PROCTOR: Page 3 of 3

Biography page 3

Despite his efforts, the Avengers were not swayed by Proctor's gravitas and apparent conviction. They accused him of trying to have his own ally Swordsman murdered by Anti-Vision. This naturally surprised Magdalene, and Proctor couldn't be bothered to deny it. While Magdalene turned on Proctor and sided with the Avengers, he triggered the base's auto-destruct sequence, for he needed to reestablish his secrecy somewhere else now that Uatu and the Avengers had found him. For some reason, Proctor compelled Black Knight again through the Gann Josin bond, causing Dane to stab him with his energy sword. Proctor then teleported away, leaving the Avengers and his remaining loyal Gatherers to die in the explosion. [Avengers (1st series) #363]

With the Avengers on notice and the seeds of doubt planted, Proctor continued his private scheming to frame Sersi for crimes and sell her growing insanity to any observers. In his possessive jealousy, Proctor had been following Sersi for months. Whenever she met a man at a club or enjoyed a night out with a stranger, Proctor would follow the man afterwards and kill him for touching "his wife." [Avengers (1st series) #357] As the number of victims grew, the NYPD became aware of this serial killer and found traces of unstable molecules fabric on one of the victims. The lead detectives even got so far as Avengers Mansion, speaking to Sersi herself although neither side recognized how close they were to Proctor's gambit. After the detectives left Avengers Mansion with no further clues, Proctor assaulted them and transmogrified the men into inanimate stone, a uniquely Eternal form of attack. He then left their frozen bodies at the bottom of the East River. [Avengers (1st series) #363-364]

With all his former Gatherers dead or turned against him, Proctor used Ute's power again to seek out new ones, adding Jocasta, Korg, Tarkas, Sliver and Rik to his command. With his pawns in play, Proctor reached out to the NYPD Lieutenant Martie DuBois in the guise of a helpful psychic. He led the police to their missing detectives in the river and gave enough clues to point them at Sersi and the Avengers. The new Gatherers were not yet as spellbound to Proctor as his previous minions, though. They jumped the gun to try and kill Sersi to avenge their devastated Earths and save this one, not realizing Proctor wasn't done playing with his victim yet. Proctor had to teleport them to safety from a battle with Sersi and Black Knight, but when Sersi returned to Avengers Mansion to alert her teammates to the new Gatherers, she found Lieutenant DuBois waiting to arrest her. [Avengers (1st series) #372]

By this point, Proctor's months of work prodding Sersi's psyche had born fruit. The NYPD's accusations pushed Sersi over the edge and she destroyed Avengers Mansion while fleeing the authorities. The Black Knight felt compelled to seek her out through the Gann Josin bond, but his thought patterns were no longer a calming influence over her. Instead, the artificially-sustained madness Proctor imposed on Sersi carried over and pressured Dane to side with the unstable Sersi against their friends. Only Crystal's pleadings broke through Dane's madness, allowing him to sever the Gann Josin bond. This left Sersi insane and alone as she destroyed the Brooklyn Bridge and nearly killed the Avengers in the tsunami she rose. In the aftermath, Proctor approached Sersi for the first time in this reality and claimed her for himself. [Avengers (1st series) #373]

With the prime reality's Sersi his prisoner, Proctor took to ranting about the great wrong done to him by his former wife. Sersi learned his history and realized she could not only attribute her madness to Proctor, but he was also responsible for the murders she was accused of by the NYPD. The Avengers came to their own conclusions after the Eternals arrived and revealed the petrified NYPD detectives weren't dead, but in a state of molecular stasis. The revived officers confirmed their assailant was Proctor. The Avengers' research also revealed to the team that the Black Knight was Proctor's counterpart in this reality. Proctor experienced a revelation of his own when he probed Sersi's mind and, to his eternal shock, learned she truly loved Dane Whitman in this reality, so unlike his own. [Avengers (1st series) #374]

Proctor's endgame began in Manhattan as he decided to bring his mad quest to a conclusion. Using his powers to bond Sersi and Ute together in a dimensional vortex, Proctor prepared to collapse all realities around the prime reality, eliminating every incarnation of Sersi throughout the multiverse (but also the multiverse itself). The Avengers came forth to confront him, but the new Gatherers were now firmly under Proctor's telepathic influence and stood by his insane plans. The Black Knight confronted Proctor with the revelation about their connection, and Proctor eagerly acknowledged his doppelganger who won Sersi's love while he failed to keep it. He drew forth the Ebony Blade for the first time in this reality, openly proclaiming himself to be Whitman's dark counterpart.

Proctor continued to obsess, trying to identify the factor which led Sersi to love Dane Whitman here but not there, but the Black Knight had no time for Proctor's monomania. They fought, Sunsword to Ebony Blade, but Proctor overwhelmed Black Knight through his raw power. Dane shot back at Proctor how he must be insane because, as a Gatherer, he never assimilated Dane as his template upon arriving in their reality. Proctor prepared to correct that error and absorb Dane into himself, but Quicksilver stepped in to save Dane's life, despite their rivalry over Crystal. Crystal delivered the coup-de-grace herself, combining her elemental powers with Thunderstrike's mallet, striking down Proctor with a bolt of lightning, the feedback felling all the Gatherers through Proctor's telepathic link as well.

Sersi escaped from Proctor's vortex along with Ute, ending the reality collapse he had initiated through their link. Taking up the Ebony Blade for herself, Sersi confronted Proctor in the name of all her sisters and counterparts he had killed over the years. She sentenced him to death, finally killing Proctor with his own weapon and bringing an end to all the madness and devastation he had imposed on the multiverse. The consequences of his actions were not done, though, as the instability he had forced upon Sersi was too advanced to be reversed. Out of fear of becoming the cataclysmic threat Proctor always claimed she would be, the momentarily sane Sersi felt she needed to die. As a last resort, the dying Ute opened a portal to a pocket dimension, one where Sersi could live in exile without threatening others. While their Gann Josin bond was severed, Dane Whitman chose to join Sersi in exile so she wouldn't be alone. In a way, Proctor's death brought events full circle, reuniting one Dane Whitman and Sersi while ending the insane crusade of another Dane Whitman against the Sersi he believed wronged him. [Avengers (1st series) #375]