engineering

Nitro (character)

Nitro (character) is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nitro (character) rather than just read about it. In short: Nitro (Robert Hunter) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in 1974.

Key takeaways

Nitro (character) belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nitro (character) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nitro (character) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nitro (Robert Hunter) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in 1974. Nitro is known for playing a part in the death of the Kree superhero Mar-Vell. He is also known for being responsible for the devastation of Stamford, Connecticut, which began Marvel's "Civil War" event.

Publication history

Nitro first appeared in Captain Marvel #34 (September 1974) and was created by Jim Starlin.

Fictional character biography Robert Hunter was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was an electrical engineer. Due to genetic alteration performed by the Kree Lunatic Legion, Hunter gains the ability to explode and reform himself at will and becomes a professional criminal. In his first appearance, he exposes Captain Marvel to a carcinogenic nerve gas, which later causes him to develop cancer and die. Since then, Nitro has clashed with Earth's superhumans, who have found creative ways to defeat him, such as preventing him from reforming his body after exploding. Nitro later battles and is defeated by Omega the Unknown. He escapes from Project Pegasus, and then battles Spider-Man. Nitro is later freed from his containment canister by the Vulture in Albany, New York. He battles Skids of the New Mutants, whose force field leaves him unable to reform his body. He is recruited by Thanos to serve him in a mission alongside several other supervillains, including Rhino, Super-Skrull, and Titanium Man. While Silver Surfer captures the other villains, Nitro decides to take a space craft and explore space. At the start of the Civil War storyline, Nitro escapes from Ryker's Island along with Cobalt Man, Speedfreek, and Coldheart. The New Warriors attack each villain, with Namorita going after Nitro. Nitro causes a massive explosion that kills Cobalt Man, Speedfreek, Coldheart, Namorita, Night Thrasher, Microbe, sixty children at a nearby elementary school, and 600 people in Stamford, Connecticut. Nitro escapes in a pickup truck and is pursued by Wolverine. Atlantean agents appear and capture Nitro. Wolverine follows them to New Pangea and finds that Nitro has killed his interrogators while trying to escape. Wolverine captures Nitro and cuts off his right arm before leaving him in the custody of Atlantis. Namor uses Nitro to destroy New Pangea after moving his civilization to Latveria. Nitro is held prisoner in Latveria until Penance brings him back to America after forcing him to suffer for the Stamford explosion, leaving him in critical condition and close to death. In later appearances, Nitro joins the Hood's crime syndicate and Helmut Zemo's Army of Evil.

Powers and abilities Nitro can forcefully convert his whole body into gas, resulting in a violent explosion. This transformation can be limited to discrete portions of himself, such as his fist and aim the force in a specific direction. While in a gaseous form, he cannot reform if any fraction of his body is separated from the rest and must completely reconstitute himself before detonating again. The process does not have any healing qualities, so any wound received due to the explosion would be present when he reforms.

In other media

Television Nitro appears in the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "Time Bomb", voiced by Liam O'Brien. This version is a mutant who is willingly imprisoned by the Mutant Response Division due to lacking control of his powers.

Video games Nitro appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Steve Blum. Nitro appears as a boss in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.

References

External links Nitro (Robert Hunter) at Marvel.com

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nitro (character)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nitro (character) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nitro (character) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nitro (character) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nitro (character)

In research: Nitro (character) appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nitro (character) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nitro (character) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Characters created by Jim Starlin, Characters created by Steve Englehart, Comics characters introduced in 1974, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nitro (character) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nitro (character) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nitro (character) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nitro (character) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nitro (character) in simple terms?

Nitro (Robert Hunter) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in 1974.

Why does Nitro (character) matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nitro (character)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nitro (character).