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| Master Pandemonium | |
|---|---|
 Martin Preston / Master Pandemonium. Cover ofThe West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #9 (June 1986). Art byAl Milgrom and byJoe Sinnott. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #4 (January 1986) |
| Created by | Steve Englehart Al Milgrom |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Martin Preston |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations | Hellfire Club |
| Notable aliases | Master Pandemonium Master Mayhem |
| Abilities |
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Master Pandemonium(Martin Preston) is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerSteve Englehart and artistAl Milgrom, the characterfirst appeared inThe West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #4 (January 1986).
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Martin Preston debuted inThe West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #4 (January 1986), created by writerSteve Englehart and artistAl Milgrom.[1] He appeared in theYoung Avengers Presents series.[2]
Martin Preston was born inRutland, Vermont. He was originally anactor who lost an arm in a car crash, and made a pact withMephisto to regain his limb. Mephisto instead took the man's other three limbs, then replaced them all with demonic grafts. He was also given a hole in his chest in the shape of an inverted five-pointed star, and the ability to survive despite this hole in his chest. He was also given the ability to command the demons inside him.
At some point, Master Pandemonium became theCEO of Anvil Pictures.
Master Pandemonium went seeking the five beings possessing parts of his fragmented soul. He attackedFirebird to ascertain whether she was one of these five beings, and then attacked theThing for the same reason, and wound up battling the Thing and theWest Coast Avengers.[3] Master Pandemonium was then revealed as the master of the demon Riglevio who had infiltrated theRangers disguised asShooting Star. He also revealed how he was originally transformed by Mephisto. He then battled the West Coast Avengers again.[4] Master Pandemonium battled the West Coast Avengers once again, as well asDaimon Hellstrom,Hellcat, and the demonAllatou. Alongside the West Coast Avengers, he battled theCat People in the Land Within, and regained one fragment of "his" soul.[5]
Master Pandemonium later became stranded on the planet Arcturus IV. Alongside theFantastic Four, he encounteredComet Man andMax, and then returned to Earth.[6]
Master Pandemonium then abducted and absorbed Thomas and William, the "children" of theVision and theScarlet Witch, who were actually two of the soul fragments he sought. He regained and replaced all five missing soul fragments, but then collapsed into a magical "black hole" within himself. Mephisto then appeared and revealed that the soul fragments sought by Master Pandemonium were actually portions of Mephisto's own fragmented essence, not Pandemonium's, as he had been led to believe by Mephisto; having been spiritually fractured during a confrontation withFranklin Richards, Mephisto had used Pandemonium to seek out the missing fragments of his own soul rather than expend energy by searching himself.[7]
Master Pandemonium was imprisoned for a time within Mephisto's realm, until he was freed by the nexus being known as Lore. Master Pandemonium's appearance was changed to an inhuman form by the torments in suffered at the hands of the Rakasha. With the assistance of his newfound ally, Pandemonium sought to capture the Scarlet Witch. The Scarlet Witch, with the help ofAgatha Harkness and the Avengers, fought him off. When Pandemonium finally succeeded in kidnapping the Scarlet Witch, he was betrayed by his erstwhile ally Lore, who attempted to sacrifice both Pandemonium and the Scarlet Witch. Pandemonium was seemingly obliterated in the ensuing battle with Lore.[8]
Young Avengers membersWiccan andSpeed (while searching for their mother the Scarlet Witch) encountered Master Pandemonium in their mother's former home inLeonia, New Jersey (incorrectly stated to be inCresskill, New Jersey). He had reverted to a more human look, and claimed to be in hiding due to the belief his schemes had helped precipitate the Scarlet Witch's breakdown. After a brief battle, the two Young Avengers deemed that Pandemonium was not an active threat, and left peacefully.[9]
Master Pandemonium reappears in theGhost Riders: Heaven's on Fire miniseries. In this appearance he appears to be fighting with his own demonic limbs (they try to drown him in his own breakfast cereal). Former Ghost RiderDanny Ketch appears, bludgeons him with a bat and wishes to use his chest as a doorway in order to make a deal with Satan to defeatZadkiel. Pandemomium begs Ketch to kill him at this point. The deal Ketch proposes involves saving a teenager who is apparently the antichrist. Later in the series, the new Caretaker is ambushed and attacked and rendered unconscious by a seemingly recovered and much more sinister Master Pandemonium in the evil church that the child Anti-Christ, dubbed as Kid Blackheart, leads her to.[10] Using the hole in Master Pandemonium's chest as a doorway to Hell, Kid Blackheart calls forth an army of demons so he can march on Heaven and claim it for himself.[11] While Kid Blackheart's army is defeated in Heaven by an army of Ghost Riders, Master Pandemonium and the remaining demons are themselves defeated byDaimon Hellstrom andJaine Cutter. Both villains are later seen alongsideBlackout in a strip club as they plan their next move.[12]
Master Pandemonium appears in a cameo as one of the villains summoned bySin to battle Earth's heroes.[13]
As part of theMarvel NOW! event, Master Pandemonium was recruited by Kade Kilgore to be a teacher at theHellfire Club's Hellfire Academy, where Master Pandemonium teaches Hell Literature.[14]
Pandemonium eventually made his way to San Francisco, where he formed a cult of demons to boost his power, but he was eventually defeated by theSuperior Spider-Man andDoctor Strange, Strange redirecting a demonic portal Pandemonium had attempted to open to trap the villain back in Mephisto's realm.[15]
Master Pandemonium possesses the power to summon demons and turn limbs into demons, having fangs, claws, and wings.[16] He also has a great knowledge of demon lore and certain rites of magic.
Darby Harn ofScreen Rant called Martin Preston "one of the best Scarlet Witch comics characters."[17]
Martin Preston / Master Pandemonium appears inM.O.D.O.K., voiced by Jordan Blum.[18] This version is the host of a morning talk show calledMorning with Master Pandemonium.[19]
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