AZOPARDI
Real Name: ?? Azopardi
Identity/Class: Human magic user; possible mutant (see comments)
Occupation: Broker
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Vincent Stevens, Strange
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: New York City
First Appearance: Doctor Strange III#68 (August,
1994)
Powers/Abilities: He possessed unnatural luck. He owned magic items including the Levant Rubric and one of the Wakefield Falchion and knew some basics of magic.
History: (Doctor Strange III#68 (fb) - BTS) - Since
childhood, Azopardi had the gift to be unnaturally lucky. He honed this ability,
learning some basics of magic and used his luck to become rich, playing cards
and reading and playing into the stock market. However, the more he got
involved in the practice of magic to increase his "luck", the more he
became superstitious and fearful that the forces of magic would have finally
punished him for dabbling in their art.
Hungry for arcane knowledge, Azopardi started to gather magic artifacts and went to live at the
top three floors of a skyscraper. He chose that place because the tower stood at
a natural dead spot, a confluence of the global Ley Line network, a place where
the magic emanations could not be sensed from the outside of the building. He
stored the artifacts in the vault under the tower, a more insulated place, where
all magic became completely inert.
(Doctor Strange III#68) - One night, at the Byzantium Club, he
met Dr. Vincent Stevens. Stevens beat Azopardi playing Poker, so Azopardi suspected
that Stevens was a demon or an emissary of the "forces of magic" sent
to kill him.
Azopardi lured Stevens in his building.
Stevens was really interested in seeing the magic artifacts in
Azopardi's collection, especially the Levant Rubric, which could have freed from his condition
to be only one magical aspect of the real Dr. Stephen Strange, and
also to be freed from the persecution of the other, more violent, magic
aspect, Strange. When Stevens saw
the hologram of the Levant Rubric he decided to follow Azopardi in the Vault.
Inside the Vault Stevens' magical form started to
collapse, being affected by the cancellation effect of the Vault and Azopardi
grabbed an enchanted Falchion to kill Stevens. In that moment, Strange smashed
the Vault's wall, in rush and rage against Stevens. The anti-magic field faded,
Azopardi more convinced than ever that the "demon" had finally come to
take him out, slashed Strange with the Falchion, wounding him. But Strange's power
was too strong and in a burst of rage shot his aetheric fire at Azopardi,
who exploded screaming into pieces. The Vault and most artifacts were destroyed including the Levant Rubric.
Comments: Created by Dan Abnett (writer), Melvin Rubi (pencils),
Rich Rankin (inks).
Azopardi remembered he had the gift of "luck" since childhood. Mutants usually develop their powers in puberty, so it is rather
unlikely that Azopardi was a mutant.
Azopardi's luck could be as powerful as uncontrollable. While Strange was
pursuing Stevens, it was raining and Strange was struck by multiple lightning
(but survived). Strange sensed that the attack was magical and when he later
met Azopardi, knew that the cause had been Azopardi, but Azopardi himself didn't
know it!
Profile by Spidermay.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Azopardi has no known connections to:
- any other characters with a
similar name
Levant Rubric
The Levant Rubric was reputed to contain the methods of
creating a magical servitor.
The rubric was composed by a necromancer at the service of
Darius of Persia, more than 2,000 years ago.
Azopardi hid the artifact in his Vault under the building, and
reproduced the Rubric using a hologram in his flat.
Vincent Stevens was really interested in the Rubric, because he could
have used it to change his own condition as a magic construct, becoming
independent from his creator, Dr. Strange, and his magical counterpart Strange. But,
when Strange rushed the Vault destroying the anti-magic effect, he also
destroyed the Rubric, hitting it with his out-of-control tendrils of aetheric
energy.
--Doctor Strange III#68
Wakefield Falchion
The Falchion was only one piece of a pair of Falchions
enchanted to slay magical beings.
They were forged by the followers of Margaret of Anjou in the early 15the century to be
used against Richard of York. Richard of York was defended by demonic guards,
but Margaret's followers, thanks to the Falchions, managed to kill them and Richard.
As many other artifacts, a hologram of the pair of Falchions
was seen in Azopardi's flat, but in the Vault, only one Falchion was seen.
After Azopardi succeeded in luring Stevens in the Vault, he
grabbed the Falchion to kill him. The inert field was cancelling the enchantment
on the Falchion but the blade itself was sufficient to kill the weakened
Stevens. When Strange disrupted the inert field with his gatecrashing, the blade
re-acquired its lethal enchantment, so it could wound Strange, when used by
Azopardi.
--Doctor Strange III#68
Images:
Doctor Strange III#68, p14, pan4 (main image)
p13, pan4 (head shot)
p10, pan4 (Levant Rubric hologram)
p17, pan5 (Falchion)
Appearances:
Doctor Strange III#68 (August, 1994) - Dan Abnett (writer), Melvin Rubi (pencils), Rich Rankin (inks), Evan Skolnick (editor)
Last updated: 03/24/07
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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