Masters of Evil
Masters of Evil | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | The Avengers #6 (July 1964) |
Created by | Stan Lee Jack Kirby Chic Stone |
Roster | |
See: List of Masters of Evil members |
The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.[1] The first version of the team appeared in The Avengers #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years.
Publication history
The first version of the Masters of Evil debuted in The Avengers #6, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.[2][3]
The second version of the Masters of Evil debuted in The Avengers #54, created by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and George Tuska.
The third version of the Masters of Evil debuted in The Avengers #222, created by Jim Shooter, Steven Grant, and Greg LaRocque.
The fourth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in The Avengers #270, created by Roger Stern, John Buscema, and Tom Palmer.
The fifth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in Guardians of the Galaxy #28, created by Jim Valentino, Herb Trimpe, and Steve Montano.
The sixth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in The Incredible Hulk #449, created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley.
The seventh version of the Masters of Evil debuted in Thunderbolts #3 created by Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley, and Vince Russell.
The eighth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in Secret Avengers #21.1, created by Rick Remender, Patrick Zircher, and Andy Troy.
The ninth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in Thunderbolts #10, created by Jim Zub, Jon Malin, Kurt Busiek, and Mark Bagley.
Fictional team biography
Baron Heinrich Zemo's Masters of Evil
The original Masters of Evil (consisting of existing Marvel Comics supervillains the Black Knight, the Melter, and the Radioactive Man) was gathered by former Nazi scientist Baron Heinrich Zemo.[4] Despite attempting to capture the Avengers with Adhesive X and spreading it over the city, the Avengers find an antidote with the help of Paste-Pot Pete, give it to the Masters in secret (causing them to accidentally free people), and then send most of the members to jail. Zemo is tricked into opening a container filled with tear gas inside his helicopter, but escapes anyway.[5]
Baron Zemo leads the team in his revenge on
Two issues later, the Enchantress returns them to Earth using a spell.
In a later issue, Zemo kidnaps
Ultron's Masters of Evil
The second version, organized by the
Egghead's Masters of Evil
Criminal scientist
Baron Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil
First version
A fourth version was formed by
The villains storm Avengers Mansion in a multi-issue storyline titled "Avengers Under Siege".[15]
A flashback later revealed that Augustus Roman's family had died during the fight between the Avengers and the Masters of Evil.[16]
Second version
The sixth incarnation was again assembled by Baron Helmut Zemo, and posed as superheroes known as the
Third version
Baron Helmut Zemo created an 11th incarnation consisting of Whiplash, the Man-Killer, Klaw, Tiger Shark, and the Wrecking Crew, all of whom had been members of previous incarnations of the Masters of Evil. Baron Zemo sent them out to persuade Atlas of the Thunderbolts, the former Goliath of Zemo's earlier incarnation of the Masters of Evil, to rejoin the team. Atlas resisted and only an unexpected reappearance of the Thunderbolt Jolt interrupted the Masters' plan. The Masters then went after the Winter Soldier, who was then leading the Thunderbolts, and captured him. Zemo and the Masters then assaulted the Thunderbolts in their base, capturing several of them.[18]
During the "Opening Salvo" part of the
Doctor Octopus' Masters of Evil
The fifth incarnation was organized by
This incarnation initially fought the original Guardians of the Galaxy - a superhero group from an alternate future timeline - but then fought with the Guardians against an army of doppelgangers.[22]
The Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil
First version
The seventh incarnation
Second version
The eighth incarnation,.
Both versions of the Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil sought to master and control Earth's superhuman mercenaries. They even tried to get the Thunderbolts to join them.
The Shadow Council's Masters of Evil
Max Fury of the Shadow Council forms a ninth incarnation of the Masters of Evil, consisting of
When the second incarnation of the Secret Avengers raid Bagalia to free the Taskmaster, they have to fight through the Masters of Evil. During this time, it is shown that a duplicate of the
The Masters of Evil are featured in "
Lightmaster's Masters of Evil
While the Shadow Council had their version,
West Coast version
To combat the
Multiversal Masters of Evil
This section may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. (January 2023) |
When the Prehistoric Avengers fought a younger
It was also revealed that the Multiversal Masters of Evil had conquered some of the worlds like how Black Skull had ruled over Earth-818 with the War Machines that he had that world's Tony Stark build. By the time Robbie Reyes and the Deathlok with him arrived, they met Earth-818's Tony Stark who operated as Ant-Man and saved him from the War Machines. Robbie and his Deathlok companion are later rescued from Black Skull by Ant-Man and his resistance consisting of Vision, Moon Knight (Mariama Spector), Wonder Man, and Infinity Thing. With help from the granddaughters of King Thor, Robbie, his Deathlok companion, and the Resistance defeated Black Skull and his alternate counterparts while liberating Earth-818. Ant-Man joins Robbie and his Deathlok companion in their quest to liberate the enslaved Earths from the Multiversal Masters of Evil.[45]
In a flashback, the Multiversal Masters of Evil invaded Earth-91 and slew that version of the Prehistoric Avengers who are all Man-Things. Doom Supreme orders his Multiversal Masters of Evil to keep him out of their squabbles as King Killmonger claims that Doom Supreme has not even claimed his Earth yet. Doom Supreme claims that he claimed what he required from Earth-91 and to "pick the bones however they like".[46]
When the Multiversal Masters of Evil conquer another Earth and plan to return to Earth-616, Ghost Rider arrives where he controls Black Skull's symbiote enough to subdue King Killmonger and uses his Hell Charger to knock down Kid Thanos and Hound before it drags Dark Phoenix. Then he subdues Ghost Goblin before engaging Doom Supreme. After Deathlok and Ant-Man of Earth-818 arrive where the latter shrinks Doom Supreme, Dark Phoenix goes on the attack as Deathlok orders Ant-Man of Earth-818 to get Ghost Rider away while he buys them some time. Following Deathlok's death, Doom Supreme tells the Multiversal Masters of Evil that they need to regroup as he knows where they are going. Ghost Goblin asks Doom Supreme if he will restore himself to normal size as well. Doom Supreme then states that they will visit that location before heading to Earth-616 as he vows that "No Avenger gets out alive".[47]
At the time when the Avengers travel to prehistoric times and encounter the Avengers of that time, Agamotto breaks up the fight between them as Doom Supreme arrives where he removes Agamotto's eyes and kills the Prehistoric Star Brand. Then the rest of the Multiversal Masters of Evil arrive.[48] As the Avengers go on the attack, Dark Phoenix takes them down much to the dismay of Kid Thanos and Ghost Goblin. When Hound goes on the attack, he is killed by the Prehistoric Ghost Rider. As the local ancestral ape-men hide in the caves, Odin and Valkyrie fight Doom Supreme, Echo and the Prehistoric Iron Fist fight Black Skull, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and Namor fight Dark Phoenix, Captain America and Prehistoric Moon Knight fight Kid Thanos, Thor and Agamotto fight King Killmonger, and Nighthawk and Prehistoric Ghost Rider fight Ghost Goblin while Star Brand goes to the body of her prehistoric counterpart where the Prehistoric Ghost Rider depowers Ghost Goblin and kills him. When Dark Phoenix notes that this Earth is taking longer to conquer, Doom Supreme starts to cast a spell to wipe out the ancestral ape-men as Prehistoric Ghost Rider ends up one of the victims. As the fight rages on, Lady Phoenix is shown heading towards Earth.[49] As he narrates about his internal clock stating that the Avengers' fight with the Multiversal Masters of Evil has gone on for 9 days, Iron Man fights King Killmonger who is then killed by Prehistoric Iron Fist. Nightwing and Prehistoric Moon Knight fight Black Skull as Captain America uses his shield that came in contact with fire to defeat Black Skull as the Venom symbiote makes its way to Kid Thanos. Echo and Valkyrie face off against Dark Phoenix where Valkyrie slices off Dark Phoenix's arm. Echo receives aid from across time as Soldier Supreme of 1943, Kid Starbrand and Reno Phoenix of 1868, Ghost Ronin of 1655, and the Tyrannosaurus Starbrand of 66,000,000 BC donate the powers to Echo as she subdues Kid Thanos and the Venom symbiote. When Iron Man claims that Dark Phoenix has not gotten far, they are unaware that it is really Dark Phoenix in disguise as she is revealed to be a variant of Mystique from Earth-14412. She goes to find Doom Supreme and finds only a hologram when she accuses him of letting their teammates fall in battle. The real Doom Supreme is assembling his army of Doctor Doom variants that are loyal to him and are on Doom the Living Planet.[50] Amidst the energies from the ancient Multiverse being leaked through, Doom Supreme is turned to stone by a sample of it and is shrunken by Ant-Man of Earth-818 while Dark Phoenix is slain by Firehair and Echo.[51]
Membership
Related teams
Young Masters
During the "Dark Reign" storyline, a young version of the team - controlled by criminal mastermind Norman Osborn - debuts in the miniseries Dark Reign: Young Avengers.[52]
Bastards of Evil
A group calling themselves the Bastards of Evil debuted in the 2010 "
It was later revealed that the Bastards are led by a child genius known as Superior (who claims to be the son of the Leader). It was also revealed that the Bastards were actually normal teenagers who were mutated by exposure to radiation by Superior as well as given false memory implants. The surviving Bastards are held in the Raft after their capture.[54]
Reception
Critical response
Darby Harn of
Other versions
Heroes Reborn (1996)
The Masters of Evil appear in the tie-in comic Heroes Reborn: Masters of Evil, initially consisting of the Black Knight, Klaw, the Melter, the Radioactive Man, and Whirlwind[60] before Klaw leaves the group and the Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man take his place. After the Black Knight, Crimson Dynamo, and Titanium Man are killed by Doctor Doom's Doombots, Whirlwind leaves the group to start a new life.[61]
"Heroes Reborn" (2021)
A group based on the Masters of Evil called the Masters of Doom appear in "
House of M: Masters of Evil
An alternate reality incarnation of the Masters of Evil appear in the tie-in miniseries
Marvel Adventures
The Masters of Evil appear in Marvel Adventures #4, consisting of Baron Helmut Zemo, the Abomination, the Leader, and Ultron.[68] Additionally, a group called the New Masters of Evil appear in Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #16, consisting of Egghead, Man-Bull, the Melter, and Whirlwind.[69]
Marvel 2099
On the unified Marvel 2099 reality of Earth-2099, there is a 2099 incarnation of the Masters of Evil which consists of Patriot (a version of Norman Osborn that's been kept alive up to 2099), Black Knight, Baron Zemo, Enchantress, Melter, and Radioactive Man. They were responsible for the deaths of the Avengers members Black Widow 2098, Daredevil (Samuel Fisk), Frankenstein's Monster, a 2099 version of Grey Hulk, Phastos, Relur, Roman the Sub-Mariner, and Strange. The Masters of Evil had conquered different worlds where Baron Zemo later killed Black Knight for disobeying orders. The Masters of Evil were later defeated by the 2099 version of the New Avengers and remanded to a prison on the planet Wakanda.[70]
Ultimate Marvel
A group based on the Masters of Evil called the Liberators appear in
In other media
Television
- Baron Heinrich Zemo's Masters of Evil appear in The Marvel Super Heroes episode "Zemo and his Masters of Evil", consisting of Heinrich, the Black Knight, the Radioactive Man, and the Melter.
- Baron .
- Baron Heinrich Zemo's Masters of Evil appear in Prison 42.
- The Masters of Evil appear in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, consisting of MODOK, the Abomination, Baron Heinrich Zemo, Graviton, and Tiger Shark.
- Baron Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil appear in Avengers Tower, the Masters of Evil reappear as the superhero team, the Thunderbolts, via a shrouding device to mask their appearances. However, Screaming Mimi has a change of heart and convinces her teammates to join the Avengers in publicly exposing Helmut, who escapes while the remaining Masters of Evil turn themselves in.
- The Masters of Evil appear in the first season of Terrigen crystalsand use them to mutate Earth's populace to become Kang's new foot soldiers. The Winter Soldier and Bruno later defect, with Bruno joining the Future Avengers.
Video games
- The Masters of Evil appear in Dragon Manappear as former members who had left when the Mandarin failed to take leadership from Doom.
- Baron Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil appear in a self-titled DLC pack for Lego Marvel's Avengers, consisting of Helmut, the Enchantress, the Black Knight, Skurge, the Melter, the Radioactive Man, and Whirlwind.[75]
References
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- ^ Young Allies vol. 2 #5 (October 6, 2010). Marvel Comics.
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External links
- Masters of Evil at Marvel.com
- Baron Heinrich Zemo's Masters of Evil at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Ultron's Masters of Evil at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Egghead's Masters of Evil at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Baron Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Doctor Octopus' Masters of Evil at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Justine Hammer's Masters of Evil at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- Masters of Evil at Comic Vine