Ravage (Marvel Comics)

Ravage (Geoffrey Crawford) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is also one of the Hulk's enemies.

Fictional character biography
Dr. Geoffrey Crawford was a professor at Desert State University who took undergraduate Bruce Banner under his wing to mentor him. Years later, Banner went to see his teacher and aid him in finding a cure for the Hulk. At this time, Crawford is paraplegic, but nevertheless able to create a machine that could filter out the gamma radiation from Bruce's body. He saw this as a way to regain his walking ability. By obtaining some samples of the Hulk's DNA, he knew it would allow him to use these recuperative powers on himself. First, Crawford reconfigured his own DNA so that it can match with Banner's. This turned him into a stronger beast similar to the Hulk: the monster called Ravage.

Ravage is more powerful than the Hulk and slightly larger. The key element which makes Ravage such a dangerous enemy is that he still has Dr. Crawford's mind and lust for power. Just after his first transformation, Ravage attacks Hulk, but he soon reverts to Crawford at sunrise, much like Banner initially transformed into the Hulk during nightfall and reverted to Banner at sunrise. Crawford turns Banner over to General Ross for fear of being stopped from becoming Ravage again.

Crawford adjusted his machine so that it will change him into Ravage permanently. He then attacks the university as Ravage and terrorizes those who had pitied him as Crawford. Ravage is only stopped when the Hulk formed an unlikely alliance with General Ross that allows his army to trap the villain in a state of suspended animation.

Powers and abilities
Ravage possesses immense strength, durability, and leaping while maintaining his own intellect. In this form, he was bigger and slightly stronger than the Hulk himself. He have acquired these amazing regenerative capabilities, as well as immunity to all known diseases from Banner. Crawford is highly skilled in the field of physics, even when power hungry.

Other versions
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, although Ravage/Dr. Geoffrey Crawford has never appeared, there are some links of him in other Hulk related characters. The character of Tyrone Cash, a vicious mobster with Hulk abilities is portrayed as a former mentor of Bruce Banner, and once was a frail scientist, Dr. Leonard Williams with MS, (much like Crawford) and the Ultimate Marvel version of Dr. Samuel Sterns is a bitter, old, wheelchair-using man who became a Hulk/Leader-like monster.

In other media
 Dr. Geoffrey Crawford / Ravage appears as a boss in Hulk, voiced by Paul Dobson. In the hopes of regaining his mobility and helping the Leader create an army of gamma warriors, Crawford tricks Banner into allowing him to use a "gamma orb" to absorb his gamma energy, claiming he wants to help cure Banner of the Hulk. Transforming into Ravage, Crawford summons two gamma creatures to assist him in fighting Banner as the Hulk until he is defeated and reverted to normal. Realizing the Leader had manipulated him, Crawford apologizes to Banner, though he later mounts a failed attempt at rebuilding the gamma orb so he can turn himself back into Ravage.
 Ravage appears as an unlockable playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers.

References

External links
 Ravage at Marvel.com

Comics characters introduced in 1998
Fictional characters with paraplegia
Fictional physicists
Fictional professors
Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics male supervillains
Marvel Comics mutates
Marvel Comics scientists