Even the most loyal Fantastic Four aficionados are probably unfamiliar with Orson Kasloff, a/k/a Asbestos Man, a nefarious rapscallion from the early 1960s.

A Fireproof Supervillain

Professor Kasloff was one of the world’s foremost analytical chemists. Like many other people inside and outside of comic books, Kasloff turned to crime to supplement his income. However, his skills as a scientist greatly exceeded his skills as a bank robber. 

So, like many other would-be super villains before and after him, Kasloff created a gimmick and challenged an established hero, in order to make a name for himself. In this case, the gimmick was an asbestos suit and the hero was the Human Torch.

Background on Asbestos

Asbestos is a mineral that is fibrous and can be woven into fabric. Asbestos is resistant to fire, chemicals and other elements, and asbestos cloth is similarly fireproof. Before its health dangers were well known by the public, firefighters and performers both used asbestos suits to contend with fire without being burned.

Asbestos Man vs. The Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm (aka The Human Torch)

In Round One, Johnny Storm went down hard to Asbestos Man. Storm’s fire powers were useless against Kasloff’s asbestos armor. But like all good heroes do, the Human Torch bounced back in Round Two. When Asbestos Man attempted another bank robbery, a rejuvenated Torch showed up, absorbed all oxygen in the bank, and forced Asbestos Man to surrender. About fifty years later, Storm casually mentioned that Kasloff had succumbed to cancer and died.

In case you’re curious, Asbestos Man isn’t related to Asbestos Lady, a/k/a Victoria Murdock, a World War II-era villainess who wore an asbestos miniskirt.

Image source: https://www.marvel.com/characters/asbestos-man

Life Imitates Art

In the early 1960s, most people knew that asbestos, a common fireproofing material which, in truth, could probably take a blast from the Human Torch, was dangerous. But, they didn’t know how dangerous it was. 

Builders, who prized asbestos because of its low cost, created the myth that some minor precautions could protect workers from the toxic effects of asbestos.

Latency: Asbestos Can Take Up To Fifty Years To Harm You

Asbestos illnesses have a very long latency period. That means it takes a long time after exposure for any symptoms of the illness to appear. It can take decades, even up to fifty years, for a person to be aware of their asbestos illness. But all the while, microscopic asbestos fibers are causing damage.

The Dangers of Asbestos Catch Up With Asbestos Man

Comic book villains like Asbestos Man and Asbestos Lady challenged that myth. It’s probably saying too much to give these two fictional characters credit for the partial asbestos ban which occurred in the late 1970s. However, they contributed to it.

The Fate of Asbestos Man Was Like Many Industrial Workers and Their Families

Asbestos Man’s escapades definitely increased public awareness of the dangers of this toxic substance. In one of his final appearances, a down-on-his-luck Kasloff tried to rob a fast-food restaurant. The cashier gave him all the money in the register, not because she was afraid of him, but because she didn’t want to be anywhere near his asbestos armor.

Asbestos Man and the Assumption of Risk

Unlike millions of industrial workers and their families, who were never warned by the asbestos industry that breathing it was dangerous, Asbestos Man intentionally disregarded a known risk. One would think that a smarty-pants chemist like Kasloff would know how dangerous asbestos is. Basically, a single microscopic asbestos fiber could cause more health problems than a lifetime of cigarette smoking. 

Asbestos Man (Like the Asbestos Industry) Put Profit Ahead of Public Health and Safety

Asbestos Man was said to know nearly everything about minerals and chemicals of all kinds, including his namesake asbestos. But if so, Asbestos Man knew about the risks of wearing asbestos clothing and being surrounded by its dangerous fibers, and still chose to ignore them. Evidently, Asbestos Man decided that living a life a crime (enabled by his asbestos suit) was a quick and effective way to make a dollar.

Builders used asbestos for the same reason. They knew how dangerous it was, but because it was so cheap, they kept using it. Legal action, not regulator action, finally forced builders to put people before profits and stop using asbestos. Because they, like Kasloff, intentionally disregarded a known risk, asbestos exposure victims are entitled to substantial compensation in court. More on that below.

Kasloff donned the asbestos suit around 1962. The Human Torch reported his death fifty-two years later, in 2014. Fifty years is about the average incubation period for mesothelioma, the kind of cancer that apparently killed Asbestos Man. Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) – another notorious smarty-pants – didn’t perform an autopsy on Kasloff, so we don’t know for sure.

The Asbestos Industry: A Real Supervillain

But just like the facts eventually caught up with the asbestos industry, Asbestos Man couldn’t outrun the dangers of asbestos in pursuit of his immediate bottom line. And despite the significant latency, eventually the asbestos fibers throughout his body caused significant damage, and took his life. 

While Asbestos Man is just a character in a comic book, unfortunately the basics of his story are all too real. Millions of industrial workers and their families, as well as consumers and the public were exposed to asbestos without being warned of the health risks they were taking.

That’s why when the truth came out, courts ordered the asbestos companies to preserve the insurance money and assets from their companies, to pay for the medical bills and other damage that their asbestos products had inflicted.

Superheroes ultimately prevailed, as they normally do, and they hauled Kasloff to jail. So, he couldn’t rob any more banks, cripple anymore superheroes, or give anyone else mesothelioma. However, Kasloff’s incarceration did nothing for his victims, such as that nameless fast-food cashier. Fortunately, in the real world, and in the comic book world as well, these victims can obtain the compensation they need and deserve, usually through civil courts.

Landowners have a legal duty to ensure individual safety, especially if the visitor benefited the owner in any way. That benefit could be economic or social. If a landowner knows, or should know, about asbestos contamination, the property owner, or rather the property owner’s insurance company, is financially responsible for damages.

Recovering Compensation For Harms Caused By Asbestos Exposure

Medical bills are usually the largest component of compensatory damages in an asbestos exposure case. This very rare, and very aggressive, form of heart-lung cancer is very expensive to treat. Even though advanced treatments are available, mesothelioma is usually fatal. Just ask Asbestos Man.

Additionally, asbestos-laced products are defective products. Negligence isn’t relevant in a defective product claim, at least for liability purposes. So, an attorney doesn’t have to prove the product maker knew asbestos was dangerous. The victim/plaintiff only has to prove the product contained asbestos and the victim was exposed to that asbestos. The law takes care of the rest.

Negligence is relevant to the additional punitive damages available in a defective product claim. These extra damages punish companies that use defective products because they’re cheap.

As mentioned, as the dangers of asbestos became more widely known, lawyers sued these companies. Many of them declared bankruptcy, hoping to avoid the financial consequences of their misdeeds. Fortunately, federal judges didn’t fall for that trick. They forced these companies to establish a large victim compensation fund. Obtaining money from this fund might be a better option than filing a civil action, at least in some cases.

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If you may have been exposed to asbestos, speak with your healthcare provider about tests and screening to help detect the presence of asbestos fibers and asbestos-related damage.

AsbestosClaims.Law

AsbestosClaims.law is your comprehensive resource for all things asbestos. We hope this information is helpful.

If you have any additional questions or concerns related to asbestos, check out our website and YouTube page for videos, infographics and answers to your questions about asbestos, including health and safety, asbestos testing, removing asbestos from your home and building, and legal information.

And if you believe that you were exposed to asbestos, or have been diagnosed with an asbestos illness, you could be entitled to significant compensation—money you could use to cover the costs of asbestos removal services, pay for medical treatment, and preemptively protect your physical well-being. 

All without filing a lawsuit.

If you’d like help with filing a claim, please get in touch by email at [email protected], or call or text us at (833) 4-ASBESTOS (427-2378) or (206) 455-9190. We’ll listen to your story and explain your options. And we never charge for anything unless you receive money in your pocket.