Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.

Today we look at the Olympian turned Avenger: Triathlon

Appearances in Heroclix: Avengers Assemble

First Appearance: Avengers (vol. 3) #8

Team Affiliations: Skrull Kill Krew, Secret Avengers, The Initiative, Avengers, Agents of Atlas

Created By: Kurt Busiek and George Pérez

Delroy Garrett is an Olympic track medalist who is disgraced when it is discovered that he uses steroids. With no where else to turn, Delroy joins the Triune Understanding. Triune leader Jonathan Tremont gives Delroy powers that he has stolen from former superhero, 3-D Man, though Delroy is unaware of the source of these new powers; Delroy simply believes in the teachings of the group and thinks he has unlocked his superhuman potential. Delroy adopts the moniker Triathlon and becomes a celebrity spokesman for the group.

As part of the publicity campaign for the Triune Understanding, Triathlon begins fighting crime. In the course of these events he helps the Avengers fight foes such as Moses Magnum, Lord Templar, and Pagan. Jonathan Tremont blames the Avengers for these attacks and sets up a smear campaign against them before hiring the Taskmaster to vandalize Triune buildings in an attempt to frame the Avengers. Tremont then publicly forgives the Avengers, which the group begrudgingly acquieses to in an attempt to avoid further bad publicity. Triathlon then helps the Avengers defeat a terrorist attacking their mansion which leads to Triathlon being accepted into the group in an attempt to mend fences, though both sides hold some reservations.

Though the beginnings are tough, Delroy eventually grows to be a caring and enthusiastic member of the group. He even begins to refuse to attend Triune events if it conflicts with Avengers duties. During the Kang War a being of incredible power enters the solar system. Tremont claims that this is the “triple evil” that he had founded the Triune Understanding to defeat and at Triathlon’s urging, the Avengers fly into space to face it. However, it is soon revealed that Tremont seeks to usurp the power of this being for his own and had stolen the powers of 3-D Man as well as resurrecting his brothers as Lord Templar and Pagan, along with the founding of the Triune Understanding, to do so. Tremont seems to succeed in this, at first, but the power proves too unwieldy for him. Triathlon believes the key lays in selflessness and is able to take the power onto himself. The Avengers return and with the help of an incredibly powerful Triathlon defeat Kang and his son, the Scarlet Centurion. With Kang’s defeat, Delroy releases the power to restore 3-D Man and his brother to their own bodies, at the cost of his own abilities. He later leaves the Avengers after they reorganize under a UN charter.

During the superhero civil war, Garrett is seen as a member of Captain America’s Secret Avengers, standing with Rogers against the Superhuman Registration Act. After the end, however, Delroy is recruited into the Fifty State Initiative and strives to help improve the situation by training new recruits. He eventually takes on the legacy moniker of 3-D Man and becomes the head of the Hawaiin superteam.

The Haiwaiin superteam is known as the Point Men and made up of Star Sign, Paydirt, Devil-Slayer and Magnitude. Delroy arrives and meets all of them, though when he meets Magnitude the goggles that the original 3-D Man gifted him reveal Magnitude as a Skrull impostor. Having been found out, the Skrull Magnitude attacks the team and severly injures Star Sign and Paydirt before Delroy is able to kill him. Devil-Slayer teleports Delroy back to Camp Hammond where he announces to everyone that the Initiative has been infiltrated by Skrulls. The Crusader, a Skrull himself, uses his cosmic ring to make Delroy see every non-Skrull near him as a Skrull before persuading the hero to take a Quinjet and get help. The Quinjet, being Starktech, is taken down by a Skrull virus and crashes in New Mexico. There, 3-D Man joins the Skrull Kill Krew and helps them track down Skrulls with his goggles. During a small civilian riot, Delroy’s goggles are destroyed by a thrown rock and the group are momentarily concerned that they will not be able to identify who the Skrull impostors are. However, Delroy soon realizes that he can identify the Skrulls even without his goggles. They reach Camp Hammond again where Delroy is able to see Crusader as the Skrull he is and kills him. He decides to leave the Initiative and continue hunting down the remaining Skrulls on Earth.

Delroy later joins the Agents of Atlas for a brief time and joins Dr. Doom’s team of Avengers during the Inversion of heroes and villains brought on by the Scarlet Witch.