POWER MASTER

Real Name: John McIver

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: former crimelord

Group Membership: European Maggia

Affiliations: Employed Gadget, Shades & Commanche;
    Herve Argosy, Noah Burstein (under duress), Misty Knight, Shrieve
   

Enemies: Emma & Noah Burstein, Cruz Bushmaster, Cage (Power Man), Iron Fist, Misty Knight, Claire Temple, Blake Tower

Known Relatives: Cruz (son, deceased), Quincy (brother, aka Bushmaster)

Aliases: Bushmaster, John Bushmaster

Place of Birth: Unspecified Caribbean island

Base of Operations: last seen in Cruz Bushmaster's island fortress, off the coast of St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands;
    formerly Seagate Prison;
        a mansion on Lake Michigan;
        a yacht on the West Bank of the Hudson River, in the shadow of the Jersey Palisades;
        Cutlass Bay, Ste. Emile;
        an unspecified Caribbean Island;

Extent of Education: Unrevealed

First Appearance: Iron Fist I#15 (September, 1977)

Powers/Abilities: Initially, he was crimelord, possessing streetfighting skills and backed by an unspecified, but large, number of armed criminals.
    He later achieved powers similar to, but greater than, Luke Cage. He had superhuman strength (Class 25) and steel hard skin.
    As Powermaster, he was even larger and stronger (he presumably went from able to lift about 15 tons to about 25 tons--just rough guesses). However, he could also absorb power from others, or at least from others powered by the same process as he.

Height: (Originally) 6'1"; (Power Master) 8'1"
Weight: (Originally) 210 lbs.; (mutated) 455 lbs.; (Power Master) 705 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black (white on back and sides)

History:
(Captain America Annual#10/3 (fb)) - As a teen, John and his younger brother Quincy were street urchins on an unspecified Caribbean Island. Unlike his brother, John was fast and savvy enough to stay out of trouble, despite stealing from local merchants. After finding out that Quincy had blurted out that they were brothers to a shopkeeper who had caught him, John gave him a beating. A few nights later, John beat the shopkeeper to death.

(Captain America Annual#10/3 (fb)) - Years later, John was in the employ of Herve Argosy, as one of his top musclemen in his gun exporting business. John got Quincy an in with Argosy, but Quincy ended up getting all four limbs chopped off by a motorboat propeller on his first mission. John visited his brother in the hospital, mocking his misfortune. He then took the name John Bushmaster, which one of his ladyfriends had given him (hey, is this still PG?), and he headed off to Europe to run some of Argosy's trade there.

 

(Iron Fist#15 (fb) - BTS) - Over a period of at least several years, John Bushmaster managed to take absolute control of the European branch of the Maggia. As he began to show interest in expanding into the US (starting with New York), he attracted the attention of the FBI, CIA, and Interpol, who all tried and failed to infiltrate his organization. Eventually New York City District Attorney sent former policewoman Misty Knight to take a stab at the it, as Maya Korday. She did so successfully, becoming Bushmaster's confidant and lover.

(Iron Fist#15) - Bushmaster returned early from his conference in Port Harcort and warmly greeted "Maya" at the Cutlass Bay resort on the Caribbean island of Ste. Emile.

(Marvel Team-Up I#63) - Bushmaster agreed to put out a hit on Iron Fist for a man named Shrieve. Hearing this, "Maya" lost it, and used her bionic arm to force Bushmaster to tell her where the hit was going to go down. She then managed to make it to a boat and escape, but Bushmaster swore to see her dead, no matter the cost.

(Power Man#49 (fb) - BTS) - Bushmaster had his agents kidnap Claire Temple and Noah Burstein.

 

 

(Power Man#49 (fb)) - Bushmaster summoned Luke Cage, Power Man, to his Lake Michigan mansion, where he showed him his hostages and threatened to kill them both if he did not bring Misty Knight to him. In return, Bushmaster offered to give Cage videotapes (provided by Gadget) that would prove his innocence in crimes for which he had been framed. Bushmaster also sent along Shades and Commanche to follow Cage and make sure he was following orders.

(Power Man#48 - BTS) - Cage went after Misty, but ended also fighting her partner Colleen Wing and her lover, Iron Fist. When Cage was seemingly defeated by a powerful Iron Fist blow, Shades & Commanche took off to report back to Bushmaster. Cage was eventually convinced to join with the other three to go after Bushmaster.

(Power Man#49 (fb) - BTS) - At Seagate Prison, Bushmaster coerced Burstein (by threatening to torture Claire Temple) into utilizing his "Power Man" process on him, to an even greater extent than Cage had been treated. Bushmaster was given superhuman strength and durability.

(Power Man#49) - The four heroes confronted Bushmaster and his allies at Seagate. Bushmaster fought Cage, proving himself to be even stronger than his predecessor. In the course of their battle, they pierced Burstein's chemical vat and they were doused in the chemicals, which were then electrified by a torn power line. An explosion destroyed the room they were in and Bushmaster was believed by some to have killed when he was been buried under tons of rubble. Cage had his doubts.
    Misty found Gadget and forced him to surrender the videotapes to Cage anyway.

 

 

 

(Power Man#67 (fb) - BTS) - Bushmaster's transformation proved too great, and he found that his body was turning into unliving metal. While he could still move, Bushmaster had his agents kidnap Noah Burstein's wife, Emma, and use her to force Noah to try to reverse the process on Bushmaster. Burstein acquiesced, but found that he was unable to reverse the process. Bushmaster formulated a plot to capture Cage and bring him to Seagate, where Noah could use him as a guinea pig.

(Power Man#67) - Power Man and Iron Fist interrupted a group of bank robbers, who surprised them with gas that knocked them both out and they abducted Cage, taking him to Seagate and Bushmaster. Virtually immobile, Bushmaster watched as Noah began the process. When Iron Fist arrived and shattered the tank, rescuing Cage, Bushmaster reached for the switch to tell his men to kill Emma Burstein. However, as he did, the process accelerated (perhaps from the proximity to the "Power Man" treatment energies), and Bushmaster was left in immobile, inert steel form, less than an inch from the switch. His body then began to crumble, leaving little more than a metal skeleton sitting there.

 

 

 

(Cage I#12 (fb)) - Cruz Bushmaster had his father's remains to his island fortress, off the coast of St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands. He then initiated a series of plots to force Burstein to resolve the safety issues in the "Power Man" treatment.

(Cage I#12) - Having taken numerous steps to perfect the "Power Man" treatment, Cruz Bushmaster had his father's remains and Cage placed in transfer chambers to absorb the negative effects of the process. Things worked beautifully, and Cruz emerged a powerhouse, but as he climbed free, a large arm reached out and pulled him back into his chamber. John Bushmaster, revived by the energies, used the viral aspects--that Burstein had created in the variant process--to siphon the power and life from his son. Now calling himself Power Master, he stepped out his chamber, but Cage broke free as well and knocked him through the floor. Cage followed him down, but Power Master showed just how much he had changed, locking his fingers around Cage's throat and draining his power. Iron Fist--who had come to the rescue yet again--broke his grip and occupied Power Master whilst Cage recovered. Cage then jammed a power cable into Power Master, who soaked up the energy like a sponge...if sponge's exploded when they got too full, that is. Power Master went blind almost instantly, glowing white. He staggered around, trying to find his foes, who fled. Power Maser then exploded, taking Cruz's fortress with him.

 

 

 

 

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Dan Green.

Bushmaster who be another recipient of a super-soldier type of project. This is the variant first used on Warhawk, then Cage/Power Man. It also went to Jack Daniels, Power Man Steele and the Power Men of the Black Hole prison, Richie/Joshua Anders, and probably a few others I've forgotten.

It was Bushmaster's plot that first brought together Power Man & Iron Fist.

I can't remember if he ever had his name legally changed to Bushmaster, or if that was just his preferred alias.

While it seems out of character for Misty to have gone the distance with Bushmaster, it would seem even more unlikely for her to remain in his favor if they weren't doing the hibbity-dibbity.

Bushmaster: That sounds like a name of a character from Jay and Silent Bob.

Powermaster was a fortified malt liquor (like beer, but stronger and thicker): The brew, whose alcohol content was 5.9 percent by weight, was advertised as "high-octane" image, and was promoted in communities populated by African-Americans and Hispanics. Through involvement of consumer groups and concerned agencies such as this, BATF reversed its initial approval and required the brewing company to rename the product. In July 1991, the brewer discontinued Power Master because of public pressure.
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/beaniebabies2/images/co3.gif
http://www.cosancadd.org/highlights.shtml

John Bushmaster has an entry in OHotMU 2006 A-Z#2.

CLARIFICATIONS:
John Bushmaster, aka Powermaster, should be distinguished from:

 

 

Appearances:
Iron Fist I#15 (September, 1977) - Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Marvel Team-Up I#63 (November, 1977) - Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Dave Hunt (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Power Man#49 (February, 1978) - Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Power Man#67 (February, 1981) - Bob Layton & Mary Jo Duffy (writers), Kerry Gammill (pencils), Ricardo Villamonte (inks), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Captain America Annual#10 (1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Don Heck (pencils), Rich Parker (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Cage I#12 (March, 1993) - Marcus McLaurin (writer), Dwayne Turner (pencils), Christopher Ivy (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)

First Posted: 12/12/2003
Last updated: 12/15/2003

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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