Egghead (Marvel Comics)

Egghead is the name of two fictional villains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The original first appeared in Tales to Astonish #38 and was created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Larry Lieber.

The second first appeared in Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1 and was created by Paul Cornell and Mark Brooks.

Fictional character biography

Elihas Starr

Elihas Starr was born in Queens, New York. A gifted government research atomic scientist with an egg-shaped head, Starr was dismissed for espionage and resolved to use his intellect as a criminal mastermind. He was dealt a humiliating initial defeat by Ant-Man (Hank Pym) when he created a device to communicate with ants and tried to convince them to betray Ant-Man by leading him into a fly paper trap. Ant-Man tricked him into thinking the ants had betrayed him before revealing that the ants were his friends and would never turn against him.^[1] Egghead later captured the Wasp to try luring Hank into a trap involving several creatures, including an iguana and an anteater, but this failed.^[2] Egghead divided his remaining years between attempted world conquest and seeking revenge on Pym, often hiding out in the Bowery section of Manhattan in between.^[3]

Egghead allied with the Mad Thinker and the Puppet Master in a plot to use a laser satellite to blackmail the United States government.^[4] He caused the death of Barney Barton, brother of Hawkeye, who was aiding the Avengers,^[5] hired the Swordsman to kidnap Henry Pym, and battled Clint Barton who had recently adopted Pym's previous identity of Goliath.^[6]

Egghead later kidnapped his niece, Trish Starr, in order to test a device which allowed him to steal other people's intelligence, and wound up battling Henry Pym, as Ant-Man again.^[7] He would later cause her car to explode, causing her to lose an arm.^[8] He then formed the Emissaries of Evil in an attempt to gain possession of the mystic artifact the Eye of Capistan. This team consisted of the Rhino, Cobalt Man, and Solarr. Egghead and the Emissaries battled the Defenders.^[9] Egghead also fought Spider-Man on different occasions.

Egghead was obsessed with Hank Pym, and engineered his disgrace. Egghead approached Pym, who was operating as Yellowjacket at the time, with a prosthetic arm that he wished to give to Trish in order make amends for his previous deeds. After the arm was installed, Egghead informed Pym that the arm contained a bomb that would be detonated unless Pym complied with Egghead's commands. Egghead had Pym attempt to rob a national treasury of adamantium, and Pym was caught and arrested by the Avengers.^[10] With Pym apparently out of the way, Egghead then formed the third Masters of Evil as part of a plot against the Avengers.^[11]

Egghead then sent his Masters of Evil to kidnap Pym from his trial, making it appear as if Pym himself had staged his rescue. The attempt was successful, and Egghead instructed Pym to construct an anti-aging device. Subsequently, Pym goaded Egghead into letting him test the machine himself. However, the device turned out to be a weapon system, and he single-handedly defeated the assembled Masters. The Avengers arrived too late to be of assistance, but Hawkeye arrived at the laboratory in time to see the defeated Egghead about to shoot Hank in the back out of spite with his energy blaster. Hawkeye shot an arrow into Egghead's gun barrel. The gun misfired, causing an accidental explosion of the energy pistol which killed Egghead, ironically and inadvertently avenging the death of Hawkeye's brother by Egghead's hands years ago.^[12]

Arnim Zola later created a proto-husk of Egghead as part of his Corpse Corp. Deadpool fought and killed the Egghead proto-husk who then had a small bird pop out of his skull.^[13]

In Fall of the Hulks: Alpha, a flashback showed that Egghead was a member of Intelligencia.^[14]

Egghead later turns up alive where he was behind the A.I.Vengers that he had computer technician Raz Malhotra activate upon placing a neural override on him. Egghead's activities attracted the attention of Hank Pym (in his Giant-Man alias) and Ant-Man. After breaking free of the neural override, Raz shuts down the A.I.Vengers and Egghead is knocked out by Hank Pym.^[15]

Egghead is later hired by Darren Cross to work for Cross Technological Enterprises. To help Cross control his Pym Particle-related abilities, Egghead creates the Yellowjacket armor for him to wear.^[16]

Egghead later accompanies Yellowjacket and Crossfire into attacking Scott Lang at his trial.^[17]

Robot

A new Egghead appears as a member of the new Young Avengers.^[18] This version is a robot. Although his original programming was "to respect all human life," a female neo-Nazi named Big Zero (who seems to have a relationship with this Egghead) has reprogrammed him to hate several minorities.^[19]

Egghead was later recruited by the villain Zodiac (who was the benefactor of the Young Masters) to join his army.^[20]

In the pages of Avengers Undercover, Egghead was with the Young Masters when they are seen in Bagalia as members of the Masters of Evil.^[21]

Powers and abilities

Although he had no superhuman powers of his own, Egghead's incredible genius intellect made him a formidable foe. He was particularly skilled in the fields of robotics and engineering, and could absorb new ideas and knowledge at a seemingly superhuman rate. He had a degree in atomic science, and extensive knowledge in a wide variety of scientific and technological disciplines. Starr designed a wide variety of sophisticated weapons and technological paraphernalia.

As of Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1, Egghead II's powers have not been fully revealed. He has so far demonstrated the ability to fly and the power to phase his hand through a person's skull.

In other media

Newspaper comic strips

Beginning in July 2016 and finishing in November of that year, the The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip by Stan Lee, Larry Leiber, and Alex Saviuk featured a storyline involving the Elihas Starr Egghead, in which he becomes the 51% owner of the Daily Bugle, having married J. Jonah Jameson's estranged sister without JJJ's knowledge and inherited her share upon her death.

Television

• Egghead appeared in The Avengers: United They Stand, voiced by Robert Latimer. In the episode "Egg-Stream Vengeance", a disguised long-legged clown (Egghead) tampered with Hank Pym's "Pym Particles" at a Thanksgiving Day Parade, blowing special bubbles while Pym was fighting a brought to life dinosaur float. When he arrives at Avengers Mansion with the press, Egghead used a countermeasure to restore Giant-Man's rightful height but later caused Pym to shrink. While the Wasp stays behind to watch over Ant-Man, the other Avengers hunt Egghead. After the Scarlet Witch deactivated the security system around Egghead's house, the other Avengers managed to apprehend Egghead and bring him to Avengers Mansion. When Ant-Man was cured by the Wasp, Egghead was sprayed his own serum with half-life Pym Particles that will leave him small for a few hours. Hawkeye manages to trap Egghead in a jar and give him to the arriving police officers as the Scarlet Witch gives them Egghead's recorded confession.
• Egghead appears in The Super Hero Squad Show, voiced by Wayne Knight.^[22] In the episode "This Forest Green", Doctor Doom assigns Egghead to help get into the Helicarrier in Egghead's shrinking pod after MODOK and Abomination botched up the recent Infinity Fractal retrieval. In the episode "Election of Evil", Egghead runs in the election against the Mayor of Super Hero City and wins using a mind-control device hidden in his tie. He then sets up rules that end up causing problems for the superheroes. Doctor Doom tells Egghead to work on the bills that will unlock the gate to Villainville only to be defeated by Wolverine. In the episode "Too Many Wolverines", Egghead has been using Doctor Doom's abandoned base to make clones of Wolverine and sending them into the city. He tried to abduct Reptil and Firestar's science teacher Professor Wyndham (who was also an expert on DNA) only to be thwarted in this attempt by Reptil and Firestar. Upon being joined by Wolverine, Reptil and Firestar find Egghead's hideout and fight the mutated clones of Wolverine that Egghead unleashes on them. After Reptil and Firestar hit a button that destroys Wolverine's clones, they help Wolverine apprehend Egghead.
• Egghead appears in Avengers Assemble, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. In the episode "Spectrums," it was mentioned that Egghead was among the villains that Scott Lang sold some technology to. In the episode "Ant-Man Makes It Big," Elihas Starr is depicted as a disgruntled prop master who was fired because the props he made were too dangerous. Also, Elihas considered Egghead to be an insult. Ant-Man, Black Widow, and Hawkeye stumble onto his plot to disrupt the production of "Human Ant and the Revengers" with sentient robot suits and sentient Lava Men Suits. At an abandoned studio where his checks were sent to, Egghead fought Ant-Man, Black Widow, and Hawkeye inside an egg-shaped exo-suit with chicken head-shaped hands while also deploying the autopilot versions all over Los Angeles. With help from Black Widow, Ant-Man got into the exo-suit and defeated Egghead enough to deactivate the autopilot exo-suits. Egghead is then arrested by the police.

Film

• Elihas Starr appears in Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher, voiced by Hiroki Tōchi in the Japanese version and by Grant George in the English dub. In the film, he is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist and love interest of Black Widow who was working in a project called "Leviathan". He managed to create an army of brainwashed super-soldiers by using the blood of a few members of the Avengers.

Video games

• Egghead is a playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers.

References

External links

• Egghead (Elihas Starr) at Marvel.com
• Egghead (Elihas Starr) at Marvel Wiki
• Egghead (robot) at Marvel Wiki
• Egghead (Elihas Starr at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Egghead (Elihas Starr) Alphanex Entry on AlphaFlight.Net