Nefarius (Lloyd Bloch), previously known as Moonstone, is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

Publication history

The character first appeared in ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

'' #169 (1974) and was created by writers

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

and

Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series '' Star*Reach'', one of the first independent comics. He is also an ar ...

and artist

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema ( ; born Silvio Buscema, , on January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he had a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as art ...

Fictional character biography

Lloyd Bloch is an agent of the second Secret Empire, who intend to discredit

and take his place as America's "symbolic" hero. The Empire had previously damaged Captain America's reputation by accusing him of vigilantism and framing him for the death of small-time criminal the Tumbler. Empowered by a lunar stone, he becomes Moonstone and battles Captain America before being defeated and arrested. Subsequently, his psychiatrist,

Karla Sofen Dr. Karla Sofen (also known as Moonstone, Meteorite, and Ms. Marvel) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in ''Captain America'' #192 (December 1975), created by writer Marv Wolfman and ar ...

, steals his stone and becomes the second Moonstone. Bloch later resurfaces, now possessing ionic powers similar to those of

Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The character, wh ...

and known as Nefarius. He kidnaps Sofen and plans to kill her in revenge before being killed by

Count Nefaria Count Luchino Nefaria is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, the character first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #13 (February 1965). Count Nefaria is a socialite and crime ...

, who drains his energy.''Iron Man'' Annual '99. Marvel Comics.

Powers and abilities

Bloch possesses superhuman physical abilities derived from a lunar stone that is imbued with unknown energy. After losing the stone, he regains his powers via a mutagenic process created by Dr. Kenneth Sturdy and gains the additional ability to generate intense heat beams from his eyes. Bloch is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, and received extensive unarmed combat training from the second Secret Empire.

Other versions

Counter-Earth

During the Thunderbolts' sojourn on

Counter-Earth The Counter-Earth is a : Hypothetical bodies of the Solar System, hypothetical body of the Solar System that orbits on the other side of the Solar System from Earth. A Counter-Earth or ''Antichthon'' () was hypothesized by the pre-Socratic philoso ...

, Sofen encountered Bloch's counterpart who went by the codename Phantom Eagle. The alternate Bloch became obsessed with Moonstone and began experiencing psychotic episodes and was exposed as a

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

. Sofen proceeded to steal his equivalent stone too.

References

External links

{{Captain America characters Characters created by Mike Friedrich Characters created by Sal Buscema Characters created by Steve Englehart Comics characters introduced in 1974 Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics supervillains