Warning: Spoilers for The Thing #1!After holding his own against The Thing, Melvin Potter's Gladiator is quickly evolving into Daredevil's strongest villain. Melvin Potter has been a frenemy of Matt Murdock's since debuting in 1966's Daredevil #18. Whether he's building costumes like Daredevil's extreme 90s armor, or slashing at other heroes with weaponized wrist blades and armor, Melvin has always notoriously been powerless.

That all changes for Gladiator in The Thing #1, where the Daredevil supervillain displays uncharacteristic feats of super-strength. When people start going missing, word around town is that Melvin Potter knows something. When Ben Grimm tries to interrogate him, Mel starts pounding away at The Fantastic Four's darkest hero. The costume designer claims that mysterious people from Saint Patrick's Córdoba at the Empire State Building put "things" in him that seemingly changed his body.

While there still remains a mystery afoot, Melvin's new developments potentially warp his backstory and biology forever.

Daredevil Supervillain Gladiator Gets New Powers

The Thing #1 by Tony Fleecs, Justin Mason, Alex Sinclair, and VC's Joe Caramagna

When Gladiator entered Daredevil lore, he immediately expressed his hatred for superpowered individuals, calling all costumed superheroes "nothing but overrated, conceited, swaggering braggarts" in his debut. Melvin became the Gladiator out of spite and jealousy toward heroes. In his mind, if he couldn't have powers or become a hero, he would prove himself better by defeating them in battle. His introduction to the Marvel Universe saw him go toe-to-toe with Daredevil, but even against the Man Without Fear, he was swiftly defeated, proving instead that a human is no match for someone with superpowers.

Time and time again, Gladiator has been made an example out of in Marvel Comics, quickly being defeated by top-tier heroes because he never had powers. The disadvantage morphed Melvin Potter into something of a C-tier villain, even if he is one of Stan Lee's most underrated characters. Seeing him overpower The Thing, one of Marvel's strongest, gives Melvin a much-needed power boost to not only elevate Gladiator's importance in the grander universe, but launch him to the top of Daredevil's rogue's gallery as his strongest baddie.

Is Gladiator's New Power Boost Permanent?

The Thing Could Reverse the Daredevil Villain's Upgrade Before the Story's Over

In one flail swoop, Daredevil's longtime rival-turned-sometimes-ally manages to re-establish himself as being on par with arguably Marvel's strongest hero, but Gladiator's upgrade may be temporary. The end of the story reveals the Kingpin's involvement, but The Thing still must crack the case. Depending on how the story manifests, there's a chance Ben comes closer to undoing whatever's been done to Gladiator and people like him. Otherwise, if Marvel doesn't change this new status quo, Daredevil and the superhero community have a new all-powerful enemy to contend with in Gladiator.

The Thing #1 is available now from Marvel.