Flatman (Dr. Val Ventura) is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in the pages of the Avengers West Coast in 1989. Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to the date or issue of a characters first appearance. ... The Avengers are a superhero team, consisting of many of Marvel Comics most popular heroes. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Byrne. ... It has been suggested that A-Z of mutants be merged into this article or section. ... The Great Lakes Avengers are a comedic superhero group, fashioned after Marvel Comics’ Avengers. ... The Great Lakes Avengers are a comedic superhero group, fashioned after Marvel Comics’ Avengers. ... The Great Lakes Avengers are a comedic superhero group, fashioned after Marvel Comics’ Avengers. ... Comic book fiction invariably features characters with superhuman, supernatural or paranormal abilities, often referred to as superpowers, also spelled super-powers. Below is a list of many of those that have been known to be used. ... FicTioNaL is a Gaming Legend. ... Batman and Superman, two of the most recognizable and iconic superheroes. ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ...

Fictional history

Flatman is a member and second-in-command of the Great Lakes Avengers, an unauthorized division of the regular Avengers superhero group that watches over the Wisconsin area. Although no true origin was given at first for his stretching abilities and odd appearance, it was later revealed that he is a mutant. The Great Lakes Avengers are a comedic superhero group, fashioned after Marvel Comics’ Avengers. ... The Avengers are a superhero team, consisting of many of Marvel Comics most popular heroes. ... A mutant (also known to early geneticists as a monster) is an individual, organism, or new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a sudden structural change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new...

Called the "2D Avenger", Flatman's body allows him fit into nearly any small space. He has a strong sense of justice and he is very trusting; a trait which has gotten him in trouble on more than one occasion. His primary roles include long-ranged rescues and helping the team solves crimes with his extensive knowledge of fashion which he was reported to have "studied in college". In an issue of Deadpool, he is able to identify a women's shoe and describe it in detail, while later rescuing a man and referring to him as "sailor", leading his team to question his sexuality. At first, Flatman denied any claims that he was a homosexual. However, when a new Avenger recruit called Living Lightning first approached the Great Lakes Avengers (usually abbreviated as "GLA") he thought they were actually the "Gay/Lesbian Alliance". Apologizing, he left quickly, but his willingness to come out to others gave Flatman the courage to do it himself. He revealed that he was in fact gay to his teammates, though he felt one-upped when Mr. Immortal revealed that he was the pinnacle of mankind ("Homo Supreme"). Deadpool is a Marvel Comics anti-hero, although he is sometimes portrayed as a villain. ... Sexual orientation describes the direction of an individuals sexuality, often in relation to their own sex or gender. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... Living Lightning (Miguel Santos) is a fictional character from the Marvel Universe. ... For other articles with similar names, see Gay (disambiguation). ...

Though Flatman refers to himself as Dr. Val Ventura, his doctoral background is highly questionable. He is not able to present a degree to prove his education and when asked by Doorman what he was a doctor of, Flatman replied that he was a doctor of "stuff." When told by a fellow doctor (who had confused him for Mr. Fantastic) that time moved in only a single direction Flatman seemed shocked and even had to ask which direction that was. Though Flatman often seems to act intelligent, he is yet to prove any sort of superior intellect. Mister Fantastic is a Marvel Comics superhero who is the leader of the Fantastic Four. ...

Most recently, Flatman and his fellow GLA members took on Maelstrom who was trying to destroy the world. When Dinah Soar was killed, GLA leader Mr. Immortal went crazy and Flatman stepped up as deputy leader. Deciding that the team needed some new members, he and Doorman went to New York city where they drafted Squirrel Girl and Grasshopper, who quickly passed away on their first mission. Refusing to let the deaths of Dinah Soar and Grasshopper get him down, Flatman continued to try and persuade the team to further research Maelstrom's plans for world destruction. However, it was not until Mr. I regained his sanity that the team rallied together and defeated Maelstrom. Flatman was seemingly sucked into a vortex during the final battle but it turned out that he barely escaped and was merely standing at an angle so that his flat body could not be seen because his clothes had been sucked off. Maelstrom is a Marvel Comics supervillain, and an arch-enemy of Quasar. ... Doorman (DeMarr Davis) is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in the pages of the Avengers West Coast in 1989. ... Squirrel Girl is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Universe. ... Grasshopper is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in the pages of the GLA: Misassembled miniseries of 2005. ...

With the GLA facing a newer, stronger resolve than ever, they returned back to their headquarters only for Flatman to find that Tony Stark had sent a cease and desist notice ordering them to stop using the Avengers name. They changed their name to the Great Lakes X-Men and on their first mission Flatman helped them to save Christmas in Muskego from the evil Dr. Tannenbaum (a Christmas hating villain whose robot snowman they had defeated before) and his killer Christmas trees. This article is about Iron Man, the Marvel Comics superhero. ... The Avengers are a superhero team, consisting of many of Marvel Comics most popular heroes. ... The X-Men are a group of comic book superheroes featured in Marvel Comics. ...

In Dan Slott's Thing v2 #8 (2006), the team gets invited to the annual Superheroes Poker Tournament after Squirrel Girl helps The Thing (the host of the game) in defeating a Hulk villain, Bi-Beast. In the end, Flatman wins the Tournament with a straight-flush, beating The Things four fours. After being discouraged from using "Great Lakes X-Men", and then "Great Lakes Defenders", by members of those teams present at the Tournament, Flatman becoming the "champion" of the Tournament inspires the team to rename themselves the Great Lakes Champions, despite protests from former Champions of Los Angeles member Hercules. Poker Room at the Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey Poker is a card game, the most popular of a class of games called vying games, in which players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, which is awarded to the player or players... John Carpenters The Thing is a 1982 science fiction film directed by John Carpenter. ... Look up Hulk in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Hulk may refer to: Hulk (comics), a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe Hulk (film), a 2003 film based on the comic book character, directed by Ang Lee Hulk (ship), a type of ships Hulk (roller coaster), a roller coaster... The Bi-Beast is a fictional character and exists in the Marvel Universe. ... The Defenders was a comic book series about a loosely-organized team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Champions (of Los Angeles) are a short-lived superhero team from the mid-1970s, published by Marvel Comics. ... Hercules is a fictional character, an Olympian god and superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. ...

All of the Great Lakes Champions have registered with the United States government as required by the recent Super-human Registration Act (see Civil War (comics)), as revealed when the mercenary Deadpool mistakenly attempted to apprehend them for violating the Act, only to be defeated by the GLC and informed that they had already registered. In Marvel Comics fictional Marvel Universe, the Registration Acts - the Mutant Registration Act (or MRA) and Super-human Registration Act (SRA or sometimes SHRA) - are legislative bills which, when passed into law, enforce the mandatory registration of super-powered individuals with the government. ... Civil War is a Marvel Comics summer 2006 crossover event, based around a core limited series of the same name written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven. ...

Powers

Flatman has the ability to stretch any part of his body to great lengths (similar to Mister Fantastic). He can also appear to be nearly invisible by standing at just the right angle, and slip though very thin spaces, thanks to his nearly two-dimensional body. Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a Marvel Comics superhero, a member of the Fantastic Four. ...

Trivia

• Flatman's powers and appearance are almost identical to another Marvel Comics hero, Mister Fantastic (bar his flatness).
• When Hawkeye first met Flatman, he asked if he had a "sidekick" named Ribbon, a reference to Batman and Robin, as well as a possible reference to an old joke involving the combination of said duo and a Steamroller.

Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a Marvel Comics superhero, a member of the Fantastic Four. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still sometimes as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... It has been suggested that Just Imagine Stan Lees Robin be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Traction engine. ...

External links

• Great Lakes Avengers
• Gay League Profile