Spymaster
Real name: Despite a long, distinguished career as a successful industrial saboteur and assassin, Spymaster managed to die without letting anyone know his real name.
First appearance: Iron Man 33
Died in: Iron Man 220, at the hands of fellow saboteur The Ghost. A nasty and inglorious death for a guy who had been giving Iron Man fits since Marvel's Silver Age.
What's His Problem? He was pretty cocky, but Spymaster had no deep psychological hang-ups or hidden agendas. He was very proficient at uncovering info, ruthless when it came to exterminating industrial pests, and sold his not-inconsiderable talents to the highest bidder. Whether it was crime cartel leader Madame Masque, the subversive organization A.I.M. or the U.S. government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. made no difference to him. Simple as that!
Abilities: A superb hand-to-hand combatant, Spymaster was probably on a par with Bullseye when it came to improvising with weapons. He also had an arsenal of high-tech gadgets which he really enjoyed playing with; his admiration of one of the Ghost's gizmos was a contributing factor to his death. He was a master of disguise, a quality actor, and even successfully impersonated Tony Stark on both his first and his final missions. And he had a sense of humor, which is pretty rare among bad guys!
Favorite quote: "I, uh, don't suppose it'd help if I, er, said...'I give up'? Huh?" (Iron Man 117, when the usually unflappable Spymaster was about to get utterly creamed by his nemesis. And, no; it didn't help!)
Heroes He Kept Running Into: Spymaster didn't balk at facing Iron Man, but he must've asked for hazard pay. He also clashed with DareDevil once, an encounter that made him decide to stick to industrial espionage.
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: Spymaster was well-respected by most of his employers (not a lot of bad guys can say that!), which included Madame Masque and the nefarious Roxxon corporation. S.H.I.E.L.D. was less happy when he worked for them. Hard to tell if he had any friends as such, though.
Most Despicable Act: The destruction of Tony Stark's L.M.D. (Life Model Decoy) in Iron Man 117, mostly because it was supposed to be Tony Stark himself that bit the big one, not his android double. Spymaster also performed kidnappings (including that of Bethany Cabe), assassinations, and industrial acts of sabotage too numerous to mention.
Who Was That Spymaster I Saw You With Last Night? As hard as it is to believe, someone calling himself Spymaster has showed up on Justin Hammer's payroll, appearing in Iron Man and Silver Sable. (Like Sable said when she caught sight of him: "Spymaster!? Didn't have sense enough to stay dead?") Is it the same guy? Did Spymaster somehow manage to pull himself back together after having his molecules disrupted by a wall? Nope, not this time! For once, it's not the same guy, just a very successful graduate of the Taskmaster's criminal academy assuming an already established (and conveniently vacant) identity!
Spymaster Mug Shots!
Iron Man 117 - 1978 Iron Man 210 - 1986 Iron Man 220 - 1987
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