Power Broker (character): Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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===Curtis Jackson=== |
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Revision as of 02:42, 2 February 2012
Power Broker is the name of two characters in Marvel Comics.
Power Broker, Inc. is a fictional criminal corporation in the Marvel Universe which provides individuals with superhuman physical abilities for a price. The organization first appeared in The Thing #35, in May 1986, and was created by Mike Carlin and Paul Neary.
History
Curtis Jackson
| Power Broker | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Machine Man Vol. 1 #6 (September 1978) as Power Broker: The Thing #35 (May 1986) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Curtiss Jackson |
| Team affiliations | The Corporation Power Broker, Inc. |
| Partnerships | Red Skull |
Curtiss Jackson was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He became a professional criminal, and an executive with the criminal organization known as the Corporation.
As a member of the Corporation, Jackson attempted to take control of Machine Man.[1] With Eugene Stivak, Moonstone, and the Vamp, he later battled Captain America, Marvel Man, the Falcon, and the Hulk.[2] Jackson kidnapped Trish Starr, and battled the Hulk and Machine Man again.[3]
Dr. Karl Malus, a mad scientist who had experimented on various superhuman individuals, went to work for the Power Broker Corporation founded by Curtiss Jackson, using technology to augment the strength of paying customers to superhuman levels. The strength augmenting process was tremendously risky, with half the subjects dying or becoming severely deformed, but this information was kept a closely guarded secret. Power Broker and Malus also used highly addictive drugs on their subjects, telling them that the chemical was necessary to stabilize their powers, but in fact it only served to keep the subjects working for-- and paying --the Power Broker. Many wrestlers of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, which is only open to those with super-strength, were revealed to have used the Power Broker's services, and wound up indebted to them. Power Broker was also responsible for the strength augmentation of the U.S. Agent and Battlestar.
The Power Broker offered to give Sharon Ventura superhuman strength. She was reportedly sexually abused while drugged. She broke free before Malus could administer the addictive drug, so the Power Broker sent the Grapplers to kill her.[4] The Power Broker later kidnapped Demolition-Man, and battled Captain America and the Shroud when they came to rescue him.[5]
When Power Broker, Inc. was attacked by the vigilante known as the Scourge of the Underworld, Curtiss Jackson exposed himself to his own augmentation device in an attempt to gain the super-strength necessary for his self-defense. The process went awry, leaving him so grotesquely muscle-bound that he could not move.[6] Jackson was revealed to be a patient at Los Angeles County Hospital. Malus decided to take advantage of this situation by sending Vagabond, who knew Jackson (having previously approached him about gaining super-strength herself), to obtain a copy of his fingerprints so that Malus could access all of Jackson's personal accounts and vaults. He used an explosive wristband to force Vagabond's cooperation, but she managed to knock Malus out, destroy the fingerprint mold, place the band on his wrist, and inject him with the drug he had planned to use on her.[7]
The Power Broker had Malus' legs broken for his betrayal, then promptly re-hired him to try to cure Jackson's condition. Malus captured and experimented on several augmented individuals, including Battlestar to perfect the de-augmentation process, which drew the involvement of the U.S. Agent. Jackson appeared, revealed to be using an exo-skeleton to move. Together, Battlestar and the Agent defeated Jackson and freed the captured wrestlers, and forced Malus to restore their strength. The U.S. Agent then destroyed Malus' equipment and records, leaving Jackson in an over-augmented state.[8]
Power Broker has been responsible for providing augmented henchmen to various criminal organizations, such as the Sweatshop and the Power Tools.
The Power Broker was later revealed as one of the Red Skull's division chiefs.[9]
Later, Jackson resurfaced following the Maximum Security event, when Earth was made into an intergalactic penal colony. His extra-muscular bulk had been shed in-between appearances, leaving him looking normal once again. Seeing an opportunity to recruit many of the exotic prisoners being dumped by the Kree and other alien races, Jackson raced to an area his computers determined would have a large amount of arrivals. Unfortunately for Jackson, the aliens were less than pleased at having been dumped on Earth, and attacked him. Playing dead, Jackson came upon a parasitic organism (Jackson calls it an alien, but U.S. Agent believed it to be an escaped SHIELD experiment to control the alien criminals) who had lost its host. In exchange for becoming its host, Jackson would be granted the use of the parasite's spawn to infect and control others. In his plan to take over the world, Jackson smuggled the parasite spawns to a HYDRA base and a rebel Atlantean group. These operations were broken up by S.T.A.R.S. and their main agent, U.S. Agent, leading the group to take down the Power Broker once again. [10]
Successor
A new Power Broker has appeared in Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1. Very little is known about him, other than he wears a battle suit, and can project bolts of energy from his hands. This new Power Broker has apparently taken over Power Broker, Inc.; he was responsible for giving Paul Brokeridge super-strength to wrestle in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, a move that led to Paul attaining the championship and later being crippled by a stronger wrestler. He was also responsible for giving Paul's brother Roger super-powers; Roger later became the superhero Hardball.
Powers and abilities
The Curtiss Jackson version of Power Broker was an ordinary man until he exposed himself to his own chemical and radiation strength augmentation process. This granted him superhuman strength and durability, but left him with a grotesquely overdeveloped muscular physique which renders him unable to move without artificial aids. Dr. Karl Malus invented a powerful steel alloy exo-skeleton with tongue controls and flight capabilities to enable the Power Broker to move. Jackson has managed to de-augment himself and no longer uses the exo-skeleton. Jackson was briefly the host to a parasitic organism. This allowed him to mind-control anyone infected with the organism's spawn.[volume & issue needed] Jackson has a college degree in business administration, and is a highly skilled administrator and planner.