WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: Marvel's Puff Adder

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the

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<v Speaker 2>Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 2>Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures, ideas and monsters

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<v Speaker 2>in time. I recently picked up a kind of ragged

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<v Speaker 2>copy of the official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master

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<v Speaker 2>Edition from I believe nineteen ninety, though this also might

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<v Speaker 2>have been a reprint from years later. I'm not entirely certain,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's filled with various Marvel characters, from the famous

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<v Speaker 2>to the obscure, each with profile data and standardized character

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<v Speaker 2>illustrations in this kind of glorious retro style. Amid all

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<v Speaker 2>the capes and tights, and there are a lot of tights,

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<v Speaker 2>there are some gloriously weird entries in the book. There's

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<v Speaker 2>the spiky faced skeleton man terror Ink, with his ability

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<v Speaker 2>to steal limbs and attach them to his own body.

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<v Speaker 2>I was also fascinated by Quasu Modo or Quasi Motivational

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<v Speaker 2>destruct Organism. He is a superpowered cyborg hunchback and presumably

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<v Speaker 2>he's quite motivational. But in this episode, I want to

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<v Speaker 2>focus in on the villain Puff Adder real name Gordo

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<v Speaker 2>Freeley and apparently a native of Atlanta. Physically, he appears

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<v Speaker 2>to be a very large, muscular man in a snake costume.

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<v Speaker 2>He is a mutant in the Marvel comics, with the

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<v Speaker 2>ability to engorge his entire epidermis with blood, thus making

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<v Speaker 2>himself appear more powerful and menacing. Now he's already a

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<v Speaker 2>very capable fighter with enhanced strength, but it's curious that

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<v Speaker 2>his mutant ability doesn't seem to actually boost his fighting

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<v Speaker 2>power in the way that many other mutant powers do. Instead,

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<v Speaker 2>it just allows him to better bluff and better intimidate.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh and he also has another weapon, a noxious gas

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<v Speaker 2>can in the mouth like cowl of his snake mask.

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<v Speaker 2>His namesake is, of course, the puff Adder snake, consisting

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<v Speaker 2>of several species native to Africa in parts of the

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<v Speaker 2>Saudi Arabian Peninsula. The snake in question is able to

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<v Speaker 2>puff itself up to look larger as a predator deterrent,

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<v Speaker 2>and it does this by inflating its body with air

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<v Speaker 2>and then hissing loudly. And like the Marvel character, the

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<v Speaker 2>snake can also back up that threat. It packs a

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<v Speaker 2>powerful venomous bite and the force of its strikes alone

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<v Speaker 2>is enough to kill small prey. Various natural world creatures

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<v Speaker 2>make themselves look bigger as a defensive or mating display.

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<v Speaker 2>Some the imposturing or the manipulation of fur or feathers,

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<v Speaker 2>while others actually inflate tissues with air, water, or blood.

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<v Speaker 2>These actions also frequently enhance the colors or patterns of

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<v Speaker 2>such a display as well. While Gordo's mutant ability may

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<v Speaker 2>appear at first to buck the general theme we see

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<v Speaker 2>in comic book Superpowers, it's certainly in keeping with actual,

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<v Speaker 2>real world involved adaptations. There is a survival advantage in

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<v Speaker 2>not actually having to fight a predator or competitor, and

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<v Speaker 2>the same holds true with not having to fight every

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<v Speaker 2>X Man or Avenger you encounter on the pages of

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<v Speaker 2>Marvel Comics. Tune in for additional episodes of the Monster Fact,

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<v Speaker 2>The Artifact, or Animalia Stupendium every week as always. You

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<v Speaker 2>can email us at contact at Stuff to Blow your

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<v Speaker 2>Mind dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For

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