Malice is the name of six separatesupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The first two were minions ofKillmonger, an enemy ofBlack Panther. The third was a short-livedGhost Rider villain. The fourth villain bearing the name Malice was an alternative personality ofSusan Richards of theFantastic Four. The last two villains bearing the name Malice are disembodied entities, the first of which became an evil doppelganger of Sue Richards who was absorbed into her own mind and the second is amutant appearing inX-Men comics.
The first Malice was one of Killmonger's mutated allies during his vie for the throne ofWakanda. She first appeared inJungle Action (vol. 2) #8 (January 1974). She fought T'Challa, theBlack Panther alongsideVenomm, Lord Karnaj,Baron Macabre, and others. She was a Wakandan mutate with superhuman strength, speed, and agility and was eventually defeated along with the rest of the villains attempting the coup.[1]
A second Black Panther-related Malice namedNakia (/ˈnɑːkiə/) was introduced inBlack Panther vol. 3 #1 (November 1998) and was created byChristopher Priest andMark Texeira. She is a Wakandan who became a supervillain afterBlack Panther rejected her.[2][3]
The second villain to bear the name Malice first appeared inGhost Rider #25 (August 1977). Ashowboater by nature, Malice made sure that his emergence was well televised. He burned awax museum and left a woman to die as well as robbing a bank with his Vault Puller, one of the many devices he used to terrorize the police. While his secret identity is not known, there are suggestions that Malice is a wealthy individual, as he drives anAC Cobra and refers to hiding the money in the woods on his "estate." He was arrested after being defeated by the Ghost Rider using an early predecessor to his penance stare.[volume & issue needed]
Malice is a negative aspect of the Invisible Woman (Susan Storm) awakened byPsycho-Man at a time when she was emotionally devastated after suffering amiscarriage.[4] Psycho-Man amplifies Susan's negative emotions, transforming her into Malice. Malice retains Susan's ability to create force fields, but uses them more aggressively, creating explosions and deadly spikes.[5]Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) and theHuman Torch learn Malice's identity afterDaredevil's heightened senses cause him to perceive her as an amorphous blob. With this revelation, Reed restores Susan to normal by provoking her into a genuine rage rather than the artificial hate she felt due to the Psycho-Man.[6][4]
During an adventure where she and Mister Fantastic help theSilver Surfer resuscitateGalactus, Susan comes in contact with theInfinity Gems. Distrustful of such power, she falls prey to Malice again.[7] The Soul Gem unsuccessfully attempts to steal Reed and Susan's souls, which summons theIn-Betweener and returns Malice to Susan's subconscious.[8]
During theInfinity War whenAdam Warlock's evil personaMagus attempted to conquer the universe, he used the alien species Anthropomorpho to create evil doppelgangers of Earth's heroes, including Invisible Woman.[9] Invisible Woman defeats the doppelganger by absorbing it into her mind, which reawakens the Malice persona.[10]
The Invisible Woman's sonFranklin Richards expels Malice from her mind and into his own.[11] Franklin and Invisible Woman force Malice out of himself and into the mind of the Dark Raider, an insane alternate universe counterpart of Mister Fantastic who manages to control and negate Malice's influence.[12] Soon after, Malice is destroyed when the Dark Raider dies in theNegative Zone.[13]
| Malice | |
|---|---|
 A Malice-possessedKarima Shapandar as depicted inX-Men #201 (September 2007). Art byHumberto Ramos (penciler), Carlos Cuevas (inker), and Edgar Delgado (colorist). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Uncanny X-Men #210 (October 1986) |
| Created by | Chris Claremont andRick Leonardi |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Alice MacAllister |
| Team affiliations | Marauders |
| Abilities | Possession |
The supervillain Malice was created byUncanny X-Men writerChris Claremont. She is a member ofMister Sinister'sMarauders. Beingincorporeal, she has no physical body of her own and has topossess the body of others. Those she possess manifest a cameo-like choker around their neck. The choker is implied to be a vessel for Malice's energy and will temporarily disperse her if destroyed.[14]
After possessingPolaris, Malice single-handedly defeats all her Marauders teammates and becomes the field leader of the group.[15] After Mister Sinister is seemingly killed byCyclops, Malice's hold over Polaris weakens.[16]Zaladane uses theHigh Evolutionary's machinery to steal Polaris' powers, which separates her from Malice.[17]
In the fifth volume ofUncanny X-Men, Malice appears alongside the Marauders, who begin massacring theMorlocks. The Marauders claim to be innocent, butChamber does not believe them and kills them with his psionic flame.[18]
Malice reappears in theKrakoan Age, where her name and backstory are revealed: she was originallyAlice MacAllister, a teenager whose mutant abilities manifested during an argument with her mother. Malice is killed during a conflict withBetsy Braddock andKwannon, but is resurrected bythe Five and given a fresh chance at life.[19][20]
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