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Controller (Basil Sandhurst) is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in the Marvel Universe. He specializes in mind control, and is a frequent foe of Iron Man.
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Fictional character biography
Basil Sandhurst was born in Kittery Point, Maine. Sandhurst worked as an electro-mechanical/chemical research scientist. His obsession with control brought his downfall as a scientist when his refusal to obey ethical restraints got him banned from most research facilities. Sandhurst was prone to fits of rage, and in an attempt to calm him, his brother Vincent inadvertently triggered a lab explosion, crippling Basil. Vincent, guilt-ridden, outfitted Basil with an automated lab, in which Basil bonded a super-strong exoskeleton to his body, powered by the cerebral energies from those around him using his slave discs. As the Controller, he planned to invade and enslave New York City, but Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D. Jasper Sitwell foiled his scheme and left Controller comatose.[1] The Controller eventually came out of his coma, and took over the Pinewood Sanitarium. He created an improved set of equipment, but was again defeated by Iron Man.[2] Months later, he was released from prison by the alien Thanos, who upgraded his technology. Thanos promised Controller rulership of Earth, and so he began enslaving dozens of operatives. He invaded Avengers Mansion, and defeated the Avengers and Captain Mar-Vell, and abducted Lou-Ann Savannah. The Controller's egotistical displays endangered Thanos's security, and when the Controller failed to defeat Thanos's enemy, Captain Marvel, the alien left him for dead.[3] The Controller went underground for years, upgrading via stolen Stark technology from Justin Hammer, and eventually enslaved a cult. He set the Blood Brothers against Iron Man and Daredevil. Iron Man defeated him and imprisoned him in a vat of experimental plastic, but escaped. Alongside one of the Blood Brothers, he fought Iron Man, but Iron Man defeated him once more and sentenced him to the Vault.[4] He eventually broke out of jail, only to be defeated by Iron Man, again. During the "Acts of Vengeance", the Controller escaped from the Vault, and at the behest of the Red Skull, he enslaved Namor the Sub-Mariner and set him against Captain America. He unsuccessfully attempted to control Loki at the behest of the Red Skull, and unsuccessfully attempted to aid the Red Skull against Magneto. He was ultimately defeated by Captain America.[5] Revived by the world-conquering Master, the Controller became the Master's pawn against the Avengers and Heroes for Hire. Abandoned after a later defeat, the Controller, in an ironic nod to his many hospitalizations, acquired his own clinic, where he influenced the wealthy to do his bidding. However, the Controller could not resist enslaving Tony Stark as well, leading to his latest defeat by Iron Man. Returned to The Raft, the Controller escaped with dozens of others but was recaptured during a clash with the U-Foes and Avengers.[6] The Hood has hired him as part of his criminal organization to take advantage of the split in the superhero community caused by the Superhuman Registration Act.
Powers and abilities
The Controller designed his armored exoskeleton which is micro-surgically attached to his body from head to toe, which grants him mobility, as well as superhuman strength (up to 1000 pounds) and endurance. He uses "slave discs" to control others, using the micro-circuitry in his helmet to drain cerebral energy from his victims to power his exoskeleton and magnify its strength (to as much as 50 tons) and duplicate his victim's abilities. He has limited psychokinetic and telepathic abilities, the ability to control the actions of any one person wearing one of his slave discs, and the ability to fire mental bolts of force from his helmet. He can psionically control "weak-willed" subjects even without his discs. He flies via boot-jets and has employed image inducers, stun mists, and other technology as needed.[7] The Controller originally used a mental wave absorbatron to convert cerebral energies for use by his exoskeleton, though this device was rendered obsolete after Thanos improved the Controller's equipment. The discs now increased his physical attributes in geometric progression to numbers of victims wearing slave discs, and he was able to control the actions of all persons wearing the slave discs. The Controller is a highly skilled chemist and mechanical engineer, with a college degree in chemistry and electrical and mechanical engineering.
Other versions
Earth X
Sandhurst was mentioned as having been one of the many who were killed when Osborn rose to power[8].
In other media
Television
The Controller appeared as a guest villain in the Iron Man Animated Series voiced by Jamie Horton. His slave discs were based on the Iron Man technology which allowed him to mentally control his armor in "Armor Wars" Part 1.
Bibliography
- Avengers Unplugged #5
- Avengers: Deathtrap: The Vault
- Captain America vol. 1 #365-367
- Captain Marvel vol. 1 #28-30
- Heroes for Hire vol. 1 #1-4
- Iron Man Annual #15
- Iron Man vol. 1 #12-13, 28, 88-89, 91, 225-226, 292-293
- Iron Man vol. 3 #12-13
- New Avengers #1-4
- Spider-Man: Breakout #1-5
- Web of Spider-Man#99-100
References
External links
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| Creators | Don Heck · Stan Lee · Larry Lieber · Jack Kirby |
| Supporting characters | Bethany Cabe · Rumiko Fujikawa · Happy Hogan · Edwin Jarvis · Pepper Potts · War Machine |
| Villains | Advanced Idea Mechanics · Blizzard · Blacklash · Boomerang · Controller · Count Nefaria · Crimson Dynamo · Dreadknight · Ghost · Hypnotia · Iron Man 2020 · Iron Monger · Justin Hammer · Living Laser · Madame Masque · Mandarin · M.O.D.O.K. · Radioactive Man · Roxxon Oil · Spymaster · Temugin · Titanium Man · Unicorn · Ultimo |
| Storylines | Armor Wars · Ultimate Iron Man |
| In other Media | The Marvel Superheroes (1966) · Iron Man (television, 1994) · Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal (1996) · The Invincible Iron Man (animated film, 2007) · Iron Man (film, 2008) · Iron Man (video game, 2008) |
| Miscellania | Alternate versions of Iron Man · Iron Man's armor · Avengers Mansion · Stark Tower |
