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I previously believed that Bruce Banner was involved in trying to replicate the super-soldier serum that made Steve Rogers, his gamma ray experiments were trying to replicate that.

I also believe Man-Thing and Curtis Conners were also involved in research linked to the super serum, and their transformations came linked to that work.

How many and which Super Heroes' and Villains' from the comics, original storylines were linked to researching the Super Serum in some way, and how many (roughly) have had their original Origin Stories retconned to be linked to the Serum since? (I will ask a follow up question later based on this answer)

Just to clarify it is fairly easy to find the list of characters who have been given the super soldier serum. This question is not about them, it is about the characters who where created either as a side effect of trying to develop it, or in some other way had there origin linked to it.

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    Does it matter if the character gets retconned into being tied into the serum? I think a significant number of characters in the comics who have been revealed to have a connection to the serum have had that connection added much later than their original origin story.
    – Michael Richardson
    Oct 11, 2022 at 21:50
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    @MichaelRichardson Indeed, Bruce Banner was originally researching gamma-rays.
    – Buzz
    Oct 12, 2022 at 1:01
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    The Red Skull also
    – Valorum
    Oct 12, 2022 at 9:30
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    So just comics Earth-616?
    – FuzzyBoots
    Oct 12, 2022 at 13:35
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    While not Marvel, the origin of the Creeper (Silver Age version) could qualify.
    – Emsley Wyatt
    Oct 12, 2022 at 21:22

2 Answers 2

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According to Comic Book Resources, the following characters took some form of the SSS (Super-Soldier serum):

  1. Captain America
  2. Sentry - took an experimental version of the SSS
  3. Red Skull - his mind was transferred (by Zola) in to a cloned body of Steve Rogers
  4. Omega Red - given the KGB's version of the SSS
  5. Luke Cage - agreed to experimental treatment, which was based on the Super-Soldier program
  6. Black Widow - given an experimental Super-Soldier treatment in the Red Room
  7. Isaiah Bradley - underwent the Super-Soldier process before Rogers
  8. U.S.Agent - Power Broker used a variant of the Super-Soldier process on him
  9. Nuke
  10. Warhawk
  11. Mockingbird - In New Avengers # 13, Fury gives Morse a combination of the SSS and the Infinity formula.
  12. Nomad - Jack Munroe takes a version of the SSS to become the new Bucky
  13. The Destroyer
  14. Master Man was subjected to the Nazi version of the SSS (I believe this was in Giant-Size Invaders #1)
  15. Anti-Cap
  16. Man-Thing - Ted Sallis attempts to recreate the SSS. In Web of Spider-man (2009), it is revealed that Sallis at one point worked alongside Curt Connors.

Eli Bradley eventually receives a blood transfusion from his grandfather Isaiah, and gains similar powers.

In Hulk No More, M.O.D.O.K. works with General Ross to attempt to create gamma-powered super soldiers.

While MVP has not taken any form of the SSS, he is the great-grandson of its inventor (Dr. Erskine).

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  • Just to clarify this is not specifically characters who took it but those who where in and around trying to develop it. Curt Conners, from what I read on Man Things page, was involved in an attempt to recreate it and this led to him then discovering the technology to regrow his arm.
    – Richard C
    Oct 13, 2022 at 13:32
  • I have updated my question
    – Richard C
    Oct 13, 2022 at 13:34
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    ok that might have been me mis reading, I think Man Thing worked with Conners prior to working on the superserum, I mis read that to Conners working with him then but that is the kind of links I am looking for.
    – Richard C
    Oct 13, 2022 at 13:57
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In the 90's animated Spider Man (which has its own continuity), Felicia Hardy is given the serum. Apparently her father knew the serum formula (quote is from the Felicia link)

Felicia's father remained in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody until the Kingpin had the Chameleon infiltrate the Helicarrier he was in and switch places with him. After being captured by Doctor Octopus, Felicia was threatened to convince her father to hand over the formula to the Super-Soldier Serum. Felicia was also used to ensure the formula he gave was correct; Herbert Landon improved upon the formula; with an upgraded type of the same super-soldier project, Felicia was gifted with great physical powers.

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    This doesn't really cover the "how many" offer of the question, regardless of how interesting it is
    – AncientSwordRage ♦
    Oct 14, 2022 at 2:57
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    @AncientSwordRage I think OP is not really asking "how many" but they're actually looking to identify which "heroes and villains are directly linked to the super serum originally."
    – galacticninja
    Oct 16, 2022 at 6:48
  • @galacticninja he's but if someone said "how many continents?" Just replying "well, Africa's a continent" doesn't help as a complete answer when you want the full list
    – AncientSwordRage ♦
    Oct 16, 2022 at 9:04
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    @galacticninja ... I realise that. Addendums should be edits or comments, and list questions are only tolerated if the answers are complete. How do you accept an answer if there are two with partial lists?
    – AncientSwordRage ♦
    Oct 16, 2022 at 11:49
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    To weigh in here, the inherent problem with a lot of these questions is they don't list what continuity they want. The other answer covers the 616 list. This one covers another continuity entirely (and said continuity is short). If that's still not acceptable I'll delete, but it did seem like a valid answer, and one that needed to be distinct from the other one.
    – Machavity
    Oct 16, 2022 at 13:11

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