Controller (Marvel Comics)

Controller first appeared in Iron Man #12 and was created by Archie Goodwin and George Tuska.[2]

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.[3] As the Controller, he planned to invade and enslave New York City, but Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell foiled his scheme and left the Controller comatose.[4][5] 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.[6]

Months later, he was released from prison by the alien Thanos, who upgraded his technology. Thanos promised the 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.[7] The Controller went underground for years, upgrading via Stark technology stolen 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 he escaped. Alongside one of the Blood Brothers, he fought Iron Man, but Iron Man defeated him once more and he was confined to the prison for supervillains called the Vault.[8] 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.[9]

Revived by the world-conquering Master of the World, 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.[10]

During the "Secret Invasion" storyline, the Hood has hired him as part of his criminal organization to take advantage of the split in the superhero community caused by the Super-Human Registration Act. He appears as part of the Hood's alliance with super-powered heroes; the grouping is intent on defeating the Skrull invasion force of New York City.[11]

Maria Hill found the Controller holed up in the basement of a Futurepharm facility in Austin, Texas, while on orders from Tony Stark.[12] He had been abducting members of the local populace for months to bolster a new army and attempted to brainwash Hill as well. However, she resisted his efforts and freed his drones, sabotaging the entire operation.[13]

The Controller gave White Fang a new suit so that she could kill the Hood.[14]

The Controller later appears in Boston, assembling major crime families in an Italian restaurant. When the Avengers invade the restaurant, the Controller uses his control discs on the criminals as well as Captain America and the Wasp but he is defeated by Thor. After the Avengers defeat the first wave of Leviathon monsters, the Controller tries to put a control disc on Thor but he is stopped by Hercules.[15]

The Controller designed his armored exoskeleton, which is micro-surgically attached to his body from head to toe and grants him mobility, as well as superhuman strength 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 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.[16]

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 increase 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 discs.

The Controller is a highly skilled chemist and mechanical engineer, with a college degree in chemistry and electrical and mechanical engineering.

In the Earth X reality, Sandhurst was mentioned as one of the many who were killed when Norman Osborn rose to power.[17]

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