Spymaster (comics)
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| Spymaster | |
 Spymaster III Art by Frazer Irving. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Iron Man #33 (Jan 1971) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Larry Lieber Don Heck Jack Kirby |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Sinclair Abbot |
| Team affiliations | Espionage Elite AIM The Maggia Roxxon Oil S.H.I.E.L.D. Zodiac |
| Notable aliases | Cobalt Man, Iron Knight, Hogan Potts, Spare Parts Man, Golden Avenger, Shellhead, Ted Calloway, Jake Jordan, Anthony Stark |
| Abilities | None: Espionage master |
Spymaster is a supervillain from Marvel Comics. The first appearance of the character is in Iron Man #33.
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
Spymaster is a Marvel Comics supervillain, whose primary antagonist is Iron Man. He is a master of industrial espionage. His identity has changed several times over the years.
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Original Spymaster
The original Spymaster was a costumed freelance spy with advanced weaponry. He was a master of espionage, and died without revealing his true identity. He and his team of assistants, the Espionage Elite, were hired by the criminal organization the Zodiac to infiltrate Stark Industries and steal all of company owner and genius inventor Tony Stark's secrets. His efforts were stopped by Stark's alter-ego, the armored superhero Iron Man.
Spymaster would come into conflict with Iron Man several more times, and on one occasion with the masked hero Daredevil. At one point Spymaster apparently succeeded in assassinating Tony Stark, but in reality it was a Life Model Decoy. He also succeeded in stealing many of Stark's Iron Man designs, giving them over to Stark's rival Justin Hammer, sparking the Armor Wars event. Stark believes that Spymaster may have found out his secret identity, but that Spymaster kept it to himself.
The first Spymaster last appeared after coming into conflict with fellow Iron Man villain the Ghost, who has technology enabling him to become intangible. After attempting to kill the Ghost, Iron Man arrived, causing the two villains to attempt an escape. The Ghost offered Spymaster one of his intangibility devices, but removed it from his chest while he was still phasing halfway through a wall, killing him instantly.
[edit] Second Spymaster
The second Spymaster was an accomplished student of the Taskmaster who won the right to the name in a series of tests including a final test of killing all other contenders in a battleground simulator, with all contestants blindfolded. His first appearance was in Iron Man Volume 3 #8. This iteration had one of his own Espionage Elite bug Tony Stark's office, and overheard Stark and his secretary Pepper Potts talking about Stark's double identity. Acting under orders from the Mandarin, his Elite ambushed and beat Stark severely, until the Black Widow intervened. In 2007, Spymaster II, who has had no known identity, was retroactively named Nathan Lemon due to a series' 'flashback' episode in which Stark delves into his mind and figures out his name.
[edit] Third Spymaster
Sinclair Abbot, a wealthy industrialist, is the latest person to hold the Spymaster mantle. He achieved this by having the previous one arrested, severely beaten in jail, and then killed in intensive care by his wife. His debut was in the miniseries Iron Man: The Inevitable. He has yet to attempt any direct action against Iron Man, choosing to send Ghost against him, and playing mind-games with Stark at public events, subtly jabbing him about his alcoholism and former military contracts. Abbot feels that to be a true supervillain, he needs to prove his mettle against Iron Man, while at the same time, to humble Iron Man; it has been an extended period of time since Iron Man has fought a "supervillain" in the classical sense, and Abbot resents the apparent indication that Iron Man is "too good" for supervillains, as if he is above that station.
[edit] Civil War
With the Civil War causing Tony Stark considerable problems, the Spymaster was hired by Karim Wahwash Najeeb (chairman of the World Islamic Peace Coalition and one of the men responsible for the death of Stark's mentor Ho Yinsen) to kill Iron Man. Spymaster killed Tony Stark's chauffeur and attempted to use Happy Hogan as live bait to draw Iron Man, but Hogan managed to attack him and both fell several stories to the ground (Iron Man (4th series) #13). While Hogan died of his injuries in the next issue, it's been left unknown whether Spymaster survived or not.
[edit] Other media
Spymaster appeared in The Incredible Hulk episode "Prisoner of the Monster."
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