Seeking to take advantage of the Infinity War crisis, Doctor Octopus assembled his own Masters of Evil team to raid Avengers Mansion and collect its technological riches.
Membership: Doctor Octopus, Shocker, Absorbing Man, Titania, Yellowjacket, Powder Keg, Jackhammer, Oddball, Gargantua, Puff Adder
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
Before
- The Guardians of the Galaxy were heroes from the 31st century Earth and its various colonies, after it was conquered by the Brotherhood of the Badoon from 3000 until 3007. At one point in their career, the team traveled back in time to the Heroic Age with an eye towards preventing the rise of the Badoon. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #27]
- The Magus, evil doppelganger of Adam Warlock, unleashed a horde of hero doppelgangers on Earth, prompting a massive assembly at Four Freedoms Plaza. However, his doppelgangers had already assimilated Reed Richards and Iron Man, making the meeting a trap for the other heroes. [Infinity War #1-3]
Chronology
Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28: |
When the heroes of Earth gathered at Four Freedoms Plaza to confront an extra-galactic menace, Doctor Octopus seized the opportunity to gather Titania, Absorbing Man, Yellowjacket, Oddball, Jackhammer and Powderkeg as the new Masters of Evil for a raid on Avengers Mansion. (Yellowjacket actually intended to reform after her recent adventure alongside the Avengers. She only responded to Octavius's summons because she was afraid of what he'd do if she didn't.) What Doc Ock didn't count on was the 31st century heroes the Guardians of the Galaxy arriving in the midst of the Infinity War and meeting at the mansion. During the skirmish between the Guardians and the Masters, Yellowjacket switched sides and saved Nikki from an attack. They spotted Doctor Octopus entering the mansion, and gave chase. When the other Guardians noticed they were missing, they followed the women back inside, only to find Doc Ock had beaten Nikki and Yellowjacket thanks to his second wave of Masters: Gargantua, Puff Adder and Shocker. |
Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #29: |
As round two between the Guardians and the Masters began, the two teams were interrupted by the arrival of Infinity doppelgangers, dark mirrors of superhumans sent to Earth by the Magus. Faced with little choice, Doctor Octopus agreed to fight alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy against their doppelgangers, reasoning he could always betray the heroes later when it suited him. When the last wave of doppelgangers was defeated, however, the Masters refused to turn against the heroes who fought with them, and chased Doctor Octopus out of the mansion. |
Afterwards
- Yellowjacket continued hanging out with the Guardians, and eventually returned with them to the 31st century. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #30-33]
Membership
Doctor Octopus (Otto Gunther Octavius)
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #3
Frst Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28-29
Powers: exposed to a radioactive explosion that fused him mentally and physically with directable servo-arms, allowing him to psionically control his four tentacles to lift enormous weights, crush solid objects, and perform intricate tasks even when they are separated from his body
Absorbing Man (Carl “Crusher” Creel)
First appearance: Journey into Mystery #114
First Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
Powers: enchanted potion gave him the power to transform the entire composition of his body by absorbing the qualities of anything he touches, allowing him to duplicate the exact substance and properties of matter or convert into a being of pure energy by absorbing energy signatures
Titania II (Mary “Skeeter” MacPherran-Creel)
First appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #3
First Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
Powers: alien radiation bombardment increased the overall mass and resilience of her physiology, giving her superhuman strength, endurance, resistance to physical harm and temperature extremes, and an accelerated healing ability
Yellowjacket II (Rita DeMara)
First appearance: Avengers (1st series) #264
First Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28-29
Powers: body suit allows her to communicate with and control insects, fire electrostatic bolts from her gauntlets, uses vibration-generating wings to fly, and draw Pym Particles from subspace to shrink down to an insect-size
Shocker (Herman Schultz)
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #46
First Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28-29
Powers: vibro-shock units generate powerful vibratory fields which can be directed as shockwave discharges to shatter or crumble nearby objects, additional force behind his fists, and a vibro-field along the surface of his padded costume that makes it impossible to touch or hold him
Powderkeg (Frank Skorina)
First appearance: Captain Marvel (2nd series) #1
First Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
Powers: high-yield radiation treatments gave him augmented strength and musculature, highly durable skin, and the ability to secrete a form of nitroglycerin from his pores, giving off powerful explosive discharges upon sufficient impact or flicking small droplets from his fingertips that create smaller explosions
Jackhammer (Matthew Banham)A
First appearance: Daredevil (1st series) #121
First Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
Powers: Power Broker process augments his strength, endurance, reflexes, and durability, gauntlet bludgeons powered by hydraulic hammers greatly increase the force of his punches
Oddball (Elton Healey)
First appearance: Hawkeye (1st series) #3
First Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
Powers: gimmicked juggling balls are equipped with narcotic gas, acid, explosives, bolas, thermite, tear gas and binding cables
Puff Adder (Gordon Fraley)
First appearance: Captain America (1st series) #337
First Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28-29
Powers: enhanced strength, stamina, and resistance to impact, expand his body into a bloated state that gives him greater size, and strength, spews an acidic compound from his mouth as a liquid stream or a gaseous breath
Gargantua (Edward Cobert)
First appearance: Defenders (1st series) #126
First Masters V appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28
All Masters V appearances: Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #28-29
Powers: Olympus Project reduced his intelligence to virtually nil but gave him augmented strength and the ability to increase his mass geometrically, increasing his size, strength, and density