Young Masters

The Young Masters are a fictional comic book supervillainous team created by Paul Cornell and Mark Brooks. The team first appeared in Dark Reign: Young Avengers as the doppelgänger to the Young Avengers.

Publication history

Dark Reign: Young Avengers is a limited series written by Paul Cornell,^[1][2] with artist Mark Brooks,^[3] which introduces a new group of powered teens calling themselves the Young Masters, but controlled by Norman Osborn.^[4] The new team is a twisted version of the Young Avengers, much like the Dark Avengers are to the original Avengers. The Young Avengers confront them, agreeing to field test the new teens for membership into their group. The final decision by the Young Avengers to only allow a select few into their ranks results in a battle where Osborn's team of Dark Avengers are ultimately involved. The Young Avengers manage to defeat both Osborn's team and their teenage counterparts, causing Osborn to withdraw and the others to stand down. Escaping, the new team dub themselves the Young Masters (a play on the name of an older villain team, the Masters of Evil).

Fictional character biography

The team returned as the main characters for one story in Age of Heroes #2.^[5]

The Young Masters returned with Executioner and Egghead joined by new recruits Mako, Radioactive Kid, and a female Black Knight in a plot to target older villains for assassination. It was later revealed that they had a mysterious benefactor in the villain called Zodiac. No explanation was given for the absence of the other founding members of the group, but at the conclusion of the storyline Zodiac revealed that he only needed one of them to join him where he chose Egghead.^[6]

Big Zero, Enchantress II, and Coat of Arms later appeared in the employ of Jeremy Briggs having grown tired of their lives as supervillains. They battle the students of the Avengers Academy in order to allow Briggs to complete his goal of depowering every superhuman on Earth and giving their powers to people who are worthy of receiving them.^[7]

In the pages of Avengers Undercover, Black Knight V, Coat of Arms, Egghead II, Executioner II, Mako, and Melter II later appears as members of the Shadow Council's incarnation of the Masters of Evil.^[8] The Young Masters make their headquarters in Constrictor's Snakepit in Bagalia. During this time, Excavator and Mudbug are shown to have joined up with the Young Masters.^[9] During the time when Constrictor had sent Chase Stein and Deathlocket to A.I.M. Island, Enchantress II and Radioactive Kid are shown to be in the company of the Young Masters.^[10] At the close of the series, Alex Wilder joins the Young Masters.^[11]

Members

The original members of the new team were:

• Melter II – A superhuman who can cause objects to melt. His real name is Chris Colchiss and he is the team leader.

• Enchantress II – She claims to be an Asgardian, and is Melter's girlfriend and uses magic. Her real name is Sylvie Lushton.

• Executioner II – A vigilante with no super-powers. He is the son of Princess Python.^[12]

• Big Zero – A Neo-Nazi who can alter her size and who is in a relationship with Egghead. Her real name is Amity Hunter.

• Coat of Arms – A swordswoman whose magic coat grants her six arms.

• Egghead – A robot who wants to understand humanity.

The Young Masters had some later recruits:

• Alex Wilder - A former member of the Runaways who was resurrected by Daimon Hellstrom.

• Black Knight V - A female incarnation of the Black Knight. She deserted the Young Masters, but later returned to the group.

• Excavator - The teenage son of Piledriver and a temporary member of the Wrecking Crew. Excavator wielded an enchanted shovel. He later appeared as a member of the Young Masters in the pages of Avengers Undercover.

• Mako - A test tube Atlantean who was grown from the cells of Attuma, Orka, Tyrak, and U-Man. Mako was killed by Lady Bullseye. He later turned up alive in the pages of Avengers Undercover.

• Mudbug - A mutant with a crayfish physiology who was a former student of the Hellfire Club's Hellfire Academy. He later appeared as a member of the Young Masters in the pages of Avengers Undercover.

• Radioactive Kid - A young criminal in a hazmat suit has demonstrated the ability to melt and mutate human flesh with a touch. His very flesh glows and his eyes glow visibly through the visor of his suit.

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Young Avengers

• Young Avengers at Marvel.com