SPONGE MAN (Miklos)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Bill Finger and Bob Brown

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Miklos
Aliases: The Sponge
Occupation: Deep-sea sponge-diver
Base of Operation: Florida, later at the bottom of the ocean
Gender: Male
Height: (as Miklos) N/A (as Sponge-Man) variable
Weight: (as Miklos) N/A (as Sponge-Man) variab
Eyes: Blue
Hair: (as Miklos) black (as Sponge-Man) none
First Appearance: Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #47 (December 1965-January 1966): "The Sinister Sponge"
Creators: Bill Finger and Bob Brown

OVERVIEW

Miklos was a deep-sea sponge diver on the coast of Florida, who encountered a strange, sponge-like meteor at the bottom of the sea. Accidentally gashing his hand on the jagged rock, he got infected with an alien parasite that transformed him into a Sponge Man. Tricked by his criminal neighbour, the Sponge Man used his extraordinary abilities to commit robberies, and fought his friends, the Challengers of the Unknown in the process. After realizing that he had been duped, the now inhuman Sponge Man settled down at the bottom of the sea. Months later, the Sponge Man resurfaced when his resting place was destroyed by engineers building an underwater military fortress. This time duped by the terrorist organization known as Scorpio, the Sponge Man fought both the Challengers and the Sea Devils, before he valiantly sacrificed his own life to save a community from the Scorpio's destructive weapons. The Sponge Man could, like his namesake, absorb water, but also energy of any kind (kinetic energy, heat, light, color, or sound), growing bigger from it, seemingly without limits.

HISTORY

Miklos was a deep-sea sponge-diver who lived a rather good life on the coast of Florida. He earned enough money to live on, had a good apartment, and a shy, continuous flirt with Lisa, the girl next door.

One day Miklos came upon a spectacular find at the bottom of the ocean, a strange sponge-like object, almost shaped like a man, rotted to a likewise peculiar, green-hued rock. While examining the thing, a vicious moray eel suddenly flashed by. Jerking aside, Miklos accidentally gashed his hand on the jagged rock. At first Miklos dismissed the injury as "just a scratch", but after bringing the strange sponge to the surface and carrying it home, his hand had begun to throb intensely, his body ached, and he just wanted a night’s sleep.

When Miklos wakened the next morning, he was in for the shock of his life. His injured hand had... changed. And not only his hand, he discovered. His entire body had mutated into a freakish sponge-like being.

Knowing that the famous Challengers of the Unknown were in town testing diving gear, the desperate Miklos sought them out, figuring that hey may be the only ones to help him. Arriving in Miklos’ apartment, Prof Haley of the Challengers examined his find, concluding that the "rock" was actually a meteor possessing a freakish life-force that had been transmitted to Miklos through the cut on his hand.

Miklos lowered his voice and explained that this was not all of it. He had found out that by concentrating, he could now do strange things, absorbing water just like a sponge. But not only water – energy and sound could apparently be absorbed by his freakish body. Stunned, the Challs decided to take a sample of the meteor and test it, promising Miklos to do their best to counteract his condition.

What neither Miklos nor the Challengers were aware of, was that his next-door neighbour, a sinister man named Stacy, had overheard the entire conversation from the other side of the wall. When the Challs had left the building, Stacy came over to Miklos and explained that he knew of a doctor who could help him. Sadly, this doctor lived in another country and it would cost a fortune bringing him here and setting up a lab for him. Miklos answered that he was not a wealthy man and could not raise that kind of money. Stacy protested: "With your special powers, you could take it! In your condition, who would blame you?"

Miklos refused to steal to cure himself. But later that night, as the strange-looking man restlessly prowled the streets, he was tormented by the fact that people around him were resented by his appearance, even Lisa, the girl next door.

The next day, the Challengers discovered Miklos on the streets and gasped in shock as the Sponge-Man started to absorb all color in the area, leaving a black and white world in his trail. Shortly afterwards all sound was absorbed as well. Without functioning traffic lights, the traffic was stuck in a jam. And without sound, the police was not reached by the burglar alarm of a nearby bank, from which Stacy ran out with a big loot. The Challs attempted to stop Stacy, but the Sponge-Man then absorbed all their strength, leaving them unconscious. Lying in the streets, the Challengers would have been killed by a driverless truck, had they not been saved by Miklos. Miklos explained that he wished them no harm but that Stacy and the stolen money was his only way to be cured.

The Challs of course realized that Stacy had tricked Miklos. After a wild chase, they were able to approach him and let him catch a glimpse of Stacy’s police record, proving that Stacy was a cheap crook. As Miklos realized the terrible truth of the revelation, his mind snapped. In a state of shock, he left the Challs and Stacy behind him, wandering aimlessly, absorbing all water in his path, and growing as he did.

Prof theorized that the Sponge-Man would continue to drain the rivers, lakes, and oceans. Ships would strand, populations would thirst while the creature would grow bigger and bigger until he eventually would become bigger than the Earth.

To ensure that the worst would not happen, the Challengers prepared a lake with tranquilizing chemicals, in hope of putting the Sponge-Man to sleep. The Sponge-Man absorbed the lake, and the Challengers’ plan had nearly succeeded when a forest fire started near the lake. While the Challs evacuated the area, the tranquilized Sponge-Man was nearly consumed by the flames. Suddenly, the cry of a child pierced his dulled mind. A frightened little girl was trapped in the midst of the fire while the Challengers helplessly watched. But the cry made the giant Sponge-Man regain his senses. With a final effort, he lurched to his feet and let the water of his body pour down on the flames and put out the forest fire.

Once the water – and the sleeping potion – were expelled from his body, the Sponge-Man was reduced to normal size. The Challs offered peace and asked him to come with them so they might find a cure for him. But the Sponge-Man refused.

"A cure? When? Next year? In ten years? Maybe never? And all that time, where will I be… locked up in a laboratory cage... like a Guinea pig? No, thanks! I’m a freak! There’s no place for me on land!" - With these words, Miklos jumped into the ocean, trading his old life for a new one on the bottom of the sea, surrounded by sponges and marine life. While the Challs would continue searching for a cure, it seemed as if the Sponge-Man had finally found peace. -Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #47

Months later, that peace was disturbed when U.S. military forces began to build an undersea defense system called "Fortess Fish Hook", a dome with aqua-troops, submarines, missile launchers and more. To their assistance, they had America’s foremost underwater experts, the Sea Devils.

However, dynamiters clearing the area for the installation were rather ruthless and destroyed a huge area, killing all sea life in the area…. and waking the dormant Sponge-Man. Stunned by the blast, the sinister sea thing regained its feet and stared at the carnage about him, including all of his dead "friends". Furiously, the Sponge-Man once again started absorbing water into his swelling body, and attacked the engineers, the military forces, and the Sea Devils in a fit of rage.

After a quick battle, the Sponge-Man captured the female Sea Devil Judy Watson, but let her go since she somehow, deep in his dim memories, reminded Miklos of the neighbour girl Lisa he had once been in love with. The Sponge-Man turned away leaving the Sea Devils behind him.

The Sea Devils had recognized the creature as the Sponge-Man that the Challengers had encountered months earlier, and they decided to get their assistance in capturing the creature. The cooperation would not be frictionless, though. The Challs still considered Miklos their friend and would not agree to hurt him. The military and the Sea Devils, on the other hand, had only witnessed the Sponge’s destructive side and intended to do whatever was needed to stop the monster. Furthermore, tension grew between the two teams as Judy Walton, girlfriend of the Sea Devils’ leader Dane Dorrance, started to show interest in Ace Morgan of the Challengers.

Meanwhile, a meeting was held in the secret HQ of the notorious criminal organization known to the worlds as Scorpio. A "foreign power" had paid Scorpio to sabotage "Fortress Fish Hook", but to their luck, the Sponge-Man was doing their work for them.

When the Sponge next appeared, attacking an army platform, the Challengers tried to reason with their friend. The creature cried out: "No, you are not my friends! My friends are the fish of the sea! You humans killed them... now I kill you!" With those words he attacked the Challs. The Sea Devils joined the battle, but even the combined might of the two teams was no match for the absorbing abilities of the Sponge. Drained on energy, heat, color and sound, the heroes were almost defeated. Finally, they got lucky as they were able to stun the Sponge with an electrical shock. The Sponge-Man was captured and contained in a plexi-glass cage. The military was satisfied but the Challengers were disturbed. Was there no way they could help Miklos?

Then, fate seemed to intervene. Appearing on the scene was Lisa, Miklos’ former neighbour, who claimed she would do anything she could to help him. The Challs brought Lisa to meet Miklos, and as her soothing voice penetrated his warped mind, the never-forgotten love that Miklos had for this girl jogged his memory. He remembered his true self as Lisa told him that the Challengers were his friends. If they could cure Miklos, he and Lisa could be together. Miklos calmed down and accepted to co-operate. But of course, this was not the end of it. As soon as Miklos and Lisa were left alone, she let him out from his imprisonment, fooling him into believing that the Challs were evil liars, then manipulated him into destroying the military bases once again.

When the Challengers and the Sea Devils learned about the Sponge’s escape, they first quarreled about whose fault it was, then started fighting each other, but when June admitted that she had deliberately flirted with Ace to make Dane jealous, both teams calmed down and analyzed the situation. Realizing that Lisa was the only one who could have let Miklos out of his cage, they learned that she was, in fact – a Scorpio agent! June made amends for her childish flirting games by making Lisa talk. Knowing every female’s weakness, she simply threatened Lisa with cutting off all her hair, after which the hard-boiled villainess sang like a canary. Effective torture, if not politically correct.

The heroes then attacked Scorpio’s headquarters, defeating most of the criminals, but were nonetheless unable to prevent their launching of a missile filled with poisonous gas, in order to pollute the waters around the military sites. However, the Sponge-Man arrived on the scene, grown to gargantuan size after absorbing loads and loads of water. Believing that the missile was aimed at him, Miklos caught it and threw it back on the Scorpio HQ. The Challs and the Sea Devils avoided being crushed by it, but the poisonous gas had started leaking out, threatening the heroes, the villains, and the entire nearby town.

Hesitatingly, the Sponge-Man decided to absorb the gas and save the humans, but then, ironically, he started to transform back to human himself. Were he now to absorb the gas, it could kill him when he had fully returned to human, making him face an unbearable dilemma: "Why should I die now... when I can really live again as Miklos?"

But as his common sense returned, Miklos realized that there was no question about how he should act. With the last of his inhuman powers, he absorbed all of the spreading poison. Then, finally completely human again, dived into a water tank ti contain it. Miklos found peace in death, knowing that he had done the right thing.

When the press asked the Fortress’ Admiral about the event, the military man replied: "Just say I was wrong about him... and that Miklos died a hero’s death." And Ace Morgan filled in: "Miklos made up for all the harm he caused... like a sponge, he wiped the slate clean." -Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1 #51

POWERS AND WEAPONS

The Sponge-Man had the uncanny ability to absorb virtually anything – liquid, gas, energy (including light, heat, and kinetic energy), and sound – into his body. He would grow in size and strength while doing it, and would also adapt some of the treats of what he absorbed (i.e., absorbing colors would make him colorful, absorbing heat would make him burning hot and his victims freezing cold, etc).

Due to the oxygen he absorbed through his body, the Sponge-Man could survive underwater.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Sponge Man in chronological order click here