BIOGRAPHY - Page 3
Given his penchant for long-planned, thoughtful plotting, it's no wonder the Master didn't strike out at Canada during the absence of any protectors. Also, while Alpha Flight would eventually rise to protect their nation once more, the Master set his sights on a prime opportunity to seize control of (or rather save) the world. His opportunity arose during the absence of the majority of established superheroes in the United States, who had vanished following the Onslaught disaster. At some point, he took control of their sunken Hydra Island and began operating out of the high-tech facility.
Apparently no longer interested in Omega Flight, the Master opted to test some of his technology on another pawn, the Controller, forcing the villain to battle Photon. He also added the group of villains known as the U-Foes to his employ, manipulating them to do his bidding. Their first task was carried out successfully – infiltrating the superhuman prison the Vault and causing a prison break. The Master then ordered the U-Foes to carry out the next phase of his plan, capturing 
several of the world's most brilliant scientists and, using the control-discs, downloaded knowledge from the scientists' minds. This plan was thwarted when a group of heroes intervened, defeating the U-Foes and freeing the scientists. When these heroes decided to remain together as a team, the Heroes for Hire, the Master realized he had to keep watch over this team, should they continue to cause problems for him. [Avengers Unplugged #5, Heroes for Hire (1st series) #12, #1]
To accomplish this, the Master had the U-Foes capture Luke Cage, the longtime friend of Iron Fist, who was leading the Heroes for Hire, and who had declined an offer to join that team. At his secret base, the Master not only revealed to Cage that he had been monitoring him for some time, having knowledge of Luke's past trials and tribulations, but also his grand plan to conquer – or rather save – the world. This entailed reducing the planet's population by 70% to save the world's dwindling resources for the remaining 30%, a plan which would be carried out over a generation 
through wars, viruses and famine. The Master was initially met by resistance from Luke Cage but, as they spoke further, the argument seemed to have some influence on Luke. Indeed, he ultimately agreed to the Master's request, to accept Iron Fist's offer to join the Heroes for Hire and to keep tabs on the team and ensure that they did not interfere with his plans. [Heroes for Hire (1st series) #2-3]
The Master’s next scheme involved the U-Foes and the Controller purposely allowing themselves to be captured, after which he would post their bail. Speaking for the U-Foes, Vector not only informed the Master that they would not go along with his plan but even went so far as to threaten blackmail to the Master regarding his recruiting of Luke Cage to spy on the Heroes for Hire. With seeming little choice, the Master agreed to let the U-Foes set the Controller up to be captured and that they could escape. However, the U-Foes altered the plan further, informing the Master that this would be the U-Foes’ last task for him. The Master watched from his lair as the U-Foes and the Controller battled the Heroes for Hire. Following the defeat of the Controller, the U-Foes prepared to teleport away, only for the teleportation device with which the Master equipped them to be rigged to knock the U-Foes out, rendering them comatose as payment for their intended betrayal.
Later, Luke Cage reported to the Master that something was brewing with the Celestials, Deviants and Eternals. This intrigued the Master, who had been alive during the Celestials' previous visits to Earth. Although, by his own admission, he had had little encounter with the Eternals and Deviants, he instructed Luke to keep him appraised of whatever may come involving these off-shoots of humanity. Luke also kept the Master informed about other important pieces of information in the diminished super-human community, such as the fact that the heroic Thunderbolts were former villains in disguise. Luke’s loyalty was not absolute, which did not seem to bother him. When Luke refused to address him as “Master,” preferring to call him “Chuck,” the Master allowed Luke to call him Eshu. After all, they had become friends, at least according to the Master. [Heroes for Hire (1st series) #4-5, 8]
The Master's plans to save the world faced further problems when Earth's missing heroes returned from a pocket dimension from where they had been trapped. They were accompanied by some of the world's most notorious villains, such as Kang, Dr. Doom and Thanos, whose own plans would no doubt conflict with the Master's. The Master was also unhappy when the mystic city of K'un Lun, connected to Iron Fist, was summoned to this reality. The Master viewed K'un Lun as a threat to his own plans and decided that, given it was connected to Iron Fist's lifeforce, some consideration should be given to Iron Fist's impending death. To that end, he instructed a sleeper agent within the Heroes for Hire, the original Human Torch, to make the necessary arrangements. [Heroes for Hire (1st series) #10-11]
Inviting his friend Luke Cage to inspect Hydra Island, the Master also went into more detail about his plan to save the world by reducing Earth's population. He detailed how he had obtained a gas 
called Compound Omega from one of the brilliant scientists from whom he had stolen information. When Hydra Island was positioned high above the Earth, nozzles on the Island would release the gas, which would render everyone outside of the Island sterile. No new humans would be born unless he decided, on a case-by-case basis, and with genetic and other factors taken into consideration. Additionally, the Island would release high energy electromagnetic pulses that would scramble most of Earth's electronics and make weapons systems useless. When Luke Cage told the Master that his plan wouldn’t affect superhumans, the Master announced that he had already considered that. He then presented Strike Force One, a group of super beings cloned from DNA that the original Human Torch provided to the Master from the members of Heroes for Hire. Additionally, Strike Force One were provided with the Master's memories, making them technically versions of himself. The Master boasted that those who would not be converted, like Luke Cage was, would be destroyed – and any villains who stood in his way would meet the same fate. When Luke queried why there was no clone of him, the Master replies that he was his friend.
When Luke queried the Master about why he chose him to be his friend, the Master cryptically revealed that it was because of Luke's father. However, before the Master could delve into this connection, the Heroes for Hire launched an assault on Hydra Island, after the sleeper agent Human Torch led the team there under the guise of taking down the Master. However, the Master was prepared for the Heroes for Hire and set his Strike Force One clones against them. As the 
battle raged, the Master sealed himself and Luke in the control room and prepared to release the Compound Omega, clearly unbothered that his own team would be killed in the process. However, this came to naught, as Luke Cage hurled the Master into the control system, disabling the flight control and knocking Hydra Island off course. The Master was furious by his friend's betrayal and used his armor's battle capabilities to fire a blast at his former ally.
Luke reciprocated by tearing up the control system and shoving live cables at the Master, seemingly electrocuting him. Luke was then able to vent Compound Omega into space, although not without inhaling some of the substance. The Heroes for Hire safely escaped the Island, which exploded in space, with the Master aboard. [Heroes for Hire (1st series) #12]
Presumably thanks to the alien technology of his battlesuit, the Master survived the destruction of Hydra Island and was able to return to Earth. While still concerned with reducing Earth's population by 70%, he returned to his original base beneath the Arctic Circle. There he began to enact his new plan, manipulating affairs from behind the scenes. In doing so, he saw to it that the wrong people were elected to positions of political power, ensuring social and political disorder. He also began expanding the Plodex base, creating a network of tunnels that ran beneath North America. Additionally, he had retrieved the long-thought dead Marrina from the depths of the ocean and began experimenting on creating an army of Plodex wolves. No longer in need of any superhuman lackeys, the Master had at his disposal powerful Plodex servants to carry out his whims.
When the villain Kang launched an all-out assault on the planet, the Avengers took on the task of battling his armies and attempting to foil his plans. However, they weren’t the only ones to oppose 
Kang, as the Master of the World would not have anyone else laying claim to his domain. To protect major cities across North America, the Master erected large, mountain-like rings, a combination of Plodex technology and organic matter. These massive rings were half a mile high, a quarter mile thick and armed with a wide assortment of weaponry.
While it may have seemed that the Master was working with the Avengers, his goals were clearly self-centered. In addition to protecting his domain and continuing his plan to disrupt political and social matters, he sent his Plodex wolves to abduct those less than scrupulous people he had a hand in assisting to assume power. Various politicians and other figures found themselves held captive in the Master's base, where he chronicled the details of his plan to them. Additionally, they would all be fitted with the Master's control disc technology and returned to their respective offices with instructions to carry out his will. They would also return with additional control discs to recruit other important figures to his cause. When the Avengers, who were very closely monitoring the 
situation with the Master's protection rings, sent a squad to infiltrate the Master's Arctic base, they also learned about his plans. The Master was prepared for them and sent his Plodex wolves to deal with them. However, when the Plodex wolves had trouble defeating the Avengers, the Master simply detonated an explosion, which destroyed the part of the complex with the Avengers inside it.
Led by Warbird, the squad of Avengers not only survived but once again infiltrated the Master's base. There they reached his central command center, where they found the captive politicians. Warbird made it very clear to the Master that the Avengers needed to gain control of his defense rings, as they could not rely on him to work alongside them in the war against Kang. The Master would never allow that and, in a rare moment for him, engaged in physical combat against 
Warbird, his armor proving a match for the Avenger as it absorbed Warbird's energy blasts. When the Master offered her the chance to surrender, Warbird retorted that the Avengers were at war and ordinary rules did not apply. She then blasted the ground around the Master and, grabbing a jagged piece of metal that was formed from the floor, shoved it through the Master's chest – to the shock of her teammates. [Avengers (3rd series) #45-48]
Despite the Master's death at the hands of Warbird, the Avengers were initially unable to gain control of the defense walls. Kang then demonstrated his power by killing every living thing contained within one of the defense walls. Eventually, the Avengers' scientists were able to work out how to operate the systems and the defense walls provided the Avengers much needed assistance in the war against Kang. Ultimately, the walls crumbled to dust as the war ended. Additionally, Warbird was plagued by her decision to kill the Master and even forced the Avengers to court-martial her for her actions. Ultimately, they found that her unfortunate decision to kill the Master was warranted, given the wartime situation.