Charles Weiderman (Earth 1)

**Charles "Charlie" Weiderman** is the second **Molten Man** and former classmate of Peter Parker and Mark Allan-Raxton.

## History

### Early Life

Charles Weiderman was the one student at Midtown High School more bullied than Peter Parker. Even Peter took advantage of Charlie to score some points with the in-crowd before guilt led him to make friends with his scorned classmate, but Charlie, beaten by his father at home and humiliated at school, only sought revenge. First, he ingested a homemade version of Captain America's super-soldier formula, which only landed him in the hospital; later, he tried to pull a knife on his tormentors. When Charlie slashed his classmates' tires and lied about it, Ben Parker told him never to come see Peter again.

### Adult Life

As an adult, Charlie still searched for vindication. His father died and left him enough money to help fund the creation of a porous polymer compound that could completely cover a soldier and protect him from harm. Charlie eventually realized that his "skinsuit" would have to be composed of the energy-absorbing metal Vibranium to protect the wearer from any impacts. Charlie talked Peter into a letter of recommendation that swayed industrialist Tony Stark but lead Stark to believe that Peter was involved with the project; aware of Spider-Man's true identity, Stark authorized a large grant. When Peter saw Charlie's hasty shortcuts involving the volatile Vibranium, however, he wanted to pull the plug on the project. Frantic, Charlie rushed the procedure and just after he realized that Peter had been right, the Vibranium blew up, destroying the building and encasing him in a skinsuit that bestowed the metal's properties on him. He then accidentally kills two firefighters who tried to help him from the rubble.

Attempting to duck responsibility as well maddened by the chemicals in his suit and by Peter's insistence that he turn himself in, Charlie went on a rampage, locating and killing Rich and Sheila, a young married couple who had both ridiculed and bullied him back in high school, fighting Spider-Man, and planning to kill Aunt May and Mary Jane. Unable to track down the Parkers, Charlie settled for destroying Peter's apartment and the family home in Forest Hills. Recalling that the fluid Vibranium could be made solid by the use of extreme pressure, Spider-Man forced Charlie into an atmospheric chamber at Stark International, causing the skinsuit to harden, immobilizing him inside. Although doctors can penetrate the suit enough to take care of Charlie's bodily needs, he remains trapped within, perhaps for the rest of his life.

### Cured

Charlie was mentioned by Harry Osborn as being used as a test subject for the cure used on Mark Raxton. He was apparently cured as well.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**Meta-human Physiology:** Charlie's Vibranium skinsuit caused his meta-gene to manifest in metal manipulation and vibranium manipulation.

* **Superhuman Strength:** Weiderman has superhuman strength sufficient to lift an SUV and go toe-to-toe with Spider-Man. The madder he gets, the stronger he gets.
* **Superhuman Speed:**
* **Metal Manipulation:** Charlie
* **Organic Vibranium Transformation:**
	+ **Fire Immunity:** His Vibranium flesh is fireproof
	+ **Kinetic Energy Manipulation:**
	+ **Vibration Manipulation:**

### Former Powers

**Vibranium skinsuit:** Charlie wore a skinsuit made of polymer compound and Vibranium.

* **Superhuman Strength:** Weiderman has superhuman strength sufficient to lift an SUV and go toe-to-toe with Spider-Man. The madder he gets, the stronger he gets.
* **Fire Immunity:** His Vibranium skinsuit is fireproof
* **Vibration Absorption:** The skinsuit can absorb impact, rendering him virtually invulnerable.
	+ **Vibration Emission:** The skinsuit can vibrate at frequencies that allow him to split diamonds and slough off Spider-Man's webbing.