Summary
While there are some recognizable heroes on theAvengers, like Iron Man and Thor, there are other heroes often forgotten about or underestimated, and according to Black Panther,3-D Manis chief among them. Delroy Garrett, the former hero known as Triathalon and then 3-D Man, recently had a seemingly villainous turn as an operative for Orchis, the mutant-hating organization that nearly wiped out the mutant population. Working with MODOK,Garrett helped Orchis to round up the remaining mutants on Earth.
Yet inAvengers#13, written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Francesco Mortarino,Black Panther informs the Avengersthat he and everyone else has underestimated their former teammate, 3-D Man. Throughout the issue, Delroy informs MODOK about the hidden location of the Avengers' new city base in space, sending a squadron of Sentinels to take out the Avengers base and the mutants being protected there.
This surprises the Avengers, who are on Earth in teams taking out Orchis locations. So how did 3-D Man surprise even the brilliant mind of T’Challa?
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Who Is The 3-D Man?
A former Olympic athlete who fell into disgrace when he was found to be using steroids, Delroy Garrett joined a group known as the Triune Understanding in order to find himself again. The group’s leader, Jonathan Tremont, imbued Delroy with the stolen powers of brothers Chuck and Hal Chandler, the original 3-D Man. He also worked with the Avengers, eventually helping them not only defeat his evil boss but gaining his full power and stopping Kang the Conqueror as well.
While he officially fought for Captain America duringCivil War, he became 3-D Man officially in the wake of the war, joining the Fifty State Initiative.However,3-D Man proved himself fully as a hero during theSecret Invasionstoryline, in which he used his power and goggles inherited by the original 3-D Man to identify what heroes had been replaced by Skrulls. He was able to identify and take down several Skrulls, including some within the Initiative. This led to him eventually leaving behind the team altogether.
He would go on to be among the heroes on the runduring theSecret Empiresaga. Most recently, Delroy worked with the Agents of Atlas during theAtlantis Attacksstoryline. He helped Marvel Boy and M-11 to keep the portals to the mystical city of Pan open to release the Atlantean dragon Pan, helping to soften the tensions between the two nations.
How 3-D Man Pulled The Ultimate Con
Returning to the events ofAvengers#13, eventually Black Panther and Captain America are able to track down 3-D Man to the Orchis headquarters where he’s been communicating with MODOK, while Scarlet Witch returns to their home base to stop the Sentinels. Spouting off at Black Panther about being betrayed by the Avengers and bragging about outsmarting them, Black Panther shows how talented and underestimated Delroy is by uttering a Wakandan phrase, which seems to awaken Delroy and shocks everyone in the process.
It is revealed through flashbacks that Delroy worked with Black Panther to go undercover within Orchis, going so far as to have false memories implanted into his mind and a command phrase that would wake him back up. This allowed his cover with Orchis to remain intact, while also allowing him to feed the Avengers information. Now awake, 3-D Man stops the Sentinels attack, and helps T’Challa upload a computer virus. While he goes his own way following the fight, his instrumental help in stopping the X-Men’s deadliest opponents, Orchis, with theAvengers, proved T’Challa right, making3-D Mana truly underestimated hero.
