Power Broker is the name of two fictional characters 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. The "Power Broker" concept was devised by
Mark Gruenwald as a satire on the public obsession with health and fitness.
Publication history
The Curtiss Jackson version of Power Broker first appeared in ''
Machine Man
Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for '' 2001: A ...
'' #6 (September 1978) and was created by
Roger Stern and
Sal Buscema.
The second version of Power Broker first appeared in ''
Avengers: The Initiative Annual'' #1 (January 2008) and was created by
Dan Slott and
Christos N. Gage
Christos N. Gage is an American screenwriter and comic book writer. He is known for his work on the TV series ''Daredevil'', ''Hawaii Five-0'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''Numbers'' and the films '' The Breed'' and '' Teenage Caveman ...
.
Fictional character biography
Curtiss Jackson
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 attempts to take control of
Machine Man
Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for '' 2001: A ...
. With Eugene Stivak,
Moonstone, and the
Vamp, he later battles
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 ...
,
Marvel Man, the
Falcon, and the
Hulk
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 (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
. Jackson kidnaps Trish Starr, and battles the Hulk and Machine Man again.
Jackson founds the Power Broker Corporation. He hires Dr.
Karl Malus
Dr. Karl Malus () is a fictional mad scientist and criminal appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He played a part in the origins of Armadillo, Hornet, Falcon II, and many other characters.
Dr. Karl Malus appeared in the ...
, a
mad scientist who has experimented on various superhuman individuals, to technologically augment the strength of paying customers to superhuman levels. The strength augmenting process is tremendously risky, with half the subjects dying or becoming severely deformed, but this information is kept a closely guarded secret. Power Broker and Malus use highly addictive drugs on their subjects, telling them that the chemical is necessary to stabilize their powers, but in fact it only serves 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, use the Power Broker's services, and wind up indebted to them.
The Power Broker offers
Sharon Ventura superhuman strength. She is reportedly sexually abused while drugged. She breaks free before Malus can administer the addictive drug, so the Power Broker sends the
Grapplers
Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...
to kill her. The Power Broker later kidnaps
Demolition-Man, and battles Captain America and the
Shroud when they come to rescue him.
When Power Broker, Inc. is attacked by the
Scourge of the Underworld
The Scourge of the Underworld is the name of a series of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Writer/editor Mark Gruenwald originally created the Scourge in 1985 as a plot device intended to thin the ...
, Curtiss Jackson exposes himself to his own augmentation device. The process goes awry, leaving him so grotesquely muscle-bound that he cannot move. 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.
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.
Power Broker has been responsible for providing augmented henchmen to various criminal organizations, such as th
Sweatshop and th
The Power Broker was later revealed as one of the Red Skull's division chiefs.
Jackson resurfaced following the ''
Maximum Security'' storyline, 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
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 deals ...
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
Hydra generally refers to:
* Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology
* ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria
Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Hydra (constel ...
base and a rebel
Atlantean
As an adjective, Atlantean (or Atlantian) means "of or pertaining to Atlas or Atlantis".
Atlantean may also refer to:
* Atlantean figures, a type of ancient artifacts
* ''Atlantean'' (documentary series), a trilogy of TV films discussing the ori ...
group. These operations were broken up by S.T.A.R.S. (Superhuman Tactical Activities Response Squad) and their main agent, U.S. Agent, leading the group to take down the Power Broker once again.
The
Punisher later kills and impersonates Jackson in order to infiltrate a supervillain auction being held on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
.
Second version
Very little is known about the second version of the Power Broker 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. Power Broker was also responsible for giving Paul's brother Roger superpowers where Roger later became the superhero
Hardball.
Power Broker proceeds to invest in Hench, a
mobile app that allows people to quickly hire supervillains. He demonstrates his invention to
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 portr ...
by enlisting
Whirlwind to kill
Ant-Man. When Cross refuses to invest at least 1.2 billion dollars in Hench, Power Broker ends the demo, and cancels Whirlwind's attempted assassination of Ant-Man. A publicist named Marlena Howard later uses Hench to hire the
Magician
Magician or The Magician may refer to:
Performers
* A practitioner of magic (supernatural)
* A practitioner of magic (illusion)
* Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context
Entertainment
Books
* ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...
's son to stage an attack on Darla Deering.
[''Astonishing Ant-Man'' #2. Marvel Comics.]
Cross's unwillingness to invest in the Hench App spurs
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 ...
into hiring
Machinesmith to hack into the databases of Power Broker Inc. so that
Cross Technological Enterprises can steal the Hench algorithm and use it to create a knock-off called "Lackey."
During a meeting with
Slug
Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...
, who had used Hench to hire the new
Hijacker to steal a
Giganto
Giganto () is the name of a fictional monster appearing in the American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Giganto has been seen across two separate instances in the Marvel Universe.
Publication history
The Deviant Mutate version of Giganto ...
egg, Power Broker is made aware of Cross's treachery, which enrages him to the point of ordering the premature release of "Hench 2.0".
Power Broker later held an event to promote the new Hench 2.0 upgrade. In order to protect the unveiling, he used the Hench App to hire a female
Blacklash
Whiplash is the name of multiple supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are commonly depicted as members of Iron Man's rogues gallery. The original Whiplash (Mark Scarlotti) also went by the name Blacklas ...
.
Cassandra Lang attempts to get abilities from Power Broker with the intention of double-crossing him. However, Power Broker realizes that she does not have what it takes to be a villain. Instead, Power Broker tells her about Darren having stolen her heart and that her father hid it from her. As Darren had stolen something from him, he makes a deal with her....he will give her powers to do with as she wants. In exchange, she must retrieve the item that Darren took from him and in the process get her revenge on him. She chooses to have her old powers back because she does not want to learn a new power set. Lang is given a new suit and a helmet similar to her father's while sporting the new name of Stinger.
At a public event, Power Broker revealed the Hench X app that enables anyone to become a supervillain. He tests it out on a former comic store clerk named Paul who ends up becoming the second
Plantman
Plantman is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The Samuel Smithers version of Plantman first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #113 and was created by Stan Lee, Jer ...
. Plantman was then unleashed when Ant-Man showed up to interrogate Power Broker on personal matters.
Some time later, Power Broker ran out of funding for his Hench app and fled to his secret island where he started to work on an app for supervillain travel booking. Unfortunately, his investors turned down the idea. Upon tracking down Power Broker, Stinger subdued him.
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. Jackson has a college degree in business administration, and is a highly skilled administrator and planner.
The second Power Broker wears a battlesuit and can project bolts of energy from his hands.
Power Broker Inc.
Power Broker, Inc. is a fictional criminal corporation in the
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
which provides individuals with superhuman physical abilities for a price. The organization was created by
Mike Carlin
Michael Carlin (born October 6, 1958) is an American comic book writer, editor, and executive. He has worked principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics since the 1970s.
Early life
Carlin attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, ...
and
Paul Neary.
Fictional organization history
Power Broker Inc. was founded by Curtiss Jackson and Karl Malus. Power Broker Inc. specializes in augmenting the strengths of anyone at a superhuman level. When Curtiss was killed by the Punisher, the second Power Broker took over.
In other media
Sharon Carter (portrayed by
Emily VanCamp) uses the "Power Broker" as an alias in the live-action miniseries ''
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier''.
The Power Broker serves as the judge, jury and executioner on
Madripoor. In the episode "
The Star-Spangled Man
"The Star-Spangled Man" is the second episode of the American television miniseries ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'', based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier. It follows the ...
", the
Flag Smashers
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on superhero films and other series starring various titular superheroes independently produced by Marvel Studios and based on characters that app ...
steal a shipment from her, so she sends hired men after them. In the episode "
Power Broker
In political science, a power broker is a person who influences people to vote towards a particular client (i.e. elected official or referendum) in exchange for political and financial benefits. Power brokers can also negotiate deals with other p ...
", it is revealed that she hired former
Hydra
Hydra generally refers to:
* Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology
* ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria
Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Hydra (constel ...
scientist Dr. Wilfred Nagel following
the Blip to recreate the
Super Soldier Serum
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 ...
, which the Flag Smashers stole and used to empower themselves. Her status is revealed in the series finale "
One World, One People
"One World, One People" is the sixth episode and series finale of the American television miniseries ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'', based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier. ...
", during which she kills the Flag Smashers' leader
Karli Morgenthau Karli may refer to:
Places
*Karlı, Ardanuç, village in Turkey
*Karli-Eli, historical name of a region in Greece
*Karlı, Vezirköprü, village in Turkey
*Karli, Koper, settlement in Slovenia
*Karli, India, village in India
*Karla Caves, a complex ...
, rejoins the CIA after being pardoned, and contacts a mysterious individual to tell them she has access to the government's resources.
References
External links
Power Broker (disambiguation)at Marvel.com
*
Power Broker Iat Marvel.com
Power Broker Iat Marvel Wiki
Power Broker IIat Marvel Wiki
Power Broker Inc.at Marvel Wiki
Power Broker Iat Comic Vine
Power Broker IIat Comic Vine
{{Jack Kirby
Characters created by Christos Gage
Characters created by Dan Slott
Characters created by Jack Kirby
Comics characters introduced in 1978
Comics characters introduced in 2008
Fictional characters from North Carolina
Fictional companies
Fictional organizations in Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics supervillains