Puppet Master (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Puppet Master, real name Phillip Masters, is a fictional character
, a supervillain
in the Fantastic Four
comics. His first appearance was in Fantastic Four volume 1 #8. His origin was told in Marvel Team-Up
volume 1 #6.
The Puppet Master uses radioactive clay to make puppet
s of people that he can then control, attaching them to strings and moving them as puppets; 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.
, in Dragorin. He moved to the United States at the age of eight. 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, causing him to turn to his puppets as "friends".)
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 and when the two fought Reiss was accidentally killed in an explosion. Reiss' daughter Alicia was caught in the explosion and blinded as a result.
Playing the explosion off as an accident, he started a relationship with and then married Reiss' wife, Marcia, and adopted Alicia. When his wife died it was more than he could bear and he lost his sanity. It was at this time that he first began experimenting with radioactive clay that he was somehow able to use to psionically control specific individuals' bodies. He thought to exploit this talent to the fullest and drew up a plan to take over the world. He didn't get very far with the plan before the Fantastic Four stopped him. He succeeded in capturing the Invisible Girl, and masterminded a mass jailbreak using the warden's trustee. He fell from a window after tripping over Alicia's hand, and appeared to have been killed.
The Puppet Master was revealed to have survived, and after months was released from hospital. He then controlled Namor, and used him to battle the Fantastic Four. He also pitted the Human Torch
and the Thing
against each other. He teamed with the Mad Thinker
, and used the original X-Men
to battle the Fantastic Four. Teaming up again with the Thinker, who would become his frequent ally, he battled the Thing and the Torch again, and even used animated life-size mannequins to battle the pair.
The Puppet Master was later seen among a group of criminals assembled by Doctor Doom
. He then controlled Namor again. He opposed the original X-Men through the mind-controlled Mimic
. He also fomented a battle between the Hulk
and Namor by controlling the Hulk.
The Puppet Master next allied with the Mad Thinker and Egghead
in their attempted blackmail of the U.S. He forced Iron Man
to battle Captain Marvel
. He again teamed with the Thinker, and attacked the Fantastic Four using androids of their past foes. He controlled Ballox the Monstroid, and battled Spider-Man
and the Vision
. With the Thinker, he battled Spider-Man and the Thing. He then forced Thor
to battle the Fantastic Four. He then controlled the Wrecker
and Power Man
. Eventually, the Puppet Master returned to his homeland, where he encountered Modred the Mystic
.
With Doctor Doom, the Puppet Master trapped the Fantastic Four within the miniature artificial city of "Liddleville"; their minds were trapped inside tiny robot bodies. He was defeated by Doom in Liddleville, however, and was seemingly destroyed by Doom. His mind was then resurrected in a body of living radioactive clay. He battled the Thing on the mental plane, and his living clay body was destroyed. He was eventually resurrected in his original body by the Sphinx
.
He was once thought to have been killed when he fell out of the window of a fairly tall building, but he miraculously survived. The Puppet Master has exhibited an uncanny ability to cheat death, dodging mortal threats that have included bomb blasts, drownings, and even a giant squid attack. Liddleville would later be used against the Micronauts
and X-Force
.
On several occasions the jealous Puppet Master would use his clay to manipulate the lives of the Fantastic Four where his stepdaughter was concerned, in particular to "guard" his precious Alicia from marrying the likes of the Thing. But he was just as outraged when she became engaged to Johnny Storm
, also a member of the FF.
With the Thinker and the Wizard
, Masters attempted to disrupt the wedding of the Human Torch and Alicia. The plan was to launch an attack on the church after the wedding ceremony, but Masters was so overcome with remorse when he saw how happy Alicia was to marry Johnny that he turned against his associates, launching the Dragon Man
against them: his wedding gift to Alicia and Johnny.
He was later revealed to have reformed, remarried, and to have a stepson; the toys he crafted for his son inadvertently caused a battle between Power Pack
and the alien Ciegramites. Masters would later reveal to the Thing that he had discovered that the Alicia Johnny had married was actually a Skrull
.
and absorb Satori's mind, that he might survive his body's death and serve as a proper leader to his flock. Masters at some point left this cult, and entered a S.H.I.E.L.D.
-maintained witness protection program, using his abilities to aid the government through the dulling of memories of other so-protected criminals' previous associates. Masters reached out through his powers to control Ben Grimm and Alicia, duping Ben into a "married life" with his despondent daughter, whom Ben had stopped seeing years before. Ben was freed, but the Fantastic Four were prevented from taking any measure of revenge upon Masters, given his S.H.I.E.L.D. affiliation.
. Utilizing a device constructed by The Thinker, he was able to control a large number of non-super-humans, most notably members of the Yancy Street Gang
to escalate a battle between the two different factions in the superhero Civil War
.
He revealed in this issue that he always planned to kill the person he was working with in his past team-ups and that he has anger management problems. The Thinker gives him the number of a good therapist. This exchange seems to contradict previous interactions between the two.
The Puppet Master is shown to now be in the business of selling slaves (primarily females). Some of them are superhuman females captured by members of the Chilean Army under his control. Among those held captive are Dusk
, Tigra
, Silverclaw
, Stature
, and Araña
. The Puppet Master is shown having random male slaves fight to the death. The Puppet Master is presumed killed when he detonates explosives hidden beneath the house he used as a base while still inside, in battle against Ms. Marvel
.
, site of the prison of the elder god Chthon
. The Puppet Master may have some type of psionic ability which complimented this process, enabling him to control his victims, although the process may be entirely the result of the magical properties of the clay. He cannot control the actions of essentially mindless creatures, and his control can be broken by beings with supremely strong will-power. His control is limited to one person at a time, and the degree of control decreases with the distance from the person controlled.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
in the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
comics. His first appearance was in Fantastic Four volume 1 #8. His origin was told in Marvel Team-Up
Marvel Team-Up
Marvel Team-Up is the name of several American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story...
volume 1 #6.
The Puppet Master uses radioactive clay to make puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
s of people that he can then control, attaching them to strings and moving them as puppets; presumably he has some sort of psionic ability that enables him to do this. He has a deep hatred of the Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
, who is romantically interested in his stepdaughter, Alicia Masters
Alicia Masters
Alicia Reiss Masters is a supporting character to the Marvel Comics superheroes the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, she first appeared in The Fantastic Four #8 ....
. He once tried to take over the world but was thwarted in this effort by the Fantastic Four.
Fictional character biography
Phillip Masters, the man who would become the Puppet Master was born in the small fictional Balkan nation of TransiaTransia
Transia is a fictional European country on the Earth of the Marvel Universe. It is located between Transylvania, Romania and Serbia. More than 90% of its people live in one large town and a number of smaller villages located at the base of Mount Wundagore.Transia was a former section of...
, in Dragorin. He moved to the United States at the age of eight. He was socially maladjusted and had no friends. (According to Spider-Man Family
Spider-Man Family
Spider-Man Family is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It began as a series of one-shots written and penciled by various writers and artists before becoming a bi-monthly ongoing series with the first issue cover-dated February 2007. Its initial writer was Sean McKeever...
#4, his mother died when he was young and he was often picked on, causing him to turn to his puppets as "friends".)
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 and when the two fought Reiss was accidentally killed in an explosion. Reiss' daughter Alicia was caught in the explosion and blinded as a result.
Playing the explosion off as an accident, he started a relationship with and then married Reiss' wife, Marcia, and adopted Alicia. When his wife died it was more than he could bear and he lost his sanity. It was at this time that he first began experimenting with radioactive clay that he was somehow able to use to psionically control specific individuals' bodies. He thought to exploit this talent to the fullest and drew up a plan to take over the world. He didn't get very far with the plan before the Fantastic Four stopped him. He succeeded in capturing the Invisible Girl, and masterminded a mass jailbreak using the warden's trustee. He fell from a window after tripping over Alicia's hand, and appeared to have been killed.
The Puppet Master was revealed to have survived, and after months was released from hospital. He then controlled Namor, and used him to battle the Fantastic Four. He also pitted the Human Torch
Human Torch
The Human Torch is a fictional character and superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, he is a member of the superhero team the Fantastic Four, debuting in The Fantastic Four #1...
and the Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
against each other. He teamed with the Mad Thinker
Mad Thinker
The Mad Thinker is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . He is a genius specializing in evil robotics and usually comes up with very elaborate infallible devious plans that unfold like clockwork....
, and used the original X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
to battle the Fantastic Four. Teaming up again with the Thinker, who would become his frequent ally, he battled the Thing and the Torch again, and even used animated life-size mannequins to battle the pair.
The Puppet Master was later seen among a group of criminals assembled by Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
. He then controlled Namor again. He opposed the original X-Men through the mind-controlled Mimic
Mimic (comics)
Mimic is a Marvel Comics fictional character who was briefly a member of the X-Men in the 1960s. He was then the first character to be added to the team after the original line-up and the first X-Man who was not a mutant....
. He also fomented a battle between the Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
and Namor by controlling the Hulk.
The Puppet Master next allied with the Mad Thinker and Egghead
Egghead (comics)
Egghead is the name of two fictional Marvel Comics villains. The original first appeared in Tales to Astonish #38. He is also the arch-nemesis of super-hero Henry Pym. The second first appeared in Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1.-Elihas Starr:...
in their attempted blackmail of the U.S. He forced Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
to battle Captain Marvel
Mar-Vell
Captain Marvel is a fictional character owned by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and designed by artist Gene Colan and first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) is a fictional character owned by Marvel Comics. The character was created...
. He again teamed with the Thinker, and attacked the Fantastic Four using androids of their past foes. He controlled Ballox the Monstroid, and battled Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
and the Vision
Vision (Marvel Comics)
The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The first Vision was created by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Marvel Mystery Comics #13 The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that...
. With the Thinker, he battled Spider-Man and the Thing. He then forced Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
to battle the Fantastic Four. He then controlled the Wrecker
Wrecker (comics)
The Wrecker is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Wrecker was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appears in The Mighty Thor #148 The Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics....
and Power Man
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
. Eventually, the Puppet Master returned to his homeland, where he encountered Modred the Mystic
Modred the Mystic
Modred the Mystic is a fictional magician in the Marvel Comics universe who has alternated between being an anti-hero and an outright supervillain. He first appeared in Marvel Chillers #1. He was created by Bill Mantlo, Yong Montano and Marv Wolfman....
.
With Doctor Doom, the Puppet Master trapped the Fantastic Four within the miniature artificial city of "Liddleville"; their minds were trapped inside tiny robot bodies. He was defeated by Doom in Liddleville, however, and was seemingly destroyed by Doom. His mind was then resurrected in a body of living radioactive clay. He battled the Thing on the mental plane, and his living clay body was destroyed. He was eventually resurrected in his original body by the Sphinx
Sphinx (comics)
The Sphinx is the name of two fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the Sphinx first appeared in Nova #6 and was created by Marv Wolfman and Sal Buscema...
.
He was once thought to have been killed when he fell out of the window of a fairly tall building, but he miraculously survived. The Puppet Master has exhibited an uncanny ability to cheat death, dodging mortal threats that have included bomb blasts, drownings, and even a giant squid attack. Liddleville would later be used against the Micronauts
Micronauts
The Micronauts comic books feature a group of characters based on the Micronauts toyline. The title was published by Marvel Comics, Image Comics, and Devil's Due Publishing. Their first comic appearance was in Micronauts #1 with characterizations created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden...
and X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
.
On several occasions the jealous Puppet Master would use his clay to manipulate the lives of the Fantastic Four where his stepdaughter was concerned, in particular to "guard" his precious Alicia from marrying the likes of the Thing. But he was just as outraged when she became engaged to Johnny Storm
Human Torch
The Human Torch is a fictional character and superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, he is a member of the superhero team the Fantastic Four, debuting in The Fantastic Four #1...
, also a member of the FF.
With the Thinker and the Wizard
Wizard (Marvel Comics)
The Wizard , also known as the Wingless Wizard, is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe...
, Masters attempted to disrupt the wedding of the Human Torch and Alicia. The plan was to launch an attack on the church after the wedding ceremony, but Masters was so overcome with remorse when he saw how happy Alicia was to marry Johnny that he turned against his associates, launching the Dragon Man
Dragon Man
Dragon Man is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is an artificial dragon-like humanoid android who was animated via alchemy. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four #35 ....
against them: his wedding gift to Alicia and Johnny.
He was later revealed to have reformed, remarried, and to have a stepson; the toys he crafted for his son inadvertently caused a battle between Power Pack
Power Pack
Power Pack is a fictional team of comic book superheroes consisting of four young siblings who appear in books published by Marvel Comics. They were created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman and first appeared in their own series in 1984. The series lasted 62 issues...
and the alien Ciegramites. Masters would later reveal to the Thing that he had discovered that the Alicia Johnny had married was actually a Skrull
Lyja
Lyja is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. As a Skrull, she possesses the ability to shapeshift into almost any humanoid or animal form. Modifications on her body gave her the power to generate energy blasts.-Fictional character biography:...
.
Reformations
The Puppet Master has been shown on two occasions attempting to leave his (overtly) criminal life behind. In the first, he found some measure of spiritual enlightenment in the service of the billionaire philosopher/cultist Satori, who employed Masters to construct a "perfect man" from his clay that would then receive life and the power cosmic from the Silver SurferSilver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
and absorb Satori's mind, that he might survive his body's death and serve as a proper leader to his flock. Masters at some point left this cult, and entered a S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
-maintained witness protection program, using his abilities to aid the government through the dulling of memories of other so-protected criminals' previous associates. Masters reached out through his powers to control Ben Grimm and Alicia, duping Ben into a "married life" with his despondent daughter, whom Ben had stopped seeing years before. Ben was freed, but the Fantastic Four were prevented from taking any measure of revenge upon Masters, given his S.H.I.E.L.D. affiliation.
Return to Criminal life
The Puppet Master was seen to have returned to criminal life and affiliated himself with the Mad ThinkerMad Thinker
The Mad Thinker is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . He is a genius specializing in evil robotics and usually comes up with very elaborate infallible devious plans that unfold like clockwork....
. Utilizing a device constructed by The Thinker, he was able to control a large number of non-super-humans, most notably members of the Yancy Street Gang
Yancy Street Gang
The Yancy Street Gang are a fictional street gang occasionally featured in the Fantastic Four comic book published by Marvel Comics. The Yancy Street Gang was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Fantastic Four #15 , though mostly off-panel; as in most of their appearances,...
to escalate a battle between the two different factions in the superhero Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
.
He revealed in this issue that he always planned to kill the person he was working with in his past team-ups and that he has anger management problems. The Thinker gives him the number of a good therapist. This exchange seems to contradict previous interactions between the two.
The Puppet Master is shown to now be in the business of selling slaves (primarily females). Some of them are superhuman females captured by members of the Chilean Army under his control. Among those held captive are Dusk
Dusk (comics)
Dusk was an identity used by several fictional superheroes in the Marvel Universe. It was eventually adopted by college student Cassie St. Commons, who appeared in the Marvel Comics' series, Slingers.-Negative Zone:...
, Tigra
Tigra
Tigra is a fictional American comic book superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. Introduced as the non-superpowered crime fighter The Cat in Claws of the Cat #1 , she was co-created by writer-editor Roy Thomas, writer Linda Fite, and penciller Marie Severin...
, Silverclaw
Silverclaw
Silverclaw , is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. The character is a reserve member of the Avengers and regards Edwin Jarvis as an uncle figure.-Publication history:...
, Stature
Cassandra Lang
Stature is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She is the daughter of the late Scott Lang . Cassie Lang is a member of the Young Avengers and The Initiative...
, and Araña
Anya Corazon
Anya Sofia Corazon is a fictional half Mexican and half Puerto Rican superheroine in the . She formerly went by the codename Araña, but is currently known as Spider-Girl.-Publication history:...
. The Puppet Master is shown having random male slaves fight to the death. The Puppet Master is presumed killed when he detonates explosives hidden beneath the house he used as a base while still inside, in battle against Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel is the name of a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and designed by artist Gene Colan, the non-powered Carol Danvers debuted as a member of the United States Air Force in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 and as Ms. Marvel—a...
.
Powers and abilities
The Puppet Master has no revealed superhuman abilities, but he has a gifted intellect and was once a brilliant biologist with a doctorate in biology. He is an extremely talented craftsman and very gifted in experimental science. His greatest strength was his ability to create extremely lifelike marionette puppets with extreme speed that he modeled after real people. Through intense concentration, he is able to control the physical actions of anyone after whom he models one of his puppets. How he did this was never adequately explained other than he used some type of special radioactive mixture. The clay he used in this mixture was magical, slightly radioactive, and came from a remote area near Wundagore Mountain, TransiaTransia
Transia is a fictional European country on the Earth of the Marvel Universe. It is located between Transylvania, Romania and Serbia. More than 90% of its people live in one large town and a number of smaller villages located at the base of Mount Wundagore.Transia was a former section of...
, site of the prison of the elder god Chthon
Chthon (comics)
Chthon is a fictional character, a demonic Elder God in the Marvel Comics Universe. His name derives from chthon, the Greek word for "earth" and "earthly", especially pertaining to earth that was not life giving soil, but dark like that of the grave or the underworld...
. The Puppet Master may have some type of psionic ability which complimented this process, enabling him to control his victims, although the process may be entirely the result of the magical properties of the clay. He cannot control the actions of essentially mindless creatures, and his control can be broken by beings with supremely strong will-power. His control is limited to one person at a time, and the degree of control decreases with the distance from the person controlled.
Television
- The Puppet Master appeared in the Sub-Mariner portion of The Marvel Super Heroes.
- The Puppet Master appeared in the 1982 Incredible Hulk episode "Bruce Banner: Unmasked" voiced by Bob Holt. He gets control of the residents in Mesa City while also attempting to control the HulkHulk (comics)The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
- his Hulk 'doll' even allows him to exert some slight influence over Bruce Banner, although Banner simply feels uncomfortable rather than falling under the Puppet Master's control - simultaneously causing the Hulk's true identity to be revealed, although even when the Hulk is in his natural state his sheer strength of will allowed him to eventually throw off Puppet-Master's influence. The only person he doesn't make a puppet of is his stepdaughter Alicia, which allows Bruce and RickRick Jones (comics)Richard Milhouse "Rick" Jones is a fictional comic book character in the .-Publication history:Rick Jones first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1, as a sidekick to the Incredible Hulk...
to track him down, Rick subsequently using the Puppet Master's equipment to erase all memory of the Hulk's true identity prior to its destruction. - The Puppet Master appeared in the Fantastic FourFantastic Four (1994 TV series)Fantastic Four is the third animated television series based on Marvel's comic book series of the same name. Airing began on September 24, 1994, until ending on February 24, 1996...
TV series voiced by Neil RossNeil RossTheodoric Neilson "Neil" Ross is an English voice actor and announcer, born in London, England and now resident and working in Los Angeles, in the United States. He has provided voices for in many American cartoons, particularly those based on Hasbro products and Marvel Comics, and numerous...
. Unlike the comic version, this Puppet Master despised Alicia, treating as a burden and a pawn to be used against the Fantastic Four. He took control of the Thing and used him to capture Invisible Woman. Mister Fantastic freed the Thing from his control and defeated the Puppet Master. Upon returning to his apartment to reclaim his final doll, he ended up in a fight with Alicia, and then he apparently fell to his death from the apartment window. The Fantastic Four weren't able to find his body and claimed that he "vanished from Earth." - The Puppet Master appears in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes TV series voiced by Alvin SandersAlvin SandersAlvin Sanders is an actor, now residing in Vancouver, BC. He currently sits on the Union of BC Performers' executive board.-Anime Roles:* Darkstalkers - Jon Talbain* Dragon Ball Z - Mr Popo, Additional Voices...
. As is the case with Alicia, the Puppet Master is African-American in this series. Debuting in the episode "Puppet Master", he was a sculptor whose clay was hit from a fragment of the same space station where the Fantastic Four were in when they got their powers. After touching his clay, he discovered he can manipulate the person of whoever he sculpts, resulting in him taking over the Thing and kidnapping the award-winning artists and Alicia. When the other Fantastic Four members arrived, the Puppet Master sculpted the Human Torch and took control of him until Alicia broke the sculptures and the Puppet Master is jailed. However, the ending hints at him escaping, as he disguised some clay as a pair of sunglasses. In the episode "Strings", he had manipulated his guards into bringing him enough of his clay to control all of the city officials, allowing him to have the FF evicted and turned into wanted criminals. He ultimate goal was to have Reed Richards enhance his powers, but he was foiled. In the final scene, while locked up in the VaultVault (comics)The Vault is the widely used nickname of a fictional defunct prison facility for technological-based superhuman criminals in Marvel Comics' Marvel Universe. The prison's full official name is the United States Maximum Security Installation for the Incarceration of Superhuman Criminals.It first...
, he removes some clay from under his false teeth, only for Invisible Woman to appear and take it from him.
Film
- In the extended edition of the Fantastic FourFantastic Four (film)Fantastic Four is a 2005 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics comic Fantastic Four. It was directed by Tim Story, and released by 20th Century Fox. It is the second live-action Fantastic Four film to be filmed. The previous attempt, a B-movie produced by Roger Corman only for the...
DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, the Thing notices puppets in a scene with Alicia Masters at her art gallery. She says they belong to her father.
Video game
- The Puppet Master appeared in the 2005 Fantastic FourFantastic Four (video game)Fantastic 4 is an beat 'em up action-adventure video game based on the Fantastic Four film. Players play as the characters of the Fantastic Four using combos and special attacks to fight their way through hordes of enemies and bosses....
video game voiced by James C. Mathis IIIJames C. Mathis IIIJames C. Mathis III is an American voice actor who is most notable for providing the English voice of Sigint in the English version of the video game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and the voices of Black Panther, Bulldozer and King Cobra in the animated television show The Avengers: Earth's...
. Although you do not fight him directly, he sends several exhibits at a museum (ex. mummies and dinosaurs) after you to protect Alicia. In the end, after the heroes destroyed the statue of Horus, he escapes to the back door. His last line is "Next time, fantastic fools, the Puppet Master will not fail." The heroes aren't aware that he was responsible for the disaster, believing it instead to be a side-effect of the cosmic rays that gave them their powers. In the instruction booklet that comes with the game, The Puppet Master's bio is given, explaining that he uses radioactive clay to control whoever he chooses. This is probably how he made the exhibits in the museum come to life and attack the Fantastic Four.
External links
- Puppet Master at Marvel.com