Power Broker

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Power Broker, Inc. is a fictional criminal corporation in the Marvel Universe which provides individuals with superhuman physical abilities for a price. The organization first appeared in The Thing #35, in 1986, and was created by Mike Carlin.

[edit] Fictional history

Dr. Karl Malus, a mad scientist who had experimented on various superhuman individuals, went to work for the Power Broker corporation founded by Curtiss Jackson, using technology to augment the strength of paying customers to superhuman levels. The strength augmenting process was tremendously risky, with half the subjects dying or becoming severely deformed, but this information was kept a closely guarded secret. Power Broker and Malus also used highly addictive drugs on their subjects, telling them that the chemical was necessary to stabilize their powers, but in fact it only served to keep the subjects working for-- and paying --the Power Broker. One such victim was Sharon Ventura, who was also sexually abused while drugged. Many wrestlers of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, which is only open to those with super-strength, have used the Power Broker's services, and wound up indebted to them.

Power Broker was also responsible for the strength augmentation of the U.S. Agent and Battlestar.

When Power Broker, Inc. was attacked by the vigilante known as The Scourge of the Underworld, Curtiss Jackson was exposed to his own augmentation device in order to try to gain super-strength to defend himself. The process went awry, leaving him so grotesquely muscle-bound that he could not move. Malus decided to take advantage of this situation by sending Vagabond, who knew Jackson (having previously approached him about gaining super-strength herself), to obtain a copy of his fingerprints so that Malus could access all of Jackson's personal accounts and vaults. He used an explosive wristband to force Vagabond's cooperation, but she managed to knock Malus out, destroy the fingerprint mold, place the band on his wrist, and inject him with the drug he had planned to use on her.

The Power Broker had Malus' legs broken for his betrayal, then promptly re-hired him to try to cure Jackson's condition. Malus captured and experimented on several augmented individuals, including Battlestar, which drew the involvement of the U.S. Agent. Together, Battlestar and the Agent freed the captured wrestlers, and forced Malus to restore their strength. The U.S. Agent then destroyed Malus' equipment and records.

Power Broker has been responsible for providing augmented henchmen to various criminal organizations, such as the Sweatshop and the Power Tools.