Bases of Operations:
Brand plant in Jamaica, Queens, New York City.
Brand research facility, 410 Gannon Avenue, Long Island City, NY
Facility in Dallas, Texas.
Destroyed facility in Boston, Massachusetts.
Destroyed "special powers lab" near West Caldwell, New Jersey.
First Appearance: Amazing Adventures II#11 (March, 1972)
History:
(Amazing Adventures II#15 - BTS) The Secret Empire placed a number of spies within Brand to steal research. Among them were Linda Donaldson ("Number Nine"), Carl Maddicks, and Mr. Black of the Dallas Brand facility. (Amazing Adventures II#11) - Hank McCoy (Beast) was hired by Brand Corporation as a Research biologist. He worked in Genetic Research, Subdivision 12, for a Mr. Grant, working beside Professor Carl Maddicks and Linda Donaldson. When McCoy made a major advancement, Maddicks and Donaldson arranged for a security agent named Bernie to attempt to steal McCoy's research - Bernie was killed by Brand security, Maddicks was apparently killed by Donaldson. McCoy drank his serum and was transformed into a furry Beast. (X-Factor I#2 (fb)) - Maddicks survived his attempted murder, and left Brand. (Amazing Adventures II#15 - BTS) - Mastermind was hired by the Secret Empire to remove the Beast from Brand. (Amazing Adventures II#12) - Brand staffers, including a gentleman named Tom and a secretary Miss Rupel, discussed the mysterious "Beast." Tony Stark, with assistant Marianne Rodgers, toured Brand, including visiting McCoy's lab and meeting with McCoy. Iron Man and the Beast battled on Brand's grounds, and were engaged by Brand security, including an agent named Jackson. (Avengers I#140 (fb) ) - Mr. Grant chastised Hank McCoy for his leave to Canada. (Amazing Adventures II#13) - Captain Buzz Baxter, of the U.S. Air Force, with his wife Patsy, was assigned to Brand as security to help protect the government's interests against further intrusions by the Beast. Baxter reported to plant head Mr. Grant. (Amazing Adventures II#15 - BTS) - Donaldson set up a system of hidden cameras to spy on Baxter. (Amazing Adventures II#14 - BTS) - Quasimodo received reports from the Secret Empire on the Beast's research. (Amazing Adventures II#14) - The Beast was sighted at Brand again, and Hank McCoy had a run in with Baxter. Later that night, Quasimodo and the Beast battled within Brand, ending with Quasimodo being disabled. (Marvel Team-Up I#14) - At the Long Island Brand facility, Hank McCoy was contacted telepathically by Professor X but could not come to the X-Men's aid. (Amazing Adventures II#15) - Still suspicious of McCoy, Baxter interrogated him, but Baxter's wife Patsy (who had discovered McCoy's dual identity) provided him with an alibi. The Secret Empire sent the Griffin after the Beast, and the Beast and Angel fought the Griffin at Brand. (Captain America I#173 (fb)) - Hank McCoy disappeared (the Beast was captured by the Secret Empire), and Linda Donaldson arranged to be transferred to the Dallas, Texas Brand facility. (Spider-Man: The Mutant Agenda#2 (fb)) - After Hank McCoy disappeared, Herbert Landon (a personal friend of Hank's) was convinced that the Beast had killed Hank and became obsessed with McCoy's work, continuing it in cooperation with Dr. Everett Burgos. (Captain America I#173 / Captain America I#173 (fb)) - Captain America and the Falcon (at the time fugitives from the law) broke into the Dallas, Texas Brand facility and stole an electron-gyro, leaving a note that they needed it desperately. Mr. Black, the plant manager (secretly a Secret Empire operative), ordered security not to pursue them. (Captain America I#175) - Captain America and the Falcon took down and expose the Secret Empire. "Every living member" of the Secret Empire was exposed, which included Linda Donaldson and Dallas' Mr. Black. (Avengers I#141 (fb)) - Stark Industries had dealt with Brand, according to Tony Stark, and was "bitten badly." (Avengers I#144 (fb)) - The Brand Corporation was purchased by Roxxon Oil Company some time after the Beast left Brand. (Avengers I#149 (fb)) - Using the Serpent Crown, Roxxon President Hugh Jones called Orka the Killer Whale from the sea to serve himself and Brand. Brand technology subsequently increased the size, strength, and durability of Orka. (Avengers I#144 (fb) - BTS) - Through unknown means, Brand acquired the Cat's suit, abandoned when that heroine mutated into Tigra. (Avengers I#141) - Captain America, investigating Roxxon President Hugh Jones, followed some Brand security forces from One Roxxon Plaza to where they attacked the Beast. The Avengers investigated Brand's Queens facility, which housed both Roxxon President Hugh Jones and Brand security head Buzz Baxter at the time. The Avengers were quickly defeated by the Squadron Supreme. (Avengers I#142) - The captured Avengers were caged in the Brand facility. (Avengers I#143) - The captured Avengers escaped. (Avengers I#144) - The escaping Avengers, in passing through Brand's experimental technologies sections, found a copy of the Cat's costume, which Patsy Walker donned to become the Hellcat. When the police came to investigate the ongoing fighting, Hugh Jones removed both the Avengers and the Squadron Supreme by sending them to the Squadron Supreme's world. (Avengers I#147) - At Brand, Hugh Jones was contacted by the Squadron Supreme universe's U.S. President Nelson Rockefeller, the wearer of that universe's Serpent Crown until the Avengers stole said Crown. (Avengers I#149) - The Avengers returned to Brand from the Squadron Supreme's world. Using his Serpent Crown, Jones sent Orka the Killer Whale against the Avengers while trying to get to safety on a tracto-mek. While Thor battled Orka, the other Avengers were re-captured and placed in an electro-incinerogram before breaking free. Baxter and Jones were both captured. (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#7: Mad Dog) - Baxter agreed to let the Brand Corporation experiment on him, granting him super-powers as Mad Dog. (Marvel Two-in-One#66 (fb) / Captain America I#310 - BTS(fb) / Captain America Annual#10/2 - BTS (fb)) - Hugh Jones, under the influence of the Serpent Crown, arranged for the creation of his own Serpent Squad (Anaconda, Black Mamba, Death Adder (Burroughs), Sidewinder (Voelker)) as well as another serpent-themed individual, Bushmaster. The creation/empowerment of these individuals occurred at the Brand Corporation. (Amazing Spider-Man I#236 (fb)) - Jackson Arvad worked for James Melvin at Brand as Head of Electromagnetic Research. A gravimetric surge shattered the magno-chamber, and Arvad started becoming immaterial. Melvin used him as a research guinea pig until Arvad ultimately escaped (Brand assumed he'd completely discorporated). After eventually mastering his abilities, Arvad would become the Will O' the Wisp. (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok / Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Deathlok the Demolisher, after being stolen by Roxxon agents, was placed under the supervision of Harlan Ryker at Brand Corporation, an agent of Roxxon's Department M (for "Mutagenics"). Based on Deathlok's systems, Ryker built an entirely robotic simulacrum of Deathlok which was later turned over to the Nth Command for testing. Ryker continued to work on the original Deathlok, restoring him to fully functional status and reprogramming him to serve them. (Alpha Flight I#12 (fb)) - Delphine Courtney was the name assumed by an android designed by Roxxon Oil in their Brand Corporation laboratories. (Thunderbolts I#21 (fb) / All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe#9: Roxxon) - At some point, the Grapplers (Letha, Poundcakes, Screaming Mimi, Titania (DeVita)), received cybernetic enhancements from Roxxon, presumably at the Brand facility.
(Spider-Man Unlimited II#4/2 (fb)) - Alfonso Erdoes offered himself to the Brand Corporation as a test subject in exchange for surgical treatment for his son. Brand's scientists sliced Erdoes' DNA for eighteen months, turning him into a superhuman fly-man. (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#6/Killer Shrike) - Killer Shrike underwent physical enhancement and had an anti-gravity generator impanted in his spine at Brand. (Spectacular Spider-Man II#57 (fb)) - Brand executive James Melvin molded Harold Simmons, a.k.a. Killer Shrike, into "one of Brand's best operatives." (Captain America Annual 1999 (fb)) - Kevin Stein was a Vice-President under Melvin at Brand, and was aware of various "covert operations," some of which included Kenneth H. Bradley. (Ghost Rider II#27) - As part of a scheme to retrieve the Hellcat suit stolen by Patsy Walker, Brand sent an employee in the Brand-constructed Manticore battle-suit to attempt to kill Hawkeye. Manticore was stopped by Hawkeye, Ghost Rider (Blaze) and the Two-Gun Kid. (Deathlok II#31 (fb)) - Roxxon Oil stole the Earth-7484 Deathlok cyborg from SHIELD and turned it over to Harlan Ryker, then a Brand Corporation employee. Ryker was ordered to disassemble Deathlok and recreate it.
(Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Ryker built a completely robotic Deathlok, which was turned over to Roxxon.
(Iron Man I#142 (fb)) - In order to make the staffing of Roxxon's Star Well I station affordable, executive Arthur Dearborn voluntarily submitted to experimental alteration at the hands of the Brand Corporation. They changed him into Sunturion. (Spectacular Spider-Man II#57) - James Melvin retrieved Killer Shrike after a bad experience with Spider-Man and the Modular Man, and returned him to Brand's employ. (Spectacular Spider-Man II#57) - Marla Madison was offered a position at Brand Corporation. The incorporeal Will O' The Wisp "possessed" the suit of the Killer Shrike (who was acting as a bodyguard to Brand "bigwig" James Melvin), kidnapped Madison, and flew Madison to a West Caldwell, New Jersey Brand "special powers lab," where she used the machinery there to resurrect Wisp into an integrated human form. Wisp revealed that he was originally created at this lab, and then destroyed the plant. Wisp hypnotized Madison into forgetting most of what happened, and the dazed Marla declined Brand's job offer. (Amazing Spider-Man I#231) - Ned Leeds and Marla Madison met informer "Nose" Norton about Brand, but were interrupted by the Cobra. (Amazing Spider-Man I#233) - "Senor Smith" in Miami hired the Tarantula to kill Norton, offering new equipment and a quarter of a million dollars payment. One of "Smith"'s contacts found Norton, the Tarantula framed him, and two "private investigators" (one of whom was "Smith") shot Norton (leaving him comatose), claiming that he fired first and that he'd stolen industrial secrets from Brand. (Amazing Spider-Man I#234) - At a Brand facility in Boston, the Will O' the Wisp scared off a security guard named Jenkins and then proceeded to destroy the facility by causing a 5:45 PM gas explosion, just giving all personnel time to narrowly escape. Investigating Brand, Spider-Man, as Peter Parker, applied for an internship at the Brand Plant in Jamaica, Queens to gain access, and observed James Melvin resurrecting the "special powers program," spearheaded by a Dr. Fenton. Melvin claimed that restarting the program was imperative, as all previous Brand agents were incarcerated. Fenton injected Tarantula with a "spider-serum", and subjected him to treatment. The Will O' the Wisp intervened, and Melvin shot the Wisp with a "magno-pulser" which damaged the Wisp. The Tarantula's treatment bath exploded during the fight; Tarantula was monstrously mutated. (Amazing Spider-Man I#235) - Spider-Man, the Wisp, and the Tarantula battled while the facility was being evacuated, and Spider-Man was forced to web several security guards, including two named Harv Carson and Thorpe, before escaping. Raymond Royton, of the Department of Justice, informed the Daily Bugle (Jameson, Robertson, and Leeds) about Brand/Roxxon history and asked the Bugle to kill story for fear it'd interfere with the Justice Department's ongoing investigation. Overhearing this, Spider-Man subsequently broke into Melvin's plush eastside townhouse and eavesdropped on the slightly intoxicated Melvin's phone conversation with Roxxon President John T. Gamelin. The Wisp broke in, and Spidey and the Wisp fought until interrupted by the Tarantula, who broke in and grabbed Melvin. (Amazing Spider-Man I#236) - Will O' the Wisp revealed that he had hypnotized the Tarantula, but his control over him proved to be short-lived as the Tarantula went insane, and Spider-Man fled with Melvin. Roxxon president John T. Gamelin, who has continued to observe the goings-on via vidphone, called Roxxon Chairman of the Board D'Angelo, who ordered a "clean-up crew" sent to Melvin's home. Geraldo Jiminez and his cameraman Ernie (a WYDY TV news team) sighted Tarantula and followed. They went live with coverage of Spidey fighting the Tarantula for Melvin, but Gamelin contacted the station (which was Roxxon-owned) and ordered it off the air. After Tarantula ultimately committed suicide, Wisp hypnotized Melvin into confessing. Gamelin, acting on orders from D'Angelo, ordered all Brand plants shut down and announced his intent to personally investigate the matter. (Captain America Annual 1999 (fb)) - With the closing of Brand, Kenneth H. Bradley (Brand "security consultant" and covert operative) officially retired but secretly moved to Roxxon's direct employ. (Deathlok II#32 (fb)/Captain America I#287 - BTS) - Following Brand's closure, Harlan Ryker was placed in charge of Cybertek and their cyborg research was moved there. The original Deathlok was reassigned to serve the Nth Command. (Captain America I#286) - Though officially closed, covert genetics research continued inside Brand's Long Island facility, conducted by Nth Command operatives. The plant was invaded by Captain America and a time-traveling Luther Manning clone. (Captain America I#287) - Deathlok the Demolisher (still held and controlled by Brand) battled and defeated Captain America before having its memories restored by the clone. It destroyed the genetics research portion of the Brand facility and fled beside Captain America; the Manning clone died and was abandoned there. (Falcon#1) - A Mr. Kane, of Kane's Construction, donned a high-powered exo-skeleton armored suit and, as Nemesis, proceeded to destroy his own construction sites for insurance money. The Falcon, who stopped Kane, believed that Kane had stolen the suit from the Brand Corporation. (Captain America I#310) - Anaconda, Rattler, and Cobra broke into the closed Brand facility and stole the Brand mutagenic equipment which had been used to create the Serpent Squad. Constrictor phoned the Avengers to warn them of the theft and Captain America captured Anaconda, but the others escaped with the equipment. (Marvel Fanfare II#1) - The Nth Command's Operation Purge technology began to be recreated in the abandoned Brand plant in Queens. A time-traveling Deathlok (who believed the Red Skull to be behind the project) destroyed the facility and the equipment, despite the interference of Captain America, the Falcon, and Justice Peace. (Spider-Man: The Mutant Agenda#2 (fb)) - Herbert Landon, a former scientist/researcher at Brand, gathered investors and opened a new Brand Corporation, presumably independent of Roxxon. (Conspiracy#2) - Edward Harrison, retired U.S. Colonel and conspiracy theorist, informed a Daily Bugle reporter named Ewing that a secret government organization known as Control was behind the creation of most of the world's superhumans. He claimed one member of Control, General Cecil B. Slinkard, had been peddling classified technology to numerous corporations, including Brand (in their pre-Roxxon days). Comments: Created by Gerry Conway (writer), Tom Sutton (pencils), Syd Shores (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
The Brand Corporation was part of the Roxxon organization, which controlled a number of lesser corporations or organizations, most notably Brand, Cybertek, and the Nth Command. This entry focuses solely on those actions directly related to Brand itself- for information of activities by Roxxon and its other subsidiaries, please see entries for those specific organizations. As noted in the affiliations above, the Brand Corporation has been disbanded. A second corporation, also under the name Brand Corporation has come into existence, and to date there is no evidence connecting this Brand to Roxxon or the newer Brand; their histories should not be confused. The Hobgoblin, who had investigated Herbert Landon, and Roxxon's Henshaw have both stated that the "new" Brand has no relation to Roxxon, but this may or may not be true. We noted above when Kenneth H. Bradley moved to Roxxon after Brand closed because this occurred in print, but its exceedingly likely that Roxxon absorbed any number of employees into itself and its subsidiaries when Brand closed, particularly those with personal knowledge of legally questionable activities. Hellrazor may well have gotten his powers from Brand as well, or he may well have been a simple Roxxon hireling. We'll probably never know in his case. Colonel Harrison's conspiracy theories about Control and General Slinkard selling technology to Brand have yet to be proven one way or another. There is some argument that the "Conspiracy" series took place out of Marvel continuity. I prefer to believe that the story itself took place in continuity, but that there is no clear evidence either way as to whether or not Control ever actually existed or was a figment of Harrison's imagination. Effectively, everything which actively happened in the story happened in the Marvel Universe, but everything which was merely one character telling another character something may or may not be true- we don't know if the character was truthful or lying and/or insane. Its one of those Marvel mysteries- whether you believe in Control or not is best left up to the reader. Profile by SQUEAK CLARIFICATIONS:
This Brand Corporation has known connection to
