The Emissaries of Evil is a name used by three teams of supervillains 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 ...

Publication history

The first Emissaries of Evil debuted in '' Daredevil Annual'' #1 and were created by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

, and

John Tartaglione John Tartaglione (January 14, 1921 – November 12, 2003),''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107 a.k.a. John Tartag and other pseudonyms, was an American comic book artist best known as a 1950s romance-comics artist; a Marvel Co ...

. The second Emissaries of Evil debuted in ''

Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

'' #42 and were created by

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

and

Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo. Biography K ...

. The third Emissaries of Evil debuted in ''Daredevil'' #377 and were created by

Scott Lobdell Scott Lobdell (; born 1960) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter known for his work on numerous ''X-Men'' series for Marvel Comics in the 1990s, various work for DC Comics in the 2010s, namely ''Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans ...

and Tom Morgan.

Fictional character biography

Electro's Emissaries of Evil

The first Emissaries of Evil was recruited by Electro in a plot of revenge against Daredevil for previous defeats, and consisted of Electro himself, the

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

, the

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

, the

Stilt-Man Stilt-Man is the name of multiple different supervillains in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Stilt-Man first appeared in ''Daredevil'' #8 (June 1965). He is a criminal wearing an impenetrable suit of armor wi ...

, and the

Leap-Frog Leapfrog is a children's game in which players vault over each other's stooped backs. History Games of this sort have been called by this name since at least the late sixteenth century.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 ...

, and consisted of the

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

Solarr Sabra Sabreclaw Sabreclaw is a character in the MC2 universe who first appeared in '' J2'' #8 (May 1999). He is the half-brother of Wild Thing and the son of Wolverine. The character has claws (similar to Sabretooth), a healing factor, enh ...

, the

Eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

, the

Porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

, Power Man and the

Swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

. This first version of the team is never called the Emissaries of Evil, but Egghead does refer to them as his "employed emissaries". Egghead wanted to hold the United States hostage, as the Emissaries of Evil gathered in Canada where Egghead built a nuclear device. The Emissaries of Evil commandeered the television airwaves, as Egghead demanded that the President of the United States hand over his position to Egghead or he will launch the nuclear device to New York City. James Hudson and his team of Canadian adventurers called the Flight saw the broadcast and rushed into action to stop the Emissaries of Evil. Even with little training, the Flight quickly took out the Emissaries of Evil before turning their attention towards Egghead. Egghead refused to disable the nuclear device and Saint Elmo sacrificed his life to transmute it into energy. Egghead later equipped a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

space station with an arsenal of weapons and reformed the second Emissaries of Evil a second time, this time consisting of the Rhino, Solarr, and the Cobalt Man (who Egghead had brainwashed to destroy the

). Egghead then sent the Emissaries of Evil to attack the Defenders and obtain a ruby called the Star of Capistan. The Rhino and Solarr held their own against the Defenders and realized that they did not have the Star of Capistan. Upon returning to the space station, the Rhino and Solarr were punished by Egghead, who then sent the Cobalt Man to deal with the Defenders and use his nuclear powers so that Egghead can see the Defenders being destroyed. The Cobalt Man was freed from the brainwashing by

Clea Clea Strange () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by co-plotters Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Clea first appeared in the Doctor Strange feature in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (November 1964). S ...

and the

Red Guardian Red Guardian (Russian: Красный страж, ''Krasnyy Strazh'') is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Red Guardian is an identity that was created as the Soviet equiv ...

. The Rhino and Solarr were defeated by

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

(who had been possessed by the Star of Capistan and had become the Red Rajah). Egghead attempted to take on the Defenders on his own, but the Cobalt Man turned against him by turning his powers on Egghead, where both of them were seemingly killed in an explosion.

The Kingpin's Emissaries of Evil

The third Emissaries of Evil was recruited by the Kingpin (who was briefly active in France), and consisted of La Concierge, the

and

Synapse In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell. Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from ...

. Daredevil (whose memories had been reprogrammed by

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 pose as undercover agent Laurent Levasseur) ended up fighting the Emissaries of Evil while undercover. During a battle with the Kingpin and his henchmen, "Laurent" regained his memories of being Matt Murdock and Daredevil. S.H.I.E.L.D. and

Foggy Nelson Franklin Percy "Foggy" Nelson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as part of the supporting cast of Daredevil (Matt Murdock); Foggy is Matt's best friend and, for ...

finally caught up with Matt Murdock and he lost his temporary eyesight as he prepared to return to his normal life. When the Kingpin and the Emissaries of Evil tried to frame a Middle Eastern man for terrorism so that the Kingpin could get his hands on a shipment of weapons, Matt Murdock defended the patsy and won in court. Daredevil took on the Emissaries of Evil in order to foil the Kingpin's scheme and managed to defeat them.''Daredevil'' #380

Publication history

Fictional character biography

Electro's Emissaries of Evil

The Kingpin's Emissaries of Evil

References

External links