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{{Short description|Marvel Comics fictional characters}}
{{About|the Marvel Comics character|other uses|Plant man (disambiguation){{!}}Plant man}}
{{Infobox comics character<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
| character_name = Plantman
| image          = [[Image:Plant man.jpg|200px]]
| caption        = Samuel Smithers as the first Plantman.<br>Art by Stan Woch.
| real_name      = Samuel Smithers<br>Paul 
| species        = Human mutate
| publisher      = [[Marvel Comics]]
| debut          = {{ubl|'''Samuel Smithers:'''|''Strange Tales'' #113 (October 1963)|'''Paul:'''|''The Astonishing Ant-Man'' #7 (April 2016)}}
| creators       = {{ubl|'''Samuel Smithers:'''|[[Stan Lee]] & [[Jerry Siegel|Joe Carter]] (co-writers)|[[Dick Ayers]] (artist)|'''Paul:'''|[[Nick Spencer]] (writer)|Ramon Rosanas (artist)}}
| alliances      = [[Thunderbolts (comics)|Thunderbolts]]<br/>[[Maggia (comics)|Maggia]]<br/>[[New Enforcers]]<br/>[[Lethal Legion]]
| aliases        = Blackheath
| powers         = * Plant manipulation
* [[Tool|Device]] usage 
}}
'''Plantman''' is the name of two [[supervillain]]s appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]]: '''Samuel Smithers''' (created by [[Stan Lee]], [[Jerry Siegel|Joe Carter]], and [[Dick Ayers]]) and '''Paul''' (created by [[Nick Spencer]] and Ramon Rosanas), both with the ability to control plants, Samuel via technology and Paul via biology. Samuel also goes by the name '''Blackheath''' as a member of the [[Thunderbolts (comics)|Thunderbolts]].

==Publication history==
{{refimprove section|date=April 2025}}{{expand section|date=September 2015}}
The Samuel Smithers iteration of Plantman first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #113 and was created by [[Stan Lee]], [[Jerry Siegel]] (under the alias of Joe Carter), and [[Dick Ayers]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=DeFalco |first1=Tom |last2=Sanderson |first2=Peter |last3=Brevoort |first3=Tom |last4=Teitelbaum |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |last6=Darling |first6=Andrew |last7=Forbeck |first7=Matt |last8=Cowsill |first8=Alan |last9=Bray |first9=Adam |title=The Marvel Encyclopedia |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-7890-0 |page=271}}</ref>

The Paul incarnation of Plantman first appeared in ''The Astonishing Ant-Man'' #7 and was created by [[Nick Spencer]] and Ramon Rosanas.

==Fictional character biography==
===Samuel Smithers===
Samuel Smithers is an assistant [[Botany|botanist]] who invented a device capable of communicating with plants. Mocked for his accomplishments, he becomes a criminal after lightning strikes his device and gives it the additional ability to manipulate and animate plants.<ref>''Strange Tales'' #113. Marvel Comics.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rovin |first=Jeff |title=[[The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains]] |date=1987 |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=0-8160-1356-X |location=New York |pages=267–268 |authorlink=Jeff Rovin}}[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsu0000rovi_h5r9/page/266/mode/2up]</ref><ref>''Strange Tales'' #121. Marvel Comics.</ref>

Plantman later comes to serve [[Count Nefaria]] and the [[Maggia (comics)|Maggia]], but is defeated by the [[X-Men]].<ref>''X-Men'' #22-23. Marvel Comics.</ref> He steals technology from the Maggia and creates a monstrous seaweed [[Leviathan]] which is stopped by [[Namor]] and [[Triton (comics)|Triton]].<ref>''Sub-Mariner'' #2-3. Marvel Comics.</ref>

Plantman has often used plant "simuloids" to create duplicates of himself for mercenary endeavors, raising quick cash to continue his research. One of the first known activities of his simuloids was to join his former allies and the original [[Viper (Marvel Comics)|Viper]] in a [[wikt:crime wave|crime wave]] under the command of the Cowled Commander (only to be stopped by [[Captain America]] and the [[Falcon (comics)|Falcon]]).<ref>''Captain America'' #159. Marvel Comics.</ref> Another time, a simuloid kidnapped wealthy businessman Kyle Richmond ([[Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)|Nighthawk]]) for ransom, but Nighthawk's allies in the [[Defenders (comics)|Defenders]] helped rescue him, and [[Nebulon (comics)|Nebulon]] subdued the simuloid.<ref>''The Defenders'' #36–37. Marvel Comics.</ref> [[Spider-Man]] and the Falcon discovered an exotic plant-breeding nursery where they encountered and defeated the caretaking Plantman-simuloid.<ref>''Marvel Team-Up'' #71. Marvel Comics.</ref> Another Plantman-simuloid's scheme to rob a bank was thwarted by two of the [[Micronauts (comics)|Micronauts]].<ref>''Micronauts'' #21. Marvel Comics.</ref>

Next with an army of 1,000 plant [[Simulacrum|simulacra]], the true Plantman captured the [[President of the United States]] by taking over an American military base. He attempted to take over [[S.H.I.E.L.D.]] using simuloids. The [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]] rescued the President, despite Plantman's army and contending with a {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} tall [[Tree]]-Man and Plantman's escape.<ref>''The Avengers'' #231. Marvel Comics.</ref> [[Hawkeye (Clint Barton)|Hawkeye]] and the [[Orb (comics)|Orb]] stumbled upon Plantman's mobile plant-growing factory and he expelled them.<ref>''Solo Avengers'' #19-20. Marvel Comics.</ref>

During the ''[[Acts of Vengeance]]'' storyline, Plantman joined with a group of villains to attack the [[Fantastic Four]].<ref>''Fantastic Four'' #334–336. Marvel Comics.</ref> Soon after, he tries a solo attack on the Avengers who are visiting a construction site. He is defeated by the site's employees who fear the battle might destroy their hard work.<ref>''The Avengers'' Annual #19 (1990). Marvel Comics.</ref>

During Smithers' subsequent prison sentence in Seagate Federal Penitentiary, he was contacted telepathically by [[Mentallo]], who was being held in a stasis field in the same prison. Mentallo was still capable of using his powers and he used them to orchestrate a break-out of his fellow prisoners, which included the hero Hawkeye (who was serving time for crimes he performed while a member of the [[Thunderbolts (comics)|Thunderbolts]]) and [[Headlok]] (whom Mentallo had possessed). The criminals, remotely "chained" to one another, escaped as the so-called Chain Gang. The Chain Gang reluctantly agreed to work together to search for a way to survive, deactivate their security manacles, and search for a weapon of great power left behind by the death of the criminal industrialist [[Justin Hammer]]. The weapon had come to the attention of Mentallo by Hammer himself before he died, as Hammer awakened Mentallo's powers while he was in the stasis field. Unknown to his associates, Hawkeye was actually working undercover on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ultimately, the Chain Gang was tracked down by Hawkeye's former teammate [[Songbird (comics)|Songbird]], who helped Hawkeye defeat the villains. They discovered that Hammer's legacy was a biological toxin that had been ingested by every single villain who had ever worked for him. Smithers was the carrier. Hawkeye, Songbird, and Smithers began a new search for the trigger that would release Plantman's toxin so that it would not fall into the wrong hands.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=August 2009}}

The search ended with Hammer's daughter, Justine, who turned out to be the [[Justine Hammer|Crimson Cowl]], leader of the [[Masters of Evil]]. Hawkeye convinced several members of the Masters of Evil to side with him and Songbird against Crimson Cowl and their former allies, pointing out the dangers of the super-weapon, which would either blackmail or kill them. Hoping to throw off suspicion, Hawkeye made the villains reinvent their costumed identities, thus creating a new team of Thunderbolts, and Smithers joined the group as Blackheath.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=August 2009}}

Beginning with his time in prison, Smithers had noticed that his body was in the process of mutating, drawing him closer to the energy field that he manipulated to control plants.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=September 2010}} When the Thunderbolts finally confronted the Crimson Cowl, Smithers was captured and experimented upon to reveal the secrets of the bio-toxin. During this procedure, Smithers' spirit connected with the energy field, the so-called Verdant Green, the embodiment of the Earth's biosphere. The Verdant Green pointed out that Smithers could release the toxin, removing humanity from the biosphere and allowing the plants to flourish as in its pre-industrial days. Instead, Smithers chose to release an antidote for the toxin into the atmosphere and appeared to die in the attempt.<ref>''Thunderbolts'' #71. Marvel Comics.</ref>

The Thunderbolts ultimately defeated the Cowl and her Masters of Evil,{{Volume needed|c=y|date=September 2010}} but they were confronted by the Elite Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. who caught up with them and wanted the remains of Blackheath's body.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=September 2010}} Finally, Smithers was able to revive himself by sucking the moisture from the villain [[Hydro-Man]], leaving Hydro-Man's body desiccated.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=September 2010}} The Thunderbolts were aided against S.H.I.E.L.D. by the arrival of the true [[Citizen V#John Watkins III|Citizen V]], who needed the team's immediate help with his agency's ship — the engines of which were made of alien technology that had begun distorting, threatening to suck the Earth into the null space of a [[white hole]]. In so doing, the Thunderbolts encountered the original Thunderbolts, who emerged from the void after severing the alien ship's presence from where they had been trapped on Counter-Earth. The two teams of Thunderbolts combined forces to plug the void and shunt the alien ship from Earth, similar to the manner in which [[Helmut Zemo]]'s team stopped the threat on [[Counter-Earth (comics)|Counter-Earth]].<ref>''Thunderbolts'' #65–75. Marvel Comics.</ref>

After much discussion, most of the costumed heroes and villains chose to part ways. Smithers elected to join the Thunderbolts, hoping that their new mission, to rule the world in order to save it, would closely match his own goals of protecting the Verdant Green from humans. He increasingly began to lose touch with his humanity, increasingly motivated by his connection to the Green.<ref>''Thunderbolts'' #75. Marvel Comics.</ref>

Blackheath joined the Thunderbolts in many acts of questionable heroism under Zemo's leadership, where the ends justified the means. Zemo's ultimate plan involved the creation of "the Liberator," a device that would drain abnormal uses of energy throughout the world and hopefully reduce global threats, eliminate superhuman terrorism, and stabilize the world's status quo. The Thunderbolts succeeded in launching the Liberator, only to be confronted by the Avengers. Feeling betrayed, [[Moonstone (comics)|Moonstone]] absorbed the powers the Liberator had harnessed, combining them with her already-increased powers of the moonstone. The Thunderbolts and the Avengers teamed up to defeat Moonstone, ultimately removing the alien gems that gave her her powers.<ref>''Avengers/Thunderbolts'' #1–6. Marvel Comics.</ref>

The members of the Thunderbolts agree to go their separate ways, and Smithers agrees to return to prison, hoping to reconnect with his human nature that he felt he was slowly losing.<ref>''Avengers/Thunderbolts'' #6. Marvel Comics.</ref>

During the "[[AXIS (comics)|AXIS]]" storyline, Plantman appears as a giant plant monster and attacks Los Angeles to retaliate at humans for polluting the world. When a group of Avengers attack, they turn on each other due to the influence of [[Onslaught (Marvel Comics)|Red Onslaught]], a clone of [[Red Skull]] with parts of [[Professor X]]'s brain placed in him. Plantman is defeated by Iron Man.<ref>''Avengers & X-Men: AXIS'' #1. Marvel Comics.</ref>

During the "[[Avengers: Standoff!]]" storyline, Plantman appears as an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a [[gated community]] established by S.H.I.E.L.D.<ref>''All-New, All-Different Avengers'' #8. Marvel Comics.</ref>

During the "[[Empyre]]" storyline, Plantman battles [[Vision (Marvel Comics)|Vision]] in Central Park, during which [[Luke Cage]] mistakes him for a [[Cotati (comics)|Cotati]].<ref>''Empyre: Avengers'' #1-2. Marvel Comics.</ref><ref>''Empyre: Avengers'' #3. Marvel Comics.</ref>

===Paul===
Paul is a comic book store clerk until he is fired for stealing comics to sell to support his gaming hobby. He later attends Power Broker Inc.'s presentation of the Hench X App, which transforms him into a humanoid plant.<ref>''The Astonishing Ant-Man'' #7. Marvel Comics.</ref><ref>''Captain America: Steve Rogers'' #1. Marvel Comics.</ref> He later joins Helmut Zemo's "New Masters" alongside [[Firebrand (Marvel Comics)|Firebrand]] and [[Flying Tiger (Marvel Comics)|Flying Tiger]].<ref>''Captain America: Steve Rogers'' #1. Marvel Comics.</ref>

==Powers and abilities==
Both incarnations of Plantman can manipulate plants. The Samuel Smithers incarnation's abilities are derived from technology, while the Paul incarnation possesses them innately.

The Samuel Smithers incarnation of Plantman is served by humanoid plants called simuloids that are duplicates of himself, one of whom attained sentience and became [[Terraformer (comics)|Terraformer]].<ref>''New Warriors'' #8. Marvel Comics.</ref>

==Other versions==
* An alternate universe variant of Samuel Smithers / Plantman from Earth-20051 appears in ''[[Marvel Adventures]]''. This version is a scientist who values plants over people.<ref>''Marvel Adventures: Iron Man'' #3. Marvel Comics.</ref><ref>''Iron Man: Golden Avenger'' #1. Marvel Comics.</ref>
* An alternate universe variant of Samuel Smithers from Earth-1610 appears in ''[[Ultimate Comics: X-Men]]'' #18. This version is a plant-based [[Mutant (Marvel Comics)|mutant]].<ref>''Ultimate Comics: X-Men'' #18. Marvel Comics.</ref>

==In other media==
The Samuel Smithers incarnation of Plantman appears in ''[[The Super Hero Squad Show]]'' episode "O Captain, My Captain!", voiced by [[Charlie Adler]].<ref>[http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0907/28/voices.htm Comics Continuum]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Plantman Plantman] at Marvel.com

{{Henry Pym}}
{{Defenders}}
{{Namor}}
{{Thunderbolts}}
{{Stan Lee}}

[[Category:Characters created by Dick Ayers]]
[[Category:Characters created by Jerry Siegel]]
[[Category:Characters created by Stan Lee]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1963]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 2016]]
[[Category:Fictional botanists]]
[[Category:Fictional characters with plant abilities]]
[[Category:Fictional English people]]
[[Category:Fictional inventors in comics]]
[[Category:Fictional orphans]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics male supervillains]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics mutates]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics orphans]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics plant characters]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics scientists]]