The Germans relied heavily on their u-boats, and early in the war they also got a hand from U-Man. His name was really Meranno, and he was a scientist in the lost city of Atlantis. He and Namor grew up together, although Meranno was always jealous of Namor and secretly despised him. Once they became adults and Namor became the acting ruler of Atlantis, Meranno joined up with the Nazis. In exchange for power, he revealed the location of Atlantis' throne city and helped the Nazis bomb it. Infuriated, Namor banished him from Atlantis for all time. Meranno then permanently allied himself with the Nazis and, using his Atlantean technology and their Nazi science, found a way to augment his strength. He became nearly as strong as Namor and dubbed himself U-Man (a pun on the u-boat, or German submarine).

His first mission for the Nazis was to assassinate Winston Churchill. Fortunately, the Invaders were able to defeat U-Man and send him running. Following this defeat, Meranno joined up with Master Man and Sky Shark as part of Brain Drain's attempt to build a giant, indestructible flying machine in the shape of a swastika. U-Man battled the Liberty Legion and managed to defeat them, stealing a jet engine Brain Drain needed for his machine. However, to prevent the Nazis from using this device to win World War II and upset the balance of good and evil in the universe, the Watcher sent the Fantastic Four's Thing back to 1942 to aid the Liberty Legion in stopping the Nazi villains. Together, the Liberty Legion and the Thing were able to defeat Brain Drain and his cohorts.

The underwater goose-stepper next turned up as a pawn of Lady Lotus. She coerced U-Man into joining her team of Nazi super-villains, the Super-Axis. He was again defeated by Namor and sent to prison. But naturally, a man-made cell was no match for Meranno's strength and he escaped. Shortly afterwards, Germany lost the war and U-Man lost his dreams of power. He remained in exile for many years, finally re-emerging as part of Atlantean warlord Attuma's attempt to conquer the world (Marvel's "Atlantis Attacks" storyline from the 1988 annuals--eric). Attuma and his horde, including U-Man, were defeated and Meranno found himself exiled once more.

First Appearance: INVADERS #3 (1975)

Other Appearances: INVADERS #4, 37-41; MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #1, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #20 (1976)

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