The Melter

Ah yes, a supervillain from the era of comics where badguys were direct and to the point with their intentions. The Wrecker? He wrecked things. The Collector? He collected things. The Melter? He…actually, he “loosened the bond between molecules,” so it wasn’t technically melting. Eh, close enough so it counts and—unlike some supervillains—it’s an easy enough power to explain. I still have no idea what Mr. Sinister does.

Anyway, the Melter. A friend asked me to whip one up for our gaming group so I did some digging for costume reference. I was familiar with the character–he was an okay Iron Man villain–but not so much that I could do his outfit from memory. “He looks like the Living Laser, just oranger.” Some poking around online and HOLY SH*T, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE MELTER’S ORIGINAL COSTUME?!?

…dear God, he could be the spokesman for crazy in that outfit. Props to Shellhead in that pic, tho. Even with a full-head helmet he looks completely freaked out. And kinda badass. He should think about a suit of sleeveless armor, show off them muscles. “Hey Madame Masque, you like dogs, right?” *flexes* “Then check out THESE bitches!” How am I not writing an Iron Man monthly? Anyway, the custom Melter…

Always wear protective goggles, insulated gloves and striped pants when melting.

Ingredients: The Melter started life as a Wrecker Heroclix (Ultimates) with small bits of index card paper–hardened by Krazy Glue–used for minor detailing (shoulder pads, stripes on his pants, etc.)…

…his noggin came courtesy the Intergang Medic (Hypertime) and the chest harness from…ah, crap. Back when I was working on customs every week I could pretty much eyeball any mod and decode ‘em, but I’m outta practice. Is that the chest harness from the U-Men (Mutant Mayhem)? Eh, if you can figure it out, drop some knowledge in the comments section at bottom. Some acrylic paint, a light spritz of matte and Johnny Stripedpants was in the books. Custom Melter dial here.

That ice cream truck is going to put itself out in the most delicious way imaginable.

Not too much in the way of Melter stuff out there in the web. Here’s a pretty slick custom Marvel Legend Melter (I think that’s an ML). He’s in the list of supervillains on the right of that website. BONUS: here’s the Melter pantsing Iron Man.