365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…May 22nd - K
365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…
May 22nd - Komodo
Melati Kusuma was born in Malaysia and she and her family relocated to the United States during her infancy. Melati grew up a bright and highly precocious child whose intellect often left her feeling impatient with those around her. This contributed to her becoming quite impulsive and prone to distraction. Just days after earning her license to drive a car, Melati was driving far too fast and was involved in a terrible accident that caused her to lose both of her legs.
Melati struggled with this turn of events and what she hated the most was feeling that other people pitted her. She loathed being seen as just ‘the poor girl in the wheelchair.’
As such, Melati became socially withdrawn and dedicated herself to her academics. She particularly excelled in the fields of biology and cellular genetics. Melati earned a full scholarship to Empire State University where she became a prized pupil of Professor Curt Conners. Conners had previously devised a formula that used reptilian genetic material as part of an effort to regrow his lost arm. The formula had unexpected side effects and caused him to transform into the monstrous super villain known as The Lizard. Conners had reverted to his human form with the help of Spider-Man and ultimately returned to teaching. When Melati discovered Conner’s formula, she felt certain she could improve upon it and regrow her lost legs without side-effects.
Melati succeeded in this regard, yet not as completely as she had hoped. Taking the formal did enable Melati to regrow her legs, but it also transformed her into a reptilian being, with enhanced straight and dexterity, sharpened claws and a long, prehensile tail. Unlike Conners, however, Melati retained her original consciousness and could control this new form under her own volition.
Professor Conners was both proud and upset over what Melati had done; all of this was occurring in the backdrop of the conclusion of the first superhero Civil War and Conner’s made arrangements for Melati to be registered as a super powered individual and attend Camp Hammond to better learn how to use her newfound super abilities. As such, Melati (who had opted for the new alias of ‘Komodo’) became one of the first trainees of the Avengers Initiative program. Although she continued to struggle with impulsivity and rash decision making, Komodo excelled as a part of The Initiative and was quickly placed on the program’s field team.
Melati retained her reptilian form whenever she was conscious, yet reverted back to her human form whenever she slept. She kept her original form a closely guarded secret and became very angry when her teammate, Hardball, accidentally saw her asleep, human and without her legs. Hardball agreed to keep her secret and the pair ended up having a rather tumultuous romance together.
Komodo would go on to have numerous adventures as part of the Initiative, ultimately assigned to the Arizona-based squad, The Heavy Hitters. Once the Initiative program was shut down, Komodo was invited to join the Avengers Academy but she turned the offer down.
The heroine first appeared in the pages of Civil War: Battle Damage Report #1 (2007).
