Dr. Molotov

A Russian nuclear scientist responsible for the more dangerous weapons used during the Unknown War

Name:

Dr. Molotov

Publisher:

Image

Real name:

Andrei Molotov

Aliases:

Andrei Molotov
Dr. Andrei Molotov
Pyotr Petrov

Birth date:

None

Gender:

Male

Powers:

Intellect

First issue:

Geiger #3

See at ComicVine

Origin

Dr. Andrei Molotov was born during the Soviet era of Russia in Pripyat, four years before the Chernobyl disaster. From an early age, he displayed exceptional intelligence, and, at the age of 15, he was admitted to the exclusive St. Petersburg State University. He studied nuclear energy and was responsible for significant improvements in design and safety of nuclear reactors. This got the attention of the Scientific Research Institute 1101, a private defense contractor focused on increasing the effectiveness of nuclear weapons. While designing a bomb with a larger and faster radiation fallout, Molotov met and fell in love with his future wife, Lena. As they discussed starting a family, Molotov planned on defecting to the United States during an energy conference in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, while he was in Vegas, the Unknown War broke out, and the United States took heavy damage thanks to improvements Molotov had made. Lena's flight was re-routed to Denver. She and Molotov haven't seen each other since the war broke out.

Creation

Dr. Molotov debuted in Geiger #3 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank

Major Story Arcs

The Glowing Man

Molotov traveled the dangerous barren landscape of America searching for his wife, Lena. He came across a militia that promised to help him for a favor. Molotov was to use his expertise to hunt and kill the infamous Glowing Man, a radioactive urban legend. Moltov found him easy to track. Since he was absorbing radiation from the air, the path he walks is less radioactive than the surrounding environment.

Molotov finally found him hanging outside of a bomb shelter. The militiamen wasted no time attacking, forcing the Glowing Man to get angry and lash out. Killing the militiamen temporarily depleted his energy levels long enough to look human and make a connection to Molotov. As Molotov felt responsible for the Unknown War, he was desperate to fix anything in this broken world.

The Glowing Man revealed himself to be Tariq Geiger, a local family man who was undergoing experimental cancer treatment when the Unknown War broke out. Molotov offered to help stabilize his powers if he helped him find his wife. Geiger agreed, so Molotov created a dampening vest with two boron rods, which would help Gieger not leak fallout as long as he kept his emotions in check. They travel to Colorado, but they find Lena's campsite burned.

Molotov and Gieger continued to survive together, however, any time a scavenger comes by, Geiger overreacts. Molotov compares him to the men who killed his wife, leading to a falling out. Molotov decided to move on.

The Glowing Woman

Molotov was wandering the nation under the assumed name Pyotr Petrov. He would help survivor settlements deal with the fallout the best he could. He eventually came across a Glowing Woman, just like Geiger, in Montana. Her name was Ash Arden. He created a boron dampening vest for her, but he also trained her to focus her radiation in ways that Geiger refused. They started a survivor's settlement in Lewiston, MT over an old missile silo. Unfortunately, Ash did not react as charitably as Geiger when she learned that Molotov was responsible for the Unknown War weapons.

Ash locked Molotov up and told everyone he was killed by the nearby doomsday cult, The Hillborn. She would force Molotov to reactive the missile in the silo to explode without being fired. When she learned of Geiger, she rigged the missile to explode without being fired. She hoped to trick Geiger into triggering the device, which would force him to absorb the radiation including her own, thus finally killing her. She lured Geiger to her location by spreading a rumor of a cured glowing man.

Ash's plans were escalated when the U.S. Army showed up to take custody of Geiger. Ash, Geiger, and Geiger's travelling companions tried to fight them off. In the ensuing battle, Molotov was revealed to be alive to Geiger. Molotov told him everything, and Geiger tried to confront Ash about it. Unfortunately, she had already triggered the device.

The fallout was too much for Geiger to handle. The radiation started to kill him, but Ash was convinced by Molotov to share it with him after all. After the dust settled, Ash sneaked away.

Coldwater Prison

Geiger kept Molotov locked up and forced him to fix Junkyard Joe, who was damaged during the Lewiston conflict. Meanwhile, he and Nate would fight off mercenaries coming to look for Geiger. Eventually, it got too much, and they decided to leave, taking Molotov with them. Unfortunately, when the mercenaries caught up with them, Geiger's power level spiked, presumably due to the extra power he absorbed from Ash. He exploded, killing the mercs and throwing himself far away from his travelling companions.