Wendigo

Wendigo
Real name:	Paul Cartier Georges Baptiste Francois Lartigue Yeti Lorenzo Jean-Pierre Beaubier (Mauvais) Michael Fleet
First Appearance:	Incredible Hulk #162 (April, 1973)
Created by:	Steve Englehart, Herb Trimpe
Team affiliations:	Alpha Strike Department H (Yeti) Weapon P.R.I.M.E. Department K
Abilities:	Superhuman strength, durability, endurance, and regenerative healing factor, hardened talons
Portrayed by:	none

Several people have been afflicted with the curse of the Wendigo, including Paul Cartier, Georges Baptiste, Francois Lartigue, Lorenzo, Mauvais and others.

The curse is regional to the woods of Northern Canada and takes place, under the right conditions, when a person in the forests of Canada feeds on human flesh. This "Curse of the Wendigo" was created by the Northern Gods (also known as "the Inua") in an effort to deter human cannibalism. The cannibal transforms into a superhumanly strong, nearly indestructible, fur-covered monster: the Wendigo. He or she then roams the woods eating human beings. The Wendigo has frequently fought the Hulk, Wolverine, and Alpha Flight. Paul Cartier transformed into the Wendigo, battled the Hulk, and escaped. He battled the Hulk again and encountered Wolverine, and then battled the Hulk and Wolverine; Paul Cartier was cured as college professor Georges Baptiste became the Wendigo. He later terrorized a snowbound group. He battled Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and members of Alpha Flight; the Baptiste Wendigo was captured and cured by Shaman. Fur trapper Francois Lartrigue later transformed into the Wendigo, battled the Hulk when Bruce Banner stumbled across a cabin belonging to him, and Sasquatch, and was taken to be cured by Shaman.

One Wendigo battled the Werewolf by Night in an issue of Marvel Comics Presents. Its most frequent appearances were in the limited series Sabretooth: Open Season #1-4 where Sabretooth was hired to kill a Wendigo creature, ultimately succeeding. A few years later, a new Wendigo emerges, leading to a fight with Wolverine and She-Hulk. A local Canadian super-hero, Talisman, arrives and claims to have a magical cure for the Wendigo's condition, but S.H.I.E.L.D. agents won't let her pass until they finally confirm her identity. After a long battle, the Wendigo is defeated by a combined attack from his two opponents, and placed into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

In King Size Hulk #1, it is revealed that a pack of Wendigo exist in the Bering Strait after Red Hulk is attacked by a Wendigo, attracted by his campfire while cooking a meal. A Wendigo bites the Red Hulk on the shoulder and he bleeds hot radioactive blood. He shoots the Wendigo in chest a few times with a rifle and wounds the creature, but it uses its long tail to damage his gun's sight scope. Angered, the Red Hulk reveals he gets hotter the madder he gets and then kills one Wendigo; the others come to claim the body and eat it.

The Wendigos begin their invasion upon Las Vegas. Bruce Banner, on the trail of the Red Hulk, witnesses the Wendigo pack hunting the Casino area's big gaming room, all crouched about a water fountain with statues. Excited near a terrified girl, he transforms into the Grey Hulk. The Grey Hulk gets help in the fight against them from Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, Sentry and Brother Voodoo. Knocked into some debris, later on the Green Hulk appears. However, the Wendigos infect Hulk turning him into the "Wendihulk" who ends up attacking his fellow heroes. The heroes managed to cure Hulk and drive away the Wendigos.

Wendihulk

When the Avengers Academy students have an encounter with former Norman Osborn subject Jeremy Biggs, it was mentioned that Biggs' company had bought a Wendigo which killed Steve (another former Osborn subject with ice-based powers).

During the Fear Itself storyline, a Wendigo was among the Alpha Flight villains gathered by Vindicator and Department H to spread the Master of the World's "Unity" program and to take down Alpha Flight

In other media

• The Wendigo appears in The Incredible Hulk animated series episode "And the Wind Cries...Wendigo!", with vocalizations provided by Leeza Miller McGee. This version is the result of a curse placed upon a Native American warrior. When it captured Betty Ross, the Hulk and Thunderbolt Ross Ross had to work together to save her. After being defeated by the Hulk, the Wendigo reverted to its human form.
• The Wendigo appears in the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series episode "Wolverine vs. Hulk". This version is shown to have horns, can turn others into Wendigos via its bite, and is the result of super-soldier experiments conducted by Nick Fury. After being recruited by Fury to defeat the Hulk, Wolverine discovers that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had previously enlisted Bruce Banner to aid in capturing and curing the Wendigo, but fell victim to it instead. Wolverine and the Hulk worked together to cure the agents before defeating the original Wendigo.
• In Avengers Assemble, in the crazy episode where the Impossible Man looked like DC's Mister Mxyzptlk. He at one point teleported a Wendigo to the base, but made it disappear sometime later.
• In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., when they are on their way to a ski vacation the characters encounter a mix of Wolverine and Wendigo. Wolverine (after having returned to normal thanks to his healing power), says that the Wendigos are turning everyone from this place into other Wendigos. According to A-Bomb's research, they are led by King Wendigo, the only one of them who was ever human. All Hulks were transformed into Wendigos, but the main Hulk retained his control. After all he is famous for having learned to control himself, using the Fastball Special maneuver Wolverine destroyed his amulet and made the character disappear and all the Wendigos returned to normal. The remains of the amulet were destroyed by the A-Bomb which reminded the characters that in horror movies whenever the cursed object is taken home this is the beginning of the film's sequel.
• In the Ultimate Spider Man cartoon, the character comes back in the competition that the Grandmaster did. Hulk and Spider-Man fight against King Wendigo who without explanation returned, Hulk warned Spider Man not to let Wendigo bite him.

Video games

• The Wendigo appears as a boss in the 1990s X-Men.
• The Wendigo appears as a boss in X2: Wolverine's Revenge.
• Monsters based on the Wendigo called the W.E.N.D.I.G.O. Prototype (Weaponized Experiment Neurodindritic Incident Gamma Zero) appear in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In keeping with the semi-realistic tone of the live-action X-Men film series, the W.E.N.D.I.G.O. prototypes are genetically engineered super-soldiers whose transformations are triggered by adrenaline surges instead of magically cursed beings and serve as bosses in the Weapon X areas.
• The Wendigo appears in the iOS game Avengers Initiative.
• The Wendigo appears in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.
• The Wendigo appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers.