| Korvac | |
|---|---|
 Korvac (center) on the cover of thetrade paperback edition ofAvengers: The Korvac Saga (1991). Art byGeorge Pérez. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Giant-Size Defenders #3 (Jan. 1975) |
| Created by | Steve Gerber (writer) Jim Starlin (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Michael Korvac |
| Species | Cyborg |
| Team affiliations | Brotherhood of Badoon Minions of Menace |
| Notable aliases | The Enemy, Jaboa Murphy |
| Abilities | Brilliant computer scientist Master strategist Energy manipulation via specialized computer module Wielder of thePower Cosmic |
Korvac is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. He first appeared inGiant-Size Defenders #3 (Jan. 1975) and was created bySteve Gerber andJim Starlin.
Korvac debuted inGiant-Size Defenders #3 (1975) with no first name given, and according to creator Gerber: "The character really was a throwaway, created for one story. And I never intended to bring him back, because, among other things, I hated the name! I still think it sounds more like avacuum cleaner than a villain".[1]
However,Roger Stern andLen Wein felt that Korvac, being a native of the 31st century, made a natural adversary for theGuardians of the Galaxy, and wrote a story inThor Annual #6 (1977) which was intended to set him up in that role.[2] The Guardians of the Galaxy's own series,Marvel Presents, was cancelled beforeThor Annual #6 was published, cutting off Stern's plans to use Korvac there.[2] Korvac instead appeared inAvengers #167, 168, 170–177 (January–November 1978), later called the "Korvac Saga".[3] The issues in this storyline were written byJim Shooter andDavid Michelinie, with art byGeorge Pérez andDavid Wenzel.[4]
Atrade paperback edition reprinted the Korvac Saga in 1991, and included a newepilogue written byMark Gruenwald and drawn byTom Morgan. Although the revised conclusion cast Korvac as a villain, it was removed by editorTom Brevoort when reprinted asAvengers Legends Volume 2: The Korvac Saga in 2003.
Korvac reappeared briefly inAvengers Annual #16 (1987). He is heavily referenced in a 1991 summer annual crossover storyline:Fantastic Four Annual #24 (1991);Thor Annual #16 (1991);Silver Surfer Annual #4 (1991) andGuardians of the Galaxy Annual #1 (1991). The character returned inCaptain America vol. 3, #17–19 (May–July 1999).
Korvac also appeared in both volumes of thealternate universe titleWhat If?, in issues #32 (April 1982) and vol. 2, issue #36 (April 1992). Korvac made a return to the mainstream616 universe inAvengers Academy #11 (March 2011).
In December 2010, a condensed retelling of the Korvac Saga titledCaptain America: The Korvac Saga was released as a tie-in toCaptain America: The First Avenger.[5]
Michael Korvac is acomputer technician in the alternate universeEarth-691.[6] When theSolar System and its colonies are conquered by the alienBadoon in AD 3007, Korvac becomes a collaborator and traitor to the human race. Caught asleep at a machine while working, the Badoon punish Korvac by grafting his upper body to a machine, effectively making him acyborg. Korvac is then transported through time by theElder of the Universe theGrandmaster, who utilizes him as a pawn in battling the heroDoctor Strange and theDefenders.[7]
It is eventually revealed that Korvac deliberately lost the fight so he can be able to discreetly scan and analyze the Grandmaster's cosmic power. Gaining several new abilities from this analysis, Korvac then kills his Badoon masters and plans to conquer the cosmos. Korvac recruits a group of aliens called the "Minions of Menace" and attempts to cause Earth's Sun to gonova, but is defeated by theGuardians of the Galaxy and a time-travelingThor.[8]
During "The Korvac Saga" storyline, Korvac flees across time and space toEarth-616. Upon arrival, Korvac discovers the space station of the entityGalactus. While attempting to download the knowledge of Galactus from the station into his own system, Korvac is imbued with thePower Cosmic and becomes god-like. Korvac then recreates himself as a perfect humanoid form, and posing as a human called "Michael", travels to Earth with the intent of reshaping it into a utopia. Korvac, however, is pursued by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who join forces with the superhero team theAvengers in a bid to stop the villain.
Guardian memberStarhawk finds Korvac and battles him in secret. Korvac, however, disintegrates Starhawk and then recreates him, but removes from the hero the ability to perceive Korvac in any way so as to avoid future detection.[9] The Elder of the Universe known as theCollector foresees the coming of two beings that would be capable of challenging the Elders (Korvac andThanos), and remakes his own daughterCarina into a being of incredible power to use as a weapon against them. Carina does meet Korvac, but the two fall in love and she begins to sympathize with him. The Collector is defeated by the Avengers after a failed bid to "collect" and protect the heroes from Korvac, who upon discovering the Collector's plot disintegrates the Elder.
Iron Man eventually tracks Korvac to a residential neighborhood inForest Hills Gardens, inQueens,New York City,New York. The entire Avengers roster, aided by the heroineMs. Marvel, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, confront Korvac and Carina, who pose as a middle-class couple. Korvac's deception is revealed whenStarhawk states he cannot see the man called "Michael". Realizing that he has been discovered, and that cosmic entities such asOdin and theWatcher are now aware of his existence, Korvac is forced into battle.
Korvac slays wave after wave of heroes, and is finally caught off guard and weakened byCaptain America andWonder Man. Although able to kill the heroes, Korvac is weakened further by the combined efforts of Starhawk, Iron Man, theVision andThor. Sensing that Carina now doubts him, Korvac commits suicide through an act of will. An angered Carina attacks the surviving heroes, but is finally slain by Thor. The entire battle is watched by part-time AvengerMoondragon, who realizes that Korvac only wanted to help mankind, with his dying act being to restore the Avengers and Guardians to life.[10]
"The Korvac Quest" storyline reveals that Korvac discarded his power when near death after sensing that Galactus had activated the weapon theUltimate Nullifier in retaliation for his previous intrusion. Korvac's suicidal act of will preserves his power and consciousness, which is sent forward through time to inhabit various descendants of his. Starhawk becomes aware of this, and the Guardians of the Galaxy pursue Korvac's essence through time. The power eventually reaches the year 2977 AD and inhabits Michael's father, Jordan, who is killed in battle with the Guardians. Jordan's widow, Myra, vows to teach the infant Michael that the Guardians were responsible for his father's death on the day of his birth.[11]
Korvac is briefly resurrected in human form by the Grandmaster to battleSilver Surfer.[12] When Korvac's attempt to use Captain America in a scheme to steal the power of aCosmic Cube fromRed Skull ultimately failed, Red Skull used his internalized Cube power to scatter Korvac across six dimensions.[13]
InAvengers Academy, Korvac's wife Carina was mistakenly resurrected byVeil (believing that she is helping to resurrectWasp). Korvac returns for her and Hank Pym offers to return Carina to Korvac, but she refuses to go with him, choosing nonexistence over him (even though she is apparently immortal, as is her father). A battle commences pitting Korvac against all current Avengers teams. He is weakened by them and then attacked by adult versions of the Academy's students.[14] After a brutal battle, Veil phases into his body, which temporarily paralyzes Korvac, andHazmat annihilates him with anti-matter.[15]
Korvac is later obtained by theEnclave, who give him the code name of Adam IV.[16] The Enclave intend to use Korvac in their plans for world domination, but he escapes from them.[17]
One year later, Korvac assumes the alias of scientist Fuller Tiehard and battles Iron Man.[18] The two enter a transmutation chamber and gain cosmic powers before Korvac is subdued by the universe's Abstract Entities.[19]
Korvac was originally a normal man until theBadoon amputated the lower half of his body and grafted his upper body and nervous system onto a specialized computer module capable of siphoning energy from virtually any source. Korvac's mechanical module could also tap and synthesize any form of energy and concealed advanced weaponry. After downloading information from Galactus' ship and acquiring thePower Cosmic, Korvac is capable of energy projection, matter alteration, teleportation, astral projection,[20] and manipulation of time and space. In his human form, Korvac retained all his cosmic abilities and could use these to achieve virtually any effect. Michael Korvac is also a brilliant computer scientist, a master strategist, and a formidable hand-to-hand combatant.
| Characters |
| ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||
| Antagonists |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Comic books |
| ||||||||||||||||
| In other media |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Alternative versions | |||||||||||||||||
| Locations | |||||||||||||||||
| Armor | |||||||||||||||||
| Related articles | |||||||||||||||||
