Grapplers (comics)

Fictional organization in the Marvel Universe
The original line up consisted of criminals Titania, Letha, Poundcakes, and Screaming Mimi, organized by Auntie Freeze. The original Grapplers closely resemble members of the DC Comics' group the Female Furies. Screaming Mimi would later become a superhero under the name "Songbird", while Titania was later renamed "Lascivious".

The Grapplers first appeared in Marvel Two in One #54 56 (August–October 1979), and were created by writers Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, and artist John Byrne. Joe Sinnott was the inker of their first appearance, John Costanza was the letterer and Bob Share was the colorist. The Grapplers received an entry in the appendix of the first volume of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and a full team entry in volume two including Titania, Poundcakes, Screaming Mimi, Letha, Auntie Freeze, Battleaxe, Sushi, Butterball, Vavavoom, Magilla, Cowgirl, and Gladiatrix. The team also had an entry in issue 5 of the Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe covering the original five members as well as Battleaxe. The team was also covered in the Marvel Encyclopedia Vol 1 "Fantastic Four". The team has never been featured in their own comic, neither as a group nor as individuals.

Titania, Letha, Poundcakes, and Screaming Mimi, the original four Grapplers, were drafted by the Roxxon Oil Company to invade Project: Pegasus, along with the warrior Thundra. The group later attacked Dazzler while they were all incarcerated at Ryker's Island in attempt to get vengeance after Klaw's seeming death at her hands. After getting beaten to near death, Dazzler was able to defeat the Grapplers with a light blast. The Grapplers then escaped prison and planned to attack the Thing with several other super villains, though the Avengers, the X Men, the Fantastic Four, and various other super heroes foiled their plans. Afterward, the Grapplers decided to halt their illegal activities and become legitimate wrestlers. They soon branched out, and several new members joined their ranks. Soon after, Titania was slain by the Scourge of the Underworld. Screaming Mimi later joined the Thunderbolts, while Poundcakes became a freelance mercenary. Letha and Titania were resurrected years later by the Hood, alongside several other victims of the Scourge. The Hood also gifted the pair with new powers: Letha with the ability to inspire irrational rage telepathically and Titania with the ability to inspire irrational lust. Titania took the codename Lascivious to better represent her new power set. The Grapplers then resurfaced, consisting of Letha, Lascivious, Poundcakes, and a new Screaming Mimi. Together, they battled their old teammate Songbird, but were defeated and arrested with the exception of the new Screaming Mimi who was a teenage runaway forced to work with them. The Grapplers escaped imprisonment, and in subsequent appearances often appeared individually or in pairs. Poundcakes was seen breaking out of the Raft alongside Moonstone and several other female criminals. Letha and Lascivious were recruited into the Masters of Evil and spent time in Bagalia. Letha and Poundcakes were later seen with the second Titania, Mary MacPherran at a bar. Artificial constructs of Grapplers members Poundcakes, Battleaxe, and Gladiatrix were used by Yon Rogg to battle Captain Marvel, though they were quickly defeated. Similarly, Arcade used constructs of the original Grapplers to battle Dazzler. As part of the All New, All Different Marvel, Letha and Poundcakes appeared as hired extortionists. They battled Nadia Pym, the new Wasp, along with her allies. The Grapplers' defeat led to their imprisonment, though Nadia and Janet Van Dyne later hired them as bodyguards for their new "G. I. R. L." (Genius In action Research Labs) initiative.

The original Grapplers, (Titania, Letha, Screaming Mimi, and Poundcakes) and the later retconned leader Auntie Freeze, bear a superficial resemblance to the Female Furies, from Jack Kirby's New Gods (first seen in 1972) as well as mirroring their superpowers.

Titania (Davida DeVito) was the field leader of the original Grapplers. She wielded an energy rod which enabled her to blast long range bursts. After Titania and Letha had been killed by the Scourge of the Underworld, and eventually turned over a new leaf, calling herself Songbird and joining the Thunderbolts. Most recently, she was seen battling Ms. Marvel, though she was quickly defeated.

Butterball (Vivian Dolan) is an overweight wrestler who uses her massive body as a weapon, often by throwing herself at an enemy.

Magilla (Sandy Stalmaster) is a wrestler from the UCWF who was given superhuman abilities by the Power Broker and took the name Magilla, as her whole body was covered in hair. Magilla only appeared as part of the initial UCWF storyline, This version is a mutant who hangs out at the Bar with No Name. She is also illiterate and won numerous trophies in high school, only to be stripped of them after her mutant status was revealed. Poundcakes appears in the video game Lego Marvel's Avengers as part of the "Classic Captain Marvel" DLC pack.