He earned his place among the Avengers villains. Introduced in Tales to Astonish #48 (1963) by Stan Lee, Ernest Hart and Don Heck, Alexander Gentry was a former weapons designer for the US Army, where he designed his Porcupine suit. As he finished the suit, he began to believe that the US government wouldn’t pay him for his suit so he decided to use it in crime to get rich. He would clash with Hank Pym, then Ant-man and later Giant Man, and Wasp a number of times before being accidently shrunk. He was returned to normal for in time for Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s wedding.

He then began working with and for other criminals, starting with Count Nefaria alongside the original Eel, Plantman and Scarecrow. They were thwarted by the X-men. He would later join Batroc’s Bridage and clashed with Captain America. He then joined up with Eel and the others again to form Crime Wave, working under the Crimson Commando and clashing with Cap again. Believing they were failure, he, along with Eel, sought guidance from the Celestial Mind Control movement, which was secretly masterminded by the alien Nebulon. He would mind control them to fight against the Defenders. He would later clash with Pym, now Yellowjacket, Nighthawk and Wasp again when he tried to rob event with many rich people attending.

He was next defeated by Hellcat while working with the Zodiac. He would later began working for Justin Hammer and He would clash with Iron man along with other villains. He was fired after this and would try to retire. Wanting to make some money, he would redesign his suit and try to sell it to the Secret Empire organization. Requiring proof it was the ultimate weapon like he said, he wore the suit and tried to defeat Captain America. He was of course defeated by Cap and his ally Nomad.

He was sent to prison and was eventually released under good behavior. He wanted to quit being a villain but needed money so he tried to sell the suit to a number of organizations but they all laughed in his face, believing him to be a joke. So he decided to try and sell the suit to the Avengers. This intrigue Captain America and talked to Gentry. Gentry informed him that he knew how to contact the Serpent Society, who Cap had tried to bring to justice. Thus, Cap agreed to buy the suit if Gentry helped him with taking down the Society. They agreed to make it seem like he had captured Cap and Gentry reluctantly donned the suit again. They contacted Sidewinder and agree to meet. Not wanting to fight and having permission to flee should he need to, Gentry ran from the fight but clashed with Diamondback. During the fight, he fell on one of his quills, which pierced his heart. He died in Cap’s arms, who told Gentry he was a worthy opponent. Cap display his suit in the Avengers mansion with the caption: “Battle Armor of the Porcupine — Honored Foe of the Avengers”.