Dr. Chen Lu was a respected nuclear physicist for the People's Republic of China. After the thunder god Thor thwarted a Chinese military incursion into India, the Chinese government called upon its scientists and military strategists for a way to retaliate against Thor. Chen Lu had already been experimenting for several years with a way of harnessing nuclear radioactivity to induce superhuman powers in human beings. Chen Lu, concealing his own aspirations of world conquest, volunteered to become China's human weapon against Thor.
Having already spent months immunizing himself against the harmful effects of radiation, Chen Lu exposed himself to massive doses of specific-particle radiation, thereby mutating his body. After impressing his superiors with a demonstration of the new superhuman powers he had gained, Chen Lu called himself the Radioactive Man. There are two different accounts as to what happened next. In the original account, the Radioactive Man was smuggled into New York City where he battled Thor. Thor used a massive vortex to send the Radioactive Man back to China before he could reach critical mass and explode. The second account states that the Radioactive Man attacked Thor along the India/China border. During the battle the Radioactive Man forced Thor to recall how he was banished to Earth, causing a brief reversion back to Donald Blake. However, Blake regained his hammer and defeated the Radioactive Man. In the aftermath of the battle, the American government -- through Tony Stark -- thanked Thor for his assistance, but their ability to make a connection between Donald Blake and himself did not sit well with the thunder god.
In fact, however, the Radioactive Man went into hiding until Baron Heinrich Zemo located him and enlisted him in his criminal organization, the original Masters of Evil. By this time, the Radioactive Man was no longer serving China's Communist leaders. The Avengers defeated the Masters of Evil.
Years later the Radioactive Man joined a new Masters of Evil organized by the Crimson Cowl who was revealed to be the robot Ultron. This second Masters of Evil was also defeated by the Avengers, and the Radioactive Man was imprisoned in a cell designed specially to restrain a being with his powers.
After breaking out of prison, the Radioactive Man fled to Communist-controlled Vietnam, where he briefly teamed up with the Titanium Man and the third Crimson Dynamo as the Titanic Three, champions of Eastern Communism. These three former Communist agents had decided to serve their former masters no longer and wanted no longer to be considered criminals. In Communist-controlled Vietnam, the Titanic Three instead acted to punish criminals. However, the Titanic Three later broke up under circumstances that have yet to be revealed.
Eventually, the Radioactive Man was contacted by criminal scientist Elihas Starr, otherwise known as "Egghead", and agreed to join yet another incarnation of the Masters of Evil. But after Dr. Henry Pym defeated the group single-handedly, the Radioactive Man was deported by the United States government.
He later entered the service of the Mandarin, who sent him up against James Rhodes, the second Iron Man.
Radioactive Man captured Spider-Man for his experiments and discovered his radioactive powers could temporarily cancel the wall-crawler's own. However, Spider-Man was rescued by Iron Man.
Radioactive Man was one of the many villains imprisoned in the Vault.
He also clashed with the She-Hulk and Death's Head. Radioactive Man, along with many other villains, battled the newly formed Thunderbolts.
Chen Lu joined the Thunderbolts after they declared their intention to stop Fathom Five, Atlantean terrorists who had attacked China. The Radioactive Man helped the Thunderbolts when Hydra staged a major attack on New York City.
Lu became very close to Songbird, who succeeded MACH-IV as leader of the Thunderbolts. They made a deal with the Commission on Superhuman Activities to test the New Avengers (who refused to work under government jurisdiction, making them loose cannons).
During the Civil War Chen Lu helped Hank Pym and Reed Richards build a holding prison for dissenting super-powered individuals. He and his team also battled the Anti-Registration Underground. The team encountered the Elders of the Universe member the Grandmaster, whose manipulations of the Wellspring of Power critically limited their manpower, reducing the existing roster of Thunderbolts to three.
The Thunderbolts reformed after Civil War as both the Colorado branch of the Initiative and the CSA's official unregistered superhuman hunters. Lu remained with the Thunderbolts voluntarily, unlike many of their members, on loan from the Chinese government. He wore a radiation suit as part of his costume as part of public relations maneuvering to make him seem more threatening while disguising his Asian features to improve the team's approval numbers in the more racist parts of America. He helped the Thunderbolts bring in various unregistered heroes such as Jack Flag and the Steel Spider.
The Radioactive Man was disheartened to learn that his activities with the Thunderbolts were not just a "goodwill" mission -- Beijing actively wanted him away from China to avoid any further deaths or instability due to his powers. His ally the Collective Man told Lu he was still a favored son of China but was not welcome home.
Chen and the team battled Spider-Man and Anti-Venom. But during the fight, Chen had a portion of his radiation drained by Anti-Venom. Chen continued with the group, however, going after the superhero Moon Knight.
During the Secret Invasion of the Skrulls, Osborn and Moonstone (Karla Sofen) began a plan to neutralize the Thunderbolts who would oppose him in his plan to exploit the invasion for his own personal agenda, in order to gain more power. Osborn arranged for Chen to be deported back to China, destroying his relationship with Songbird. Melissa was forced to let him go without much of goodbye because Bullseye was secretly threatening her with a knife during Lu's departure.
He joined China's People's Defense Force a group of superhumans created to protect his home country. Radioactive Man demonstrated that at close proximity he can safely absorb the radiation of Inhumans; Xerogen Crystals and also, presumably, safely absorb Terrigen Mist. However, the People's Defense Force is largely defeated by an invading entity known as The Unspoken, a deposed former king of the Inhumans. The Unspoken is defeated in China by the Mighty Avengers.
Hydra's leader Baron Zemo and Mayor Fisk came up with a plan to deal with the Punisher once and for all. Along with other villains, Chen Lu was recruited by Zemo to join a new incarnation of the Thunderbolts. He was introduced at a press conference with the other members as Citizen V pronounced that they will end the Punisher's reign of terror and restore order to the city of New York.
-Marvel Fandom
Key Issues & Appearances
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Significant comic book appearances featuring Radioactive Man
