Melvin Potter is a costume designer who delusionally believes that he was far better than any superhero. To prove his point, he designs a suit of battle armor for himself, complete with deadly wrist blades, and becomes known as the Gladiator. During his first criminal outing, he battles
Daredevil before encountering his recurring enemy, the
Masked Marauder. Gladiator later appears in Europe, where he fights Daredevil again and joins the
Maggia. Eventually, he joins
Electro's
Emissaries of Evil to attack Daredevil once again. Gladiator has one last battle against Daredevil before deciding to reform. He attends therapy with Betsy Beatty, whom he later marries. Potter is forced into working for
Alexander Bont, who claims that Potter had a four-year-old daughter who he had never met and that she would die if Potter did not help. Gladiator brings Murdock to Bont, who attempts to kill Murdock, but instead died of a drug-induced heart attack. Gladiator is defeated by
White Tiger and went back to prison. In prison, Gladiator is accused of murdering two fellow inmates. Matt Murdock's law firm defends him after Murdock's super-senses indicate that he is telling the truth about his innocence. After being taunted by another inmate, Gladiator snaps his handcuffs and assaults the inmate and a corrections officer, only to surrender to another officer. Gladiator embarks on a rampage in
Chinatown, killing civilians and culminating in an attack on Murdock and
Milla Donovan. After this incident, Potter realizes the weight of his actions and attempts suicide, only to be saved by Daredevil. Potter is taken back to prison and heavily sedated after repeatedly banging his head against the wall. Separately, it was revealed that
Mr. Fear had secretly administered chemicals to Potter that caused him to go insane with rage. ==Powers and abilities==