Master Menace
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Master Menace is a
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
al character appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by Marvel Comics. Two different versions of the character appear in two separate (but related) continuities, '' Squadron Supreme'' and '' Supreme Power''. Both bear the real name of Dr. Emil Burbank, though the former character has the middle name of "Zebediah". Master Menace is an analogue of Lex Luthor with elements of
Doctor Doom Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...
. This Master Menace is a supergenius
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
and is gifted in numerous fields of physical science. He usually wears a suit of powered armor with an arsenal of built-in weapons, which enables him to fight
superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans or human-like beings with enhanced qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. Th ...
s on a more equal basis (especially his nemesis,
Hyperion Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...
).


Publication history

Master Menace first appeared in ''Thor'' #280 (Feb. 1979), 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 Wayne Boring.


Fictional character biography


Squadron Supreme

Originally, Hyperion encountered Dr.
Emil Burbank Master Menace is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Two different versions of the character appear in two separate (but related) continuities, ''Squadron Supreme'' and ''Supreme Power''. Both bear th ...
(a.k.a. Master Menace) on Earth-712 (sometimes called "Earth-S"). In his first appearance, he battles Hyperion while the hero was filming a movie directed by Burbank's brother, L.L. Burbank. On this occasion, Burbank works with the evil Hyperion of the mainstream Marvel Universe
Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. History of the term The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis p ...
, and imprisons the visiting Thor. Burbank is taken captive but later found himself in an interdimensional vacuum as he attempted to escape confinement. When the Squadron are rebuilding America after the devastation caused by the Overmind, Master Menace concentrated his efforts on conquering the Middle East. He gave shelter to three supervillains:
Remnant Remnant or remnants may refer to: Religion * Remnant (Bible), a recurring theme in the Bible * Remnant (Seventh-day Adventist belief), the remnant theme in the Seventh-day Adventist Church * ''The Remnant'' (newspaper), a traditional Catholic ...
, Pinball, and the
Mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...
, sending them to
Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. History of the term The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis p ...
. He later supplied the Redeemers with a way to reverse the brainwashing technology of the Squadron. In ''Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe'', Emil Burbank ages fifteen years after going into the 41st century with Scarlet Centurion to build a device to stop the Nth Man. In ''Squadron Supreme: New World Order'', Emil Burbank is an old man at the mercy of large, multi-national corporations and using the Squadron's own Utopia technologies.


Supreme Power

Emil Burbank is a man with many aliases and possibly the greatest intellect on the planet. He has
doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
degrees in biology,
chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
,
metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
, psychology, economics and literature from three different universities. As a child, he sexually abused his older sister by drugging her unconscious with chemical compounds, eventually leaving her in a permanent catatonic state. At 18, his parents died in a car accident, which he arranged and boasts about even while trying to say it was an accident. Emil is noted for malicious and homicidal retribution against those he feels have wronged him. A school bully and a professor who accused him of cheating were both caught in fires started by Emil. After Emil agrees to work for the government, General Alexander sends Emil,
Nuke Nuke is most commonly used as a slang term for a nuclear weapon, or the act of detonating/setting one off. Nuke may also refer to: Computing * Nuke (software), a node-based compositor * Nuke (video games), a type of damaging attack that is mos ...
, Arcanna, and Shape to apprehend or destroy Hyperion. While fighting Hyperion, Arcanna's quantum powers, Nuke's radioactive blast, and Hyperion's flash vision combine to create an effect that sends them all to an alternate reality, where Hyperion and most of the other heroes wage war against Earth's governments, to "save" humanity. However, the "alternate" reality is actually their reality, only years in the future. Emil and Hyperion are the only two members of the Squadron aware of this information after the five are returned to the correct time stream. Emil was to be on the covert operations team after Hyperion's return to America, but after Hyperion informs a reporter of the project and gives him a list of the super-humans working for the government, the U.S. President gives a press conference and announces the formation of Squadron Supreme. The team is sent to Uganda to apprehend John M'Butu, a fast-rising tribal leader gifted with a powerful verbal suggestion ability, who calls himself the Voice. Burbank reveals that he has developed counter measures to defend himself from everyone on his team, except for
Hyperion Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...
and Doctor Spectrum. Before
Amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
attacks him, he defeats her with a powder he designed to kill her by suffocation. On a mission codenamed "Long Walk", to take down insurgents of the Ilam Province in Iran, Emil developed technology that disrupts the functionings of the
inner ear The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the ...
, incapacitating the soldiers, who Emil then proceeded to shoot. After Edith Freiberg found a little girl whose mother had been stoned by relatives for the perceived dishonor of being raped, Edith, using Emil Burbank as a translator, finds the relatives and buries them up to their necks. She then gives the girl a steel bar with which to kill them. After "Long Walk", Emil Burbank is at the conference to act as a bodyguard.


Powers and abilities

Emil Burbank was recruited to the Squadron because he was tested by the military and found to have been exposed to the
retrovirus A retrovirus is a type of virus that inserts a DNA copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that cell. Once inside the host cell's cytoplasm, the virus uses its own reverse transcriptase ...
that had been released from
Hyperion Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...
's spacecraft and bestowed superhuman abilities on numerous people around the world. Even though Emil's enhanced intellect is a direct result of the retro-virus, Emil denies it, insisting that his genius is his own doing. Though not displaying any physical super powers, Emil demonstrates that he can defend himself in combat situations by the use of certain types of technology.''Squadron Supreme'' #4


References


External links


Marvel Heroes Classic Roleplaying Game page on Master Menace

Marvel.com page on Master Menace
{{Squadron Supreme Characters created by Roy Thomas Comics characters introduced in 1979 Characters created by J. Michael Straczynski Fictional inventors Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics scientists Marvel Comics supervillains Squadron Supreme