Hippo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was introduced in the series Dark Reign as an uplifted hippopotamus who was attacked by Venom and lost his left leg to him. In later appearances, Hippo was established as an enemy of Spider-Man and regained his leg without explanation.
Publication history Hippo first appeared in Dark Reign: The Sinister Spider-Man #1 (August 2009), and was created by Brian Reed, Chris Bachalo, and Tim Townsend.
Fictional character biography Hippo is an ordinary zoo hippopotamus named Mrs. Fluffy Lumpkins who was uplifted into an anthropomorphic form by the High Evolutionary. While Hippo is on a crime spree, his left leg is eaten by Venom, who is masquerading as Spider-Man as a member of the Dark Avengers.Dark Reign: The Sinister Spider-Man #2 (September 2009) Hippo joins the Redeemers alongside Dementoid, Doctor Everything, Eleven, and General Wolfram in a plan to redeem "Spider-Man".Dark Reign: The Sinister Spider-Man #1 (August 2009)
Hippo is later seen fighting New Avengers members Spider-Man and Ronin. During this appearance, Hippo is shown to have his leg restored, with no explanation as to how he regained it. Both heroes have a hard time taking down Hippo, who is defeated by Luke Cage.New Avengers: Luke Cage #1 (June 2010)
Hippo begins attending Super Villains Anonymous meetings at a church alongside Boomerang, Doctor Bong, Grizzly, Looter, Mirage, and Porcupine.The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3 (November 2013) At another meeting, Grizzly and Looter tell Hippo about their run-ins with Spider-Man.The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #11 (June 2014)
Hippo later appears as a member of the Menagerie alongside Skein, White Rabbit, and Panda-Mania. They were on a rampage stealing expensive eggs from an auction until Spider-Man arrives. Hippo and the Menagerie are defeated by Spider-Man.The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #1 (June 2014) Hippo and the rest of the Menagerie reunite to commit a diamond heist, but they are once again defeated by Spider-Man.The Amazing Spider-Man Annual (vol. 3) #1 (February 2015)
Powers and abilities As a hippopotamus, Hippo possesses superhuman strength and durability. He is also shown to be very adept in the water.
Reception In 2020, Comic Book Resources (CBR) ranked Hippo 4th in their "Spider-Man: 10 Weirdest Animal Villains From The Comics That We'd Like To See In The MCU" list.
In other media Hippo appears in the Spider-Man episode "Bring on the Bad Guys", voiced by Zack Shada. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
References
External links Hippo at Marvel.com Hippo at Marvel Wiki Hippo at Comic Vine