CONSCIENCE

Real Name: Conscience

Identity/Class: Robot (Sentinel); aspect of Master Mold

Occupation: Protecting humanity from all mutants

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Banshee (Sean Cassidy), Bobbie Campbell, Mary Campbell, Mr. & Mrs. Campbell, Callisto, Cyclops,
Moira MacTaggart, Dr. McKinnon, humanity
    formerly: Master Mold (creator), Servitors

Enemies: Master Mold, Servitors
    formerly Banshee (Sean Cassidy), Mary Campbell, Callisto, Cyclops, Moira MacTaggart, mutants

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Master Mold's aircraft

First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents I#20/1 (May, 1989)

Powers/Abilities: His brain patterns were based on Steven Lang emotional part, but he was also able to learn new things for himself. Through the similarities to Master Mold's programming he was able to merge his mind with Master Mold. Conscience artificial body could resist most attacks and was nearly indestructible. His weapon of choice was a staff that could emit electrical shocks and laser blasts.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#21/1 (fb) - BTS) - Master Mold based Conscience's mind on Stephen Lang's brain patterns. But instead of making a copy of himself Master Mold used Lang's emotional side for Conscience and therefore gave him all the memories of love and hate.

Some time after his creation he started with Master Mold their plan to rid mankind of mutants. They hypnotized and kidnapped Moira MacTaggart from Muir Island and forced her to create the Retribution Virus.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#20/1) - Conscience entered silently Master Mold's monitor room and told him that MacTaggart's farewell was only a temporary setback. He assumed that Cyclops and Moira were trying to stop them, but Conscience had a plan. He took armed Servitors to Muir Island and attacked Cyclops, Callisto, and Moira. He watched his enemies being overpowered by the Servitors and entered Moira's lab after everything was done. Conscience grabbed the unconscious Cyclops and promised that he would pay for everything he did to Master Mold and his former self Steven Lang.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#21/1) - Conscience brought the defeated foes to Master Mold's ship. Master Mold wanted to know why Conscience didn't kill the mutants and Conscience assured him that they would die soon because they were both infected by the Retribution Virus and should see the destruction of all mutants. Cyclops attacked Conscience, but his powers didn't hurt Conscience at all who told his captives his origin until Cyclops collapsed. Then he told them about the Retribution Virus Moira MacTaggart created while under hypnosis and that Death Spores containing the virus would be released all over the world in a few hours. Callisto attacked him, but he just shocked her with his staff and told further stories about being mankinds' defense and loving any kind of art humanity created. The ship's computer informed Conscience that two humans were infected by the virus because it had mutated. Conscience went to Master Mold to abandon their plan, but Master Mold didn't care and still wanted to release the virus. Conscience left when he realized that Master Mold wouldn't change his mind.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#22/1) - Conscience still tried to convince Master Mold to stop their plan, but Master Mold shut off his audio receptors and didn't listen to Conscience. In the process Conscience went to the only people who could help him stop Master Mold's plan. He freed Cyclops, Callisto and Moira MacTaggart from their cell and asked them for help because the Retribution Virus would kill 92.4 percent of humanity. Moira asked Conscience to bring her to the ship's genetic lab so she could create an antivirus and he let her do it. Meanwhile he went with Cyclops and Callisto to the Spore Chamber, but they were discovered by Servitors. Conscience destroyed the Servitors, but Master Mold was on his way to the Spore Chamber as well after the ship's computer had alarmed him about an unauthorized power surge in the genetic lab. Master Mold shot Conscience with a powerful blast.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#23/1) - He wasn't destroyed and when Cyclops was dropped by Master Mold, Conscience tried to wake him up again. Cyclops wanted to know why Conscience was so different from Master Mold although they were both based on Stephen Lang and Conscience explained it. This gave Cyclops the idea to let Conscience infiltrate Master Mold's programming with his own like a virus. The Servitors approached and Conscience thought that they were in trouble, but Cyclops disposed them in a quick manner. Then Conscience started to link his mind to Master Mold's and the giant Sentinel went crazy.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#24/1) - Master Mold resisted Conscience's persuasions and started a countdown to release the Death Spores in ten minutes. Conscience thought that it was over, but his new partners didn't give up and Master Mold was destroyed. Conscience let his partners go and promised them to make sure that the Retribution Virus wouldn't hurt anybody. After explaining to them that he had learned to better himself he flew with Master Mold's ship into the orbit and then activated the self-destruction.

Comments: Created by Bob Harras, Ron Lim & Bruce Patterson

There are shocking similarities between the Retribution Virus and the Legacy Virus. Could it be that Stryfe based the Legacy Virus on the Retribution Virus? Did Fabian intend to bring back the Retribution Virus in X-Force#18?

Fabian Nicieza never said, though he could have easily gotten the idea from there.
 I heard a rumor a few years ago that Liefeld tried to introduce a mutant virus back in his early X-Force days, so perhaps it was his idea.
--Jordan Brodie

X-Force started 1991 so it really is possible that the Legacy Virus' attributes were taken from this Marvel Comics Presents storyline. Nevertheless it doesn't make these viruses the same and as there is no proof that Stryfe ever had access to Master Mold's datas no official connection on Earth-616 can be drawn between the Legacy Virus and Retribution Virus.

Thanks to MarvellousLuke for providing scans from the Cyclops: Retribution TPB (1994).

Profile by Markus Raymond

CLARIFICATIONS:
Conscience has no known connection to:

• Conscience Police, of Earth-Amusement World @ Avengers: The Man Who Stole Tomorrow
• or to anyone else with a similar name

The Campbell family has no known connection to:

• Cambell, Jessica, aka. Jessica Jones @ Alias#22
• Cambell, Philip, Jessica's deceased brother @ Alias#22
• or to anyone else with a similar name

Dr. McKinnon has no known connection to:

• McKinney, Donald, Democratic Senator @ Spectacular Spider-Man III#8
• McKinney, Tim, Punisher victim @ Punisher VI#35
• or to anyone else with a similar name

The Retribution Virus has no known connection to:

• Retribution, of Earth-Amalgam @ Generation Hex#1
• or to anyone else with a similar name

The Servitors have no known connection to:

• Servitor, an android created by Zarrko @ Thor I#241
• Servitor, duplicate of the android above @ Thor I#438
• Servitors, of the Hyborian era @ Conan the Barbarian I#192
• Servitors, mindless drones of the Infinites @ Avengers Infinity#1
• or to anyone else with a similar name

Bobbie Campbell

(Marvel Comics Presents I#18) - Bobbie and his sister were sleeping when Master Mold transported them in a force bubble to the gleaming light through which they were teleported to his ship. The next day Bobbie woke up in his bed and when Moira visited his family with her friends he told Cyclops that little people coming from lights made his sister sick.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#21) - Bobbie became sick as well because the Retribution Virus had mutated and was now also dangerous for normal humans.

--Marvel Comics Presents I#18 (18, 21

Mary Campbell

She was a mutant with telekinetic powers. Her powers were triggered early by the Retribution Virus.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#18) - Eight-year-old Mary and her brother were sleeping when Master Mold transported them in a force bubble to the gleaming light through which they were teleported to his ship. The next day Mary woke up sick in her bed. Moira and Dr. McKinnon didn't know the reason for her illness.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#18 - BTS) - Mary was brought to St. Andrew's hospital in Inverness, Scotland.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#19) - At night Mary's telekinetic powers manifested for the first time and things flew around in her room while a nurse was checking on her. Mary collapsed after that.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#20) - Mary was transported through Master Mold's ship in a stasis cylinder that kept her alive.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#24 - BTS) - Moira MacTaggart healed Mary with an antivirus.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#24) - On Banshee's back Mary flew into the fight against Master Mold and watched Banshee destroy him. After that she was brought back to Earth by Banshee together with Cyclops, Callisto and Moira.

--Marvel Comics Presents I#18 (18, 18 - BTS, 19-20, 24

Mr. & Mrs. Campbell

(Marvel Comics Presents I#18) - They were tenants of Moira MacTaggart and got worried when their daughter Mary woke up with high fever and called their family doctor Dr. McKinnon, who in the process called in Moira, but nobody knew where Mary's infection came from and the Campbell's got really scared for her daughter's life.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#21) - They were worried after their daughter was kidnapped and when their son became sick as well they brought him to St. Andrew's hospital only to learn from Dr. McKinnon that Bobbie suffered from the same disease as Mary.

--Marvel Comics Presents I#18 (18, 21

Dr. McKinnon

(Marvel Comics Presents I#18) - Dr. McKinnon was the Campbell's family doctor and they called him when their daughter woke up with a high fever. He had no explanation for Mary's sudden sickness, called in Moira for a second opinion and then wanted to move Mary to hospital. McKinnon wasn't confident about Mary's survival if her state worsened farther.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#19) - When Cyclops brought Banshee with the same fever as Mary to hospital Dr. McKinnon immediately suspected that it could be an epidemic. He talked with Cyclops about Mary showing telekinetic powers and being a mutant until an ultra-high frequency beacon knocked them unconscious.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#21) - Bobbie Campbell was brought to Dr. McKinnon who found out that Bobbie had the same disease as his sister. McKinnon was surprised by this because he had thought that the disease was connected to Mary being a mutant. He suggested to Mr. and Mrs. Campbell to test them as well for the disease.

--Marvel Comics Presents I#18 (18, 19, 21

Retribution Virus

It was a virus engineered by Moira MacTaggart while she was under Master Mold's control. It originally only affected mutants. An infected mutant first started to get a high fever, then he lost control of his powers and for a short time this made the mutant more powerful then ever until the mutant was burnt out and lost his/her powers. All mutants would've died if the virus would've been set free.

Sadly the virus itself mutated and began to affect normal humans as well. Approximately 92.4 percent of humanity would've been killed by the virus if it would've been set free.

--Marvel Comics Presents I#18 (18-24

Servitors

They were small semi-humanoid synthetic life forms created by Master Mold to serve him as drones.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#18 - BTS) - Servitors pulled Mary and Bobbie into the light and brought them to Master Mold together with Moira MacTaggart.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#19) - Servitors entered St. Andrew's hospital and kidnapped Mary Campbell and Banshee. Cyclops woke up and attacked them, but he couldn't prevent the kidnapping and only stopped Moira from entering the light. The Servitors and Master Mold disappeared into the sky with Mary and Banshee.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#20) - Hundreds of Servitors transported Banshee and Mary through Master Mold's ship. Later Conscience took Servitors with him in his attack on Muir Island. Cyclops, Callisto and Moira where overpowered by the many Servitors when Cyclops lost consciousness as he too was infected by the Retribution Virus.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#21) - Servitors returned with Conscience and his captives to Master Mold's ship. They stood around doing nothing while Conscience held his speech.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#22) - Servitors helped Master Mold to bring all the loaded Death Spores to the Spore Chamber. Later two Servitors discovered Conscience, Cyclops and Callisto in the Spore Chamber. Conscience destroyed them before they could alarm Master Mold.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#23) - The Servitors started their final assault against Conscience, Cyclops and Callisto, but before they could fight them directly Cyclops destroyed them all with one optic blast.

--Marvel Comics Presents I#19 (18 - BTS, 19-23

images: (original images)
Marvel Comics Presents I#20, p5, pan3 (main image)
Marvel Comics Presents I#21, p5, pan4 (head shot)
Marvel Comics Presents I#18, p5, pan3 (Bobbie Campbell)
Marvel Comics Presents I#19, p1, pan3 (Mary Campbell)
Marvel Comics Presents I#21, p4, pan2 (Mr. & Mrs. Campbell)
Marvel Comics Presents I#18, p5, pan1 (Dr. McKinnon)
Marvel Comics Presents I#20, p5, pan3 (Servitors)

Appearances:
Marvel Comics Presents I#18-20 (May, 1989) - Bob Harras (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Bruce D. Patterson (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#21 (June, 1989) - Bob Harras (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Carol Riem (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#22 (June, 1989) - Bob Harras (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Jeff Albrecht (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#23-24 (July, 1989) - Bob Harras (writer), Ron Lim (pencils), Jeff Albrecht (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)

Last updated: 05/25/15