Water Wizard
Real Name: Peter Van Zante
AKA: Aqueduct (our new vocabulary word for this bio.)
First Appearance: Ghost Rider (vol. 2) 23. He took the Aqua-name in New Warriors 8.
What's His Problem? Mortally wounded by an enemy rocket, Vietnam vet Peter Van Zante was flown to a hospital ship just as a typhoon made normal surgery dangerous. Doctors used an experimental cell-stimulating ray to keep him alive but a lightning-induced power surge healed him a lot faster and, as he later found out, granted him a fairly unique psychokinesis. Pete hid his talent for years until a weasel named Mole convinced him that crime just might pay. There come days, though, when a guy in water-proof spandex should stay in bed (notice how I avoid saying "waterbed").
Powers: Water Wizard can manipulate large amounts of liquid with a thought and a gesture; while he has used crude oil and armor coolant, water is his first and most abundant choice. Wiz can create obedient monsters, tentacles, geysers, tidal waves, giant fists, fast-moving liquid ski-mobiles or surf-boards, et cetera. He later displayed the subtle yet deadly ability of leeching water from a human body 'bout the same time he ditched the thigh boots (though if his feet actually got wet, couldn't he just leech the extra water out of his socks?)
Favorite Quote: "'Fiery Fury', Theary? I thought we got into this gig to avoid that kinda stereotypical super-villain bull." (New Warriors 9. Water Wi-- sorry, Aqueduct mocks his cohort Firewall for her dialogue, the kind that he has been quite guilty of himself. It is this author's unabashed opinion that much of his repartee with Zarathos is just what some "reporters" think of they have nothing better to do but foist the old "Holy BAM-KAPOW-WHAMMO!" dreck upon an unsuspecting public during those times that something even semi-momentous happens in "funnybooks"-- ahem. But I digress...
Heroes He Keeps Running Into: Water Wizard often tried dousing Johnny Blaze's flaming alter ego and got burned for it, leading to a short stay in a sanitarium. Attacks on Iron Man and Captain America (whom he contacted for protection after being targeted by Scourge) dried up once common sense took over. Pete tried to ambush the Fantastic Four and the Avengers but instead crossed Hydro-Man and some overzealous construction workers. As Aqueduct, he's often mixed it up with the New Warriors despite target Namorita's inability to drown.
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: After his partnership with Mole, Water-Wings acted as underling to the late unlamented Enforcer for $1,000,000; later came uppity mystic Moondark (they couldn't stand each other) and Sheik Abdul Hurani's failed take-over of Saudi Arabia. He abandoned Justin Hammer's super-army in mid-fight. He did help a drought-stricken Indiana town after Blaze nagged his ear off, but he never got real appreciation until "Project: Earth." This radical environmental group recruited him into their Force of Nature, a superhuman quartet who have raised havoc in Brazilian rain forests, a Middle Eastern revolution, and in the now-useless Vault by protesting their rather restricted life.
Most Despicable Act: The guy who once told Captain America he wasn't into shooting people made a moral U-turn after becoming an Eco-Terrorist. In Brazil, Aqueduct used massive dehydration to interrogate a hotel desk clerk, making it easier for Firewall to cremate the guy (who had no visible connection to his nation's deforestation problems); dirty move for a guy usually concerned with his own wallet and safety. Van Zante also contributed to the death of General Halladah of Trans-Sabal, who was burning the local oil fields, but was doing it to keep his country from falling into enemy hands. Welcome to the big time, Peter.
by Ray Schaff
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