Cross Technological Enterprises (often referred to as Cross Tech or C.T.E.) is a fictional corporation appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s 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 ...
. First appearing in ''Marvel Premiere'' #47, it is portrayed as being one of the leading technological companies along with
Stark Industries
Stark Industries, later also known as Stark International, Stark Innovations, Stark Enterprises and Stark Resilient, is a fictional company appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The company is depicted as being owned an ...
and
Oscorp
Oscorp (sometimes stylized as OsCorp), also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The compa ...
.
Publication history
Cross Technological Enterprises first appeared in ''
Marvel Premiere
''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own seri ...
'' #47-48 (1979).
Fictional history
Self-made man
"Self-made man" is a classic phrase coined on February 2, 1842 by Henry Clay in the United States Senate, to describe individuals whose success lay within the individuals themselves, not with outside conditions. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Foun ...
Darren Agonistes Cross created and headed his company Cross Technological Enterprises and made it a success to rival the top competitors. However, Darren was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. He used his own technology to create an experimental nucleorganic pacemaker to save his life. Although a success, the nucleorganic pacemaker mutated Darren's body to and gave him superhuman abilities. A side-effect of the mutation was that Darren would quickly overuse and burn out his heart. Multiple heart transplants were performed, but each heart was removed when overused. Desperate, he kidnapped heart surgeon Doctor Erica Sondheim to replace his damaged heart. He also kidnapped 'donors' from slums.
Ant-Man
Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...
, also looking for Doctor Sondheim to save the life of his daughter
Cassie
Cassie is a feminine given name and a short form of various other given names mostly used in English-speaking countries. It is more rarely a surname. People and fictional characters named Cassie include:
People with the name Given name or nickna ...
, attempted to rescue her. A battle between Darren and Ant-Man resulted in Darren burning out his heart and dying, Sondheim revealing when Ant-Man interrupted the operation she replaced his old heart rather than a new one. The company was then taken over by Darren's son, Augustine.
A number of burglaries had occurred at C.T.E., despite the company's belief that their security systems was impregnable.
Hawkeye, searching for a job after recently parting ways with 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 ...
, sensed an opportunity. He broke into the office of K.H. Keeshan, a high-level employee in the company, and asked for a job. Despite being met with anger over his actions, Keeshan hired Hawkeye to uncover the mystery behind the burglaries. Hawkeye soon discovered that the burglaries were being committed by
Deathbird
Deathbird (Cal'syee Neramani-Summers) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Dave Cockrum, she is usually depicted as a supervillain, an adversary of ...
, a member of an alien race named the
Shi'ar
The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire (or Imperium), is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Emp ...
. Hawkeye battled and defeated his powerful foe and gained full employment at C.T.E. as the Head of Security. He later went on to defend the company against
Mister Fear
''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...
.
Hawkeye later helped sabotage a plot by C.T.E. employee Ambrose Connors after an encounter with
El Aguila.
[''Marvel Fanfare'' #3] He also starts a steady relationship with the company's head of public relations, Sheila Danning.
[''Hawkeye'' #1]
The superhero
Mockingbird
Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the family Mimidae. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. ...
, working on a lead that C.T.E. is involved in criminal activities, breaks into one of the company's warehouses searching for evidence. She is confronted by Hawkeye, who believes that Mockingbird is an industrial spy. The pair battle, with Mockingbird trying to convince Hawkeye of her intentions, until she is captured by C.T.E. security forces. Hawkeye, sensing that something is not right, later conducts his own investigation into the company. He is then betrayed by Sheila Danning and captured by the C.T.E. security forces and relieved of his duties. Together, Hawkeye and Mockingbird manage to escape and set out to learn the truth behind Cross Technological Enterprises. They discover that Crossfire, cousin to original owner Darren Cross, has gained control of the company and is using it to further his goals of destroying the superhero community. Hawkeye and Mockingbird are able to defeat Crossfire, and get married shortly afterward.
C.T.E. Head of Systems Designs Douglas Arthur Cartland is among a group of scientists brought together to sort through the acquired machines of
Bruce Banner
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
. Cartland, accompanied by
Beast, meets with
Mister Fantastic
Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace a ...
,
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
and 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 ...
. Later, while secretly attempting to learn about Banner's machines to further his own career, Cartland is attacked by
Arnim Zola
Arnim Zola is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by Marvel Comics. He is a master of biochemistry and a recurring enemy of Captain America and the Avengers (comics), Avengers. The character first appeared in ''Captain America (comic ...
. He is soon rescued by the gathered superheroes.
Years later, Augustine resurfaces and operates at the Cross Technological Enterprises branch in Florida. He kidnapped Erica Sondheim and brought her to Cross Technological Enterprises where he plans to force Erica into transplanting a new heart into the body of a cryogenically-preserved Darren Cross. When
Cassandra Lang
Cassandra "Cassie" Lang is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The daughter of Scott Lang, the character first appeared in '' Marvel Premiere'' #47 (April 1979) as Cassie Lang, in '' Young Avenger ...
was captured by
Crossfire
A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I.
S ...
when Augustine believed that her Pym Particle-irradiated heart could sustain the condition of Darren's body, Scott Lang,
Grizzly
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
, and
Machinesmith
Machinesmith (Samuel "Starr" Saxon) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably as a regular enemy of Captain America. He specializes in robotics, and is able to make convincing robotic doubles ...
worked to rescue her. During the rescue mission, Scott Lang ended up encountering a resurrected Darren Cross.
After Darren Cross refused to invest in
Power Broker's Hench App, Augustine Cross temporarily hired Machinesmith to hack into Power Broker Inc.'s database so that they can steal the algorithm for Cross Technological Enterprises and make their knock-off of the Hench App called "Lackey."
In order to better combat Ant-Man, Darren Cross hires
Egghead
In the U.S. English slang, egghead is an epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered out-of-touch with ordinary people and lacking in realism, common sense, sexual interests, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. It wa ...
to work for Cross Technological Enterprises. Egghead creates for him the Yellowjacket armor to help him control his abilities.
Staff
*
Darren Agonistes Cross - Founder and
CEO
*
Augustine Cross
Tatiana Caban
Bethany Cabe
Caber
Caber is one of the Celtic gods of Avalon, a warrior god. Caber is a good friend to Leir and usually accompanies him in battle.
Cable
Danielle Cage
Danielle "Dani" Cage is a fictional character in Marvel ...
- CEO
* Ambrose Connors - Special Project Director
* K.H. Keeshan -
* Sheila Danning - Head of Public Relations
* Douglas Arthur Cartland - Head of Systems Design
*
Ronald English -
* Jorge Latham -
*
Egghead
In the U.S. English slang, egghead is an epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered out-of-touch with ordinary people and lacking in realism, common sense, sexual interests, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. It wa ...
-
Former staff
*
Hawkeye - Head of Security
*
Sonny Burch
Nakia Bahadir
Nakia Bahadir is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a Turkish girl and friend of Kamala Khan.
Nakia Bahadir in other media
Nakia Bahadir appears in ''Ms. Marvel (TV series), ...
- Former Chairman
Technology
* Darren Cross' nucleorganic pacemaker
* Hawkeye's Sky-Cycle (created by Jorge Latham)
*
Silencer's sound nullifying uniform
* Crossfire's undertaker machine
[''Hawkeye'' #4]
* Ronald English's nucleonic radiator
In other media
Cross Technologies appears in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
film ''
Ant-Man
Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...
''. This version, known as Pym Technologies, was a multinational
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
and
scientific research
The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...
company founded by
Hank Pym
Dr. Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, the character first appeared in '' Tales ...
, following his departure from
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 ...
, to study
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
. But he was later voted out of his own company by his protege
Darren Cross
Darren Agonistes Cross is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the archenemy of Scott Lang (the second superhero to be called Ant-Man), and the cousin of Crossfire.
The character was ...
and his daughter,
Hope van Dyne
Hope van Dyne (née Pym) is a fictional character portrayed by Evangeline Lilly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Hope Pym. Portrayed as the daughter of Hank Pym and Janet van ...
. Obsessed with recreating the fabled
Pym Particles
Dr. Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym () is a character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, the character first appea ...
, Cross eventually succeeded and created the
Yellowjacket
Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...
suit, hoping to sell it to the military and terrorist organizations and planning to rename the company in his name, Cross Technologies. He is ultimately stopped by Pym, van Dyne, and
Scott Lang, and the company's headquarters is destroyed.
See also
*
Alchemax
Alchemax is a fictional megacorporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually depicted as part of the 2099 universe.
Publication history
The Earth-928 version of Alchemax first appeared in '' Spider-Man 2099'' #1 ...
*
Oscorp
Oscorp (sometimes stylized as OsCorp), also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The compa ...
*
Parker Industries
Parker Industries (also known as Parker Tech) was a former fictional multibillion-dollar conglomerate appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
It first appeared in ''The Superior Spider-Man'' #20 and was c ...
*
Roxxon Energy Corporation
The Roxxon Energy Corporation (otherwise known as the Roxxon Oil Company, Roxxon Oil Corporation, Roxxon Corporation or simply Roxxon) is the name of a fictional massive petroleum industrial conglomerate in the Marvel Universe appearing in Americ ...
*
Stark Industries
Stark Industries, later also known as Stark International, Stark Innovations, Stark Enterprises and Stark Resilient, is a fictional company appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The company is depicted as being owned an ...
References
External links
Ambrose Connorsat the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
{{Hawkeye
Fictional companies