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| Spymaster | |
|---|---|
 The Sinclair Abbott incarnation of Spymaster as depicted inIron Man: The Inevitable #2 (March 2006). Art byFrazer Irving. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | (Original) Iron Man #33 (January 1971) (Sharen) Iron Man #220 (July 1987) (Lemon) Iron Man #254 (March 1990) (Abbott) Iron Man: Inevitable #1 (February 2006) |
| Created by | Allyn Brodsky Don Heck Stan Lee |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Unknown Mark Sharen Nathan Lemon Sinclair Abbott |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Espionage Elite A.I.M. Maggia Roxxon S.H.I.E.L.D. Zodiac |
| Partnerships | Justin Hammer |
| Notable aliases | (First Spymaster): Cobalt Man, Iron Knight, Hogan Potts, Spare Parts Man, Golden Avenger, Shellhead, Ted Calloway, Jake Jordan,Tony Stark (Lemon): Number One, Santa Claus, Harmon Taylor |
| Abilities | Exceptional strategist Excellent hand to hand combatant Extraordinary industrial spy and saboteur Master of disguise Superb actor Highly agile and skilled athlete Greatly skilled in the uses of virtually any kind of gun Access to cutting-edge technology Use of electronically amplified nun-chakas Wears bulletproof battlesuit that grants: Minimal protection from physical attacks Various pockets for holding weaponry |
Spymaster is the name of severalsupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, primarily as enemies ofIron Man.[1] The first Spymaster debuted inIron Man #33 (January 1971), and was created by Allyn Brodsky,Don Heck, andStan Lee.[2]
The original Spymaster is a costumed freelance industrial spy, saboteur, and assassin who wields advanced weaponry. He and his team of assistants, the Espionage Elite, are hired by the criminal organizationZodiac to infiltrateStark Industries and stealTony Stark's secrets. Spymaster later aidsAquarius,Capricorn, andSagittarius in an attempt to steal the Zodiac Key from Stark.[3][4]
Spymaster last appears after coming into conflict with fellow Iron Man enemyGhost. After Spymaster attempts to assassinate Ghost under orders fromRoxxon, Iron Man arrives, causing the two villains to attempt an escape. Ghost offers Spymaster one of his intangibility devices, and Spymaster uses the device to pass through a wall. Ghost removes the device from Spymaster's chest while he was still phasing through a wall, causing him to rematerialize partially inside the wall and die instantly.[5][6] The seriesOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe reveals that the Spymaster who died is a separate individual namedMark Sharen.[7]
The original Spymaster returns in theDark Reign storyline, where it is revealed that he faked his own death and has been living off the radar until he is found byNorman Osborn. Spymaster is hired to steal a treasured photograph of Tony Stark's parents, which Osborn then burns.[8]
The second Spymaster,Nathan Lemon, is an accomplished student of theTaskmaster who assumes the Spymaster mantle after killing all other contenders in a battleground simulator.[9] Lemon has the Espionage Elite spy in Tony Stark's office, which leads to them learning Stark's secret identity as Iron Man. Acting under orders from theMandarin, the Elite ambush and beat Stark untilBlack Widow intervenes.[10] In the seriesIron Man: Inevitable, Lemon is killed by Sinclair Abbott, who becomes Spymaster.[11]
Sinclair Abbot, a wealthy industrialist, is the latest person to hold the Spymaster mantle. He achieved this by having Nathan Lemon arrested, severely beaten in jail, and then killed by his wife.[11] Abbot takes no direct actions against Iron Man, choosing to send Ghost against him.
During the storylineCivil War, the Spymaster is hired by World Islamic Peace Coalition chairman Karim Najeeb to kill Iron Man. Spymaster kills Tony Stark's chauffeur and attempts to useHappy Hogan as live bait to draw Iron Man, but Hogan attacks him. The two fall several stories to the ground, with Hogan sustaining severe injuries that he later dies from.[12][13]
After being defeated and rendered powerless during an attempted assault on Stark Resilient, Spymaster commits "suicide by cop" and is shot by the policemen guarding him.[14] He is later revealed to be alive and battles Iron Man andIronheart, who uses one ofMandarin's rings to banish him to theDarkforce dimension.[15]
Each Spymaster has no superhuman abilities. However, each is an exceptional fighter and strategist. The first Spymaster was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, with formal training in boxing and various martial arts. The second Spymaster is also an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, having been trained at theTaskmaster's Academy. Each is also an extraordinary industrial spy and saboteur, master of disguise, a superb actor, a highly agile and skilled athlete, and greatly skilled in the uses of virtually any kind of gun. Spymaster has access to cutting-edge technology for a number of espionage-related devices and weapons, both of his own design and those ofJustin Hammer's. The original Spymaster used various special devices including, devices in his gloves and mask that projected concussive energy blasts, small and powerful hovering electromagnets, incendiary missiles, "razor-discs" that could pierce Iron Man's armor, devices that enabled him to absorb Iron Man's repulsor energy, stunguns, sleep inducing "somnu-gas", boot jets that allowed flight, and a device in his belt buckle that summoned an advanced model hovercraft that could operate automatically according to pre-programmed instructions. Both the first and second Spymasters have employed electronically amplified nun-chakas that can damage Iron Man's armor. The Spymaster wears bulletproofKevlar body armor which provides some protection from physical attacks, and contains various pockets for holding weaponry.
An unidentified Spymaster appears inThe Incredible Hulk episode "Prisoner of the Monster".[citation needed]
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