Silvermane

Silvermane
Silvermane as depicted in Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #96 (August 1984). Art by Al Milgrom.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Amazing Spider-Man #73 (June 1969)
Created by	Stan Lee (writer) John Buscema (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Silvio Manfredi
Species	Human cyborg
Team affiliations	The Maggia HYDRA
Notable aliases	Supreme Hydra
Abilities	Keen intellect Superhuman strength, stamina, durability, speed, longevity, and senses Use of various handguns

Silvermane (Silvio Manfredi) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A notorious crime boss and prominent figure in the Maggia, a fictional organized crime syndicate, he is usually depicted as an adversary of the superhero Spider-Man and the father of Joseph Manfredi. Silvermane later became a cyborg in an attempt to extend his lifespan.

The character has made appearances in several forms of media outside of comics, including animated series and video games.

Publication history

Silvermane first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #73, and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema.

The character's original storyline was about a mysterious stone tablet coveted by several villains. The "Tablet Saga" proved popular, although artist John Romita Sr. said that it was not originally intended as an arc, stating "We never even thought up Silvermane until the seventh issue [of the story arc], let alone a 'socko' ending."

Fictional character biography

Silvio Manfredi, nicknamed "Silvermane" for his near-white hair, is a professional criminal originally from Corleone, Sicily, Italy, that started his criminal career as a racketeer in the Maggia, eventually forming his own crime family and becoming a powerful Maggia Don.

In his first appearance, an elderly Silvermane forces Curt Connors to make a potion from an ancient clay tablet to grant himself immortality. However, the serum instead causes him to rapidly de-age and eventually fade from existence. Silvermane eventually reappeared, revealing that he had mystically aged to his forties. He started a new career and again quickly rose through the Maggia's ranks until he regained control of his family, the sought to form an alliance with Hydra, determined to take over the world as their leader, the Supreme Hydra. He was defeated by Daredevil, Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Silvermane reappeared in New York in an attempt to unite all of New York's gangs under his leadership and take over the criminal underworld, but his plans were complicated by the Green Goblin, who opposed him. During a confrontation between the Goblin, Silvermane and Spider-Man, Silvermane fell from a great height but survived.

Silvermane has worked with many super-villains, such as Hammerhead, and he has also been known to be a rival of the Kingpin, even once trying to assassinate the crime lord while he was suffering from amnesia. His former partner, Dominic Tyrone, assumed the identity of the Rapier and sought vengeance against Silvermane for betraying him by attempting to take his life. A flashback one-shot focused heavily on Silvermane's lifetime of corruption and crime, going back to his early career in Italy. The framework was reporter Ben Urich investigating the background of the Maggia. He learned that Silvermane was a legendary criminal figure for decades; mothers would even warn their children to behave or "One-Eye" would get them.

In his old age, Silvermane's injuries caused his youth serum to wear off, rendering him an invalid. Though bedridden, he continued to run his criminal empire until Dagger nearly killed him. Silvermane attempted to prolong his life by transforming himself into a cyborg. Kingpin gained control of his cyborg body until Dagger restored his life energy to him. His cyborg body was badly damaged by the first Jack O'Lantern during a gang war between Hammerhead and the Kingpin. Silvermane used a remote-controlled android doppelganger to battle Spider-Man. This was part of an attempt to boost the power of his remaining organic parts by harvesting new ones from Spider-Man's body. He attempted to drain his nemesis's radioactive blood to power a new, much stronger cyborg body. Silvermane also confronted Deathlok and the Punisher while setting up a major drug operation outside a grammar school. Even though he is no longer technically human, he has continued to remain active in the Maggia.

Silvermane attempted to take part in a meetup of various criminal warlords, during a time when Wilson Fisk had fallen from power. The meeting's goal was to divide up Fisk's territory and assets, but it did not go well. Silvermane was caught in the crossfire between the Secret Empire's forces and the Punisher. This was purely by coincidence as he was simply staying at the same motel as Punisher was. Silvermane used the resources of his personal semi-trailer and the cyborg bodies stored within to battle his way through the attackers and escape.

It was revealed some time later that Silvermane was killed during a shootout with Owl's gang at a New York City scrap yard. He was picked up by a magnet and dropped into a garbage compactor, crushing him to death and leaving his already weakened criminal syndicate without a leader. Months later, he apparently returns along with other deceased members of his gang during the Maggia's losing battle with the forces of Mister Negative. However, this is later revealed to be a ruse orchestrated by a mobster named Carmine: "Silvermane" is actually a lifelike robotic duplicate controlled by a hired Mysterio to give Carmine more influence within the Maggia and position him to take over. The tables are turned on Carmine when Mysterio uses the duplicate to murder him, seemingly as a plot to take over the Maggia himself.

Silvermane's head is shown to still be alive as it was found by a young boy when he traveled into the scrap yard, before then being stolen by the Shocker. The head is used as leverage by The Superior Foes of Spider-Man to take control of the Maggia, but the team members turn on each other when it comes time to decide who will actually be in charge. Shocker protects Silvermane from Punisher. In return, the crime boss nominates him as his successor to head the Maggia.

Silvermane is among the crime lords competing with Mister Negative in obtaining the Tablet of Life and Destiny to win the favor of Mayor Wilson Fisk.

During the "Gang War" storyline, Silvermane and Count Nefaria talk about the upcoming gang war. In a turn of events, Silvermane loses control of his body and attacks Count Nefaria. He is reduced to a disembodied head once more and accompanies the Maggia in fighting Spider-Man.

Powers and abilities

Silvermane was considered to be one of the Maggia's most legendary bosses. He is an excellent unarmed combatant and marksman, as well as a brilliant planner, organizer, and strategist. The magic potions he uses temporarily grant him a form of immortality, appearing in his early-to-mid 40s.

His preferred weapons are numerous machine guns, especially the Thompson .45 caliber.

Later, Silvermane's brain, vital organs, and head were transplanted into a robotic body, thus increasing his physical attributes to abnormal levels. However, his remaining biological parts needs careful protection because of their extreme vulnerability.

Other versions

• An alternate universe variant of Silvermane from Earth-58163 appears in House of M.
• An alternate universe variant of Silvermane from Earth-1610, Allan Silvermane, appears in the Ultimate Marvel universe.

In other media

Television

Silvermane (left) and Tombstone as depicted in Spider-Man (1994).

• Silvermane appears in the Spider-Man (1981) episode "Wrath of the Sub-Mariner", voiced by Paul Winchell.
• Silvermane appears in Spider-Man (1994), voiced by Jeff Corey as an old man, Townsend Coleman as a young man, Matthew McCurley as a child, and Cannon Young as a baby. This version is a rival crime lord of the Kingpin and the father of Alisa Silver (voiced by Leigh-Allyn Baker). In his most notable appearances in the episodes "Tablet of Time", "Ravages of Time", and "Partners", Silvermane seeks out the titular tablet, an artifact capable of rejuvenating an individual's youth, so he can achieve immortality due to his irregular childhood. After locating it and kidnapping and forcing Curt Connors to decipher it, Silvermane uses the tablet, only to be physically reverted into a child while retaining his mind. In response, Silvermane and Alisa work with Alistair Smythe to use neogenic technology to switch bodies with Spider-Man. However, the Vulture interferes and takes Spider-Man's place, leading to Silvermane returning to his original age.
• Silvermane appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Miguel Ferrer. This version is a rival crime lord to Tombstone and the father of Sable Manfredi who was arrested and incarcerated 12 years prior to the series after Frederick Foswell exposed his criminal activities to the FBI. Tombstone subsequently took Silvermane's territory while Sable ran his empire's remnants in her father's absence. In the episode "Gangland", Silvermane is released from prison and battles Tombstone and Doctor Octopus for control of New York's criminal underworld using a hidden hydraulic exoskeleton, only to be defeated by Spider-Man and apprehended by the police. As of the episode "Opening Night", Silvermane was remanded to the Vault.
• Silvermane appears in Spider-Man (2017), voiced by Nolan North. In his most notable appearance in the episode "Goblin War", he becomes the leader of the Goblin Nation's Cyber Goblins before he is defeated by Spider-Man and the Hobgoblin.
• Silvermane appears in the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur episode "Family Matters", voiced by Jonathan Banks. This version is the arch-enemy of Turbo who wants to claim her suit for his own ends. He is ultimately defeated by Turbo and Moon Girl, who trick him into downloading his consciousness into a teddy bear.

Video games

• Silvermane appears in the SNES and Sega Genesis beta versions of Spider-Man (1995), but was replaced with a robot in the final versions.
• Silvermane appears as a boss in the Nintendo DS version of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, voiced by Steve Blum. Having survived to the year 2099 due to his cybernetic body, he attempts to use a fragment of the Tablet of Order and Chaos to become immortal, only to be defeated by Spider-Man 2099.
• Silvermane appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, as part of the "Cloak and Dagger" DLC.

Miscellaneous

Silvermane appears in the novel Spider-Man: Forever Young, written by Stefan Petrucha. The details of the tablet story are retold, with some elements being updated or changed, such as Silvermane displaying a disdain for personal electronic devices due to their lack of security as well as the Kingpin being left in a coma due to the shock of learning that his son was the masked criminal, the Schemer. The novel picks up two years after the original storyline, with Silvermane now fluctuating between being a child and adult as he attempts to force Curt Connors and Spider-Man to retrieve the tablet and stabilize his condition. Even after Connors's research asserts that the tablet essentially cycles someone through their reincarnations in one lifetime to try to achieve true karma, Silvermane refuses to accept this and attempts to blackmail Spider-Man to help him after deducing his true identity. Spider-Man eventually confronts Silvermane in the latter's church hideout. The ensuing battle ends with an enraged Silvermane burning the church down to try to kill Spider-Man, though his ultimate fate is left unclear.

External links

• Silvermane at Marvel.com