# Alan Fagan

Alan Fagan is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

## Publication history

Mister Fear is the identity of multiple supervillains who use a special 'fear gas' fired from a gas pellet gun; the fourth version (Alan Fagan) first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #92 (April 1980) and was created by Steven Grant and Carmine Infantino.

## Fictional character biography

Alan Fagan was born in Madison, Wisconsin. He is Larry Cranston's nephew and Ariel Tremmore's father. When Larry seemingly died, he came into possession of the fear gas and other equipment. Unlike the other versions, Fagan's primary adversary was Spider-Man, not Daredevil.
As the fourth Mister Fear, Fagan attempted to use his fear-gas in blackmail schemes which were stymied by Spider-Man, with the aid of Hawkeye. Fagan was brutally attacked in prison, much of the skin carved from his face by men in the employ of Ariel, who used the skin to draw out the fear-gas residue his daughter used to turn herself into the villain Shock.
Fagan recovered from these injuries and received improved weaponry from Latveria's interim ruler Lucia von Bardas, including a suit of armor resembling a metallic version of the traditional Mister Fear costume. The weaponry was destroyed at the climax of the Secret War miniseries.
Fagan was one of the many criminals to escape from the Raft prison facility, being a thrall of the villain Crossfire. During his efforts in Crossfire's service, Fagan was again defeated by Spider-Man.
As opposed to Cranston, Fagan has been hired by the Hood to take advantage of the superhero community split caused by the Superhuman Registration Act.
During the Fear Itself storyline, Fagan discovers that the Serpent and the Worthy are outdoing his talents of inducing fear in people.

## Powers and abilities

Mister Fear employs a compound based on the flight scent pheromone—chemicals produced by most animals, used to communicate a variety of simple messages over distances. This flight-scent pheromone stimulates fear reactions in herd animals. The drug is tailored for human beings, whose reactions to pheromones are not completely understood. It induces severe anxiety, fear, and panic, and sometimes nightmarish hallucinations in his victims, rendering them incapable of fighting or resisting his will. The drug is most commonly used in the form of gas pellets shot from a gun. The pellets rupture on contact, releasing the flight scent, which is inhaled by the victim. The dosage contained in one pellet is enough to incapacitate a normal adult male for about 15 minutes, or an exceptionally fit male, such as Daredevil, for about five minutes. The side effects of anxiety, edginess, and mild nausea can persist for several days.
Alan Fagan discovered that the flight scent can be administered in other ways: he has used a miniature hypodermic needle mounted on his ring to inject a large dose of the liquid directly into his victim's bloodstream. He has also used a hand-held weapon that fires capsules of the fear gas. Small but effective doses of the flight scent can be absorbed through the pores in the skin within an enclosed space, but the length of time it takes limits its usefulness. Working with an unidentified chemist, Fagan has also adapted other pheromones to his use, including one that makes a man sexually irresistible to women. Alan is a highly adept businessman. He briefly wore a suit of armor, which presumably at least provided protection from injury. Chronic exposure to his various chemicals has resulted in accumulation of his fear drug within Fagan's skin. Though he has not proven able to utilize this himself, samples of his skin were used by Ariel Tremmore to gain superhuman powers as Shock.