Morris Bench (Earth-21399)

Early Life
Morris Bench once dated Gwen Stacy during their freshman year of high school. Morris regarded Gwen as the perfect woman, but she soon broke off their relationship because he was overbearing and possessive. Morris was enraged by this, and his home life fell apart to the point where his parents, in an effort to straighten him out and help him get over Gwen, encouraged him to enlist in the Navy.

Morris followed his family's advice and enlisted, specializing in underwater demolitions. Unfortunately, his obsession with Gwen never truly went away – if anything, it grew.

Becoming Hydro-Man
One day while on shore leave in New York, Morris was knocked overboard by an explosion from a nearby battle between Spider-Man and Sandman, and he was caught in the underwater explosion of one of the next-generation nanotech armor packets that created Sandman. This altered Morris's cellular structure, transforming him into a being of living water.

When Morris discovered what had happened to him, he was thrilled. Now, with this kind of power, he could have any girl he wanted. Determined to get Gwen back first, Morris adopted the name Hydro-Man and confronted her. When she inevitably refused to get back with him, he attacked Gwen, drawing Spider-Man into conflict with him. Hydro-Man defeated Spider-Man and escaped into the sewers with Gwen in tow.

While on his way back to the sewers, Hydro-Man spotted Emilia Alvarado among the crowds of fleeing pedestrians. He took interest and kidnapped her as well, unaware that Emilia was Sandman's ex-wife.