Master Man is the name of three

fictional characters In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

that appear in

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s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

Publication history

The original Master Man (Wilhelm Lohmer) first appears in the title ''Giant-Size

The Invaders ''The Invaders'' is an American science-fiction television series created by Larry Cohen that aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1967 to 1968. Roy Thinnes stars as David Vincent, who after stumbling across evidence of an in-progress invas ...

'' #1 (June 1975) and was created by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

and

Frank Robbins Franklin Robbins (September 9, 1917 – November 28, 1994) was an American comic book and comic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, where one of his ...

. The second version (Axl Nacht), first appears in '' Namor the Sub-Mariner'' #11 (Feb. 1991) and was created by John Byrne. The third version (Max Lohmer) debuts in ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1 ( cover dated March 1941) from T ...

'' #18 (July 2006) and was created by Ed Brubaker and

Steve Epting Stephen "Steve" Epting is an American comics artist. He is best known for his work on ''The Avengers'' and ''Captain America'' for Marvel Comics. Early life Epting's influences include Alex Raymond, Stan Drake, Jim Holdaway, Joe Kubert, J ...

Fictional character biography

Wilhelm Lohmer

Wilhelm "Willie" Lohmer first appears in the title ''Giant-Size

Invaders ''InVader'' is the fourth album by Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love, released on 4 March 2016 through Spinefarm Records. Track listing All songs written by Olli Herman, Pepe Reckless, and Ikka Wirtanen, unless otherwise noted. Reception Wr ...

''. Portrayed as a physically frail American Bundist and

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

sympathiser, Lohmer agrees to participate in an experiment in which he is subjected to the Nazi version of the Super-Soldier Serum. Endowed with physical abilities exceeding those of

, the character is given a costume and the alias Master Man, with Lohmer to be the first of a new Aryan "master race". As Master Man, Lohmer battles the Allied superheroes The Invaders, but is defeated when his new abilities prove to be temporary. The character reappears in a two part story in the title '' Marvel Two-In-One'', and with Nazi allies Brain Drain,

U-Man U-Man (Meranno) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history U-Man first appears in ''Invaders'' #3 (Nov. 1975) and was created by Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins. Fictional character bi ...

and Skyshark plans to sabotage

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

with a new super weapon. The plan, however, is foiled by time travelling

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

member the

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focus ...

and the Liberty Legion. A revitalised Master Man, now possessing even greater abilities, reappears in the title ''The Invaders'' and

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

es the superteam while they are flying over

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. During the course of a multi-issue storyline involving the Invaders' incarceration and eventual escape from a prison in the German city of

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, Master Man meets Julia Koenig, who courtesy of an accident gains abilities similar to his own and becomes the Nazi heroine Warrior Woman. At the insistence of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, leader of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, the two are to be married, his logic being that they are the progenitors of a new race. The ceremony, however, is interrupted when the priest is killed by rubble from a building damaged during a battle between the Invaders and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

troops. Master Man and Warrior Woman retreat when confronted by the

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a ...

, who becomes enraged when his ward Toro is wounded by gunfire. Master Man continues to be a perennial foe for the Invaders, battling the team while disguised as the hero the Destroyer and as part of a team formed by the Japanese spy

Lady Lotus Lady Lotus (also known as Lotus Newmark) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Lady Lotus first appeared in '' The Invaders'' #37 (Feb. 1979), and was created by Don Glut, ...

, the Super-Axis. In a flashback, Master Man assisted Warrior Woman and

Armless Tiger Man Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abraxas, sometimes called the Dark Man, is a cosmic entity who embodies the destruction of the Multiverse (Marvel Comics), Marvel multiverse. The existence of Galactus prevents him from emerging. The charac ...

into partaking in an all-out invasion of

Wakanda Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther. Wakanda first a ...

where they fought against Captain America, T'Chaka, and Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. Lohmer reappears in the title '' Cable'', now an old man living in Switzerland and wishing to make amends for his past actions. The character dies when shielding Cable from a

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and ...

fired by a member of the organization the

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, ...

Axl Nacht

It is revealed in flashback in the title '' Namor the Sub-Mariner'' that near the end of World War II, Baron Strucker placed Master Man and Warrior Woman in suspended animation in a hidden laboratory, thereby "preserving" the Nazi dream for use at a later time. Master Man is revived by scientist Axl Nacht, and at Nacht's direction, the character abducts the original Human Torch and Ann Raymond (Toro's

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can ...

) - their blood being necessary to help revive Warrior Woman, who had suffered

brain damage Neurotrauma, brain damage or brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating t ...

. Nacht betrays Master Man when it is revealed that his father first cared for the two superbeings while in suspended animation, and unknowingly instilled in the younger Nacht an obsession with Warrior Woman. When Namor the Sub-Mariner, former founding member of the Invaders, finds the laboratory, he battles Master Man, until the Nazi loses his abilities and reverts to Wilhelm Lohmer. Nacht steals Master Man's abilities for himself, and has apparently also won the affections of the revived but unstable Warrior Woman. Namor rescues the prisoners as Lohmer destroys the laboratory, although no bodies are found in the wreckage.

Max Lohmer

The grandnephew of Lohmer, Max Lohmer, appears in the fifth volume of ''Captain America''. Lohmer leads a gang of

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack r ...

s called the ''Master Men'', who are empowered with a weaker version of the Super-Soldier Serum by

Red Skull The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...

. The gang embark on a rampage in

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until they are defeated by Captain America and heroes

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and

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Powers and abilities

Wilhelm Lohmer was a frail human until exposed to the Nazi variation of Professor Erskine's Super-Soldier Serum, and receives enhanced physical abilities. The Nazi version of the process is amplified and as a result Lohmer receives greater abilities than those of Captain America, including superior strength, stamina, durability, speed, and flight. The serum, however, was unstable and at times Lohmer would revert to his normal self.

Other versions

Heroes Reborn

In the Heroes Reborn universe, a version of Master Man named Alexander appears as a super-powered ally to the

promoting

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

in the present day, and is seen attacking

Nick Fury Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos' ...

(and is revealed as an LMD). This version of Master Man later develops the delusion that he is the Christian God and forms a cult in which his gamma-powered minions enslave the population of California.''Heroes Reborn: Rebel'' #1 (Jan. 2000)