ARGUS

Real Name: Brian Argus

Identity/Class: Human with conventional weaponry

Occupation: Weapons dealer

Group Membership: Leader of Terror Alliance

Affiliations: Ryohei Hashioka, Luther Mannheim

Enemies: Clive Reston, Shang-Chi, Black Jack Tarr, Leiko Wu

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Probably prison; formerly an unnamed island outside of Hong Kong, China

First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents I#4 (October, 1988)

Powers: None. Argus is a skilled fighter and in excellent physical condition for his age. He is skilled with most forms of conventional weaponry. He is missing his right hand, but wears a prosthetic metal claw. Argus is a skilled strategist.

History: The man known only as Argus is an extremist reactionary American. He retained hostility over the indecisive Vietnam conflict and the hostage situation in Iran. He felt that America was weak in its stance against terrorism, and that the only way to force congress to consent to more aggressive action was to force it to. To this end, he formed the Terror Alliance, which performed numerous real acts of terrorism to force the American government to recognize the threat and treat it more aggressively. He employed the german scientist, Luther Mannheim to develop a poison which he could use to kill large groups of people with impunity. The poison he developed was indetectable, but could take as long as one year to have its effects.

The British organization known as Freelance Restorations vowed to stop his madness. They re-recruited Shang-Chi to assist them. When he learned of this, Argus had Leiko Wu, the former lover of Shang-Chi kidnapped. Argus tortured Leiko in an effort to learn what Freelance Restorations knew about him. When she refused to give him any information, he cut off her left hand and sent it back to Freelance as a warning not to interfere with his plans.

This, of course, only spurred them to further action, and they managed to track down Argus by going through his contacts and customers. When confronted by Shang-Chi, he doused both Shang and Hashioka with the poison. As it had no immediate effects, Shang attacked and savagely beat Argus. He was presumably arrested by either the British or Chinese military.

(Master of Kung Fu: Bleeding Black - BTS) - Physicians told Shang-Chi the poison thrown by Argus could kill him within months or a year.

Comments: Created by Doug Moench and Tom Grindberg

Shang-Chi was cured of the effects of the poison in a later story. Mannheim may or may not have died. Who knows if a year of "marvel time" has even passed since this story.

In Master of Kung Fu: Bleeding Black (1990) Shang-Chi

The first names of Argus and Mannheim were revealed in Marvel Atlas#1.