Aaron Nicholson (Earth-616)

Origin[]

The Answer first came to work for the father and son team of Wilson (the Kingpin) and Richard Fisk when they controlled the Las Vegas division of Hydra. He was their top hitman, but he also had an angle, or an answer, to any problem.^[2]

He volunteered to be the guinea pig for Fisk's attempt to grant superhuman powers, via the equipment of the late Harlan Stillwell. At first the process seemed to have no effect, but he eventually learned he had gained the ability to come up with whatever power was necessary to resolve a given situation.^[2]

Kingpin[]

The Kingpin sent the Answer to engage Spider-Man and test his abilities. At first the Answer struggled, but each time Spidey attacked him, he gained the ability to counter him. The Black Cat jumped into the fight, but the Answer escaped, having taken both their measures.^[3]

The Kingpin planned to use long-term exposure to the Black Cat's bad luck power to cause problems for Spidey. He had the Answer arrange a plot to keep them together. He coerced the Black Cat to agree to the ruse, because of her debt to the Kingpin. The Answer held her prisoner with a fake bomb and then allowed Spider-Man to "save" her. The plan worked, and Spidey and the Black Cat were on good terms once again.^[4]

The Kingpin had the Answer use the distraction to steal the corpse of the cyborg Silvermane to use as a potential assassin. The Kingpin's agents succeeded in partially reviving him and applied a submission collar on Silvermane's neck to force his compliance. Silvermane lost control and sought Dagger, whose energies held a connection to his life force. Answer reasoned that the energy manipulated by Dagger might have been able to revive the Kingpin's comatose wife Vanessa Fisk. The Answer set a trap and captured Dagger for the Kingpin. The Answer infused his own light energy into Dagger but this backfired. Dagger absorbed all of the Answer's life force, apparently killing him. The energy released in the process broke the link with Silvermane and restored him to life.^[5]

Discorporated[]

The Answer survived as a discorporated, unconscious being of energy. The implosion of the Multiverse Matrix^[6] caused an energy disturbance that restored the Answer's awareness. He discovered the means to communicate with the corporeal world via a computer chip, formerly used by Doctor Octopus to control his Adamantium arms. He made a deal with Octopus, promising to free him from prison and restore his destroyed mechanical arms in exchange for helping him regain his physical form. Octopus duped a scientist Guardsman into creating the machine which restored the Answer to life. The Answer sought to betray Octopus but he was ultimately defeated and imprisoned.^[7]

Toxin[]

Answer was one of the escapees from the Ryker's Island breakout . He began to rob banks with his sidekick Joe Self in order to impress the Owl, then current ruler of New York's underworld. He managed to get the Owl's attention, and was waiting in a bar with his sidekick before phoning him back, but was confronted by Toxin, the heroic symbiote. Toxin told the Answer that if he gave him the answer to his problem, he would let him walk away. Toxin revealed to the Answer that he was a former police officer bonded to a symbiote, and that he couldn't seem to keep the symbiote from misbehaving, and that it was bringing out the worst in him. The Answer told Toxin that the solution was to kill himself. Toxin didn't keep his word, and sent the Answer back to the Raft. Toxin did attempt suicide, as per the Answer's solution, but the symbiote saved him.^[8]

Ruby Thursday[]

He had a brief romantic liaison with Ruby Thursday at some point in the past, to which she called an end. She approached him and asked him to fetch A.I.M.'s procurement budget for her, which he did. Soon afterward, word got to him that Bullseye was out to assassinate him, but he later discovered that Bullseye was actually hired by A.I.M. to assassinate Ruby instead, and wanted to get to her through him. Bullseye decapitated Ruby, but he let the Answer keep her head. The Answer went into hiding to search for a way to reactivate her head.^[1]

The Hood[]

After the superhuman Civil War, Answer joined Hood's criminal army and helped them fight the New Avengers at Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum.^[9] He was eventually captured when his team tried to help Iron Patriot attack Asgard.^[10]

Pleasant Hill[]

Answer was imprisoned in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Pleasant Hill. He and the other villains, after being free from the altered realities, tried to escape but were stopped by the Avengers.^[11]

Return to Hood's Gang[]

Answer attended a meeting of various villains organized by the Wizard to discuss what to do about Doctor Doom who had unexpectedly decided to become a superhero and become the new Iron Man. As the Hood brought up the idea of forming a gang of villains to take Doom out, Doom suddenly appeared and took down all of the villains present.^[12] He later participated in an ambush against Doom along with many of the other villains that Doom had earlier defeated.^[13] He also attended a meeting to discuss the Hood's rise as the new Kingpin of crime^[14] before joining Hood's Gang once more in ransacking Castle Doom in search for Doom's fortune.^[15]

His powers are the answer to whatever he needs at the time. At rest, he may not demonstrate any superhuman powers. However, in the middle of a fight, struggle, etc., he will develop whatever abilities he needs at the time to counteract other's powers and abilities (usually only one or two powers at a time): superhuman strength, speed, durability, flight, formation of force fields, heightened senses, etc. Flight may be an ability he retains at all times. In some cases this is a conscious effort, as when he deliberately enhanced his own hearing, and in other cases, it is his body's response to a situation. Also, in most cases his powers respond almost instantly, although there have been situations when he has been surprised and overwhelmed before his powers could adapt.

Nicholson is highly intelligent and able to mentally determine the answer to a number of problems, without the use of his powers. He can analyze data (scientific, legal, physical, etc.) and discover solutions much more quickly than most.

The Answer's costume is specially designed so as to be virtually frictionless (presumably with the exception of the soles of his boots and the palms of his gloves), so that Spider-Man's webs will not stick to them.

• In one of his appearances, the Answer was seen with an unnamed sidekick wearing a similar costume.^[8]

• The Answer was one of the candidates on Steve Rogers' list of supervillains to enroll in Luke Cage's Thunderbolts roster.^[16]
• Spider-Man has stated that he hates to fight Aaron Nicholson because he's too unpredictable but also believes Nicholson to not be good against multi-pronged assaults.^[17]