ENCLAVE

Membership: Carlo Zota, unidentified others;
formerly Dr. Jerome Hamilton, Phineas T. Horton, Maris Morlak, Prof. Wladyslav Shinski

Purpose: Using technology to create a benevolent world dictatorship under their rule, abolishing war, crime, and illness;
    creation of a perfect artificial life form (to facilitate the above)

Affiliations: Ayesha/Kismet, Adam Warlock/Him, unidentified new female Warlock ("Warlock Delta") (creations);
    formerly Isabel Aguirre, A.I.M., the Alpha Primitives, Android Man, Ted Barry, Carol Carson, Gordon Clay, Daniel Damian, Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom), Ferret (Leslie Lenrow), Professor Phineas Horton, HYDRA, Jomo Kimaine, Maisie Leeds, Farisa Mansour, Alicia Masters, Maximus, Monocle, "Monks of Doom," Paragon, Phaeder and/or Maelstrom, the Remote, Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd), Harry Soong, the Tinkerer (Phineas Mason), several armies of armed mercenary guards;
formerly Thunderer (Jerry Carstairs)

Enemies: Avengers, Fantastic Four, Derek Freeman, Genoshan government and magistrates (Anderson), Green Terror and his squad, Inhumans, Khatylis, Maximus, Monocle, Paragon, Spider-Man, Thunderbolts (Atlas, Citizen V, Mach-1, Meteorite, Songbird, Techno), Thunderer (Jerry Carstairs), Adam Warlock, unidentified new female Warlock ("Warlock Delta");
    formerly Paragon/Her

Aliases: Scientists Guild, Three X's

Base of Operations: Unidentified hidden base in the icy wastes;
    formerly Beehive, Costa Perdita, South America;
    formerly Genosha;
    formerly a building in South Bronx;
    formerly mobile throughout space;
    formerly a base in the American Midwest;
    formerly prison;
    formerly Attilan, the Blue Area of the Moon;
    formerly an undisclosed remote location in Europe;
    formerly the Citadel of Science/Beehive, on a rocky plateau on a small island in the North Atlantic Ocean;
   formerly the Three X's secret sanctum in New York City

First Appearance: (Scientists Guild) Marvel Comics#1/1 (October, 1939);
   (Three X's) Mystic Comics I#1/4 (March, 1940);
   (Hamilton--face covered and unidentified) Fantastic Four I#65 (August, 1967);
   (all four, seen and named, as heads of the Citadel of Science) Fantastic Four I#66 (September, 1967);
   (Enclave named) Fantastic Four I#207 (June, 1979);
   (Crucible) Fantastic Four III#3 (March, 1998)

History:
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#6: Maelstrom (fb) - BTS) - Wladyslav Shinski gained information and/or technology from the Inhuman Phaeder and/or his son, Maelstrom, who hoped to reap the benefits of his (and others to whom they provided knowledge) research.

(X-Factor Annual I#3/3 - BTS) - Shinski trained the young Arnim Zola in genetics, and the pair attended a science symposium on September 21st, 1928 (see comments), where Shinski was the keynote speaker. Shinski discouraged the potentially dangerous work of a young Herbert Wyndham (later the High Evolutionary).

(Marvel Comics#1 (fb) - BTS) <1939> - After the press alerted the public of the Human Torch's existence the Scientists Guild was contacted.

(Marvel Comics#1) - They called the Torch's creator Phineas Horton and arranged a meeting to see the Torch at 8 that night.

(Marvel Comics#1/Marvel Comics#1000/1 (fb)) - Hamilton, Morlak and Zota arrived on time at Horton's lab at the behalf of the Scientists Guild to investigate the Human Torch. Hamilton watched as Horton fed air into the Human Torch's tank, activating the android's flame powers.

(Marvel Comics#1) - Shocked by the immense heat created by the android's flames and Horton's lack of control over it, the Scientists Guild suggested to destroy or entomb the robot in a concrete block. Horton agreed to do the latter in hope to find a solution for the android's flaw.

(Marvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special#1) - Phineas Horton became a member of the Scientists Guild.

(Marvel Comics#1000/2 (fb) - BTS) - The Scientists Guild reinvented themselves as the crime-busting team known as the Three X's.

(Mystic Comics I#1/1/Marvel Comics#1000/2 (fb)) - Hamilton as 1X served as the group's detective and leader. Zota as 2X served as the groups living encyclopedia. Morlak as 3X served as the group's muscle.

(Mystic Comics I#1/1) - Ted Barry and Carol Carson went to the police after Ted's fiancée Maisie Leeds had been kidnapped by the Green Terror's men. The Three X's had already been called in to investigate the series of kidnappings. One of Green Terror's men observed the Three X's with the police commissioner. 1X gave 2X a glove that had been found on the crime scene. 1X promised Ted Barry that they would find Maisie.

   2X found pollen on the glove from a rare South African orchid. Moments later the Three X's were attacked by the Green Terror's men, who retrieved the glove. 1X and 2X were knocked out while 3X was left dizzy on his knees.

   The Three X's found out that the kidnappings started after a South African ship arrived in New York City. They boarded the S.S. Caribou, followed by Carol and Ted, and got captured by the Green Terror's men, which was actually part of 1X's plan. They were brought before the Green Terror, who planned to drain rich, healthy Americans of their blood and feast on it to enhance his own lifespan. The Three X's quickly took care of the situation. While 1X knocked out the S.S. Caribou's captain, who was working with the Green Terror. 2X pulled out his disintegrating gun to keep Green Terror's henchmen at bay after shooting one of them. At the same time 3X knocked out Green Terror. Maisie was saved while the Green Terror and his men were arrested.

   Three days later the Three X's were back in New York City and the commissioner thanked them for ridding the world of the Green Terror, who was sentenced to death on the electric chair.

(Marvel Comics#1000/2 (fb)) <1940> - The Three X's visited private investigator Ferret (Leslie Lenrow) and asked him to hand over the mask he had worn while working as the Operative. He gave them the mask unaware of the Eternity Mask's true powers.

(Marvel Comics#1000/3 (fb)) <1941> - The Scientists Guild used magic and the Eternity Mask to empower Jerry Carstairs for the government as part of Project: Thunderer.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4: Enclave (fb) - BTS) - The Enclave was founded several years ago by four scientists -- Hamilton, Morlak, Shinski, and Zota -- each of whom had a different area of expertise. They met at a world convention of scientists, discovered their mutual world-view, and decided to pool their resources to create an independent scientific community.

(Marvel Comics#1000/8 (fb) - BTS) - The Scientists Guild influenced and bankrolled Horton to create Adam-II and supplied the programming for the synthezoid. Adam-II ended up killing Captain America (William Nasland). The Thunderer quit the Scientists Guild over this and kept the Eternity Mask. He vowed to take them down if they ever came after him to get back the mask.

(Marvel Comics#1000/4 (fb)) - The Three X's aka. Scientists Guild vanished from the public eye.

(Fantastic Four I#66 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4 (fb) - BTS) - Over the course of a year, each scientist faked his own death and then rendezvoused with the others on a small island -- Hamilton had learned of this island from his friend Daniel Damian, and the ruins of a technologically advanced stronghold believed to have been an abandoned Deviant outpost. The four used the ruins there to create their own Citadel of Science, named the Beehive.

(Marvel Comics#1000/12 (fb) - BTS) - The Scientists Guild killed the Thunderer to regain the Eternity Mask from him, but the Thunderer knew it would never work for them due to their megalomaniacal goals.

(Fantastic Four I#66 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4 (fb) - BTS) - After about a decade of work, the immense Beehive was fully operational, and it was one of the foremost scientific research facilities on Earth. Working together, and using technology from the ruins, they created a number of breakthroughs, including anti-gravity transmitters, molecular bond severing blades, a vacuum car rail-system, and a teleportation machine with a 2000 mile range (the Transfer Grid).

(Marvel Comics#1000/20 (fb)) - Morlak considered the Eternity Mask a disappointment, but Hamilton realized that it didn't work for them because they planned to rule the world and not to fight those like the Thunderer. The Three X's accepted Shinski's ideas to create a race of perfect humans and rechristened themselves the Enclave.

(Fantastic Four I#66 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4 (fb) - BTS) - Their first project upon which they pinned their hopes was to create a vastly powerful new race of human beings under their control to subjugate the rest of humanity. For another decade, the four scientists labored, eventually creating a single embryonic creature.

(Fantastic Four I#66 (fb)) - The scientists nurtured the creature, but as it neared maturity, it broke free from its containment chamber and fled deep into the chamber known as Lock 41. When they tried to recapture (or even approach) it, it drove them away with powerful energy blasts.
    Desperate to learn what their creation looked like (known only as "Him", the creature radiated blinding light that made it impossible to visualize), they came upon the idea of using the renown blind sculptress, Alicia Masters, to make a bust of Him.

(Fantastic Four I#65) - Hamilton used the Transfer Grid to enter Alicia's apartment, and convinced her to join him willingly.

(Fantastic Four I#66) - Arriving in the Beehive, Hamilton introduced Alicia to the others and explained their purpose. Soon after, against the wishes of the others, Hamilton joined Alicia as they entered Lock 41. Him radiated powerful energy in an effort to drive them back.

(Fantastic Four I#67 / Incredible Hulk Annual I#6 (fb)) - As Him fired on the two with an energy burst, Hamilton returned fire with his automatic pistol, to no avail. Him then created tendrils to bind Hamilton, allowing only Alicia to approach his cocoon. Fearing the worst, the other three scientists prepared to use their anti-gravity transmitter to beam Him into space if he threatened them. As Alicia found Him, ready to emerge from his cocoon, Hamilton broke free and attempted to kill Him, believing him to be a failed experiment and a threat to all life on Earth. In response, Him lashed out and slew Hamilton. Just minutes before, however, Reed Richards managed to complete a replica of Hamilton's teleportation bracelet (after using the Heat-Image Tracer to get a close-up photo of the device), and he led the Thing and the Torch to the Beehive via the Transfer Grid. They found Alicia and led her to escape with them back through the Grid.
    Shinski then activated their fail-safe device, but to no avail, as Him had neutralized it. Recognizing the danger his creators posed, Him left, nearly destroying the Beehive in the process.

(Marvel Comics#1000/29) - Hamilton survived, but was left blind. He found the Eternity Mask in the destroyed base and vowed to take revenge on the Enclave.

(Defenders VI#1 (fb) - BTS) - Hamilton started a war against the Enclave as Blind Justice.

(Marvel Comics#1000/41) - Blind Justice single-handedly destroyed an Enclave outpost in the Yukon Territory in Canada. Weapon Alpha (Hudson) was sent in to take down the outpost and ran afoul of Blind Justice, who believed him to be an Enclave operative. Blind Justice shot Weapon Alpha with an electric gun, which short-circuited Weapon Alpha's suit. Blind Justice escaped.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4 (fb) - BTS) - Morlak, Shinski, and Zota survived and began the process of rebuilding the Beehive, though they had lost most of their mercenaries in the process.

(Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comic Magazine#1) - The Enclave, now working for Dr. Doom, led a contingent of Doom's Servo-Guards to raid the Baxter Building while the Fantastic Four was away. While the Guards and others retrieved Doom's stolen technology (such as the Time Machine), Zota rebuilt and reprogrammed the Android Man. Soon after they left, the FF returned and were attacked by the Android Man, but they destroyed it.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4 (fb) - BTS) - Having completed the rebuilding of the Beehive, they attempted to improve upon their first major experiment, this time hoping to better control the being.

(Incredible Hulk Annual I#6) - The Enclave enlisted Dr. Stephen Strange (formerly a neurosurgeon, you recall, of course) to operate a remote device to perform brain surgery on their newest creation, to ensure it would obey them. However, while Strange worked with them willingly, he did summon the Hulk for back-up. After the creature (called "Paragon") emerged from gestation, they decided to test its control by having it slay Strange. The Hulk arrived and fought Paragon, and during their struggle--despite the Enclave's precautions--Paragon regained control of its own mind and released sufficient energies to sink the Beehive beneath the ocean.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4 (fb) - BTS) - Surviving the flooding, the three Enclave members fled to mainland Europe and established a new temporary headquarters. Acquiring funds by selling inventions to HYDRA, the Enclave helped finance Security College, an institution advertised to provide the progeny of ambassadors, politicians, and business tycoons with a secure collegiate environment. In reality, the Enclave sought to use the students to acquire classified industrial, political, and military information. They hired the Monocle, who could mass hypnotize the students, to run the College, while they remained in Europe.
    At the same time, the Enclave learned of the existence of Attilan, the Himalayan home of the genetically advanced Inhumans, and decided to conquer them and plunder their technology.

(Fantastic Four I#240 (fb) - BTS) - Using a variation of their teleportation machine, the Enclave managed to capture and imprison the Inhuman Medusa.

(Fantastic Four I#240 (fb)- BTS / Avengers Annual I#12 (fb)) - The Enclave formed an alliance with Maximus, who sabotaged his own people's defense systems (in an effort to destroy his brother Black Bolt, even at the expense of Attilan), allowing the Enclave's hired mercenaries to launch their first attack on the Inhumans. In addition (fortuitously for the Enclave), around that same time, many of the Inhumans fell victim to a plague which turned out to be a sickness from Earth's pollution.

(Fantastic Four I#204 - BTS) - The Monocle duped the Human Torch into joining Security College, under the auspices of furthering his education.

(Fantastic Four I#207) - As the plans of Security College progressed, the Enclave decided that the project was too risky and might draw public attention, so they decided to terminate it. When the Monocle refused to abandon the project and allowed its true purposes to be discovered, the Enclave detonated the Monocle's escape shuttle, seemingly killing him.

(Fantastic Four I#239 - BTS) - The Enclave continued their attack on Attilan.

(Fantastic Four I#240 - BTS / Avengers Annual I#12 (fb2) / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#6 (fb) - BTS) - As only Black Bolt and Gorgon remained strong enough to fight, the Enclave saw their victory as assured and ordered the execution of Medusa. However, Maximus--unwilling to allow Medusa to die--betrayed the Enclave and turned their own weapons against them. Though they were forced to flee, they did manage to strike back at Maximus, their assault leaving him seemingly dead. Most of the Enclave's mercenary soldiers were taken captive.

(Avengers Annual I#12 (fb)) - Having survived in a nearly comatose state, Maximus revived and contacted the Enclave once more, this time offering to help them attack Attilan's new location, in the Blue Area of the Moon.

(Avengers Annual I#12) - Maximus possessed the body of Black Bolt and permitted Morlak and Zota (Shinski being too infirm to make the trip) to infiltrate the Inhumans' land. Using the Alpha Primitives as worker drones, they launched a series of meteoroid attacks on Earth, designed to get Earth to retaliate against the Inhumans. The Avengers assisted in foiling the plot and exposing Maximus, who fled, unwittingly leading the Avengers and Inhumans right to Morlak and Zota, who were captured and imprisoned.

(Avengers I#262) - Over a period of months, Shinski acquired the resources to build a makeshift Transfer Grid, which he used to free Zota, and then Morlak. Shinski then showed them his next breakthrough.

(Avengers I#263) - Attempting to fly in secret out of JFK airport, the Enclave was discovered by the FBI, including Derek Freeman, and when they tried to escape, they skidded their plane right into the bay, dumping Shinski's project into the bottom of the bay. Investigation of the plane wreck led the Avengers to find what appeared to be yet another cocoon, but this turned out to be just coincidence, as it was actually the dormant Jean Grey, who had no connection to the Enclave.
    From a hospital bed, Shinski claimed that the tank they were carrying only contained certain chemical compounds, which would be rendered inert by the waters of the bay.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4 (fb) - BTS) - Following recovery from their injuries, the three Enclave members were sent to prison.

(Quasar#57 (fb)) - From the group known as AIM, the Enclave obtained both financial backing and an agent, Frank, to help assist them in their endeavors. In exchange, they were to capture Kismet (the same being who had been their earlier creation, Paragon) and turn her over to AIM. Shinski had a stroke and was confined to a bed and required intravenous therapy after suffering heart and lung damage. In a new base in the American Midwest, they rebuilt their Transfer Grid.

(Quasar#57) - Morlak and Zota used the Grid to travel to Project: PEGASUS and abduct a cocoon containing the healing form of Kismet. After removing Kismet from the cocoon, they placed it around Shinski, curing him of his ailments. While Shinski was overjoyed at seeing his only "daughter," Morlak and Zota planned to extract some of Kismet's DNA and inject themselves with it, in hopes of turning themselves into metahumans. Frank, however, assaulted Morlak and Zota, preventing them from betraying AIM as they had intended to do once gaining their powers. Kismet stopped Frank from killing Shinski, but Frank revealed himself to be an Adaptoid, and took on her powers as Paragon, a replica of her original form.
    As the two fought, Shinski infected and destroyed Paragon with a genetic virus, designed as a fail-safe should Kismet attack them. Kismet then made more cocoons to heal all three Enclave members, and decided to stay with them and nurture her "parents."

(Quasar#60) - Kismet refused an offer to join Quasar in space, preferring to instead stay with the Enclave. 

(Cosmic Powers Unlimited#2/1) - Some time after the defeat of Paragon, the three Enclave members were each transformed into powerful metahumans, as they had hoped. However, their advanced minds turned them away from their former plans of world conquest, though their desire to cure the ills of humanity remained -- while their opinions on how to go about this differed, they also found that they could not leave each other's immediate presence (within 10 meters), or suffer power loss and great pain.
    Testing their powers over the next few days, the trio proved themselves by stopping a dangerous tornado, saving dying patients, bringing rain to a drought region, curing deadly jungle diseases, disposing of nuclear waste, revitalizing rain forests, etc. However, they were unaware of the long-term effects of their actions, and several places suffered even worse fates from their over-compensations. Kismet tried to stop them, but their actions caused a volcano to erupt. With her aid, they averted the disaster, and they accepted her advice to learn more about their powers by investigating their source. She accompanied them out into space.

(Cosmic Powers Unlimited#2/2) - Kismet and the Enclave encountered the powerful being Khatylis in the midst of a battle with the Silver Surfer. Unwittingly attacking Khatylis, the three Enclavers were quickly destroyed by him. Kismet assaulted Khatylis, causing an interdimensional rift that nearly destroyed them all, but Khatylis healed the rift and restored the Enclave, Kismet, and the Surfer. Again they were all reminded of the damage they could cause by using their powers irresponsibly.

BTS - The Enclave's powers apparently faded and they returned to Earth.

(Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand (fb) - BTS) - Wanting to get their operations back up and running again, the Enclave hired the Tinkerer to reconstruct their Transfer Grid.

(Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand - BTS) - When Rick Mason, the Agent, fell victim to Carrion's zombie plague, the Tinkerer (Mason's father) tried to use the Grid to get to Shinski, in hopes that his genetics skills could cure Rick. Spider-Man stopped the Tinkerer, and instead they got help from the High Evolutionary.

(Spider-Man Team-Up#7 (fb) - BTS) - Fallen on hard times, the Enclave operated out of a building in the South Bronx, where they designed control chips, which they implanted in criminals and other dregs of society to use as drones. They also built a robot, the Remote, which they used to acquire (steal) needed technology from other companies.

(Spider-Man Team-Up#7) - The Remote killed a security guard in the process of looting Micron Labs, and its silhouette as it left made others think it was Spider-Man. This drew both Spider-Man and the Thunderbolts (who had not yet been outed as the former Masters of Evil) to investigate. The Thunderbolts fought the Remote and then followed it back to the Enclave, while Spider-Man followed the Thunderbolts. With their most recent components, the Enclave completed work on their Bio-Modem--a beam able to control the minds of others--and their Transfer Grid. When the heroes confronted them, they used their Bio-Modem to take control of their minds, but Spider-Man and Mach-1 managed to set-up interference to the Modem's power and they freed the others. The heroes then destroyed the Remote, and the members of the Enclave fled through the Grid, using its Omni-Retrieval function to take their equipment (including the Grid) with them.

(Fantastic Four III#12 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking for a way to jump-start their efforts to bio-engineer their master race, Morlak and Shinski came upon the idea of usurping the creative genius of Reed Richards -- presumably with the aid of Zota, they designed a device to do just this. Possibly hoping to pique Richards' interest, they traveled to the monastery of the Tibetan "Monks of Doom," the very sect that had constructed the armor of Victor von Doom. Slaughtering many of the monks, they enslaved the rest, and then had them forge a pair of suits of armor.

(Fantastic Four III#3) - Reporter Isabel Aguirre and photographer Gordon Clay traveled to the same monastery, to learn why a sect of peaceful monks would have involved themselves with a man such as Doom. They were surprised to find the monks slaughtered, and were even more surprised to find the armored form of Crucible (presumably Morlak).

(Fantastic Four III#4) - Piloted by a pair of Monks of Doom, Crucible forced Aguirre and Clay to join him in a flight to Europe. En route, he explained that he was the crucible from which would be formed a brave, new world.

(Fantastic Four III#5 (fb) - BTS) - Crucible transformed Aguirre and Clay into stone gargoyles in order to facilitate smuggling them through immigration.

(Fantastic Four III#5) - In Stockholm, Sweden, Crucible restored Aguirre and Clay to life, and coerced them into serving his will or live out their lives trapped as stone gargoyles. They agreed to "serve as his eyes and ears...using their skills to identify his enemies, and when necessary, destroy them."
    Shortly thereafter, Crucible attacked a scientific symposium, injuring all present. As intended, this drew him into a conflict with Reed Richards, and Crucible used a decoy device (thought to be a bomb) to drive away the Thing and their ally, Alyssa Moy. As he fought Richards, Crucible activated a device that drained Richards inventive genius, transferring it into himself; he then escaped unseen.

(Fantastic Four III#10 (fb) - BTS) - Morlak and Shinski relocated to Genosha, where they set up shop and began using the war-torn nation as a proving ground for their weapons and tactics. At the same time, they began gathering and experimenting on the Genoshan people, hoping to transform them into their master race.
    At some point, they captured Kismet and managed to brainwash her into serving them. Altering her appearance and powers, they renamed her Ayesha--She who must be Obeyed.

(Fantastic Four III#10 - BTS) - Seeking a means to oppose Crucible, and unwilling to take the risk that he'd say, "No," the Genoshan government sent the Press Gang, alongside the Trapster (Peter Petruski), to capture Reed Richards -- they did not know he had lost his inventive genius, but they successfully captured him nonetheless.

(Fantastic Four III#11) - The remaining members of the Fantastic Four traveled to Genosha in pursuit of Reed, but they were confronted and defeated by Ayesha. She brought them to Crucible, who swapped their minds with a trio of his Genoshan accomplices--Jomo Kimaine (Thing), Farisa Mansour (Invisible Woman), and Harry Soong (Human Torch). The three heroes--trapped in powerless bodies--escaped from Crucible's prison, but Soong's first attempt to use the Human Torch power resulted in a miniature nova-like explosion which destroyed the top several floors of a building and killed an unspecified number of civilians.

(Fantastic Four III#12) - The powerless heroes were reunited with Reed, and alongside Genoshan Chief Magistrate Anderson, they stormed Crucible's base. Ben, Johnny, and Sue fought their powered counterparts and reclaimed their bodies. Meanwhile, Reed entered the inner sanctum and discovered the human guinea pigs. Morlak revealed his face and confronted Richards, but began to crack under the stress of the continued influx of thoughts and ideas that came from Reed Richards' stolen genius.
    Just then, Shinski appeared, also wearing Crucible armor, and blasted Morlak, (supposedly) killing him -- Morlak (seemingly) died happy, grateful to be released from the torment of seeing the fate of the world. Shinski pronounced Morlak as unworthy of claiming the cosmos and of serving as the consort to Ayesha, and named himself as the true Crucible, with Morlak as just his lackey. However, Reed stunned Crucible, and he fled when the rest of the FF, having regained their powers, arrived. Crucible located Ayesha, who had been fighting Anderson and had seemingly won the battle. However, the magistrate surprised them both with a Black Hole Grenade, which generated a miniature event horizon, pulling the three of them into another dimension, and seemingly ending the threat of Crucible forever.

(Warlock IV#1 (fb) - BTS) - But both Shinski and Morlak somehow returned from their apparent ends (see comments), and they eventually rejoined with Zota to embark on their next project: The creation of a female Warlock ("Warlock Delta").

(Warlock IV#1-3 - BTS, 4) - The Enclave (Morlak, Shinski, Zota) posed as the motion picture company "Beehive Productions," hiring the young Danny as their intern, under the auspices of designing a new appearance for a female "Warlock" for a movie character. They created a powerful fail-safe program to better enable them to control her. However, Adam Warlock apparently sensed this new being in its developmental stages, and he uploaded a scenario into her which taught her a sense of right and wrong, allowing her to resist their control and escape.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Defenders VI#1 (fb) - BTS) - Hamilton continued his secret war against the Enclave. In the end only he and Zota were left.

(Marvel Comics#1000/84 (fb) - BTS) - Morlak and Shinski died. (see comments)

(Defenders VI#5 (fb) - BTS) - The Eternity Mask told Hamilton that he would pass it on the day before he died.

   Hamilton laid out a Masked Raider costume for Zota.

(Defenders VI#5 (fb)) - Zota, after killing his future self, arrived in the past to meet Hamilton, who had already prepared a costume for Zota. Hamilton knew that the Enclave was expecting him, but not the Masked Raider. Zota apologized for killing Hamilton in the future and didn't understand why Hamilton would give the Eternity Mask to him. Hamilton explained that Eternity had decided it, handed over the mask and was glad that he would finally destroy Zota that way. Zota was sure that he could prevent getting killed this time around (he was trapped in a time loop).

(Defenders VI#5 (ff) - BTS) - Blind Justice was killed by Zota from the present.

(Marvel Comics#1000/53 (fb) - BTS) - Zota used a chronal device that aged Hamilton rapidly by exposure to unstable "sliding time," which would make it impossible to determine if he was killed a day or ten years ago.

(Marvel Comics#1000/53) - Night Thrasher found Blind Justice's corpse, but the Eternity Mask was gone. He was sure that Blind Justice was killed after passing along the Eternity Mask voluntarily to someone else.

(Marvel Comics#1000/83) - The future Zota donned the Eternity Mask to become the Masked Raider and stop his past self.

(Marvel Comics#1000/84) - The current Zota led his new Enclave through the Adam-IV Project. He was informed that the Eternity Mask was back, but didn't care because he had already achieved his goal to activate Michael Korvac.

(Marvel Comics#1001/1) - The future version of Zota as the Masked Raider attacked an Enclave base.

(Marvel Comics#1001/30) - He found out that Korvac had apparently been activated.

(Iron Man VI#2 (fb)/Defenders VI#1 (fb)) - The Masked Raider watched from the shadows as Korvac attacked Zota because Korvac had bigger goals in mind than to serve the Enclave.

(Defenders VI#1 (fb)) - Korvac easily fought his way through the Enclave's security. Fearing that Korvac would destroy everything, Zota tried to escape through the timestream by using a spellbook that once belonged to Sise-Neg. The Masked Raider shot the spellbook before Zota could activate the spell, which caused the book's magic to run wild and hurtle Zota through time.

(Defenders VI#2-4) - The Masked Raider followed Zota through time to previous incarnations of the universe with the help of Doctor Strange and the current incarnation of the Defenders.

(Defenders VI#5) - The Masked Raider was killed in battle by Zota, who unmasked him to learn that the Masked Raider was actually a future version of himself. Zota donned the Eternity Mask and defeated the Anti-All. He was then hurled back to the Eight Cosmos where Zota met with Blind Justice to receive the Eternity Mask from him. Zota was now trapped in a time loop.

Comments: Created by Carl Burgos (Scientists Guild).
Robert Eisman & News Alfred (Three X's).
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott (Jerome Hamilton).
Tom DeFalco & Mark Bright (Blind Justice).

   So, what the frick happened to Morlak? Guess he just "got better."

    Crucible seemed to be a lot of hype, with not a lot to back it up. A "next Dr. Doom" sort of thing. More like the next Baron Brimstone! Also, I didn't personally like the idea of Ayesha being Her/Kismet. I thought she could have easily been another creation of the Enclave, but the issues in that story arc make it clear that Ayesha was Her, and the letter page of FF III#15 confirmed it. Tom Brevoort confirmed that they were, and so she is--until some other writer, either neglecting or rewriting the past--tells a different story. In addition, any one or all three of them have the power to have survived or escaped their seeming destruction.
    My guess is that the Morlak and Shinski seen in the Crucible storyline--wherein the previously bald Morlak had a full head of black hair, while Shinski looked a little younger, and had no mustache--were really clones -- it doesn't seem out of the question, considering Phaeder and/or Maelstrom shared some of their knowledge with Shinski, and Maelstrom was known for creating clones of himself and his minions.
-- Ron Fredricks

Or the characters in Warlock IV#1-4 were clones.
--Markus Raymond

    The first names of the heads of the Enclave were detailed in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#5.

   The date of that science symposium that Shinski attended in X-Factor Annual I#3/3 was September 21, 1928. I don't think that the events need to be topical, as several of those known to the modern era may have encountered the mysterious scientist (presumably Phaeder) and gained the knowledge of how to suppress aging.

    Him obviously went on to become Adam Warlock, while Paragon took feminine form in its next incarnation as Her, then J'Ridia Starduster, then Kismet.

    Incredible Hulk Annual I#6 stated that Him had teleported the Beehive extradimensionally, but the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4 revealed this to be an erroneous statement, as Adam Warlock never possessed such power. It's a moot and minor point, but perhaps he merely accessed the power and technology of the Beehive to do so.

    One of the Enclave, in shadows (as seen in FF#207) is referred to as Number One, but is never identified. Given the head of hair in the silhouette, it might be Zota, but it could also be one of their subservient mercenaries, or just a disguise.

    Jordan Brodie adds: Jerome Hamilton is also the real name of Battleaxe of the Harriers. Any connection?

    They have a nice profile in OHotMU I#5 and the Deluxe Edition#4...it's just over 20 years out of date. Much of the info for this profile is adapted from that one. Thanks Mark Gruenwald and Peter Sanderson!

They received an updated profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update#3 (October, 2010).

Shinski's last name was sometimes spelled Shinsky, including a poster in X-Factor Annual I#3.
--Markus Raymond

On page 2 of Fantastic Four Index#5, it notes that the Citadel of Science of the Enclave was formed by the four Enclave members with the aid of Phaeder and Maelstrom.
--Per Degaton

Electro-blade sub-profile by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by Snood. Update by Markus Raymond. (Marvel Comics#1000 and retcons)

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Enclave has no known connection to:

Maris Morlak has no known connection to:

Prof. Wladyslav Shinski has no known connection to:

Carlo Zota has no known connection to:

Beehive

    Also known as the Citadel of Science, it was the secret fortress of the Enclave, built on an island that apparently served as a previous Deviant fortress. Work was initiated on it nearly two decades before the start of the modern era, with the aid of Maelstrom and Phaeder. It was one of the most technologically advanced facilities on the planet at its time. A vacuum car rail-system provided transportation within the structure.

It served as the location of the creation of Him, who nearly destroyed it, and of Paragon, who sunk it beneath the waves.

The base was later found by Dr. Theodore Goodrich, who invested years to reproduce the work of the Enclave with a team of scientists, including Dr. Stella Webb. Hulk (Bruce Banner) and Randall Jessup eventually destroyed the Beehive's unstable reactor, which was used as a power source for the Transfer Grid.

After Goodrich, Webb and most of their operatives died, the Beehive became the new headquarter of Doc Green (Bruce Banner) and his associates Jessup, Veteri, Wolman and Leucenstern. They eventually abandoned it after a battle between Doc Green and Red Hulk (Thaddeus Ross) to move to the remnants of the Baxter Building.

 

--Fantastic Four I#66 (Fantastic Four I#66-67, Incredible Hulk Annual I#6, Marvel Comics#1000, Indestructible Hulk#19.INH, Indestructible Hulk#20, Hulk III#5, Hulk Annual III#1, Hulk III#7-10

Crucible

  An armored form assumed by Morlak and Shinski as part of a plot to steal Reed Richards' inventive genius and use it to kick-start their genetics program. After forcing the Monks of Doom to build a pair of suits of armor, they slew many of the Monks and enslaved the rest. Wearing the armor, Morlak successfully stole Reed's skills, and then he and Shinski relocated to Genosha. They took control of their creation Kismet, renaming her Ayesha. They also began experimenting on Genoshans in an effort to create their master race. However, when Reed Richards confronted Crucible (Morlak), it soon became clear that Morlak was going insane, unable to handle the continual influx of ideas from Reed's genius. Shinski then seemingly slew Morlak and replaced him as Crucible. Soon after, both Crucible and Ayesha were consumed by a Black Hole Grenade.

 

Crucible wore durable body armor and possessed the capacity for transmutation, animation, and molding of the elements, including living tissue. He could release chemicals for varying effects, and he had various other advanced weaponry.

--Fantastic Four III#3 ([12(fb)], 3-5, [10], 11, 12

electroni-blade

    One of the many discoveries made by the Enclave, it was a knife that could sever the molecular bonds of substances, allowing it to easily cut through the densest of materials.

When blind sculptress Alicia Masters was brought to their Citadel of Science, the members of the Enclave wanted to test her skills, so they took her to a large block of granite, and Maris Morlak requested that she sculpt a bust of his head; although Alicia advised him it would take a long time for her to chip away at such a large block, Morlak assured her that they had a way of speeding up the process.

After Alicia felt the contours of Morlak's face, Carlo Zota handed her the electroni-blade, then the blind sculptress began to effortlessly cut away the granite -- within minutes, she was able to carve the crude block into the perfect likeness of Morlak.

(Comment: Morlak stated that it was another of their "unique discoveries" [see first image], so perhaps the electroni-blade was actually leftover Deviant technology.)

--Fantastic Four I#66

Maris Morlak

Height: 5'7"
Weight: 153 lbs.


    A Lithuanian nuclear physicist, Morlak was active in every one of the Enclave's adventures. He went to prison after the second conflict with the Inhumans. He was the first incarnation of Crucible, stole the creative genius of Reed Richards, went mad from it, and was supposedly slain by Shinski.

    But Morlak somehow survived his apparent death (see comments), and later rejoined with Shinski and Zota to embark on the trio's next project: The creation of a female Warlock ("Warlock Delta").

    Morlak briefly possessed cosmic power on a level comparable to Kismet or even the Silver Surfer. He could rearrange matter, manipulate energy and the weather, fly, survive in space, project energy bolts, etc.

--Fantastic Four I#66 ([Fantastic Four I#66 (fb) / OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], FF#66, 67, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comic Magazine#1, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], Incredible Hulk Annual#6, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], [Fantastic Four I#240 (fb) / Avengers Annual#12 (fb)], [FF204], 207, [239], 240/Avengers Annual#12 (fb), 12, Avengers I#262, 263, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], Quasar#57 (fb), 57, 60, Cosmic Powers Unlimited#2, 2/2, [Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand(fb), Spdm: DMH], Spider-Man Team-Up#7 (fb), 7, [Fantastic Four III#12 (fb)], 3-5, [10], 11, 12, [Warlock IV#1-3], 4

Wladyslav Shinski

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 180 lbs.


     A renowned Polish geneticist, he was a contemporary (and slight elder) of Herbert Wyndham (later the High Evolutionary) and Jonathon Drew, and the mentor of the young Arnim Zola. He is believed to have gained some information and/or technology from the Inhuman Phaeder and/or his son, Maelstrom. It was his engineering that specifically created Him and Paragon. He was absent from direct involvement in some of the adventures (such as the assault on Attilan on the Moon) due to his advanced age and infirmity. He broke his compatriots out of prison, but later had a stroke and was left bedridden. He was healed by the cocoon of Kismet, whom he saw as his daughter. Later, he worked with Morlak as Crucible, but then seemingly slew Morlak and replaced him as Crucible. He sought to become the consort of Ayesha, but was apparently consumed alongside her by the Black Hole Grenade of Chief Magistrate Anderson, and transported to another dimension.

   But Shinski somehow returned (see comments), and later rejoined with Morlak and Zota to embark on the trio's next project: The creation of a female Warlock ("Warlock Delta").

   Shinski briefly possessed cosmic power on a level comparable to Kismet or even the Silver Surfer. He could rearrange matter, manipulate energy and the weather, fly, survive in space, project energy bolts, etc. He also briefly possessed the power of Crucible.

--Fantastic Four I#66 ([OHotMU I#6: Maelstrom (fb)], X-Factor Annual#3/3, [Fantastic Four I#66 (fb) / OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], FF#66, 67, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comic Magazine#1, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], Incredible Hulk Annual#6, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], [Fantastic Four I#240 (fb) / Avengers Annual#12 (fb)], [FF204], 207, [239], [240/Avengers Annual#12 (fb)], 12, Avengers I#262, 263, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], Quasar#57 (fb), 57, 60, Cosmic Powers Unlimited#2, 2/2, [Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand(fb), Spdm: DMH], Spider-Man Team-Up#7 (fb), 7, [Fantastic Four III#12 (fb)], 3-5, [10], 11, 12, [Warlock IV#1-3], 4

Transfer Grid

   A teleportation device, it allowed a person wearing a certain electronic bracelet (a "Space Warper") to activate the Grid and teleport to or from anywhere on Earth.

 

--Fantastic Four I#65, 66 (67, [240(fb)], Quasar#57(fb), 57, [Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand (fb), Spdm: DMH], Spider-Man Team-Up#7, Indestructible Hulk#19.INH, Indestructible Hulk#20, Hulk III#5, Hulk Annual III#1, Hulk III#7-10

Carlo Zota

    A Spanish electronics technician, Zota was active in all of the adventures of the Enclave, except for the Crucible saga.

   Zota later rejoined with Morlak and Shinski to embark on the trio's next project: The creation of a female Warlock ("Warlock Delta"). 

   Zota briefly possessed cosmic power on a level comparable to Kismet or even the Silver Surfer. He could rearrange matter, manipulate energy and the weather, fly, survive in space, project energy bolts, etc.

Zota eventually became the lone survivor of the Enclave, activating Michael Korvac with his new Enclave.

He fled through the timestream after an encounter with the Masked Raider only to learn after killing the Masked Raider that the Raider was his future self all along. Donning the Eternity Mask Zota slew the Anti-All in the Third Cosmos and was then sent back in time to receive the Eternity Mask from Blind Justice (Hamilton Slade) to begin his hunt to stop himself from escaping through the timestream, resulting in a time loop.

 

--Fantastic Four I#66 ([Fantastic Four I#66 (fb) / OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], FF#66, 67, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comic Magazine#1, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], Incredible Hulk Annual#6, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], [Fantastic Four I#240 (fb) / Avengers Annual#12 (fb)], [FF204], 207, [239], 240/Avengers Annual#12 (fb), 12, Avengers I#262, 263, [OHotMU DE#4 (fb)], Quasar#57 (fb), 57, 60, Cosmic Powers Unlimited#2, 2/2, [Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand(fb), Spdm: DMH], Spider-Man Team-Up#7 (fb), 7, [Fantastic Four III#12 (fb)?], [Warlock IV#1-3], 4, Defenders VI#5 (fb), [Defenders VI#5 (ff)], [Marvel Comics#1000/53 (fb)], Marvel Comics#1000/53, #1000/83-84, Marvel Comics#1001/1, 1001/30, Iron Man VI#2 (fb)/Defenders VI#1 (fb), Defenders VI#2-5 and back to Defenders VI#5 (fb)

images: (without ads)
Fantastic Four I#66, p4, pan2 (Main Image - Carlo Zota, Maris Morlak, Wladyslav Shinski)
Marvel Comics#1, p2, pan3 (Scientists Guild)
Mystic Comcis I#1/4, p2, pan3 (Three X's)
Fantastic Four I#66, p6, pan2 (Headshots - Wladyslav Shinski, Maris Morlak, Carlos Zota)
Cosmic Powers Unlimited#2/1, p2, pan1 (cosmically-powered Zota, Shinski, and Morlak)
Warlock IV#4, p29, pan3 (Wladyslav Shinski, Maris Morlak, and Carlo Zota, working on the creation of "Warlock Delta")
Fantastic Four I#66, p3, pan3 (Beehive (exterior))
Fantastic Four I#67, p6, pan1 (Beehive (interior); Morlak, Shinski, and Zota using vacuum car rail-system)
Fantastic Four III#11, p16, pan2 (Crucible)
Fantastic Four I#66, p5, pan6 (Alicia Masters begins to use electroni-blade to carve granite block; Carlo Zota, Maris Morlak)
Fantastic Four I#66, p6, pan1 (Alicia Masters uses electroni-blade to carve a bust of Maris Morlak)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4, Enclave entry (Maris Morlak)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4, Enclave entry (Prof. Wladyslav Shinski)
Fantastic Four I#66, p4, pan1 (Jerome Hamilton and Alicia Masters emerging from Transfer Grid)
Fantastic Four I#66, p5, pan1 (Jerome Hamilton removes "Space Warper" bracelet)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#4, Enclave entry (Carlo Zota)

Appearances:
Marvel Comics#1 (October, 1939) - Carl Burgos (writer), Martin Goodman (editor)
Mystic Comics I#1/4 (March, 1940) - Robert Erisman (writer), Newt Alfred (artist), Martin Goodman (editor)
Fantastic Four I#65-67 (August-October, 1967) - Stan Lee (writer), Jack Kirby (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Incredible Hulk Annual I#6 (1977) - Len Wein & David Kraft (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Frank Giacoia & Mike Esposito (inks), Len Wein (editor)
Fantastic Four I#204 (March, 1979; BTS) - Marv Wolfman (writer), Keith Pollard (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Fantastic Four I#207 (June, 1979) - Marv Wolfman (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Fantastic Four I#239-240 (February-March, 1982; BTS) - John Byrne (writer/pencils/inks), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Avengers Annual I#12 (1983) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Butch Guice (pencils), Rich Magyar (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Avengers I#262-263 (December, 1986 - January, 1987) - Roger Stern (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
X-Factor Annual I#3 (1988; BTS) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Paris Cullins (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Bob Harras & Ralph Macchio (editor)
Quasar#57 (April, 1994) - Mark Gruenwald & Peter Sanderson (writer), John Heebink (pencils), Aaron McClellan (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Quasar#60 (July, 1994) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), John Heebink (pencils), Aaron McClellan (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Cosmic Powers Unlimited#2 (September, 1995) - Gregory Wright (writer), Geof Isherwood (#2/1) & John Buscema (#2/2) (pencils), Dondald C. Hudson (#2/1) & Geof Isherwood (#2/2) (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand (April, 1997; BTS) - Roger Stern (writer), Darick Robertson & Dan Lawlis (pencils), Keith Aiken (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Spider-Man Team-Up#7 (June, 1997) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Dick Giordano (inks), Bob Harras (editor)
Fantastic Four III#3 (March, 1998) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Alan Davis (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Mark Powers (editor)
Fantastic Four III#4-5 (April-May, 1998) - Scott Lobdell & Chris Claremont (writer), Salvador Larroca (pencils), Art Thibert (inks), Mark Powers (editor)
Fantastic Four III#10-12 (October-December, 1998) - Chris Claremont (writer), Salvador Larroca & Anthony Williams (#12) (pencils), Art Thibert & Andy Lanning (#12) (inks), Mark Powers (editor)
Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comic Magazine#1 (February, 2001) - Erik Larsen & Eric Stephenson (writer), Keith Giffen, Erik Larsen, Jorge Pereira Lucas & Bruce Timm (pencils), Alan Gordon, Jorge Pereira Lucas, Joe Sinnott & Bruce Timm (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Warlock IV#1-4 (November 2004 - February 2005) - Greg Pak (writer), Charles Adlard (pencils/inks), Joe Quesada (editor)
Indestructible Hulk#19.INH (February, 2014) - Mark Waid (writer), Jheremy Raapack, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Tom Grummett with Karl Kesel & Andrew Hennessy (artists), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Indestructible Hulk#20 (March, 2014) - Mark Waid (writer), Joe Bennett (pencils), Ruy Jose & Scott Hanna (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Hulk III#5 (October, 2014) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Andrew Hennessy (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Hulk Annual III#1 (November, 2014) - Monty Nero (writer), Luke Ross, Le Beau Underwood, Patrick Goddard & Marc Laming (artists), Mark Paniccia & Jon Moisan (editors)
Hulk III#7-9 (December, 2014 - February, 2015) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Andrew Hennessy (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Hulk III#10 (March, 2015) - Gerry Duggan (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Andrew Hennessy (inks), Mark Paniccia & Emily Shaw (editors)
Marvel Comics#1000 (October, 2019) - Al Ewing (writer), Steve Epting, Patch Zircher, Leonardo Romero, Joshua Cassara, Ron Garney, Gabriel Hardman, Klaus Janson, Joe Bennett with Ruy José, Carlos Pacheco with Rafael Fonteriz, Daniel Acu&ntild;e, Jesús Saiz, Mike Deodato Jr. & Paul Azaceta (artists), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Marvel Comics#1001 (December, 2019) - Al Ewing (writer), ACO (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Iron Man VI#2 (December, 2020) - Christopher Cantwell (writer), CAFU (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Defenders VI#1 (October, 2021) - Al Ewing (writer), Javier Rodríguez (artist), Álvaro López (inks), Wil Moss & Sarah Brunstad (editors)
Defenders VI#2 (November, 2021) - Al Ewing (writer), Javier Rodríguez (artist), Wil Moss & Sarah Brunstad (editors)
Defenders VI#3 (December, 2021) - Al Ewing (writer), Javier Rodríguez (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Defenders VI#4-5 (February-March, 2022) - Al Ewing (writer), Javier Rodríguez (artist), Wil Moss (editor)

First Posted: 02/26/2004
Last updated: 07/17/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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