Vector

Origin

Once a wealthy industrialist, Simon Utrecht craved more power, conducting an experiment similar to what gave the Fantastic Four their powers. With a group of his friends, he gained the ability of telekinetic repulsion and formed the team U-Foes.

Creation

Vector was created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema and first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #254.

Powers & Abilities

Vector has the power to telekinetically block and repel energy and matter, directing it away from himself. He uses this power in a variety of ways, such as: repelling inanimate objects away, sending them flying through the air like deadly missiles or projectiles; releasing a concussive blast of energy to strike his foes; using the power of the ground to propel himself to fly.

Vector’s powers can be resisted by determined foes or objects too heavy to move, such as the Hulk, who twice overcame Vector’s forces and damaged him. He now suffers significant abrasions from the effects of the repulsion on his body. Vector may have even greater potential if he wasn’t so hot-headed, as he was once shown to be able to block and repel the attempts of various superheroes and friends of the Hulk to locate Gamma Base (including the magic of Doctor Strange and the tracking technology of Iron Man and Reed Richards).

Other Media

Television

• Vector (alongside the other U-Foes members) appears in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes voiced by Cam Clarke. In the episode “Hulk vs. The World,” he is shown as an inmate of the Cube. The U-Foes fight against the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. in the episode “Gamma World” Pt. 1.

Video games

• Vector (alongside the other U-Foes members) appears in The Incredible Hulk video game voiced by S. Scott Bullock. The Utrecht of the video game differs from his depiction in the comics on two accounts, one being that he seeks to duplicate the experiment of the Hulk, rather than the Fantastic Four, and two being that instead of using atomic radiation (or cosmic rays), the U-Foes harness mesospeheric radiation for their experiments. It is also implied Simon Utrecht is interested in Ann Darnell, and that the feelings are mutual when he impresses her with his experiment. Utrecht also impressed Rick Jones with his industrialism, but Bruce Banner cautions Jones to stay away, as Simon Utrecht is a ruthless businessman. Banner says he had considered approaching Utrecht about a cure for his Hulk mutations, but wisely did not do so as he determined after study that Utrecht would use Banner to try to become a Hulk-like creature himself; a speculation that was proven correct when Simon Utrecht created the U-Foes.