The Blob (Fred Dukes) is a supervillain appearing in Marvel Comics' X-Men. He is a mutant with the ability of having an enormous weight and superhuman strength and practical invulnerablity; at one point he shrugged off a direct blow from Wolverine's adamantium claws. He has, at times, been able to increase his gravity or to root his feet to the ground in a way similar to the way Spider-Man climbs walls (the exact nature of this ability varies with the telling, but is apparently a power seperate from his weight). His agility is at a level of an athlete of normal weight and build, despite his massive girth; this unseeming agility has won him more than a few fights with unsuspecting opponents. His major weaknesses are his short temper, lack of foresight, and his easily-manipulated self-esteem. The Blob has been associated with almost every interation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and has consistently been one of its most sadistic members.
He first started out as a marvel at a circus sideshow, but when he learned of the existence of the X-Men he first decided to join them, then to take over their mansion; he failed at both tasks. Later, he was recruited for Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; he remained a member through the Brotherhood's reorganization as Freedom Force, and, after Freedom Force's dissolution, he rejoined the Brotherhood with the rest of his surviving teammates.
The Blob has also appeared in the X-Men Evolution cartoon, where he was a classmate and bully of the X-Men prior to joining Mystique's Brotherhood.
