Morris "Morrie" Bench gained his superpowers while working as a crewman on the cargo ship the U.S.S. "Bulldog", having been knocked overboard accidentally by Spider-Man (right after the hero finished a fight against Namor) while a powerful experimental generator is being tested in the ocean. The combination of unknown radiation and his immersion in a deep ocean-dwelling bacteria turns him into Hydro-Man. When he realized that he had become a man-of-water, he blamed Spider-Man for his accident and started to hunt him (through many showers, sewers and water valves), in order to get revenge on the hero, but was defeated in combat.