Del Frye

Origin

Del Frye was a successful collegiate athlete. Worried about the kind of trauma football might do to his son, Dr. Frye injected him with a gamma concoction to protect him. After his injection, Del immediately had side effects and died. He would continue to emanate gamma radiation from his burial site causing a string of deaths among his mourners and getting the attention of Bruce Banner.

Creation

Del Frye made his first appearance in The Immortal Hulk #2 by writer Al Ewing and artist Joe Bennett. His name is a reference to a character that originated on The Incredible Hulk tv show.

Major Story

The Green Door

After Banner made detected the gamma radiation, the EPA exhumed his body only for it to reanimate with Del’s mind somewhat in tact and looking like a glowing corpse. He was taken by General Fortean to study gamma mutation so his team could better fight the Hulk. Fortean never saw any reason to try to ease his suffering, but Dr. McGowan took pity on him.

The Leader would reach beyond the Below Place to puppet Del for his own goals. Using Del’s body, Leader killed Doc Samson, spied on Hulk’s activity, and then combined Del’s body with that of Rick Jones, turning them into a giant monster of pain. When Fortean’s Shadow Base was abandoned, Del and Rick were left behind. They were later found by members of Gamma Flight who were looking for Doc Samson’s body amongst the rubble. Shaman determined they couldn’t be separated, but he did their best to ease their pain. With their pain eased, they would join Gamma Flight.

Gamma Flight

Del went on the run Gamma Flight hoping Doctors McGowan and Samson would be able to find a way to separate him from Rick. They usually hung around McGowan’s makeshift lab, while the team investigated gamma mutate sighting’s in Texas. When they discovered Abomination creating gamma mutates, Del volunteered to help them fight.

Using a cathexis ray, they are able to cure most of the townspeople from their gamma mutation. Unfortunately, it exploded before they could use it against Abomination, but Absorbing Man was able to mimic its properties enough for one shot. He decided to use it to separate Del and Rick. Now an individual but still with gamma powers, Del promises to stick with the team in this Texas town to help people work through the after effects of their mutation.

Abilities

Gamma Mutate: Del emanates a green glow and deadly gamma radiation. Being in his vicinity can cause gamma sickness and death. If he concentrates, he can cause immediate dematerialization.

• Immortality: As a gamma mutate, Del is immortal. When he dies, he goes to the Below Place and is capable of returning through the Green Door. It is believed his death and resurrection is what opened the Green Door.

In Other Media

The Incredible Hulk

Del Frye (spelled “Dell”) originally appeared as an antagonist on the Lou Ferrigno/Bill Bixby Incredible Hulk tv series. He was introduced as the first person to be exposed to gamma radiation and transform into a monster.