The Frankenstein Monster (retitled from The Monster of Frankenstein after the first five issues) is a comic book from Marvel Comics following the exploits of Marvel's version of Frankenstein's Monster, from his creation in mid 1800s through to his reappearance in modern times. Unsurprisingly, there are many monsters to be battled along the way.
The series is considered part of the shared Marvel Universe, but doesn't directly feature any pre-existing Marvel characters (other than Marvel's version of Dracula).
The Monster also made several appearences in creature-centric Anthology Comic Monsters Unleashed, which showcased his further adventures after his revival in the seventies.
It was adapted into a anime movie in 1981.
The Frankenstein Monster provides examples of:
- Bears Are Bad News: The Monster gains its signature vest by killing a bear which attacks him and taking its fur.
- Burn the Witch!: After the Monster leaves Antarctica, the first thing he is greeted with when he reaches civilization is a woman tied to a mast of a burning boat.
- Colourful Theme Naming: Members of I.C.O.N. are codenamed after colors, and they are led by an enigmatic figure only known as Rainbow.
- Covers Always Lie: Much of the covers rely on classic "rampaging monster" imagery, with women in peril and taglines screaming about terror and destruction. The Monster rarely takes part in these types of shenanigans.
- Cut Short: The series ended abruptly with #18, despite a 'next issue' box at the end of that story.
- Dead Guy on Display: When the Monster is discovered in the modern times, his barely living body is stolen and is placed in a sideshow attraction.
- Death by Childbirth: Vincent Frankenstein's wife dies while giving birth to his son as he mucks about in his laboratory.
- Epigraph: Issue five has a quote from CCR song "Bad Moon Rising" in its first page.
- Eyepatch of Power: In Norway, the Monster fights an old warrior who has an eyepatch covering his right eye and a weighted bag in the place of his right hand.
- Fate of the Frankensteins: Vincent Frankenstein is the great grand-nephew of Victor. Like his ancestor, he is a scientist and has a hunchbacked assistant named Ivan. He finds the original Monster, still alive in this universe, and tells him he can transfer his brain into a more typical body, while promising to transfer Ivan's brain into the Monster. However, miscalculating the dose of anesthesia for the Monster causes everything to go wrong.
- Fiction as Cover-Up: Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein exists in-universe, and the Monster steals a copy from a Manhattan book shop in the present day.
- Fight Dracula: After he is tricked into reviving Dracula, The Monster uses his gathered knowledge on vampires to fight him.
- For Science!: Robert Walton IV searches out the frozen Frankenstein Monster to learn the secret for Creating Life.
- Frankenstein's Monster: The series starts with a direct adaptation of Frankenstein and the Monster, Spared by the Adaptation, becomes the protagonist of the series as a whole.
- Fun with Acronyms: Used for I.C.O.N. (International Crime Organizations Nexus).
- Genetic Abomination: The Clone-Creature (or Night-Creature, or the Jigsaw Monster, the writing is bit inconsistent in that regard) is created from two dozen different animal DNAs, with the boar and alligator parts being most prominent in its actual appearance.
- Giant Spider: When the Monster finds his way into Castle Frankenstein, he finds out that it has been made into a center of an Evil Plan; a giant mutated spider is held within, and its venom is used to create an army of slaves.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: At one point the cyborg Berserker uses his own severed arm as a club.
- Human Popsicle: The Monster is discovered encased in ice in the first issue.
- The Igor: Vincent's assistant is a hunchbacked man named Ivan, who is also a brute who's almost as tall and strong as the Monster.
- Immune to Bullets: The Monster is this during his re-emergence in the seventies, despite how a single shot to his chest put him in ice for the second time in the past.
- Improvised Cross: The Monster defeats Dracula by putting two pieces of wood from the Count's broken coffin together, and keeping him out his cave hideout, exposing him to the rising morning sun.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: The Monster finds it saddening and angering when he is referred to as "it".
- Left Hanging: The series ends with the Monster being captured and meeting another living descendant of Dr. Frankenstein. The continuation of this story-point was featured in two issues of Iron Man two years later.
- Mugging the Monster: When the Monster arrives in modern-day Manhattan, a street gang decides to harass the 'freak'. It's not until they attack someone who tries to defend him that the Monster lashes out at them, though.
- Nebulous Evil Organization: I.C.O.N., a globe-spanning criminal organization that wants to scoop up the Monster's brain for their nefarious ends.
- Operation: [Blank]: I.C.O.N.'s Operation: Marauder, which is about creating an army of clone-soldiers to Take Over the World.
- Outdoor Bath Peeping: On his travels, the Monster comes across a Romani girl having night swim in a lake, and ends up staying to watch. He then saves her from a man who intends to kill her.
- Perpetual Frowner: The Monster in the issues set in 70s would always display a displeased sneer.
- Public Domain Character: The Monster, appearing like it did in the book.
- Savage Wolves: A pack of hungry wolves attack the monster, but they are quickly dealt with.
- Shout-Out: After Ralph Caccone and the Monster flee a modern-day murder scene, fearing that they'll be mistaken for the killers, Ralph compares them to the protagonists of Easy Rider - Ralph himself as Peter Fonda and the Monster as Dennis Hopper.
- Spared by the Adaptation: The first three issues directly adapt Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, retelling it through flashbacks. The ending changes so that the Monster lives on for more adventures.
- The Speechless: The Monster loses his ability to speak when a vampire bite tears his larynx.
- Third-Person Person: Ivan, a simple brute who works for Vincent Frankenstein, refers to himself in third person.
- This Was His True Form: After the Monster kills the werewolf in the fifth issue, it reverts back to human to reveal that it was in fact the woman he had protected throughout the story.
- Two Decades Behind: The Norwegian village that the Monster ventures into in 1898 still uses Viking rowboats for travel.
- Undeathly Pallor: Since he is constructed from dead flesh, the Monster has a light blue skin.
- Wham Line: After the Monster destroys Dracula, a voice off-panel speaks to him."Good morning. I understand that you've looking for me... My name is Vincent Frankenstein!"
- Whole Costume Reference: The monster's clothes resemble what he was wearing in Son of Frankenstein.
- "You!" Exclamation: When the Monster meets with his creator in 1858, he lets out a "You!" Retelling of this events in the next issue turns it into even more melodramatic "Not you! Not now!"
