Puppet Master (Marvel Comics)
| Puppet Master | |
|---|---|
Puppet Master
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four #8 (Nov. 1962) |
| Created by |
Stan Lee (Writer) Jack Kirby (Artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Phillip Masters |
| Partnerships |
Mad Thinker Alicia Masters Warlord Krang Wizard Doctor Doom Egghead |
| Abilities | Genius-level intellect Extremely talented craftsman Ability to construct dolls with radioactive clay with which to physically control people |
The Puppet Master (real name Phillip Masters) is a fictional character and supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The Puppet Master uses radioactive clay to make puppets in the likenesses of real people, whom he can then control by attaching the clay puppets to strings and moving them about. Presumably he has some sort of psionic ability that enables him to do this. He has a deep hatred of the Thing, who is romantically interested in his stepdaughter, Alicia Masters. He once tried to take over the world but was thwarted in this effort by the Fantastic Four.
The Puppet Master's first appearance was in Fantastic Four volume 1 #8 (November 1962), and he was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. His origin was told in Marvel Team-Up volume 1 #6 (January 1973).
Phillip Masters, the man who becomes the Puppet Master, was born in Dragorin, a town in the small fictional Balkan nation of Transia. He moved to the United States at the age of eight. Growing up he was socially maladjusted and had no friends. (According to Spider-Man Family #4, his mother died when he was young and he was often picked on, which caused him to turn to his puppets "friendship".)
After he finished college he went into business with Jacob Reiss. Philip was jealous of Reiss' wealth and of his family and decided to sabotage his workplace, but Reiss caught him in the act. The two of them break into a fight which results in an explosion that kills Reiss and blinds his daughter Alicia, who was also caught in the blast.
Phillip plays the explosion off as an accident, and then starts a relationship Reiss' wife, Marcia. He marries Marcia and adopts Alicia. Later, Marcia dies and it is more than he can bear and he loses his sanity. It is at this time that he begins experimenting with the radioactive clay puppets that he is able to use to psionically control specific individuals' bodies. Intending to exploit this talent to the fullest, he plots to take over the world. He doesn't get very far with the plan before the Fantastic Four stop him. He succeeds in capturing the Invisible Girl, and masterminds a mass jailbreak using the warden's trustee. He then falls from a window after tripping over Alicia's hand, and is thought to have died.
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