| Tinkerer | |
|---|---|
 The Tinkerer (Phineas Mason) from theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition. Art by Peter Poplaski. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #2 (May 1963) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Phineas Mason |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Masters of Evil |
| Notable aliases | The Terrible Tinkerer Hophni Mason |
| Abilities |
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TheTinkerer (Phineas Mason) is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as anadversary of thesuperheroSpider-Man and the father ofRick Mason. The character was created byStan Lee andSteve Ditko, and made his first appearance inThe Amazing Spider-Man #2 (May 1963).[1] The Tinkerer is generally depicted as a genius inengineering who is able to creategadgets and other devices from nothing more than spare parts left over from ordinary household appliances. While in his initial appearances he sought to personally eliminate Spider-Man, more recent storylines depict him under the employ of other supervillains, whom he supplies with his gadgets for their personal vendettas against Spider-Man or other heroes.
Since his introduction in comics, the character has been adapted into several other forms of media, such as animated television series and video games. The Tinkerer made his live-action debut in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017), portrayed byMichael Chernus. Additionally, a younger femaleblack version of the Tinkerer namedPhin Mason appears inSpider-Man: Miles Morales, voiced byJasmin Savoy Brown, depicted as the sister ofRick Mason and the childhood friend ofMiles Morales.
The Tinkerer was created byStan Lee andSteve Ditko, and made his initial appearance inThe Amazing Spider-Man #2 (April 1963), opposing Spider-Man as a villain.[2] It would, however, be several years before he would return, and made his second appearance inThe Amazing Spider-Man #160 (September 1976), once again opposing Spider-Man in a losing effort.[3] The Tinkerer would be mentioned inThe Amazing Spider-Man #182 (July 1978). This was his first mention in the publication as a supporting side character to the other villains.[4]
Phineas Mason is a brilliant inventor and technician who designs advanced weaponry for criminals and sometimes undertakes crimes of his own. As "the Terrible Tinkerer", he runs an underground fix-it shop disguised as a radio repair shop. On at least one occasion, a potential customer gained the inventor's attention by presenting a transistor radio and telling Mason that "I've got a radio that just can't carry a tune". The Tinkerer's original scheme involved the employment of a team of petty has-been stuntmen and thugs. They specialized in placingbugs into radios and blackmailing state officials and politicians.[5][6]
Since he is a small business operator who works alone (and arms criminals), the Tinkerer takes precautions to prevent being cheated. For instance,Killer Shrike commissioned Tinkerer to improve weapon gauntlets. At delivery time, the criminal decided to use the weapons to threaten the inventor and avoid paying. The gauntlets backfired on Killer Shrike due to a failsafe created by Tinkerer and implemented into his products for such situations.[7]
Tinkerer's sonRick Mason is a world-class mercenary for the American government and freelance operative. Despite the two being on opposite sides of the law, father and son remained on good terms and met frequently. Tinkerer even aided Rick from time to time, and once provided his son with information about a coup in South America.[8] After Rick was seemingly killed in action, the grief-stricken father decided to mend his ways while still maintaining links to supervillains to give information he could discreetly pass along.[9]
In theSecret War miniseries,Nick Fury discovered a link between the weaponry of most of the known technology-based villains in the Marvel Universe and the kingdom ofLatveria. Tinkerer was revealed to have received a vast portion of his funding and presumably the resources and technology from which he has developed most of his clients' arsenals over the years from Latveria. This was part of an ongoing "terrorist" initiative fostered by Latveria's leaderDoctor Doom and prime ministerLucia von Bardas.[10]S.H.I.E.L.D. agents discovered Tinkerer's workshop by using Killer Shrike as a mole. When the agents converged on the workshop, the canny villain detected this. Killer Shrike was struck down by Tinkerer's security systems, and Tinkerer fled to Latveria rather than face justice.
ThePunisher finds and confronts Tinkerer after a confrontation with Stilt-Man to which Tinkerer begs for death. Not only was his son dead, but his grandson died in theStamford, Connecticut explosion that heralded theCivil War's beginning. Without his family, Tinkerer has become suicidal and continues his work in the hope that both superheroes and supervillains would wipe each other out. The Punisher stabs Tinkerer in the back, likely leaving him paralyzed.[11] Now reliant on a wheelchair, Mason has been contracted byCyber to subject the resurrected villain's new body to theAdamantium-epidermal bonding process. Mason agrees to create a "pacemaker" for Cyber's heart condition, as well as three carbonadium bullets forLogan in exchange for the use of Logan's carbonadium synthesizer.[12]
During the "Secret Invasion" storyline, he is freed fromPrison 42 to helpHuman Torch,Thing,Franklin Richards, andValeria Richards return to the Earth dimension. It is mentioned that Mason had retired the Tinkerer identity but is imprisoned for breaking theSuperhuman Registration Act regardless. He is initially reluctant to help his old foes, but Franklin's and Valeria's resemblance to his own grandchildren causes him to relent.[13] It was revealed Rick is in fact still alive, under deep cover, and in a conspiracy which resulted inCarol Danvers's apparent murder forNorman Osborn in exchange for his father's release and cleared record.[14]
He fabricated the identity of his own brotherHophni Mason via a robotic suit. As Hophni, he acted a confidant of various superheroes (such asAnt-Man andCaptain America),[15] and both provided technology and an acquaintance toTeresa Parker.[16] His façade is revealed to which he used his said disguise as a battlesuit which gets defeated by Spider-Man. However, it is revealed that Tinkerer is an ally to the Vedomi alien race of sentient A.I.s.[17] After escaping from custody, Tinkerer (equipped with the Vedomi's battlesuit) battles Spider-Man. Spider-Man realized Tinkerer was sorrowful and resentful towards humanity and help change his point of view and stay with the Vedomi to help guide positively.[18]
Phineas Mason has a genius-level intellect with extensive knowledge in various sciences. He is capable of designing and manufacturing numerous inventions derived from pre-existing technologies. The Tinkerer can access to a wide array of advanced devices if needed. The Tinkerer's old age limits his physical abilities.[19]
An alternate universe version of the Tinkerer appears in the "Secret Wars" tie-inThe Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows (vol. 1). This version comes from the Battleworld domain of the Regency and retired from supervillainy to open a repair shop.[20]
An original incarnation of the Tinkerer namedElijah Stern appears inUltimate Spider-Man. Created byBrian Michael Bendis andMark Bagley and designed to resemblePaul Giamatti,[21] this version previously worked forRoxxon before he was fired after discovering a way to usevibranium as a power source. AfterSpider-Man thwarts his attempt to assassinate his former employerDonald Roxxon, Spider-Man offers Stern the choice of either working forS.H.I.E.L.D. or death.[22] Choosing the former, Sterns goes on to createSpider-Slayers and reluctantly assist theUltimate Six before he is killed by theProwler.[23][24]
Additionally, a version of Phineas Mason appears inUltimate Fantastic Four Annual #2. This version is a scientific prodigy associated with aU.S. government think tank called Nursery Two. After being kidnapped by theMole Man, who sought to use him and his fellow students to seed a new civilization inSubterranea, Mason and his classmates gain help from theFantastic Four to defeat Mole Man before deciding to stay and continue the latter's plan on their own terms.[25]
Phineas Mason appears inSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017), portrayed byMichael Chernus.[27] Depicted around Elijah Stern's age, this version is a weapons maker and former member of a salvage company alongsideAdrian Toomes,Herman Schultz andJackson Brice before it went out of business due to interference from theDepartment of Damage Control. As part of their revenge scheme against them, Mason helps Toomes steal leftover technology from theAvengers' battles and build advanced weapons out of it, such as Toomes' flight suit and modified versions ofCrossbones's vibro-blast emitting gauntlets. While his associates are defeated bySpider-Man and arrested by the authorities, Mason's fate is left unknown.
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