EGO-SPAWN

Real Name: Ego Spawn;
    when first formed, Ego-Spawn was the body of a man named Franco Berardi that was possessed by aspects of Franklin Richards;
    in his second known manifestation, he was an aspect of Psi-Lord (a divergent Franklin Richard)'s psyche

Identity/Class: Ethereoid (psycho-plasmic) manifestation of repressed frustrations, as well as confidence and belligerence
    formerly human powered by same

Occupation: To act out Franklin Richards' repressed frustrations

Group Membership: Aspect of the whole of Franklin Richards (which has been shown to include his past identities, such as Avatar, Psi-Lord, and Tattletale)

Affiliations: Franco Berardi, Fantastic Force (Black Panther/T'Challa, Devlor, Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Huntara, Vibraxas), Warlord Kargul

Enemies: Vangaard;
    formerly the Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Girl/Sue Richards (now Invisible Woman), Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm) and Warlord Kargul's guards

Known Relatives: Franklin Richards and his divergent Psi-Lord self (progenitors); extended family via Franklin Richards

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Franklin Richards and Psi-Lord
    briefly active outside Seaboard University (which is approximately 30 minutes east of Manhattan via Fantasticar);
    later active on the risen island of Atlantis; at Empire State University, Fantastic Force headquarters, Elsewhen, and wherever they fought Vangaard

First Appearance: Fantastic Four I#228 (March, 1981)

 

 

 

Powers/Abilities: In his initial manifestation, Ego-Spawn was Franklin Richards' psychic powers and repressed frustrations projected into the human form of Franco Berardi. He had a force field that proved impervious to the Human Torch's flames, and he fired energy bolts (from his hands of eyes) able to knock the Fantasticar out of the air.
    In his subsequent manifestation, Ego-Spawn was a pure ethereoid (psycho-plasmic projection), representing the confident and belligerent aspects of Franklin Richards, though still using the appearance of the costumed Franco Berardi. His form was intangible, though he may have been able to take solid form at will. He could fly and project psychic bolts. Additionally, he was seen to use his powers to locate the largest psychic collection of a certain mental image.

 

Height: Approximately 6'5"(presumably variable in purely ectoplasmic form)
Weight: Approximately 255 lbs (presumably variable in purely ectoplasmic form)
Eyes: White (presumably variable in purely ectoplasmic form); (Franco) not clearly seen
Hair: Black (including moustache) - (presumably variable in purely ectoplasmic form)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History:
(Fantastic Four I#228) - After Franklin's powers began to flare up again, Reed sought to study them to better learn how to manage them and so he brought the FF, Franklin, and the Human Torch's then-girlfriend, Lorrie Melton, to his old State University classmate Abe Jankovitz's Seaboard University laboratory. As Franklin underwent a biofeedback procedure to help access his abilities without a traumatic event, Johnny took Lorrie to get a bite to eat. Johnny's public displays of his powers angered a local man named Franco Berardi, who was there with his girlfriend, Jenny, who was quite impressed with Johnny's displays. Franco felt a need to prove himself superior to Johnny in front of his girl and challenged Johnny to a game of "Chicken" in his car (against Johnny in the Fantasticar) and then tried to provoke a fight, kicking the Fantasticar.
    As Franklin entered a dream-like state, he began manifesting telekinesis, then unleashed a burst of psychic ectoplasm, a manifestation of the collective unconscious. The energy globule flew towards and then transformed Franco, giving him a costumed form that manifested Franklin's powers and voiced and acted out Franklin's repressed frustrations; at the same time, Franklin's dreaming body voiced Franco's frustrations. The costumed "Ego-Spawn" complained about being the son of two freaks, not having control of his powers, and of Johnny abandoning him during the test to pay attention to his date and his appetite. Ego-Spawn dove at Johnny and then fired energy blasts at him when he flew off. Johnny fired an FF flare into the air to get the others' attention while he sent Lorrie to fly the F-car to them. Ego-Spawn's force field proved immune to Johnny's fire, and he blasted Johnny out of the sky, then also took out the F-car compartment bringing Ben and Johnny to the scene; Sue and Dr. Jankovitz stayed had with Franklin. Efforts to deactivate the biofeedback device had resulted in Franklin releasing an electric shock to prevent this.
    Under Reed's direction, Ben used a car hood to insulate himself while he wrapped his arms around Ego-Spawn, restraining him, and then Johnny created a vacuum to suck the energy out of Ego-Spawn. As Ego-Spawn weakened, Reed covered his mouth and nose until Franco passed out. Meanwhile, Sue had Jankovitz approach Franklin as a distraction and weather another electric jolt, while she turned invisible, got past Franklin's subconscious defenses, and deactivated the biofeedback machine. As the energy globule faded out of existence, both Franklin and Franco awakened, neither one remembering what had happened.
    Reed decided not to use biofeedback anymore to examine Franklin's powers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising#2) - Years later, after Franklin had aged in another dimension and returned to Earth as Psi-Lord, Psi-Lord's powers destabilized, and Ego-Spawn manifested again, taunting Psi-Lord as he and his allies in the Fantastic Force battled the Inhumans' Genetic Council. When Psi-Lord used his powers to free those souls trapped by Morgan Le Fay in the Ebony Blade, Ego-Spawn vanished, drawn back into Psi-Lord.

(Fantastic Force#10) - At the psionic research facility at Empire State University, Professor Isaac Sandor studied Psi-Lord and his two exteriorized aspects, Tattletale (Franklin when he was on the Power Pack team) and Ego-Spawn, and then another aspect split off, Avatar. When Psi-Lord noted that Fantastic Force still had not recovered the Omnivirus, Ego-Spawn noted that its recovery was a matter of due course now that he was made manifest. He soon used his psychic powers to find the largest single concentration of the image of Mount Ararat (an image instilled into Lord Moses' agents of Haven to make them resistant to psychic intrusion), and he identified that location as Lord Moses' base. Psi-Lord and his aspects stayed behind when the rest of the Force when after Lord Moses, but they soon departed for Elsewhen in the hopes that Lord Kargul's Psi-Masters could reunite Psi-Lord's fragmented psyche.

(Fantastic Force#11) - Psi-Lord and his fragmented consciousness aspects (Avatar, Ego-Spawn, Tattletale) arrived in Elsewhen, but found its troops mobilized for battle. After Ego-Spawn questioned a soldier and learned that they faced "the end of all that is," Psi-Lord and the others traveled to Kargul's Tower of Wisdom to find answers. Upon their arrival, they were assaulted by Kargul's guards, and Ego-Spawn readily fought back, until Kargul arrived and broke it up. After they observed Kargul's forces being devastated by their foe's temporal force, Psi-Lord summoned the rest of Fantastic Force (via Huntara's scythe) to them, but they were caught in the trans-temporal energy field of Kargul's foe -- Vangaard -- and emerged in his presence instead.

(Fantastic Force#12) - Psi-Lord and his aspects watches as Vangaard easily overcame the rest of Fantastic Force. When Kargul donned his "Armor of God" to oppose Vangaard, Franklin ambushed Kargul, knocking him out to prevent his sacrifice, and led his aspects to confront Vangaard instead. As they arrived, Ego-Spawn tried to dissuade Psi-Lord from risking his own life as this would risk his existence as well, but Tattletale convinced Ego-Spawn the risk was necessary to stop "the bad guys," and Avatar noted his agreement with Psi-Lord's decision. Psi-Lord cast off his psycho-armor, which limited/controlled his powers and then transmuted the devastated continent on which they stood into anti-matter, then held it in a stasis field. Psi-Lord's aspects noted Vangaard's approach, at which point Psi-Lord released the field, and used the matter - anti-matter explosion against Vangaard. This effort proved futile, but the Human Torch, who was the Earth-616 counterpart to Vangaard (the Johnny Storm of Earth-712 / Earth-A), ultimately convinced Vangaard to depart.

(Fantastic Force#13 (fb) - BTS) - The cathartic release of all of his pent-up psionic energy fully re-merged Psi-Lord's ethereoid aspects, while he took refuge from the anti-matter explosion inside his personal sub-space pocket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments: Created by Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Joe Sinnott.

    The character wasn't actually named in the first appearance, though "Ego-Spawn" was on both the cover and served as the issue title. In Atlantis Rising#2, the Torch noted that he had been "spawned from his ego," but it wasn't until Fantastic Force#10 that he was officially called Ego-Spawn.

    Technically, Psi-Lord is really an alternate future counterpart of Franklin. He is the Franklin that was taken to Elsewhen and raised by Kargul, while the currently active Franklin is the one that Hyperstorm (IIRC) sent back to Earth-616 before he could be raised on Elsewhen.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
No KNOWN connections to:

Franco Berardi

Out on a date with his girlfriend, Jenny, he became angry when she was impressed with the display of the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and he decided to confront the Torch, challenging him first to a game of Chicken (he in his car, and the Torch in the Fantasticar), with the loser having to act like a chicken in front of the girls. Johnny tried to blow him off, but then Franco started kicking the Fantasticar. Things had nearly escalated to a fight when Franco was possessed by Franklin's repressed frustration in ectoplasmic form and transformed into Ego-Spawn. As Ego-Spawn acted out Franklin's frustrations by assaulting the Fantastic Four, Franco's subconscious spoke through Franklin, noting that he couldn't let the Torch show him up in front of the girls, and that he could take him even if the Torch could burn. After Franklin's energies were purged from him, Franco was left confused, wondering if there had been a fight and if he had lost.

--Fantastic Four I#228

images: (without ads)
Fantastic Four I#228, p15, panel 2 (Franco)
        p16, panel 4 (Franklin in bio-feedback helmet)
            panel 6 (psychic ectoplasm)
        p17, panel 3 (Ego-Spawn front view)
        cover (Ego-Spawn side view)
Fantastic Force#11, p1 (later form)
Fantastic Force#13 (November, 1995) - Tom Brevoort & Mike Kanterovich (writers), Pino Rinaldi (penciler), Ralph Cabrera (inker), Nel Yomtov (editor)

Appearances:
Fantastic Four I#228 (March, 1981) - Doug Moench (writer), Bill Sienkiewicz (layouts), Joe Sinnott (finishes), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising#2 (July, 1995) - Tom DeFalco (plot), Glenn Herdling (script), WC Wyman & Geof Isherwood (pencilers), Rey Garcia (inker), Nel Yomtov (editor)
Fantastic Force#10 (August, 1995) - Tom Brevoort & Mike Kanterovich (writers), Dante Bastianoni (penciler), Ralph Cabrera (inker), Nel Yomtov (editor)
Fantastic Force#11-12 (September-October, 1995) - Tom Brevoort & Mike Kanterovich (writers), Dante Bastianoni & Pino Rinaldi (pencilers), Ralph Cabrera (inker), Nel Yomtov (editor)

First Posted: 02/21/2009
Last updated: 09/23/2010

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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