Controller (Basil Sandhurst) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Iron Man.

Publication history

Controller first appeared in '' Iron Man'' #12 and was created by Archie Goodwin and

George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the

Fictional character biography

Basil Sandhurst was born in

Kittery Point, Maine Kittery Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Kittery, Maine, Kittery, York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. First settled in 1623, Kittery Point traces its history to the first seafarers who c ...

. Sandhurst worked as an electro-mechanical/chemical research scientist. His obsession with control brought his downfall as a scientist when his refusal to obey ethical restraints got him banned from most research facilities. Sandhurst was prone to fits of rage and in an attempt to calm him, his brother Vincent inadvertently triggered a lab explosion, crippling Basil. Vincent, guilt-ridden, outfitted Basil with an automated lab in which Basil bonded a super-strong exoskeleton to his body, powered by the cerebral energies from those around him using his slave discs. As the Controller, he planned to invade and enslave New York City, but Iron Man and

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often dea ...

agent

Jasper Sitwell Jasper Sitwell is a fictional character, an espionage agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was portrayed by Maximiliano Hernández in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Publication history Created by wr ...

foiled his scheme and left the Controller comatose. The Controller eventually came out of his coma and took over the Pinewood Sanitarium. He created an improved set of equipment but was again defeated by Iron Man. Months later, he was released from prison by the alien

Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...

, who upgraded his technology. Thanos promised the Controller rulership of Earth, and so he began enslaving dozens of operatives. He invaded

Avengers Mansion Avengers Mansion is a fictional building appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It has traditionally been the base of the Avengers. The enormous, city block-sized building is located at 890 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New ...

and defeated the

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

and

Captain Mar-Vell Captain Marvel (Kree name Mar-Vell, Earth alias Walter Lawson) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and designed by penciller, artist Gene Colan ...

, and abducted Lou-Ann Savannah. The Controller's egotistical displays endangered Thanos's security, and when the Controller failed to defeat Thanos's enemy, Captain Marvel, the alien left him for dead. The Controller went underground for years, upgrading via Stark technology stolen from Justin Hammer, and eventually enslaved a cult. He set the Blood Brothers against Iron Man and Daredevil. Iron Man defeated him and imprisoned him in a vat of experimental plastic, but he escaped. Alongside one of the Blood Brothers, he fought Iron Man, but Iron Man defeated him once more and he was confined to the prison for supervillains called the

Vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

. He eventually broke out of jail, only to be defeated by Iron Man again. During the "

Acts of Vengeance "Acts of Vengeance" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through several titles published by Marvel Comics from December 1989 to February 1990. Publication history This company-wide fall crossover was centered on the Avengers and Fantast ...

," the Controller escaped from the Vault and at the behest of the

Red Skull The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...

, he enslaved

Namor the Sub-Mariner Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc ...

and set him against Captain America. He unsuccessfully attempted to control Loki at the behest of the Red Skull, and unsuccessfully attempted to aid the Red Skull against

Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

. He was ultimately defeated by Captain America. Revived by the world-conquering Master of the World, the Controller became the Master's pawn against the Avengers and

Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in '' Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to ap ...

. Abandoned after a later defeat, the Controller, in an ironic nod to his many hospitalizations, acquired his own clinic, where he influenced the wealthy to do his bidding. However, the Controller could not resist enslaving

Tony Stark Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...

as well, leading to his latest defeat by Iron Man. Returned to The Raft, the Controller escaped with dozens of others but was recaptured during a clash with the

U-Foes The U-Foes is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are usually depicted as enemies of the Hulk. The group consists of four members: Vector, the group's leader, who can repel matter telekinetica ...

and

. During the "

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...

" storyline, the

Hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

hired him as part of his criminal organization to take advantage of the split in the superhero community caused by the Super-Human Registration Act. He appears as part of the Hood's alliance with super-powered heroes; the grouping is intent on defeating the Skrull invasion force of New York City.

Maria Hill Commander Maria Hill ( ) is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch (comics), David Finch, the character first appeared in ''The New Ave ...

found the Controller holed up in the basement of a Futurepharm facility in Austin, Texas, while on orders from Tony Stark. He had been abducting members of the local populace for months to bolster a new army and attempted to brainwash Hill as well. However, she resisted his efforts and freed his drones, sabotaging the entire operation. The Controller gave White Fang a new suit so that she could kill the Hood. The Controller later appears in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, assembling major crime families together in an Italian restaurant. When the Avengers invade the restaurant, the Controller uses his control discs on the criminals as well as Captain America and the

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...

, but he is defeated by

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

. After the Avengers defeat the first wave of Leviathon monsters, the Controller tries to put a control disc on Thor, but he is stopped by

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

. At the time when Tony Stark rebranded his company as Stark Unlimited, Controller infiltrated it while enslaving Bethany Cabe. He set his sights on the virtual reality program called the eScape. Controller proceeded to tamper with the eScape so he could enthrall the minds of those who use it, resulting in large numbers of the worst eScape users being banned, then let back into the eScape and armed with real weapons that they unknowingly used to wreak havoc all over the world, and whom he siphoned energy from. Tony and his allies were able to trace Controller's location and head there to confront him. By the time they arrived, Iron Man found that Controller had consumed enough energy to grow in size. Because of Controller's hacking, it damaged the Motherboard A.I. who served as the operating system. Motherboard proceeded to abduct Iron Man leaving the others underpowered against a giant-sized Controller. After Andy Bhang was able to encode a signal to shut off the tampered interfaces, upon returning to the real world, Tony hijacked Baintronics' factory to make a 3D print of the Godbuster armor which he used to defeat Controller. Controller later accompanied

Korvac Korvac is the name of a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appears in '' Giant-Size Defenders'' #3 (Jan. 1975) and was created by Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin. Publication history Michael K ...

, Blizzard, and Unicorn in fighting Iron Man and Hellcat.

Powers, abilities, and equipment

Basil Sandhurst had designed this armored exoskeleton, which is micro-surgically attached to his body from head and toe that granted him mobility, as well as augmented strength, stamina, and durability. By utilizing the microcircuitry in this helmet, he can drain cerebral

energies In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat ...

from people to power up his exoskeleton, magnify its strength, and duplicate their abilities. He has limited psychic capabilities, such as the ability to control a person's actions via "slave disc" or project bolts of mental force from his helmet. The Controller could telepathically manipulate "weak-willed" subjects even without the discs. His exoskeleton have included image inducers, stun mists, and other technologies as needed. The Controller originally utilized a

mind wave ''Mind Wave'' is a studio album by Cyril Havermans. Track listing All songs written by Cyril Havermans side 1 #"Mind Wave (vocal)" #"Can't Go Back There" #"There's a Woman" #"Consultation Song" #"Blue Eyed Lady" side 2 #"Blue Boy" #"Fools Got ...

Absorbatron to convert the mental energy for use by his exoskeleton, although this device was rendered obsolete after Thanos improved Sandhurst's equipment. The discs now increase his physical attributes in geometric progression to a number of victims wearing slave discs and control their actions all at once. With his college degree, Sandhurst is also an expert chemist and mechanical engineer.

Other versions

In the ''

Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Uni ...

'' reality, Sandhurst was mentioned as one of the many who were killed when

Norman Osborn Norman Osborn is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July ...

rose to power.''Earth X'' #5. Marvel Comics.

In other media

Television

* The Controller appears in the '' Iron Man'' episode "Armor Wars, Part 1", voiced by Jamie Horton. Using Iron Man's technology, he creates slave discs to mentally control his armor, which he uses on executives who visited the Center for Achievement and Bliss Spa. Once he learns of this, Iron Man defeats the Controller and uses a negator pack to destroy his armor. * The Controller appears in the '' Iron Man: Armored Adventures'', voiced by

Michael Kopsa Michael Kopsa (January 22, 1956 – October 23, 2022) was a Canadian actor. Kopsa was best known for his role as Char Aznable in the English dub of ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' and for his role as Commander Volcott O'Huey in ''Galaxy Angel''. He als ...

. Introduced in the episode "Ready, A.I.M., Fire", this version is a skilled A.I.M. scientist. While helping them create

MODOK MODOK (also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first MODOK is George Tarleton, a former e ...

, he works with Tony Stark to create his slave discs and a control helmet. Despite being defeated by Iron Man, the Controller reminds A.I.M.'s

Scientist Supreme The Scientist Supreme is a name used by different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Description The Scientist Supreme is often described to be the top leader of A.I.M., and can also be described to ...

of his expertise and usefulness in completing the MODOK project to keep his leader from terminating him. In "Designed Only For Chaos", the Controller activates MODOK, who knocks him unconscious after foreseeing he will betray A.I.M. in pursuit of improving his slave discs. In "Uncontrollable", the Controller pursues the Hulk and Rick Jones in order to use them to take revenge against A.I.M., only to gain control of Iron Man in his Dynamo Buster Armor. Via Iron Man, he attacks A.I.M. and defeats MODOK, though with the Hulk's help, Iron Man's allies are able to free him from the Controller's control. In "Control+Alt+Delete", A.I.M. frees the Controller from the

so he can help them trap Iron Man in a virtual reality world called the Mainframe. Using this, he discovers Iron Man's secret identity and use of the

Extremis ''Extremis'' is a six-issue story arc from the comic book series ''Iron Man'' (vol. 4), published in issues one through six in 2005 and 2006 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Adi Granov. ''Extremis'' elevat ...

serum and attempts to recreate it for A.I.M. However, Iron Man is able to use his Extremis abilities to hack the Mainframe and shut it down. Waking up in an A.I.M. facility, the Controller takes control of War Machine to fight Iron Man, but the former is able to fight the disc and overload the Controller's helmet. Following the fight, Iron Man and War Machine hand over an amnesiac Controller to

Video games

* Two Controllers, both named Control, appear in '' Captain America and the Avengers''. * The Controller appears in the Wii version of the 2008 '' Iron Man'' game, voiced by Jim Ward. This iteration is an agent of A.I.M. who leads an attack on a U.S. military ship to seize its nuclear reactor. When Iron Man intervenes, the Controller attempts to stop him, only to be defeated.