DESMOND MARRSDESMOND MARRS
Real Name: Desmond Marrs
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Former C.E.O. of Marrs Corporation
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Bevis, Kearson Dewitt, F.O.R.C.E., Griffin, Perkins
Enemies: Caleb Alexander, Carrie Alexander, Headhunter, Invisible Woman, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Mister Fantastic, Punisher, Sluj
Known Relatives: Phoebe Marrs (twin sister), Archimedes Marrs (father, deceased), Michael Payne (ex-brother-in-law), Edward Payne (nephew)
Aliases: None known
Base of Operations: Marrs Corporation, New York City
First Appearance: Namor I#1 (April, 1990)
Powers/Abilities: Desmond possesses no superhuman powers, but successfully (for a while) ran a multi-billion dollar company.
History:
(Namor I#14 (fb) - BTS) -
Desmond Marrs grew up with his twin, Phoebe, in the shadow of their
father, Archimedes Marrs. Archimedes turned the failing Marrs
Corporation into a multi-billion dollar industry. When Phoebe was
19, she ran away and married Michael Payne and lived happily with him
for 18 months. Seeking to pull her back into the family business,
Desmond saw Michael's business fail, then offered Michael a million
dollars to divorce Phoebe, which Michael did. When Phoebe found
out she was pregnant, a furious Desmond ordered her to abort the
baby. She left on a world cruise and returned months later.
(Namor I#9 (fb) - BTS) - After their father died, the Marrs twins struggled to balance their inheritance. They sought out the financial aid of Headhunter, a business woman who required her clients to sign a contract that would allow her to collect their "head" years later. She would "collect" by attaching her client to a life-support rig and making it look as though their head was mounted on her wall while keeping them hypnotized. Desmond and Phoebe signed away, never thinking Headhunter would actually collect.
(Namor I#1 (fb) - BTS) - One of the many businesses the Marrs twins fought against was Parallel Conglomerate, a company they reduced to an inconsequential size.
(Iron Man I#265 (fb) - BTS) - The Marrs twins were at odds with Tony Stark of Stark Enterprises as they fought over corporate holdings. Stark beat the Marrs in buying out a company called Centrex, causing Desmond to retain a hatred for Stark.
(Namor I#5 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, the eco-terrorists F.O.R.C.E. attacked some of Marrs Corp's holdings.
(Iron Man I#260 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking revenge on Tony Stark, Kearson Dewitt approached Desmond and Phoebe with the plan to take Stark down. Dewitt designed a chip that would be implanted in Stark's spine that would allow the paralyzed Stark to walk again but that would, in time, give Dewitt direct control over Stark's nervous system. The Marrs twins agreed to fund the project.
(Namor I#1) - Bored of life, Desmond chose a gun from his gun room and prepared to shoot himself. His butler, Bevis, directed Phoebe to where Desmond was and she deflected the gun, the shot firing upward. Phoebe renewed Desmond's zest in life by exciting him about the challenge of ferreting out the mystery man behind Oracle, Incorporated, a company which had bought out Parallel Conglomerate.
(Namor I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Even as he noted Oracle's stock value rising, Desmond enlisted the Griffin's services to kidnap Carrie Alexander, public spokesperson for Oracle, Inc., in order to draw out the real head of Oracle.
(Namor I#2) - As Desmond and Phoebe monitored the Griffin, they were shocked to see Namor go into battle, having thought Namor dead.
(Namor I#3) - Desmond and Phoebe noted Headhunter's helicopter watching the battle, and Namor soon defeated the Griffin. Namor blamed Roxxon Oil for the attack, and led the Griffin to attack several Roxxon executives. After watching Namor talk to Carrie Alexander in the hospital, Desmond developed the idea of having Phoebe seduce Namor to get Namor under their wing.
(Namor I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Desmond contacted F.O.R.C.E. and invited them to explode an oil tanker of Oracle's at a large party Oracle was preparing to have.
(Namor I#4) - Desmond spied on a conversation Namor had with Namorita inside Oracle, then talked to Phoebe, who had dressed herself for the party. When Phoebe expressed recriminations at Namor being a dangerous foe, Desmond slapped her to silence her, then moved on to get ready for the party himself. Desmond and Phoebe completed a merger, then arrived at the party fashionably late. While Desmond was talking to Namorita, the tanker exploded, rushing oil into the water around.
(Namor I#5) - Desmond left Phoebe at the party and returned home. After she arrived, he revealed that he was behind the F.O.R.C.E. attack. F.O.R.C.E. ignited the oil as promised, but Namor was able to stop the ignited oil from destroying the city.
(Namor I#6) - Standing on a nearby rooftop, Desmond watched Namor's struggles at the nearby courthouse. He challenged Phoebe for not having snared Namor yet, and pushed her off the roof in order to get the two of them to meet. Namor caught Phoebe, and she thankfully kissed him. Desmond told his chauffer, Perkins, to drive him home, noting the news of a nearby ecological situation where Sluj attacked a ship the Marrs owned, the Sea Queen.
(Namor I#7) - When Desmond learned that Namor had gone off to investigate the Sea Queen, he was furious. He grabbed Phoebe as if to hurt her, and was shocked when Headhunter came in stating that it was time to collect.
(Namor I#8 (fb)) - Desmond was mounted on Headhunter's wall in payment for his debt.
(Namor I#8) - Phoebe sought Namor's help, and the two of them confronted Headhunter, who showed them Desmond's head. Phoebe offered to trade Namor for Desmond.
(Namor I#9) - After Namor defeated Headhunter and freed Desmond, he confronted Phoebe about her betrayal. Desmond acted shocked and appalled at his sister, thus making Namor think Desmond full of honor and trustworthy while Phoebe was not to be trusted.
(Namor I#10) - Desmond laughed at his good fortune in getting Namor in his good graces. Phoebe questioned Desmond's plans, but he was not dissuaded.
(Namor Annual I#1/4) - Desmond attended a birthday party for Namor alongside several of Namor's friends and allies.
(Iron Man I#260) - Desmond and Phoebe went to check on Dewitt in the Stark project. When they arrived, Dewitt was noting how Stark seemed to be exerting a high amount of physical activity (as Iron Man, though they did not know this). Desmond, hoping Stark would be injured, demanded that they take control of Stark's nervous system at that moment.
(Iron Man I#261) - After Desmond learned that Stark was successfully being controlled, he reasserted his power over Dewitt, reminding him who was in charge (at one time bending Phoebe's wrist to get her to stand away). After Phoebe reminded Desmond what a worthy opponent Stark was, Desmond agreed to let Kearson continue running the project and departed.
(Iron Man I#265 - BTS) - Stark pieced together the Marrs' involvement with the plot against him.
(Iron Man I#266 - BTS) - Stark defeated Dewitt.
(Namor I#14 - BTS) - Desmond secretly heard of Phoebe taking Namor to Connecticut to meet her son, Edward.
(Namor I#15) - Desmond was shocked, but acted collected, when Namor asked Desmond to watch over Oracle, Inc. while Namor was on an extended leave in Atlantis. Desmond agreed, and watched as Phoebe asked to go with Namor, professing that they loved each other. After Namor departed, Desmond laughed, and told Phoebe she was a talented actress. When Phoebe confessed she loved Namor and that she wouldn't allow Desmond to harm Namor, Desmond struck her and threatened her.
(Namor I#16) - Growing desperate to save his company, Desmond invested money in a drug scheme. Acting pompous, the drug runner threatened him, but Desmond simply tossed the money for drugs out the window of his car and promised to return with the profits in two days. After Desmond left, the drug runner was pulled aside by the Punisher, who was investigating Marrs.
(Namor I#17) - Desmond began selling off large portions of Oracle's holdings (from the Oracle office) at a percent of their real value, and pocketed the money. When Caleb Alexander burst in to confront Desmond and threatened to stop him, Desmond hit the old man with a vase. Slightly unhinged from Stark's attack on the company, Desmond proceeded to beat the unconscious old man repeatedly while ranting about his problems.
(Namor I#18) - Having returned to Marrs Corp, Desmond found the Punisher waiting for him in his office.
(Namor I#19) - Desmond tried to make a run for it, but the Punisher blew a door off the hinges and told Desmond it was time to pay. The Punisher stated that he was willing to overlook Desmond's corporate crimes, but that the drug deal was too much to overlook. Desmond tried to buy the Punisher off, then tried killing the Punisher with a gun, but both to no avail. In order to deny the Punisher his kill, Desmond turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.
(Namor I#20) - When Phoebe went to see Desmond's corpse at the morgue, she danced around it, delighted to be free from him at last.
Comments: Created by John Byrne and Bob Wiacek.
Llyra posed as the ghost of Desmond for a time. See upcoming Phoebe Marrs and Llyra profiles for more details.
Clarifications:
Desmond Marrs has no known connections to
(Namor I#1) - Desmond Marrs' butler,
Bevis, directed the visiting Phoebe to the gun room, where Desmond
waited.
--Namor I#1
(Namor I#6) - Perkins, a chauffer,
opened the door for Desmond Marrs to the limo, prepared to drive
Desmond home. Perkins pointed out the news story of a nearby
ecological situation.
--Namor I#6
images:
Namor I#15, p15, pan1
Namor I#19, p22, pan3
(Bevis) Namor I#1, p30, pan1
(Perkins) Namor I#6, p13, pan5
Namor I#1-3 (April-June, 1990) - John Byrne
(writer/penciler), Bob Wiacek (inker), and Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Namor I#4-10 (July, 1990-January, 1991) -John Byrne
(writer/penciler/inker), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Namor Annual I#1/4 (1991) - Chris Cooper (writer),
Clarke Hawbaker & Dave Hoover (pencilers), Ian Akin & Brian
Garvey (inkers)
Iron Man I#260,261 (September, October, 1990) - John
Byrne (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Bob Wiacek (inker), Howard
Mackie (editor)
Iron Man I#265, 266 (February, March, 1991) - John
Byrne (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Bob Wiacek (inker), Howard
Mackie (editor)
Namor I#14-20 (May- November, 1991) - John Byrne
(writer/penciler/inker), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
10/11/07
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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