Worthless Dream

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

Judging by the hue of his costume, as well as his preoccupation with acquiring a certain metal element, it comes as little surprise that "Jack Smith" is known as the Goldbug in criminal circles. We first saw him in operation in the pages of Luke Cage, Power Man, where he came to Cage as a client to solicit his help in guarding a certain shipment of gold, when all the while Smith was actually planning to steal it himself. Cage managed to foil his plans, but Goldbug slipped through his fingers at the last minute.

After commissioning the Tinkerer to provide him with a new ship, the Goldbug, now an informal agent of the evil triumverate of "They," sought out the Hulk with the goal of having him provide the raw power for his ship. And he lures the Hulk aboard by assisting him with some encroaching soldiers:

Once aboard, the Goldbug continues the charade of being the Hulk's ally against the pursuing soldiers, and that the Hulk can use devices in his ship to deal with a squadron of attacking planes. It's all a bit too technical for the Hulk, but he agrees to do as the Goldbug suggests--and thereby falls right into his trap.

The Goldbug then goes "off script" as far as "They" are concerned. With the perfect power source for his ship, Smith now seeks out El Dorado, the mythical city of gold:

"They," however, have been monitoring the Goldbug, and decide to intervene, having their own plans for the energies of the Hulk:

The Hulk pretty much squashes the Goldbug as a threat--but "They" send an emissary to escort the two to El Dorado. And while the Hulk deals with the triumverate, Smith awakens and realizes that he's found his childhood dream after all. Yet it's a dream that leads to a disappointing reality:

Eventually, the Hulk is able to crush the plans of "They" (with some assistance from the Goldbug, who realizes the nature of their mad plans), and El Dorado is buried in the aftermath. But the Hulk isn't quite finished with the Goldbug:

In the scuffle, the two find themselves teleported back to civilization by still-functioning machinery from the city; but, despite still being in danger from the Hulk, the Goldbug feels his chances for escape are good. From the Hulk, that is:

This wouldn't be the last we'd hear from the Goldbug, having dealings with Spider-Man, the Sub-Mariner, the Maggia, et al., before meeting a fatal end from the gun of the Punisher.  (Who probably used a gold bullet out of spite.)