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Quote1.png I -- Have -- AWAKENED! Quote2.png
Fin Fang Foom[src]


Early Life

Fin Fang Foom (Earth-616) from Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 3 3 0001.jpg

Fin Fang Foom is a Makluan, a shape-shifting alien being from the world of Kakaranthara (also known as Maklu IV) in the Maklu system of the Greater Magellanic Cloud. He resembles a somewhat anthropomorphic Chinese dragon. Foom and several other like-minded members of his race departed their peaceful homeworld centuries ago with the intention of conquering other planets. Landing on Earth in ancient China, the crew used their natural shape-shifting powers to mimic human form, intending to enter human society and bide their time before beginning their conquest. The navigator of the craft, Foom instead elected to serve as a "back-up" in case something went wrong, and was placed in a tomb and given a herb that would send him into a deep slumber, so that he might sleep while his crew entered man's world.[9]

8th Century

Fin Fang Foom was somehow briefly awakened in the 8th Century, and returned to sleep through a second application of the herb. He consequently entered into Chinese legend -- whose name, roughly translated, means "He Whose Limbs Shatter Mountains and Whose Back Scrapes the Sun". A group of humans were placed as guards outside his tomb, passing the job on to their descendants. The surrounding region became known as the Valley of the Sleeping Dragon.[10]


Foom slept until the year 1961, when he was deliberately awakened by teenager Chen Liuchow, whose homeland was under threat from the Communist Chinese. Liuchow taunted Foom with the threat of the herb, goading the dragon into chasing him, and led him straight into the Communist camp, which Foom decimated. Liuchow subsequently led him back into his tomb, where the herb returned Foom to his sleep.[10]

The Collector

At some point, the sleeping Fin Fan Foom was captured by the Elder of the Universe known as the Collector and imprisoned in his subterranean collection of monsters.[11] Foom and the other monsters were liberated when the Mole Man attacked the facility, but were later rounded up by the recently-formed Fantastic Four and deposited on Monster Isle.[12] The island had no real security measures, however, and Foom, being more intelligent than his fellow monsters, simply departed the island and returned to his hibernation. Outside forces again acted upon him as the madman called Doctor Vault took mental control of Foom and had him attack It the Living Colossus.[13] Resisting control, Foom instead helped It fend off an invasion of Earth by the alien race called the Stonians, thus saving the planet for his own race to later conquer. Vault's mind control again briefly forced Foom to battle It, and Foom overpowered his opponent with martial arts before freeing his mind and returning to his tomb yet again.[14]

Aan Taanu

Years later, Fin Fang Foom was again roused from his slumber when his body was possessed by the demon Aan Taanu.[15] Combating the group of occult adventurers known as the Legion of the Night in New York, Taanu was exorcised from Foom's body by his opponents, and the confused Foom once again escaped to his resting place.[16]

The Mandarin

Fin Fang Foom (Earth-616) from Iron Man Vol 1 262 001.jpg

At some point the villainous Mandarin was directed to the Valley of the Sleeping Dragon by the starship captain Axonn-Karr, in the human guise of Chen Hsuin.[17][18] There the Mandarin ransacked the starship for artifacts, including his now-signature rings of power.[19][20] He also awoke Fin Fang Foom, using him to threaten the Chinese government.[21][22] Iron Man quickly confronted the villains and was defeated, but when the remaining dozen other Makluans shed their human forms to begin their conquest, Iron Man and the Mandarin combined forces to combat the threat.[23][24] Ultimately the Mandarin combined the power of his rings with Iron Man's armor, yielding a small nuclear blast which wiped the aliens out.[25]

New Body

This was not, however, the end of Fin Fang Foom.[26] Though his body was destroyed, his spirit endured by bonding itself to a small dragon statue.[27] This statue was later stolen from a curio shop by teenager Billy Yuan at Foom's mental urging. Using Yuan's body as a conduit for his power, Foom summoned thousands of lizards from the sewers beneath New York, merging them with Billy's body to recreate his own form.[28] Iron Man was successfully able to defeat him, however, with some help from the last remnants of Billy's mind within Foom's own, and he was taken into the custody of Sunset Bain.[29]

Justice League of America

Legal complications resulted in Foom being exiled to Monster Isle once again, where he and several other monsters briefly battled the dimensionally-displaced Justice League of America.[30]

Battling the Hulk

Back on Monster Isle, he escaped again to Antarctica to find isolation. Resting there, he was encased in ice, and when he was released from his frozen state he shape shifted into a humanoid form. He also found a base where it just so happened that Dr. Bruce Banner was located. After an incident at the base caused Doc Banner to hulk out, Foom witnessed the Hulk and believed he could become and ally. However after returning to his true dragon form the two creatures exchanged blows. During the fight the Hulk threw Foom out of the atmosphere where Foom ended up on the moon.[31]

Midgard Serpent

Shortly after this, Thor was heard to claim that the Hall of Bones on Asgard was crafted from the skeleton of Fin Fang Foom, who he professed to have slain.[32] This is actually probably a form of the Midgard Serpent, whom Thor also fought, and who has also taken a form similar to that of Fin Fang Foom.[33]

Change of Heart

Having spent some time rethinking his role in the world, Foom had become a follower of Buddhism, and, with the rest of his crew gone, he decided to reform. He wilfully entered into a rehabilitation program spearheaded by Reed Richards, in which he and three other monsters - the robot Elektro, the giant ape Gorgilla, and the alien Googam - were shrunk down to human size, hypnotically stripped of their powers, and allowed to enter human society. Taking up a job as head chef in a Chinese restaurant within the Baxter Building.[34]


Foom later teamed up with the other monsters to defeat the microverse's size-changing warlord, Tim Boo Baa. For a time the four were celebrated as minor heroes.[35]

How Fin Fang Foom Saved Christmas

During Christmas time in New York City, Wong, manservant to Doctor Strange walked down the street past many bitter New Yorkers, one of which knocked him into Fin Fang Foom. Since he loved reading stories about him as a child, Wong decided to follow him down the street. Soon, they ended up in Times Square, where a big rig with a giant robotic Santa was causing a traffic jam. As it turned out, Hydra was hidden on the truck and the robotic Santa came to life. Wong looked to Foom for help in stopping them, but Foom hated humans and refused to help. Crushed, Wong battled Hydra alone. Unfortunately, Wong was no match for them alone, so Foom helped him. Next Wong, under Foom's orders, drove the truck into the rampaging Santa, which knocked it onto the truck. Then, Foom sneezed fire into the robot's gas tank, blowing it up. The Hydra agents surround Wong and Foom. Luckily, a neighborhood faction of Hydra appeared and started arguing with the other Hydra agents. Foom takes the opportunity to incite a fight between them. Afterwards, Wong asked Foom why he saved him. Foom said, despite his hatred for humanity, he disliked seeing others fight alone. Wong offered to make him dinner with his master but Foom turned him down. As Foom walked away, Wong wondered what it would be like to be the last of his kind like Foom.[36]

Heroic Age

Fin Fang Foom later had to battle to Squirrel Girl and lost like many before him. This fight is what led her to leave the Great Lakes Avengers.[37]


The Roxxon Energy Corporation had psychic mutant Mentallo mind-control Fin Fang Foom and other giant monsters in a plot to take over an island and drill for oil.[38][39]

Tyrannus vs. Hulk

Fin Fang Foom from The Incredible Hulks Vol 1 631.jpg

Tyrannus' wishing well summoned Fin Fang Foom to Las Vegas alongside Arm'Cheddon, Bi-Beast, Umar, and a Wendigo to fight Hulk.[40] After Umar imprisoned Arm'Cheddon, Bi-Beast, and Wendigo in the Dark Dimension, Fin Fang Foom accompanied Tyrannus into raiding it.[41]

Kei Kawade

When Kei Kawade was vacationing with his family in Oahu, Hawaii, he drew a picture of Fin Fang Foom fighting Hulk. This causes Fin Fang Foom and Hulk to appear outside of where Kei Kawade is vacationing.[42]

Monsters Unleashed

At the time when Leviathons have been appearing around the world, Fin Fang Foom confronted Kei Kawade alongside Gorgilla, Green Thing, and Zzutak. Fin Fang Foom was the one who told Kei about the recklessness of his monster summoning through drawing.[43] Fin Fang Foom was later seen falling out of the sky alongside the other monsters.[44] Fin Fang Foom rallied the other monsters to help fight the Leviathon Tide where Tim Boo Ba told him that they are not fighting on their own volition. Fin Fang Foom and the other monsters teleported away following their victory against the Leviathons.[45] Kei Kawade teleported Fin Fang Foom to help the Heroes for Hire against the Leviathons in Hell's Kitchen.[46] When the Leviathon Mother defeats most of the heroes and Goliathons, Fin Fang Foom engages the Leviathon Mother and is swallowed until Kei Kawade arrives with his own monsters. Following the Leviathon Mother's death and the retreating of the other Leviathons, Fin Fang Foom and the other Goliathons confronted Kei. Though Kei thanks them for their help, Fin Fang Foom warns Kei about summoning them again. Fin Fang Foom and the Goliathons are teleported away.[47]

Agents of Wakanda

After returning to Earth,[48] Fin Fang Foom decided to get rid of his inner demons and cleanse himself. This worked, but he was reduced to much smaller scale, while his negative emotions he had just purged became full on living Makluans on their own and deemed Foom a coward and traitor, forcing him to flee to the Avengers Mountain for help. However, instead of finding the Avengers he found the Agents of Wakanda who began fighting the other Makluans. Foom decided to hide while the ordeal was going on, until he was discovered by Broo who convinced him to face his dark side and do the right thing. Foom confronted his living dark emotions, and reemerged with them becoming whole once more, but with his dark emotions having returned, he himself began laying waste to the heroes. Thankfully, Broo managed to convince him to not attack them, so Foom formed a truce with the heroes and left.[49]

Powers and Abilities

Power Grid[56]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Master: Single Form of Combat:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/Single Type: Long Range:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Superhuman:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Incalculable:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Gifted


  • Makluan Physiology: Foom possesses various superhuman attributes common among his race. It isn't known, however, if the level of Foom's various powers is average or above average for a Kakarantharaian.
    • Superhuman Strength: Foom possesses vast superhuman strength, the full limits of which aren't known. At his peak, however, it is known that he is able to lift well in excess of 100 tons.[50]
    • Superhuman Stamina: Foom's advanced musculature is far more efficient than the musculature of a human being. As a result, his muscles produce considerably less fatigue toxins than the muscles of a human. At his peak, he can exert himself physically for up to 24 hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him.[50]
    • Superhuman Durability: Foom's scaly body is highly resistant to all forms of conventional physical injury. He has been shown to withstand high caliber bullets, anti-tank weaponry, falls from tremendous heights, temperature extremes of both hot and cold, great impact forces and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury. Foom can also survive in a vacuum environment, such as outer space, for an undefined period of time. As a result, he either has no need to breathe or can hold his breath for much longer than a human.[50]
    • Superhuman Longevity: Foom, like all members of his race, has an extraordinarily long lifespan. He has existed on Earth for thousands of years, though he remains as physically able now as when he first arrived. However, this doesn't mean that he is fully immune to ageing.[25]
    • Shape-shifting: Foom possesses the ability to alter both his physical appearance and size to a considerable degree. Foom can temporarily make himself look like a human being and has demonstrated the ability to increase his overall height from between 32 and 255 feet in the past.[50]
    • Regenerative Healing Factor: In spite of his high resistance, it is possible to cause Foom injury. If injured, his body's superior metabolism enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged or destroyed tissues much faster and more extensively than a human being. It is possible for Foom's healing capabilities to regrow severed limbs, though he may have to enter a state of hibernation to do so.[50]
    • Spiritual Possession: If Foom's body were to sustain injury beyond his natural ability to heal, his body will die but his spirit will remain as viable as ever and doesn't cross over into some form of afterlife. Foom's spirit can then possess the bodies of other beings, including humans. Foom can use these other bodies as hosts for a while before his energies wind up burning them out and killing them. However, what he typically does is somehow transform the body he inhabits into a copy of his original body possessing all of his various natural attributes. This ultimately explains Foom's reappearances despite having been witnessed being destroyed on multiple occasions.[51]
    • Transmogrification (Potentially): Foom can project a transformative power beam from his eyes in order to physically morph anything he lays his eyes upon. This can range from transforming people into animals and rewriting brain function to mimic their states or animating lifeless matter and control their movements and actions.[52]
    • Flight: Foom's large, leathery wings are able to propel him through the air at great speeds for extended periods of time. While the upper limit of his flight speed isn't exactly known, it is believed to be well under the speed of sound.[50]
    • Energy Assimilation: Fin Fang Foom, while under the control of Tyrannus has shown that he can physically metabolize on raw energy and then bend it too his wishes. Able to scarf down a cluster of gamma nukes while growing in power, before regurgitating them as lethal projectiles akin to a fire breath attack.[53]
    • Telepathy: Foom has demonstrated that he possesses some degree of telepathic abilities, the full limits of which aren't known. Foom uses his telepathy to communicate with others and it's also known that he can control the minds of other reptilian life. Through some unknown means, possibly due to other psionic abilities, Foom once merged a number of reptiles together, creating a new body for himself.[50][26]
    • Acid Mist: Foom is able to expel a combustible mist from his mouth that has a highly acidic corrosive effect, though the mist actually resembles fire rather than mist itself. Foom's mist is able to quickly burn through most known substances or he can purposely channel the mist in the form of powerful concussive blasts.[10]
    • Asexual Reproduction: As a Makluan, Foom has the preternatural ability to self reproduce dozens to hundreds of Makluan eggs at a time by his lonesome.[54]
    • Aspect Expulsion: Fin Fang Foom was able to split his negative emotions from himself resulting in being reduced to a small scale, while his emotions manifested into their own beings.[49]


  • Foom is highly experienced with and in the use of the advanced technology of his home planet. He is an accomplished and proven spacecraft navigator and has proven himself to be an excellent hand to hand combatant. He has mastered the fighting style of his people, which happens to be identical to a number of Asian martial arts.[25]


  • Foom is extremely vulnerable to an unidentified herbal leaf found only in China. This herb is capable of quickly putting Foom to sleep for extremely long periods of time, perhaps indefinitely, as long as it remains in his general vicinity.[10]



Formerly Makluan starship.

See Also

Links and References


  1. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 4 #8
  2. 2.0 2.1 Beta Ray Bill #1
  3. New X-Men Vol 2 #45
  4. Drax #3
  5. Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #7
  6. Nova Vol 4 #19
  7. 7.0 7.1 Marvel Monsters Vol 2 #1
  8. Fantastic Four Vol 5 #1
  9. Iron Man #274
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Strange Tales #89
  11. Marvel Monsters: Monsters on the Prowl #1
  12. Marvel Monsters: Fin Fang Four #1
  13. Astonishing Tales #23
  14. Astonishing Tales #24
  15. The Legion of Night #1
  16. The Legion of Night #2
  17. Iron Man #261
  18. Iron Man #262
  19. Iron Man #263
  20. Iron Man #264
  21. Iron Man #265
  22. Iron Man #267
  23. Iron Man #268
  24. Iron Man #270
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 Iron Man #271-275 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "275-275" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "275-275" defined multiple times with different content
  26. 26.0 26.1 Iron Man Vol 3 #15
  27. Iron Man Vol 3 #16
  28. Iron Man Vol 3 #17
  29. Iron Man Vol 3 #18
  30. JLA/Avengers #1
  31. Hulk vs. Fin Fang Foom #1
  32. Thor #379
  33. Thor #380
  34. Giant-Size Avengers Vol 2 #1
  35. Hulk Monster-Size Special #1
  36. Marvel Holiday Special #2006
  37. Age of Heroes #3
  38. Astonishing X-Men Vol 3 #36-37
  39. Astonishing X-Men Vol 3 #39
  40. Incredible Hulks #631
  41. Incredible Hulks #633
  42. Totally Awesome Hulk #3
  43. Monsters Unleashed #1
  44. Monsters Unleashed Vol 2 #2
  45. Monsters Unleashed Vol 2 #3
  46. Monsters Unleashed Vol 2 #4
  47. Monsters Unleashed Vol 2 #5
  48. Tony Stark: Iron Man #1
  49. 49.0 49.1 Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #8
  50. 50.0 50.1 50.2 50.3 50.4 50.5 50.6 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #25
  51. Iron Man Vol 3 #15-17
  52. Avengers vs. Pet Avengers #2-3
  53. Incredible Hulks #634-635
  54. Drax #3-5
  55. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4
  56. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 4 8
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