Greed ruined Mark Raxton's life. Raxton was a scientist who couldn't wait to strike it rich. When Professor Spencer Smythe approached him with the idea of creating a liquid metal alloy, Raxton believed his dreams would become reality. Raxton couldn't wait to sell the invention, but Smythe thought it needed more testing. The two men argued and began to fight. Raxton lost his balance and the liquid metal spilled all over him.His skin absorbed the alloy, and his body assumed a metallic appearance.Mark Raxton had become the Molten Man.

Living Large

Fearing that he might have accidentlly poisoned himself, Raxton raced for the nearest hospital. When he stepped into the middle of the street, an irate driver began to berate him for holding up the traffic. Raxton responded by punchiing the man's car. To his surprise, the steel hood buckled beneath his blow. That's when Raxton realized that the accident had given him super-strength. he now possessed enough power to take whatever he wanted. The only one who stood in his way was Spider-Man. During their first battle, Spidey was shocked to discover that his webbings couldn't stick to the Molten Man's metallic skin. But Spidey whipped up a rope of extra-thick webbing, and managed to hog-tie the Molten Man.