Korvac
Real Name: Michael Korvac
AKA: The Enemy
First Appearance: Giant-Size Defenders 3.
Died In: Avengers 177. Korvac was sorta resurrected in a storyline concluded in Guardians of the Galaxy Annual 1, but it's for the best if you forget about it. Really, it is.
What's His Problem? When the alien Badoon conquered Earth in the 31st century, ambitious computer technician Michael Korvac offered his services to the invaders. An obsessive worker, Korvac collapsed at his post. His superiors punished him by amputating his lower body and grafting a hovering computer module onto him at the waist. The vengeful Korvac mastered his new form quickly and killed his supervisors, absorbing all the information available from the Badoon networks. Later, Korvac absorbed knowledge and power on a cosmic scale from the Elder of the Universe known as the Grandmaster, and set his sights on interplanetary conquest. Opposed by his native timeline's Guardians of the Galaxy, Korvac fled to the twentieth century, absorbing more power and knowledge from the worldship of Galactus until he became like unto a god. When he obtained this state, Michael set his sights on covert, benevolent mastery of the universe.
Powers: As a cyborg, Korvac's computer console enabled him to analyze and synthesize almost any form of energy; it could also store and process virtually infinite amounts of information. After absorbing the knowledge and power of the Badoon, the Grandmaster and Galactus's worldship, Korvac became a cosmic being with virtually unlimited powers over matter and energy. Among the least of his feats was the restructuring of his cyborg body into an idealized human form. His extrasensory awareness extended throughout known space and across dimensions, while his powers could affect anything within the range of his senses. Korvac was even capable of reviving the recently dead, as he once did with most of the Avengers.
Favorite quote: "You are all particularly admirable insects!" (Avengers 177. When the Avengers discovered Korvac's covert plan for benevolent mastery of the universe, he promptly, albeit regretfully, slaughtered them. The above line is uttered as Korvac slays Martinex, Captain Marvel and Black Panther in rapid succession.)
Heroes He Kept Running Into: Korvac cut his teeth on the Defenders, then became a recurring adversary of the Guardians of the Galaxy. His greatest foes proved to be the Avengers, the mortals who challenged his quest for universal power.
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: The Collector's daughter, Carina, was sent to spy on Korvac but fell madly in love with him. She came to believe fervently in his vision of universal peace through benevolent central rulership. His savagery in destroying the Avengers caused Carina's faith in him to waver. Crushed by her disillusionment and the realization that his quest for universal domination would probably be fraught with such carnage, Korvac killed himself. The telepath Moondragon read Michael's mind at the beginning of the confrontation and refused to join in the fight, regarding his intentions as truly noble despite his methods. Even the other Avengers later expressed a grudging admiration for Korvac as one of their most complex, most powerful and most tragic foes.
Most Despicable Act: When Carina revealed that she'd been sent to spy on Korvac by her father, Michael cold-bloodedly murdered the Collector before the Avengers' eyes. As he said to Carina, his hand still smoking from the killing blast: "You are now an orphan, Carina...my love." Yow! Cold as ice and scary as hell, especially to a kid reading this back in the 70s!
by Sean McQuaid
Editor's Note: The journey of Korvac from futuristic galactic terrorist to benevolent cosmic entity is one of the most unique sagas ever to come out of Marvel. It runs through Avengers 168-177, with a nice preview of sorts in Thor Annual 6. Read it! --Jeanne
Back to the Threats on a Cosmic Scale page
Back to the Bad Guys page
