
  • Hasbro released a 6" scale action figure of Strong Guy as the Build-A-Figure for a wave of Deadpool and X-Men characters in their Marvel Legends line in 2020.[50]

References

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  1. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 360. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. ^ O'Neill, Patrick Daniel (February 1992). "Peter David". Comics Interview. No. #105. Fictioneer Books. p. 21.
  3. ^ a b X-Factor Annual #8 (May 1993)
  4. ^ New Mutants #29 (July 1985)
  5. ^ Uncanny X-Men #259-260 (March - April 1990)
  6. ^ Uncanny X-Men #270 (November 1990)
  7. ^ Uncanny X-Men #273-274 (February - March 1991)
  8. ^ Uncanny X-Men #278 (July 1991)
  9. ^ X-Factor #70 (September 1991)
  10. ^ X-Factor #71-72 (October - November 1991)
  11. ^ X-Factor #74 (January 1992)
  12. ^ Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #390-392 (February - April 1992)
  13. ^ X-Factor #76-78 (March - May 1992)
  14. ^ X-Factor #82 (September 1992)
  15. ^ Infinity War #1–6 (June - November 1992)
  16. ^ Infinity Crusade #1–6 (June - November 1993)
  17. ^ X-Factor #93 (August 1993)
  18. ^ X-Factor #103 (June 1994)
  19. ^ X-Factor #100 (March 1994)
  20. ^ X-Factor #111 (February 1995)
  21. ^ X-Factor #135 (June 1997)
  22. ^ Strong Guy Reborn one-shot (September 1997)
  23. ^ X-Treme X-Men #37-39 (February 2004)
  24. ^ X-Factor (vol. 3) #1 (January 2006)
  25. ^ X-Factor (vol. 3) #10 (October 2006)
  26. ^ X-Factor (vol. 3) #24 (December 2007)
  27. ^ X-Factor (vol. 3) #31-32 (July-August 2008)
  28. ^ X-Factor #217 (May 2011)
  29. ^ X-Factor #243 (November 2012)
  30. ^ X-Factor #256 (July 2013)
  31. ^ Curran, Robert (August 17, 2021). "X-Men: How a Fun-Loving Mutant Became Ruler of Hell". CBR. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  32. ^ Cronin, Brian (October 29, 2018). "Why Isn't Strong Guy the King of Hell Anymore?". CBR. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  33. ^ a b c Webber, Tim (February 21, 2019). "X-Men: Marvel's Unluckiest Mutant Has Died (Again)". CBR. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  34. ^ Thunderbolts (vol. 2) #22 (April 2014)
  35. ^ Death of X #2-3 (December 2016 - January 2017)
  36. ^ Secret Warriors (vol. 2) #2 (July 2017)
  37. ^ Uncanny X-Men (vol. 5) #12 (April 2019)
  38. ^ Cable (vol. 4) #1 (May 2020)
  39. ^ a b Garcia, Mayra (September 21, 2023). "10 Marvel Snap Cards That Would Crush Their Comic Variants". CBR. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  40. ^ X-Factor #107 (October 1994)
  41. ^ World War Hulk: X-Men #3 (October 2007)
  42. ^ Franich, Darren (June 9, 2022). "Let's rank every X-Man ever". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  43. ^ Lealos, Shawn S. (September 16, 2018). "Age Of Apocalypse: The 30 Strongest Characters In Marvel's Coolest Alternate World". CBR. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  44. ^ Gambit and the X-Ternals #1–4 (March - June 1995)
  45. ^ "Strong Guy Voice - X-Men '97 (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 29, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  46. ^ Gaul, Jack (May 6, 2024). "A Throwaway X-Men '97 Cameo Makes One X-Men Movie Failure Even More Obvious". CBR. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  47. ^ Steel, Tom (August 4, 2023). "Strong Guy: How To Fix Marvel Snap's Least Used Card". CBR. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  48. ^ Duran, Misael (May 19, 2022). "All characters and cards featured in Marvel Snap at launch". Gamepur. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  49. ^ "Strong Guy mini-bust - Bowen Designs". March 22, 2012. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  50. ^ Fallon, Sean (October 28, 2019). "New Comic Con Marvel Legends Waves Include Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and More". ComicBook.com. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
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