The "Red Light nation" of Bagalia was a den of criminals and lowlifes waiting for a leader. Max Fury engineered a new Masters of Evil on behalf of the Shadow Council in Bagalia, and the idea proved strong enough to outlast his betrayal. Helmut Zemo picked up the ball and reorganized these Masters with a leading council of Madame Masque, Hellstorm, and Constrictor, a "youth brigade" with the Young Masters adjunct, and an army of villains at his beck and call.
Membership: Max Fury, Baron Helmut Zemo (leaders) Whiplash IV, Princess Python, Vengeance II, Black Talon II, Constrictor, Diablo, Carrion III, Brothers Grimm, Crossfire, Letha, Lascivious, Griffin, Killer Shrike, Madcap, Scarecrow, Ringer II, Squid, Lady Stilt-Man, Pink Pearl, Taskmaster, Strongman, Clown II, Fire-Eater, Live Wire, Atom-Smasher, Molecule Man, Ox III, Coachwhip, Wrecker, Thunderball, Piledriver, Bulldozer, Vector, Vapor, X-Ray, Ironclad, Arcade, Batroc, Madame Masque, Bi-Beast, Moses Magnum, Armadillo, Firebrand, Conundrum, Human Cannonball, Chemistro, Lightmaster, Hellstorm, Porcupine II, Eel II, Trapster, Satannish, Excavator, Melter, Coat of Arms, Executioner, Enchantress II, Egghead II, Mako, Radioactive Kid, Black Knight, Snot, Mudbug, Cullen Bloodstone, Hazmat, Anachronism, Chase Stein, Nico Minoru, Death Locket, Miss Corriander
First appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1
Before
- Steve Rogers formed a covert operations branch of the Avengers who quickly came into conflict with the mysterious Shadow Council. One of the Council's top field operatives was "Max Fury," a Life Model Decoy of Nick Fury who had achieved sentience and independence. [Secret Avengers (1st series) #5]
Chronology
Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1: |
On behalf of the Shadow Council, Max Fury took control of the "red light nation" of Bagalia, turning it into a haven for villains and criminals. He invited the super-villains of the world to join him in Bagalia as part of the all-new Masters of Evil. His initial recruits were the latest incarnations of Whiplash, Vengeance and Princess Python. They confronted the Avengers Captain America and Hawkeye, who had infiltrated Bagalia to gain intel on the Shadow Council, but the Avengers escaped after a brief skirmish. |
Secret Avengers (1st series) #29: |
Max Fury intended to unite the Serpent Crown, the Crown of Thorns and the Crown of Wolves in Bagalia in order to access the ancient force of nullification known as the Abyss. The super-soldier John Steele betrayed the Shadow Council and attempted to get the crowns to the Avengers. He was recaptured by Max Fury and his Masters of Evil, who now had a strike team including Black Talon, the Brothers Grimm, Carrion, Crossfire, Constrictor, Diablo, Letha, Lascivious, Griffin, Madcap, Lady Stilt-Man, Pink Pearl, Ringer, Squid and Scarecrow. In fact, the Masters had grown to include hundreds of members in Bagalia, like the U-Foes, the Wrecking Crew and the Circus of Crime, many of whom operated out of the Hole, a lawless city of villains blown out of the center of Bagalia City by competing villains. When the Secret Avengers arrived to check on John Steele, they found the soldier tortured to death by the Circus of Crime, and learned that Taskmaster held the last of the three crowns in the Hole. Flash Thompson used his reputation as Venom to infiltrate the Hole and hopefully intimidate Taskmaster into turning over the crown, but instead got challenge to a slugfest with the mercenary. |
Secret Avengers (1st series) #30: |
Venom and Taskmaster fought to a stand-off, so Taskmaster offered a million dollar reward for the rest of the Masters in the Hole to bring the symbiote down. Hawkeye and Valkyrie pursued Taskmaster, but were distracted by Vengeance. Looking to get rid of the hot potato, Taskmaster brought the crown to Max Fury. Fury combined the three crowns into a single conduit for the Abyss, and prepared to unleash its power on the Avengers and all of Bagalia. Despite his pretensions, however, Max Fury was still just a robot, and the crown needed an actual lifeforce to merge with. The Avengers separated the broken Fury from the crown, but it ended up taking Taskmaster as its host instead, spreading its gospel of nullification throughout the Avengers, Masters, and civilians present in Bagalia. |
Secret Avengers (1st series) #31: |
The Abyss planned to spread its nihilism throughout the world. It used Diablo, Whiplash, Vengeance and Scarecrow as its personal guard, lording its success over the sniveling Max Fury. As its possessed pawns took to Bagalia's airport to spread the Abyss, it was confronted by the two remaining Avengers, Agent Venom (protected by his symbiote) and Ant-Man (secretly an LMD imposter loyal to the Descendants). They managed to stop all but one of the Abyss' planes from taking off, leaving Black Widow to teleport aboard the final one and confront the possessed Hawkeye and Squid. Meanwhile, Ant-Man and Venom returned to the Abyss's abode to try and separate Taskmaster from the crown. |
Secret Avengers (1st series) #32: |
As Venom and Ant-Man fought the Abyss' private guard, those defenders were joined by Valkyrie, the Wrecking Crew and the U-Foes. Overpowered by the united villains, Agent Venom ran a Hail Mary play and gave up the symbiote that protected from the null possession, sending it out to cover Taskmaster, directly severing him from the crown's control. The mystical circuit was broken, and the Abyss lost its foothold into this world and all the possessed victims returned to normal. Realizing Max Fury set them up to act as the mind-controlled army of his god, the Masters of Evil were prepared to execute him and the Avengers when the heroes teleported to safety. |
Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2: |
Despite the lawless nature of Bagalia, Taskmaster still managed to piss off enough people to get thrown in a jail cell. Nick Fury and SHIELD attempted to retrieve Taskmaster and put him to work for them, but Fury's contact Crossfire welched on the deal, and Fury had to fight through the Masters of Evil with his "prize." The situation got too hot, and Fury fled with his SHIELD recovery team, abandoning Taskmaster back to the Masters. Still, Plan B succeeded when Mockingbird posed as Aloysius Thorndrake of the Shadow Council using camotech and got Taskmaster alone so that he could be extracted. |
Avengers Arena #7: |
After hitting rock bottom during a fight with Constrictor at his bar in the Hole, Arcade abandoned Bagalia and the Masters of Evil to begin his next Murderworld campaign. |
Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5-7: |
Meanwhile, Lightmaster hired the Wrecking Crew to steal a quantum particle engine from Alchemax in New York City. After they were opposed by Spider-Man (really Otto Octavius) and his mind-controlled Superior Six, the Wrecking Crew returned empty-handed. In response, Lightmaster reformed the core roster of Helmut Zemo's old Masters of Evil, recruiting Absorbing Man, Titania, Whirlwind, Blackout and Mister Hyde to join him and the Wrecking Crew. Once Whirlwind drew out the Superior Six and their ally, Sun Girl, Lightmaster proceeded to Parker Industries to retrieve the QPE. As the Masters and the Superior Six battled over the QPE, Spider-Man instructed Sun Girl to blast the device, triggering a teleportation effect which scattered the Masters of Evil. |
NOTE: Other than the presence of the Wrecking Crew, this version of the Masters of Evil apparently had no connection to the nation of villains in Bagalia using the same name.
Avengers Undercover #1: |
After the shattering of the Shadow Council, Baron Zemo entered Bagalia and claimed the nation and the Masters of Evil as his own. He reformed the Masters with his captains Constrictor, Madame Masque and Hellstorm. The rest of Bagalia City was apparently leveled, leaving only the city inside the Hole as the capital of the nation. After the fiasco of Arcade's Murderworld webisodes, the Masters encountered Cullen Bloodstone, one of the teen survivors of Murderworld, looking for Arcade in Bagalia. Hellstorm offered to help Bloodstone seek revenge on Arcade and gain control over the demon grafted to his spine.
Baron Zemo and his Captains |
Avengers Undercover #2: |
Cullen's fellow survivors from the Murderworld came to Bagalia, thinking it was a rescue operation to retrieve him. Instead, they were welcomed as celebrities by the Masters of Evil. Without asking, Cullen included them in the spell cast by Hellstorm to bring them to Arcade. |
Avengers Undercover #3: |
Baron Zemo and his captains watched knowingly as Cullen and the Murderworld survivors confronted Arcade and inevitably gave in to their darker impulses, killing the gamesman. |
Avengers Undercover #4: |
Hellstorm rescued the Murderworld survivors from SHIELD custody after their murder of Arcade was broadcast around the globe, bringing back to Bagalia as conquering heroes. At a feast in their honor, Baron Zemo offered the children a place in the Masters of Evil at his side. |
Avengers Undercover #5: |
The Masters of Evil offered a devil's bargain to the Murderworld survivors: join the Masters, or face prosecution in the real world for Arcade's demise. Hellstorm offered Nico Minoru further training in her dark magic powers, along with the return of her ex, Alex Wilder. Madame Masque encouraged Cammi, Anachronism and Hazmat to embrace their leadership skills and join her to learn about the finer things in life. Constrictor introduced Death Locket and Chase Stein to the Snakepit, where his expanding Young Masters were allowed to do as these pleased between missions. Death Locket was particularly charmed by Piledriver's son, Excavator. Hazmat's crew decided their best hope was to pretend to accept Zemo's offer, but find a way to take him down from inside and hopefully redeem themselves to SHIELD and the Avengers. Hazmat, Anachronism, Chase and Nico agreed to the plan. Death Locket and Excavator were too inseparable to clue her in on the plan, and Cammi decided to reject the scheme altogether. Unfortunately for her, Constrictor caught her on the way out of Bagalia City and beat her senseless, locking her in the dungeons. |
Avengers Undercover #6: |
At the Snakepit, Chase kept trying to get Death Locket alone long enough to explain what the others were doing, but Excavator was always there. When Constrictor deployed them for a mission, the Young Masters found themselves fighting the forces of AIM. Captain America arrived in a Quinjet during the struggle, and Excavator told Death Locket to snipe him. Chase jumped in and diverted her shot. He set Excavator on fire and finally dragged Becca away long enough to tell her their plan. When Excavator returned and started fighting Chase, Death Locket had to make a choice, and she chose to blast Chase. |
Avengers Undercover #7: |
The Young Masters covered up the nature of Chase's injuries when they returned to Bagalia, and Nico was unable to fully revive him using her magic. Frustrated by Chase's condition, she gave in to her old friends and jumped back into a relationship with her evil ex, Alex. Meanwhile, Zemo's inner circle worked on their prize from AIM Island: a SHIELD agent named Reginald Crenshaw who knew the secrets behind the entire SHIELD communication network. Trained and cybernetically implanted to resist torture and psychics, Crenshaw still yielded his secrets easily to the vast mystic power of Satannish. In the Masters' dungeons, Cammi regained consciousness and was shocked to learn Arcade was alive and imprisoned along with her by the Masters. |
Avengers Undercover #8: |
After three months, the infiltrators were deeply entrenched in the Masters of Evil operations. Death Locket and the Young Masters were performing strikes around the world while Hazmat and Anachronism were the personal entourage of Madame Masque. Eventually they caught a break when Masque informed them of a major uprising against Earth's heroes set to take place in a matter of days. Hazmat contacted her old instructor Giant-Man discreetly to build outside support for their double-cross, then tried to reach out to Death Locket. Unfortunately, Hazmat learned that Death Locket chose sides months ago, and ratted out their plans to the Masters. The "uprising" was a trap orchestrated by Zemo with the kids' unwitting assistance. Anachronism fared just as well with Cullen, whose demon was fully under the control of Hellstorm. |
Avengers Undercover #9: |
Hazmat, Anachronism and Nico managed to rally, and Aiden appealed to his friendship with Cullen Bloodstone, getting his mate back on their side. They were also joined by the arriving forces of SHIELD, the Avengers, the Braddock Academy and more, thanks to Hazmat's call to Giant-Man. Unfortunately, the Masters of Evil then officially sprang their trap, teleporting all Masters to the surface while sealing the Hole and Bagalia City under containment hexes and tons of rubble. The 4% of SHIELD forces left on the surface quickly fell to the Masters of Evil, and Baron Zemo claimed the Helicarrier for himself, with Death Locket hacking the controls. |
Avengers Undercover #10: |
Baron Zemo orchestrated a worldwide uprising of criminal elements, both part of the Masters and mere allies, in order to massively embarrass SHIELD and the world's heroes. He then drove his point home by accessing the global communications network, addressing the world's population through every television monitor, every laptop and every smartphone. He told the world that he hacked SHIELD's communications network, and the only reason he could override all their devices is because SHIELD could normally override all their devices. His broadcast made it abundantly clear that not only had SHIELD made themselves privy to the secrets and private information of private citizens, but they couldn't even keep those secrets safe once they had stolen them. Cammi and Arcade managed to undo Zemo's hack on the global network, but the damage was done. Even after the heroes escaped Bagalia City, Zemo retained possession of his new Helicarrier and completely cut it off from SHIELD's surveillance feeds, making it a true ghost ship. With his Masters of Evil (Constrictor, Madame Masque, Hellstorm, Miss Corriander, Death Locket, and Alex Wilder), Baron Zemo fled off into the sunset. |
Afterwards
- Despite their success, Zemo's Masters of Evil never resurfaced. Baron Zemo attempted to rebuild Hydra as an organization under his control, but ultimately failed. He and many other super-villains were held prisoner by SHIELD in Pleasant Hill. A sentient Cosmic Cube in the form of a child named Kobik cast the villains into unwitting civilian roles in the town until Baron Zemo and the Fixer managed to orchestrate a rebellion. [Assault on Pleasant Hill crossover]
Membership
Max Fury (Nicholas Joseph Fury LMD)
First appearance: Defenders (1st series) #46
First Masters appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1, 29-32
Powers: Life Model Decoy constructed as an artificial lifeform mimicking Nick Fury, possessing enhanced levels of strength, speed, agility, endurance, and durability
Princess Python (Zelda Dubois)
First appearance: Secret Avengers #21.1
First Masters appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1,29, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: psychic link allows her to empathically communicate with and command the actions of a near-sentient python, able to grow to giant size and consume the thoughts and memories of its victims
Whiplash IV (Anton Vanko II)
First appearance: Iron Man vs. Whiplash #1
First Masters appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1, 29-32, Avengers Undercover #10
Powers: repurposed StarkTech armor gives him exoskeletal strength, reaction time, and resistance to physical injury, repulsor arc generators and mono-filaments combine into electro-lashes that cleave between molecules and produce a destructive charge
Vengeance II (Kowalski)
First appearance: Ghost Rider (5th series) #21
First Masters appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #21.1, 29-32, Avengers Undercover #10
Powers: infused with the Spirit of Pollution letting him transform into a Ghost Rider possessing superhuman strength and reflexes, inexhaustible endurance, tremendous resistance to all forms of physical damage, hellfire projection that allows him to produce metaphysically searing flames, manifest a penance stare that causes whomever he locks eyes with to experience the accumulated corruption of their lives, wields hellfire-charged chains and sickles, and can summon a mystical motorcycle with hellfire-charged wheels that responds to his mental direction, is capable of great speeds, can travel across water, up 90 degree angles, or upside-down
Taskmaster (Tony Masters)
First appearance: Avengers (1st series) #196
First Masters appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: chemically-derived mnemonic primer grants him photographic reflexes to copy the physical actions of anyone he views for more than a few seconds, including sleight-of-hand, culinary skill, vocal mimickry, and fighting styles, employs various weapons including disk shield, billy club, web-shooters, handguns, sai daggers, bow and arrows, and a broadsword
Griffin (Johnny Horton)
First appearance: Amazing Adventures (2nd series) #15
First Masters appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: chemical serum and surgical enhancements give him superhuman strength, speed, agility, endurance, reflexes, vision, armored scales, a prehensile spiked tail, razor edged talons, large feathered wings allowing him to fly, and the ability to psionically communicate with and control birds
Scarecrow (Ebenezer Laughton)
First appearance: Tales of Suspense #51
First Masters appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 31-32
Powers: fear toxin in his adrenal system hyper-stimulates his metabolism, giving him enhanced strength, stamina, reflexes and resistance to pain, and pumps fear pheromones out from his pores to induce panic, anxiety and fear in others, skilled contortionist and athlete, uses a pack of trained crows which respond to his verbal commands and gestures
Ringer II (Keith Kraft)
First appearance: Marc Spector: Moon Knight #10
First Masters appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: particulate matter condensers enable him to gather and coalesce ambient molecules into free-flying rings to batter opponents, constrict around them, or grip targets and then fly about under remote commands, uses specialty rings that produce intense cold, explosive force, or link together into a whip, ladder, or lasso
Crossfire (William Cross)
First appearance: Marvel Two-in-One #52
First Masters appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30,32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: cybernetic implants give him infrared telescopic vision, ultrasonic adjustable hearing, and a hypersonic projector used for subverting the willpower of others, making them answer any questions he asks and obey his commands, uses a variety of handguns and one-shot pistols
Diablo (Esteban Corazon de Ablo)
First appearance: Fantastic Four (1st series) #30
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-32
Powers: alchemist who employs a wide variety of potions, capable of extending his lifespan indefinitely, altering his personal appearance or composition, changing elements, animating unliving materials, deconstructing matter, and manipulating the perceptions and susceptibility of others
Madcap
First appearance: Captain America (1st series) #307
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: exposure to an exotic chemical compound gave him the ability to trigger temporary madness in others through eye contact by stimulating their inhibition centers, and hyper-regenerative powers that have deadened his sense of pain and heal his body from any and all forms of physical injury, damage, or even dismemberment
Killer Shrike (Simon Maddicks)
First appearance: Rampaging Hulk (1st series) #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29,32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: genetically engineered by RoXXon Oil to possess augmented strength, speed, agility, endurance, reaction time and resistance to physical harm, surgically implanted with an anti-gravity generator enabling him to fly, wears wrist cuffs equipped with titanium alloy blades and lightning-projecting power-blasters
Carrion III (William Allen)
First appearance: Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 32
Powers: exposed to a recombinant DNA virus and gained superhuman strength and resilience, telekinetic repulsion which allows him to levitate himself and forcibly propel objects away from his body, intangibility, telepathic intuition that lets him read people and their intentions, brimstone-based teleportation, and the power to decay and disintegrate organic matter, uses crystalized red dust to render people unconscious, cause intense burning pain, burn through solid matter like acid, and use a flesh-eating bacteria to eat through his victims
Lascivious (Davida DeVito)
First appearance: Marvel Two-in-One #54
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30, 32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2, Avengers Undercover #2
Powers: Power Broker process gives her superhuman strength, endurance, reflexes, and durability, psionically manipulate the libido to induce unregulated passion in others, directed towards her or another person, previously carried a metallic rod that fired bolts of concussive force
Letha (Hellen Feliciano)
First appearance: Marvel Two-In-One #54
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 31-32,Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2, Avengers Undercover #2,5
Powers: Power Broker process gives her superhuman strength, endurance, reflexes, and durability, psionically manipulate the brain to induce unregulated aggression or bloodlust in others, directed towards anyone she chooses
Brothers Grimm (Percy and Barton Grimes)
First appearance: Iron Man (1st series) #187
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30, 32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: magical death-fetish costumes allow them to conjure exotic novelty items into their hands, including flash-popping jacks, fake explosive hands, flame jets, electrical blasts, gold threads, petrifying "twinkie dust", corrosive eggs, jumping beans, beanstalk beans, spare costumes, blackbirds baked in pies, adhesive dough, sneezing powder, anaerobic, dehydrating and sleep gas, flying carpets, floating stars or trapeezes, etc.
Squid (Donny Callahan)
First appearance: Peter Parker, Spider-Man (2nd series) #16
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2, Avengers Undercover #10
Powers: transmorph able to assume a squid-like humanoid form with superhuman strength, endurance, and resilience, padded slime-encrusted skin, amphibious capabilities, extendible tentacles with suction tips, and the ability to release clouds of black ink
Pink Pearl (Pearl Gross)
First appearance: Alpha Flight (1st series) #22
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30,32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: unusual obesity enhances her overall strength and resistance to physical harm
Lady Stilt-Man (Callie Ryan)
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #611
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 31-32,Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: exoskeletal armor magnifies her strength, shields her from direct physical harm, and contains hydraulic ram systems in the legs that telescope to several stories tall, as well as similar hydraulics in the extendible gauntlets
Black Talon (Samuel David Barone)
First appearance: Avengers (1st series) #152
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: voodoo houngan able to commune with the spirits of the dead and reanimate flesh, creating zombies that cannot be harm and respond to his verbal commands
Strongman (Bruno Olafson)
First appearance: Incredible Hulk (1st series) #3
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
Powers: Olympic-level physical strength, endurance, and resilience to physical harm
Clown II (Franklin)
First appearance: Spider-Man: Swing Shift
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
Powers: uses novelty paraphernalia including plasma throwing knives, acid-spraying flowers, trick umbrellas that are bullet-proof and conceal machine guns, etc.
Fire-Eater (Tomas Ramirez)
First appearance: Marvel Two-in-One #76
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
Powers: high tolerance for the effects of heat and burning, carries fire-sticks which he uses to swallow and then exhale fire
Live Wire (Rance Preston)
First appearance: Fantastic Four Annual #5
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
Powers: uses insulated gloves to wield an electrified lariat that can shock and disable his opponents
Atom-Smasher III (Kevin Leonardo)
First appearance: Iron Man (1st series) #287
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
Powers: irradiated by toxic nuclear materials, transforming him into a bio-radioactive lifeform with superhuman strength, resistance to physical injury, and the power to produce ionizing radiation as lethal rad levels, intense heat, explosive blasts of force, defensive energy barriers, and thrust for flight
Molecule Man (Owen Reese)
First appearance: Fantastic Four (1st series) #20
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
Powers: empowered by the energies of a Cosmic Cube to possess total control over molecules, allowing him to create matter out of stray molecules, disintegrate existing objects, levitate, animate and reshape materials, transmute elemental forms, initiate hyperspace travel, concsciously sense all molecules and their activities in this universe, etc., formerly relied upon a simple wand to focus his abilities and mentally blocked from affecting organic molecules
Ox
First appearance: Alpha Flight (1st series) #64
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: cyber-genetically enhanced to possess superhuman strength, endurance, and resistance to all manner of physical injury, helmet outfitted with razor pointed horns
Coachwhip (Beatrix Keener)
First appearance: Captain America (1st series) #342
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30
Powers: wears gloves that are equipped with serrated metal whips attached to the back of each hand, capable of producing an electrical charge on contact
Arcade (Harcourt Teesdale)
First appearance: Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #65
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30, Avengers Arena #7, Avengers Undercover #2-3
Powers: owner and proprietor of Murderworld, a series of assassination-based theme parks that employ a variety of client-specific death traps through the use of holographic environments, robots, and other mechanisms
Batroc the Leaper (Georges Batroc)
First appearance: Tales of Suspense #75
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30
Powers: peak human athlete trained in savate with exceptional strength, speed, agility, endurance, reflexes, and extraordinary leaping ability
Armadillo (Antonio Rodriguez)
First appearance: Captain America (1st series) #308
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
Powers: mutated into a humanoid armadillo, possessing superhuman strength, endurance, an armored shell that gives him considerable resistance to physical injury, and razor sharp claws
Madame Masque (Guiletta Kristina Nefaria / Whitney Frost)
First appearance: Tales of Suspense #97
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 31, Avengers Undercover #2-3,5,7-10
Powers: wears a golden mask to hide her features, carries a handgun capable of firing normal rounds or gas cartridges
Vector (Simon Utrecht)
First appearance: Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #254
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 32
Powers: exposure to cosmic radiation gave him a telekinetic repulsion power, allowing him to apply momentum to objects in order to repel projectiles and oncoming attacks, levitate objects with vectored repulsion fields, direct massive amounts of force against a target, and repulse himself off the ground to fly
Ironclad (Michael Steel)
First appearance: Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #254
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 32
Powers: exposure to cosmic radiation transformed him into organic metal, giving him superhuman strength and resistance to physical injury, and the power to alter his mass to develop increase overall size, greater strength and density or reduce his weight in order to leap great heights and distances, formerly possessed a rough and craggly metal hide
X-Ray (James Darnell)
First appearance: Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #254
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 32
Powers: exposure to cosmic radiation converted him into a being of pure radiation, capable of flight, invisibility, intangibility, surviving indefinitely without sustenance, and projecting radiation as light, heat, disruptive frequencies, explosive discharges or hard radiation force blasts
Tiger Shark (Todd Arliss)
First appearance: Sub-Mariner (1st series) #5
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30
Powers: restructured with the genetic patterns of an Atlantean and a tiger shark, giving him superhuman strength, speed, endurance, reflexes, thick resilient flesh with high resistance to physical harm, gills for breathing underwater, strength that increases while in contact with water, aquatically adapted vision, a large dorsel fin and razor tipped fangs and claws
Bi-Beast
First appearance: Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #169
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 31, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: artificial construct of the Inhuman Bird People, possessing the accumulated knowledge of his people in culture and warfare split between two minds, as well as superhuman size, strength, endurance, and resistance to physical injury
Moses Magnum (Magnum Force)
First appearance: Giant-Sized Spider-Man #4
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
Powers: bio-engineered to possess seismic power that increases his strength and durability to superhuman levels, can be released as concussive force or to induce seismic tremors and earthquakes upon contact with solid ground, formerly incapable of standing on solid ground without inducing seismic activity
Firebrand III (Richard L. Dennison)
First appearance: Iron Man (3rd series) #4
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #30
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #30
Powers: transformed into a being of super-charged plasma, possessing a massive bulk, increased strength and resistance to physical injury and temperature extremes, and the power to radiate heat energy at atomic intensities, containment harness maintains control of his energy emissions, provides thrust for flight, and can cybernetically reconfigure itself to focus his heat energy through plasma cannons, thermal lances, solid heat spheres, etc.
Vapor (Ann Darnell)
First appearance: Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #254
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #32
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #32
Powers: exposure to cosmic radiation made her into a being of living gas, unaffected by physical assaults, capable of flying on the breeze, and able to reform herself into any form of gas, including oxygen, cyanide, hydrogen, chlorine, mustard gas, etc.
Conundrum
First appearance: Spectacular Spider-Man (2nd series) #257
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: master illusionist and stage magician, uses rotating block mask to disguise his features and alter his appearance, employs colored smoke and gases to hide his movements and cloud the minds of his opponents
Human Cannonball (Jack Pulver)
First appearance: Incredible Hulk (1st series) #3
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: body armor and reinforced helmet protect him from physical damage, allow offensive head-butting, and let him launch at his opponents as a living projectile
Chemistro III (Calvin Carr)
First appearance: Power Man and Iron Fist (1st series) #93
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2
Powers: carries an alchemy gun that transmogrifies matter from one elemental constitution into another, ultimately causing it to discorporate at a molecular level
Lightmaster (Edward Lansky)
First appearance: Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5
All Masters VIII appearances: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5-7
Powers: transformed into a being of living light, subsists on ambient light wave infractions, capable of emitting blinding light, projecting hard-light force beams and solid constructs, and flight,
Absorbing Man (Carl “Crusher” Creel)
First appearance: Journey into Mystery #114
First Masters VIII appearance: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
All Masters VIII appearances: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
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 SuperHeroes Secret Wars #3
First Masters VIII appearance: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
All Masters VIII appearances: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
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
Mister Hyde (Calvin Zabo)
First appearance: Journey into Mystery #99
First Masters VIII appearance: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
All Masters VIII appearances: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
Powers: uses a hormonal chemical formula to transform himself into a physical powerhouse with superhuman strength, stamina, durability, recuperative powers, and gigantic proportions
Blackout (Marcus Daniels)
First appearance: Nova (1st series) #19
First Masters VIII appearance: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
All Masters VIII appearances: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
Powers: infusion with Darkforce radiation made him a living generator of that substance, allowing him to direct Darkforce into concussive blasts or quasi-solid projections that absorb heat and other energies and are unaffected by gravity, enabling him to levitate them in mid-air and fly by riding on floating disks, also capable of opening inter-dimensional apertures into the Darkforce dimension, banishing people or objects into oblivion
Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite)
First appearance: Thor (1st series) #148
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #30
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #30-31, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5-6, Avengers Undercover #2,10
Powers: infused with magical power by Karnilla, giving him Asgardian strength, stamina, resistance to physical harm, the ability to project an enchanted aura to repel projectiles, and enchanting his crowbar so that it is indestructible, can teleport himself and others over great distances, and psychically linked to him so that he can sense its presence and influence people who hold it
Thunderball (Eliot Augustus Franklin)
First appearance: Defenders (1st series) #17
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-30,32, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5-6, Avengers Undercover #2,10
Powers: absorbed a fourth of the Wrecker's power in a lightning storm, giving him Asgardian strength, stamina, resistance to physical harm and an enchanted wrecking bar that's indestructible and returns to his hand after thrown
Piledriver (Brian Philip Calusky)
First appearance: Defenders (1st series) #17
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5-6, Avengers Undercover #2, 5
Powers: absorbed a fourth of the Wrecker's power in a lightning storm, giving him Asgardian strength, stamina, resistance to physical harm, and piston-like hands and feet that could create shockwaves upon impact
Bulldozer (Henry Camp)
First appearance: Defenders (1st series) #17
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29, 32, Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #5-6, Avengers Undercover #2
Powers: absorbed a fourth of the Wrecker's power in a lightning storm, giving him Asgardian strength, stamina, and resistance to physical harm, wears an armor-plated helmet that he uses for head-butting and smashing through barriers
Whirlwind (David Cannon)
First appearance: Tales to Astonish #50
First Masters VIII appearance: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
All Masters VIII appearances: Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6
Powers: mutant with superhuman reflexes and able to rotate himself at phenomenal speeds, allowing him to spin at high velocities to propel himself forward, deflect projectiles, direct jet streams of hurricane force wind, and create small tornados, uses wrist-mounted buzzsaws and shuriken launched from his belt
Baron Zemo the 13th (Helmut Zemo)
First appearance: Captain America (1st series) #168
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #1
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #1,3-5,7-10
Powers: expert military strategist and tactician, exposure to Compound X has increased his lifespan by decades, carries a laser "disintegrator" pistol
Constrictor (Frank Payne / Frankie Schlicting)
First appearance: Incredible Hulk (2nd series) #212
First Masters VIII appearance: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29
All Masters VIII appearances: Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-32, Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2, Avengers Undercover #2-3, 5-10
Powers: bionic arms can extend retractable adamanium coils capable of channeling an electrical charge, wears a body suit equipped with bullet-proof fabric and infrared telephoto lenses, formerly employed wrist-mounted retractable adamantium or vibranium coils
Son of Satan (Daimon Hellstrom)
First appearance: Marvel Spotlight (1st series) #12
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #1
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #1-5,7-10
Powers: demonic heritage of a "Darksoul", and hereditary title of Hell-Lord, give him heightened strength, endurance, and resilience, telepathy and mystical senses, pyrotechnic teleportation, power over electrical energy, soulfire which can be focused to fly, heal injuries, burn targets, or cause excruciating pain in living beings, and can summon his costume at will, carries a netheranium trident that could amplify and project his soulfire
Cullen Bloodstone
First appearance: Avengers Arena #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #1
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #1-9
Powers: fragment of the bloodstone in his ring gives him enhanced strength, speed, agility, endurance, reflexes, durability, and recuperative powers, also serves to suppress the Galaratrox spirit-demon grafted onto his soul, an indestructible beast that feeds upon its host's emotional turmoil and that Cullen has limited control over
Porcupine II (Roger Gocking)
First appearance: Daughters of the Dragon #3
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2
Powers: multi-function armored battlesuit enhances his strength, provides reinforced resistance to physical injury, integrated gas mask, a protective layer of projectile quills, and concealed weaponry inside the quills including lasers, mini-rockets, sleep gas, tear gas, smokescreens, concussion bombs, electricity, acetylene torch flames, liquid cement, hypnotic wheels, and limited thrust for flight
Trapster (Peter Petruski)
First appearance: Strange Tales (1st series) #104
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2
Powers: fires adhesive paste or frictionless solvent from a hand gun, wrist-shooters, or finger nozzles, using it to encase or bind his opponents, lasso objects from a distance, launch gumballs of putty, climb walls and ceilings, slide across smooth surfaces, or slip up his opponents, occasionally uses electrical mini-generators, sonic smasher, explosive spheres, gravity intensifier, and an anti-gravity flying platform
Eel II (Edward Lavell)
First appearance: Power Man and Iron Fist (1st series) #92
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2
Powers: costume covered with a slippery grease and fitted with a micro-generator, which projects an electrical field around his body and directs energy as lightning-like bolts
Satannish
First appearance: Doctor Strange (1st series) #174
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2, 7, 9
Powers: Hell-Lord who draws immense power from his worshippers and the souls of the damned trapped in his pocket dimensional realm, capable of manifesting tremendous size and strength, alter his shape, influence thoughts, levitate and manipulate matter, conjure clairvoyant imagery, transform servants and bestow them with power, travel inter-dimensionally, etc.
Excavator (Ricky Caluski)
First appearance: Runaways (2nd series) #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2, 5-9
Powers: absorbed a portion of the Wrecking Crew's power, giving him Asgardian strength, stamina, and resistance to physical harm, carries a shovel
Melter II (Christopher Colchiss)
First appearance: Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2,6-10
Powers: molecular disassembly power allows him to liquify solid objects with a gesture, causing people or objects to "melt", Mandarin tech-based repulsor engines implanted in his skin augmented his powers
Egghead II
First appearance: Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2, 5-9
Powers: Microversal android with superhuman strength, stamina, and intelligence, data transference abilities, holographic disguises, and density-shifting powers to levitate, become intangible, or calculatedly disrupt the internal functions of machines or living beings by passing through them, including inducing specifically timed comatose states
Enchantress II (Sylvie Lushkin)
First appearance: Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #6
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #6, 8-10
Powers: empowered by Asgardian magic, possessing sorcerous skills allowing her to levitate, project force bolts, deflect magical attacks, influence the thoughts of others, transmutate people into animals, teleport inter-dimensionally, etc.
Coat of Arms (Lisa Molinari)
First appearance: Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2, 5-9
Powers: enchanted Tiboro coat allows her to manifest up to six arms at once, pulling weapons and mystical items out of the coat pockets, or using its folds as an air glider
Executioner VI (Daniel DuBois)
First appearance: Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2, 6-9
Powers: moderate level combat training and marksmanship, carries knives, handguns, assault weapons, shotguns, etc.
Mako
First appearance: Vengeance #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2, 5-10
Powers: artificially-engineered amphibian able to breathe underwater, possessing superhuman strength, speed, endurance, reaction time, underwater vision and hearing, increased resistance to impact and temperature extremes, and sharpened claws
Black Knight
First appearance: Vengeance #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2, 5-9
Powers: carries a sharp-edged sword, skilled hacker and data diver
Radioactive Kid
First appearance: Vengeance #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #6
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #6, 9
Powers: radioactive flesh produces intense heat and high-yield radiation to destroy organic tissue
Mudbug (Ledbetter)
First appearance: Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #20
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2,5-6,8-9
Powers: crustacean-based mutation gives him increased strength, a hardened exoskeletal shell over most of his body, an extra set of arms with pincher claws in place of hands, and taloned toes
Snot
First appearance: Wolverine and the X-Men (1st series) #31
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2, 5, 8
Powers: excessive mucus production, which can be expelled from his nostrils with superhuman force for adhesive and asphyxiating attacks
Morg
First appearance: Infinity: The Hunt #2
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #2
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #2, 7
Powers: vampire possessing heightened strength, speed, agility, endurance, and reflexes, fangs capable of harvesting blood from other people, and virtual invulnerability and hyper-regenerative powers excepting the typical vampiric weaknesses
Alexander Wilder
First appearance: Runaways (1st series) #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #5
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #5, 7-10
Powers: offspring of the Pride members representing the thieves
Hazmat (Jennifer Tanaka)
First appearance: Avengers Academy #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #5
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #5, 7-8
Powers: genetically poisoned by RoXXon Oil, causing her to constantly produce various bio-hazardous materials through her body chemistry, enabling her to project heat and radiation, corrosives, neurotoxin, anti-matter and electromagnetic pulses
Sister Grimm (Nico Minoru)
First appearance: Runaways (1st series) #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #5
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #5, 7-8
Powers: offspring of the Pride members representing the magicians, can summon the Staff of One out of her body whenever she bleeds, using it and her magically-conceived replacement arm to cast incantations such as turning invisible, levitation, teleportation, probing memories, explosive bursts, creating images, and summoning animals, certain substances and elemental forces
Talkback (Chase Stein)
First appearance: Runaways (1st series) #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #5
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #5-7
Powers: offspring of the Pride members representing the wise men, carries x-ray goggles and the fistigons, metallic gauntlets which generate spurts of flame and can shape the fire into different forms
Anachronism (Aiden Gillespie)
First appearance: Avengers Arena #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #5
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #5, 7-8
Powers: shares his body with an immortal Celtic warrior, possessing superhuman strength, agility, stamina, resistance to physical harm, recuperative powers, and intuitive fighting skills, formerly swapped back to his original body
Death Locket (Rebecca Ryker)
First appearance: Avengers Arena #1
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #5
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #5-10
Powers: nanite-enriched Deathlok cybernetics provide a level of superhuman strength, techno-regenerative powers, enhanced vision, combat-based targeting arrays, cyber-interface and hacking abilities, and malleable components in the cybernetic arm to convert it into a spiked mace, flamethrower, concussive blaster, sniper rifle, and other configurations, Deathlok nanites will assimilate and weaponize any replacement tech attached in lieu of the original prosthetics
Miss Coriander
First appearance: Avengers Arena #7
First Masters VIII appearance: Avengers Undercover #5
All Masters VIII appearances: Avengers Undercover #5, 7, 10
Powers: technical specialist and engineer