The original Masters of Evil (consisting of existing supervillains the Black Knight (Nathan Garrett), Melter, and Radioactive Man) was gathered by Baron Heinrich Zemo.[5] Despite attempting to capture the Avengers with Adhesive X and spreading it over New York City, the Avengers find an antidote with the help of Paste-Pot Pete, give it to the Masters in secret, 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.[6]
Baron Zemo leads the team in his revenge on Captain America and the Avengers. The team had been joined by the Enchantress and the Executioner, whom Zemo found in their exile to Earth that was imposed on them by Odin for attacking Thor.[7] The Enchantress hypnotizes Thor into attacking the Avengers, but Iron Man breaks him out of the trance. Meanwhile, Captain America is lured to South America to fight Zemo. After defeating Zemo, Captain America returns on Zemo's helicopter and stops Zemo from shooting the Avengers. However, Enchantress casts a spell that gets the helicopter to the rooftop she and the Executioner are on. The Executioner knocks Captain America out by striking his shoulder, and takes him out of the helicopter, after which they all try to escape. The Masters are sent to another dimension in a space warp generated by Thor.[8]
Two issues later, Enchantress returns them to Earth using a spell. Simon Williams is given superhuman strength with an ionic ray, though he is told he will die in a week unless given an antidote Zemo has. He captures the Wasp and lures the Avengers into a trap, but sacrifices himself to save the Avengers.[9]Immortus appears and offers to help the Masters by defeating the Avengers. He succeeds in sending Captain America to the Tower of London in 1760. The Masters attack the Avengers, but Captain America manages to return. The Enchantress, sensing defeat, sends the villains back in time to before they met Immortus.[10]
In a later issue, Zemo kidnaps Rick Jones with an attractor beam and has the Enchantress and the Executioner release the Black Knight and the Melter (the Radioactive Man having been deported back to China). They attack the other Avengers, forcing Captain America to go alone to Zemo's kingdom to rescue Rick. The Executioner tells the Avengers that a battle in the city would hurt many people, meaning they should surrender. Captain America blinds Zemo with his shield and Zemo dies when he accidentally triggers a rock slide.[11] The Black Knight and the Melter are captured after Thor transports them to another dimension with different scientific laws, meaning their weapons rebound. However, Enchantress and Executioner escape before they can be transported.[12]
Ultron's Masters of Evil
The Masters of Evil, as featured in Avengers #54 (July 1968), art by John Buscema
The second version, organized by Ultron-5 in his Crimson Cowl disguise, consisted of Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Klaw, Melter, and Whirlwind. Radioactive Man is also added to the group after being sprung from the group. The Dane Whitman version of Black Knight receives an invitation in Nathan Garrett's mailbox, as Ultron-5 was unaware that Garrett had died. Whitman decides to join the group as a spy. Ultron-5 also captures Edwin Jarvis and used him as a proxy. Learning of Ultron-5's plot, Black Knight attempts to warn the Avengers, only for Ultron-5 to learn of his plan. The Avengers were taken captive by the Masters of Evil. However, Jarvis escapes and helps Black Knight rescue the Avengers while exposing Ultron-5 has Crimson Cowl. The Masters of Evil are defeated by the Avengers, but Ultron-5 escapes.[13]
During the Rutland Halloween Parade, Klaw takes over the Masters of Evil in a plot to kidnap scientist T.W. Erwin. The Liberators led by Enchantress posing as Valkyrie arrive and both groups work to defeat the Masters of Evil.[14]
Egghead's Masters of Evil
Criminal scientist Egghead organizes a third version, consisting of Moonstone (who is made deputy leader), Scorpion, Tiger Shark, and Whirlwind. Egghead uses this incarnation to assist him in making technological breakthroughs. When Whirlwind decides to attack Wasp by himself, Moonstone leads Scorpion and Tiger Shark in retrieving him. The villains are defeated by the Avengers.[15]
After that incident, Egghead keeps only Moonstone and Tiger Shark on the team, while Scorpion and Whirlwind are replaced with Beetle, Shocker, and Radioactive Man. Shocker is brainwashed as part of a plot by Egghead to bring Hank Pym into the Masters of Evil. While Pym is on trial, the Masters of Evil invade the courtroom and attempt to make the public believe that Pym is their leader. When Egghead attempts to shoot Pym, Hawkeye shoots his arrow into his gun, causing it to overload and kill Egghead. Beetle and Moonstone cooperate with the Avengers and tell them that Egghead framed Pym, who is cleared of all charges.[16]
A later flashback reveals that Augustus Roman's family died during the fight between the Avengers and this incarnation of the Masters of Evil.[18]
Doctor Octopus' Masters of Evil
The fifth incarnation was organized by Doctor Octopus, but bore little resemblance to previous incarnations. Its roster included Gargantua, Jackhammer, Oddball, Powderkeg, and Puff Adder, in addition to former members Absorbing Man, Shocker, Titania, and Yellowjacket. Doctor Octopus uses this incarnation of the Masters of Evil to steal the technology of the Avengers and ends up fighting the original Guardians of the Galaxy, a superhero group from an alternate future timeline. When Gargantua, Puff Adder, and Shocker become sympathetic towards the Guardians of the Galaxy, they turn on Doctor Octopus, who flees.[19]
Baron Helmut Zemo's second Masters of Evil
The Masters of Evil: (from the top) the Screaming Mimi, Goliath, Helmut Zemo, Beetle, Fixer, and Moonstone, art by Mark Bagley
The sixth incarnation of the Masters of Evil are assembled by Helmut Zemo and pose as superheroes known as the Thunderbolts.[20] In addition to Zemo, the team consisted of Beetle, Fixer, Goliath, Moonstone, and Screaming Mimi. All of the group's members eventually become true heroes and renounce their criminal ways, though Zemo, Fixer, and Moonstone all return to villainy some time later.
The eighth incarnation, led by the Crimson Cowl, consists of Black Mamba, Cardinal, Cyclone, Gypsy Moth, Hydro-Man, Machinesmith, and Man-Killer. Crimson Cowl uses this incarnation in her second attempt to master and control Earth's superhuman mercenaries. While Cyclone tries to steal a disc containing information on a weapon that would have assisted in this plot, Crimson Cowl gets Cardinal on her side by claiming that Hawkeye killed his daughter Meteorite. When the Thunderbolts catch up to the Masters of Evil, Hawkeye shows them that the disc actually contains a biotoxin that Justin Hammer would have used to kill them all. This causes Cardinal, Cyclone, Gypsy Moth, and Man-Killer to forcefully aid the Thunderbolts in attacking Hammer.[23]
The Masters of Evil are featured in the series "Avengers Undercover", where the surviving captives of Arcade's Murderworld[a] infiltrate Bagalia to kill Arcade.[29] Following the death of Max Fury, Helmut Zemo has become the new leader of the Masters of Evil.[30] After a fight with the villains, Cullen Bloodstone is accepted into the Masters of Evil and teleports his accomplices into Arcade's casino, where Arcade is apparently killed by Hazmat.[31] While the other young heroes take up Zemo's offer to join the Masters of Evil (with a plan to take the group down from within), Cammi is the only one to decline. She attempts to flee, only to be caught by Constrictor and slammed into a rock wall.[32]
Baron Helmut Zemo created an 11th incarnation consisting of Whiplash, Man-Killer, Klaw, Tiger Shark, and the Wrecking Crew, all of whom had been members of previous incarnations of the Masters of Evil. Zemo sends them out to persuade Atlas of the Thunderbolts to rejoin the team. However, they are thwarted by Jolt.[35]
During the Secret Empire storyline, Zemo has Kobik send Bucky Barnes back through time to World War II and another battle with the Thunderbolts, in which the Man-Killer was apparently killed by Kobik. After Atlas, the Fixer, and Moonstone join the Masters of Evil, they worked to reassemble Kobik. As Erik Selvig hordes the fragments that he has, kisses them, and commits suicide, the Kobik-reprogrammed Captain America persuades Zemo to have the Masters of Evil join Hydra's "Army of Evil."[36]
During the "One World Under Doom" storyline, Carol Danvers tells the Avengers that they are willing to work with Arcade, Baron Mordo, Doctor Octopus, MODOK Superior, Madelyne Pryor, and Mysterio in battling Doctor Doom, who has become Sorcerer Supreme. With Iron Man willing to go along with this plan, MODOK Superior "welcomes" Iron Man to the Masters of Evil.[40] While most of the Avengers and the Masters of Evil fought Doom, Scarlet Witch, Mordo, and Pryor scanned the minds of the world leaders and found that they followed them through human nature and that Doom did not cheat. Doom then teleports the Avengers and the Masters of Evil to the Raft to prevent a mass-breakout.[41]
Wanting to take advantage of this, Mad Thinker forms a new incarnation of the Masters of Evil with Dreadknight, Exterminatrix, Madcap, and Mister Hyde. In addition, Mad Thinker rebuilds Quasimodo, dubbing him Quasimodo Mark X. Quasimodo hacks into the Impossible City, enabling the Masters of Evil to enter it. As Quasimodo tries to get information from the Impossible City, Captain America and Black Panther enter the Impossible City and subdue most of the Masters of Evil. After being informed of these events by Quasimodo, Mad Thinker dons an armor derived from Super-Adaptoid technology that gives him the combined abilities of his teammates. However, the Impossible City takes control of Dreadknight's body and resets itself, disposing of Quasimodo. The rest of the Avengers appear and help defeat Mad Thinker.[42]
During the "Dark Reign" storyline, a young version of the team - controlled by criminal mastermind Norman Osborn - debuts in the miniseriesDark Reign: Young Avengers.[43]
A group calling themselves the Bastards of Evil debuted in the 2010 "Heroic Age" storyline. All members claim to be the children of supervillains who were discarded and disavowed by their parents. They include Aftershock (the supposed daughter of Electro), Warhead (the supposed son of the Radioactive Man), Mortar (the supposed daughter of the Grey Gargoyle), Singularity (the supposed son of Graviton), and Ember (the supposed son of Pyro).[44]
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 and given false memory implants. The surviving Bastards are held in the Raft after their capture.[45]
Masters of Animal Evil
Ziggy Pig formed an animal-themed counterpart of the Masters of Evil called the Masters of Animal Evil consisting of Armadillo, a black mamba implied to be owned by Black Mamba, an octopus version of Doctor Octopus, Doom Fish, Dragon Man, Red Ghost's Super-Apes, and several of Swarm's bees. It is unclear whether the octopus and Doom Fish are owned by Doctor Octopus and Doctor Doom respectively. They fought the Pet Avengers and were defeated by them.[46]
Reception
Critical response
Darby Harn of Screen Rant included the Masters of Evil in their "10 Most Powerful Hercules Villains In Marvel Comics" list,[47] and in their "15 Most Powerful Black Panther Villains" list.[48] Mark Ginocchio of ComicBook.com ranked the Master of Evil 1st in their " Marvel's 5 Greatest Supervillain Stables" list."[49] Jerry Stanford of Comic Book Resources ranked 3rd in their "10 Most Important Marvel Villain Teams" list,[50] while David Harth ranked the team 6th in their "5 Best Marvel Villain Teams (& The 5 Best DC Villain Teams)" list.[51]
A future incarnation of the Masters of Evil from Earth-2099 appear in the Marvel 2099 story Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #3, consisting of Patriot, Black Knight, Baron Zemo, Enchantress, Melter, and Radioactive Man. This version of the group killed several members of the Avengers and conquered multiple worlds. After Zemo kills the Black Knight for disobeying orders, the Masters of Evil are defeated by the New Avengers and remanded to a prison on the planet Wakanda.[62]
The Masters of Evil appear in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, formed by Enchantress, Executioner, and Heinrich Zemo and consisting of them, Arnim Zola, Wonder Man, Crimson Dynamo, Abomination, Chemistro, Grey Gargoyle, and Living Laser. They battle the Avengers twice until Zemo discovers the Enchantress was secretly working with Loki to help him take over Asgard while Thor is away on Earth and betrays her while enacting a plot to use Karnilla's Norn Stones to fuse Earth with Asgard. After the Avengers foil the plot, Enchantress seeks vengeance on Zemo and eliminates Chemistro, Living Laser, and Zola, forcing the surviving Masters of Evil to ask for the Avengers' help in stopping her. During the Enchantress' subsequent attack, Black Panther builds a power dampener, which successfully negates her powers. Wonder Man prevents Zemo from finishing her off, but when the Enchantress tries to take the last Norn Stone, Wonder Man grabs it simultaneously, causing both of them to disappear. In the aftermath, Zemo, Abomination, Crimson Dynamo, and the Executioner are incarcerated at Prison 42.
The Masters of Evil appear in Avengers Assemble,[65] consisting of Helmut Zemo, Beetle, Fixer, Goliath, Moonstone, and Screaming Mimi. Following failed attacks on Stark Industries and 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 exposing Zemo, who escapes while the remaining Masters of Evil turn themselves in.
The Masters of Evil appear in the first season of Marvel Future Avengers,[66] consisting of the Leader, Enchantress, Ares, Winter Soldier, and Bruno, a teenage Hydra operative who underwent genetic manipulation. The group is recruited by Kang the Conqueror and join forces with Hydra and Loki to enact the "Emerald Rain" project, a plan to reverse-engineer Terrigen crystals and 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.
The Masters of Evil appear in a self-titled DLC pack for Lego Marvel's Avengers, consisting of Helmut Zemo, Enchantress, Black Knight, Skurge, Melter, Radioactive Man, and Whirlwind.[67]
↑Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p.101. ISBN978-1465455505.
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