Wendigo
Real Name: Paul Cartier, George Baptiste and Francois Lartigue have all taken turns, but there's no clue as to who or what the most recent version really is.
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk 162 for Cartier-as-Wendigo, but Baptiste stole the role from him in Incredible Hulk 181. Lartigue went wild and woolly in Incredible Hulk 272. A more passive Wendigo popped up in MacFarlane's Spider-Man 8.
What's His (or Their) Problem? An ancient curse, and a nasty one at that; whoever eats human flesh within the Canadian North Woods is magically transformed into the ten-foot-tall creature known as the Wendigo. They share traits like white hair and fur, a thin four-foot tail, no humanity whatsoever and usually a savage appetite for raw, fresh-killed man or woman.
Favorite Quote: All he/they/it says is "WEN-DI-GO!!" Guess that's his/their/its favorite quote!
Abilities: The Wendigo is one of the toughest creatures alive, possessing massive strength, incredible resistance to injury and hyperactive healing rate (check out the sparring partners below!) Tough enough to stun, he's more than likely impossible to truly kill. He's also got claws and teeth for rending flesh (like he needs them) and is able to track unlucky prey with little problem. The cursed Cartier once displayed telepathy for some reason. Anyhow, the curse can only be transferred or cancelled via certain spells that need real mystical know-how and will-power, like those of Shaman.
Heroes He Keeps Running Into: Cartier held out against the Hulk twice, with Wolverine jumping into Round Two. When Logan and Nightcrawler paid Alpha Flight a visit, they all tangled with Baptiste; he was cured and arrested, but not before Snowbird worked him over something fierce! Lartigue unsuccessfully clashed with Sasquatch and a more intelligent Hulk before being captured. Wolverine and Spider-Man met up in British Colombia while investigating gruesome goings-on, but the beast they found was rather tame and, get this, wounded by one single bullet. No wonder he hasn't been seen since; he's still trying to live that down! Actually, Wendi showed up in the short-lived Marvel Fanfare series; although it was more like the beast we know and stay the heck away from, it was still a pretty embarrassing outing for all concerned -- editor Jeanne.
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: A few of Wendy's opponents can sympathize with being savage super-beings with little self-control, but with people getting mauled by a creature that can barely be stopped, they had no choice but to use said uncontrollable savagery. Marie Cartier tried to transfer her brother's curse to the Hulk, but Baptiste took it instead and Marie went insane. The recent, non-ferocious Wendigo was blamed for several child-murders before Messrs. Parker and Logan cleared its name. That's right, they helped a beast whose reason for existance is that it savagely dines on people, although for no given reason it was just passively lumbering around for a few early Spider-Man issues. Good going, Todd...
Didn't Fur-Face visit New York City during a blizzard with Spidey, but he was all green...? Why was Web-Head green... oh, Wendigo was. That was back in Amazing Spider-Man 277, but it is not the Wendigo we're talking about here. Remember, in Marveldom even mystical-type creatures can wind up sharing the same name.
Most Despicable Act: Three out of four Wendigos have killed and consumed some of their formerly-fellow man. Baptiste tore a camper apart in front of the man's son (who was later found catatonic) and nearly did the same to the wife and infant daughter. But at least he got the curse from a transfer; Cartier and Lartigue first got that hunger while they were still human...
by Ray Schaff
