Half-Life

Real Name: Tony Masterson

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #334

Powers/Abilities: Half-Life only becomes animated at life and he gathers strength by absorbing the life energy from people. The more energy he drains, the more his body regains it's previous form.

Artist Representation Gallery

Origin: Half-life was just a normal English school teacher who was accidently exposed to gamma radiation during testing of Gamma Bombs by the US government.

GREAT MOMENTS IN HISTORY

The Incredible Hulk #334 Half-life crawls out of a graveto meeth the person who was waiting for him, a disguised Leader. The next night, the Hulk is leaping through the desert when he suddenly starts to feel weak. The Hulk realizes that whatever is making him weak is coming from a jeep driving towards him. He lands and claps his hands, causing the jeep to turn over. The Hulk is surprised to see the Half-Life creature step out and announce himself. The Hulk runs up and knocks Half-Life in the face, knocking his lower jaw off. He picks it back up and replaces back on his face. He jumps on the Hulk, gripping him, and tells him how he used to be a teacher and have friends but now he is this thing made from mud and slime, absorbing radiation and it has driven him crazy. Half-life continues to draw the Hulk's strength until the Hulk manages to dislodge Half-life's torso from him. He then thows the still attached arms and legs in all directions. The Hulk steps back far enough that Half-Life can't draw any more strength from him and asks him what he is. Half-life explains how he only comes alive at night and draws strength by absorbing the radiation from other people and he was hoping if he drew enough from the Hulk, he would be able to live during the day. The arms and legs start to crawl back to the torso of Half-Life. The Hulk initially thinks that Half-Life was around when the bomb when off and created him but is very surprised when Half-Life tells the Hulk that he was only exposed to a gamma radiation blast a year ago in Colorado. The Hulk jumps away, leaving Half-Life yelling at him, blaming Bruce for what he has become. The last last shot is vultures closing in on the still torn apart body of Half-Life in the morning.

The Incredible Hulk #340: Half-Life is at the Leader's base and is annoying him until the Leader finally threatens to return Half-Life to the desert surrounded by vultures, just like he found him.

The Incredible Hulk #342: A woman is walking down the street alone when Half-Life steps out and starts talking to her like she is his wife. He grabs her and drains all her life energy until she is dead. He then says that she is not Barbara and heads off to find another person to drain and kill. Down in the Leader's hidden base, the Leader remembers a conversation he had with Half-Life a few hours ago. Half-life offers to help steal gamma bombs for the Leader but the Leader brings up Half-LIfe's first mission where he was defeated by the Hulk. The Leader tells Half-Life that if he can kill the Hulk, he can help steal the bombs. The Leader attaches a camera to the front of Half-Life's outfit so he can observe what happens. Half-life starts to attack another woman but the screaming alerts the Hulk and the Hulk pulls him out of the house before he realizes who he is until he starts to feel weak. Half-life jumps on the Hulk and grips him tightly and tells the Hulk how he is wearing titanium armor so he won't be able to rip him apart since he has already weakened him. Half-life continues to make the Hulk weak until Rick Jones comes up from behind and wacks Half-Life in the head with a shovel, allowing the Hulk to throw him off. The Hulk is about to leave when one of the people who lives in town asks the Hulk if he is scared. Needless to say, that makes the Hulk a little angry and he takes the fight back to Half-Life. The Hulk grabs a telephone pole and starts to hit Half-Life but Half-Life has already drained enough energy to make him strong. He jumps for the Hulk but the Hulk leaps high up in the air first and comes down landing right on top of Half-Life. Half-Life just crawls back up threw the dirt and starts to absorb more energy from the Hulk. The Hulk starts to wither as Half-Life continues to absorb more energy. Half-Life has stolen most of the Hulk's energy and states how he can go back to teaching and his wife and a normal life. The Hulk tells Half-Life how people will be terrified of him and that eventually the energy he stole from the Hulk will wear off and he will be back to what he was before or even worse. The Hulk reminds him that is how he has allows lived. Half-Life can't think to live that way so he just releases all the energy he just stole and apparently kills himself.