ENCODERS
Membership: Bug, "Divider", "Feedback", "Hang", Signal
Purpose: Adventurers;
formerly domination of matter, the Matrix Microverse and the
Multiverse
Affiliations: Dark Angel (Shevaun Haldane), the Masters of the Matrix, the Wyrd Sisters
Enemies: Mercenaries,
Mys-Tech, Psycho-Wraiths;
formerly Dark Angel, the Masters of the Matrix, the
X-Men (Beast/Hank McCoy, Cyclops/Scott Summers, Psylocke/Betsy Braddock, Rogue/Anna, Wolverine/Logan/James
Howlett)
Base of Operations: Docklands, England;
formerly the Matrix Microverse
First Appearance: Hell's Angel#5 (November, 1992)
History:
(Hell's Angel#5 (fb) - BTS) - The once sealed Matrix
Microverse was polluted by matter. This was predominately believed to be matter
from Earth-616 arriving via Shevaun Haldane's
dimensional void (However, Shevaun would later note that the amount of matter in
the matrix wasn't all down to her, suggesting that either somebody else was
using the portal before her or that there was more than one portal in existence).
Either way, the first entities to seize on the incoming matter mentally
crafted themselves material bodies. They then manifested a demonic ever growing
hell hole of a city to live in and plan their attack on the Masters of the
Matrix. They believed that to rule the Matrix Microverse would be to own the
multiverse. They planned to pollute the Matrix and watch the whole multiverse
disintegrate, the mere threat of doing so ensuring their rule. To
this end, they developed weapons to counteract the Masters of the Matrix, and hardware
to penetrate their mind defenses. At first their weapons could not even scratch
the mental creations of the Masters of the Matrix. However, they
learned too fast for the Masters, for while they dwelt on things cerebral, the
Encoders conquered the practicalities of material existence and their powers
grew. They became known to their enemies as the Encoders.
(Hell's Angel#5) - The Encoders discussed their new weapons
and hardware, but were unsure it would be enough to deal with their foes. Their
leader announced that the Masters had met with Shevaun and the X-Men in
hopes of sealing the portal. Wishing to discover the secret of the portal that sustained their powers, they
decided to test their creations against those of the Masters of the Matrix. They flew
to the Masters of the Matrix' base of operations, a deserted village. Their foes'
strongest mental creations were easily dispatched by their weaponry. They flew
towards the Matrix Master's amphitheatre, planning to destroy their foes and
capture the portal. One of the Masters of the Matrix generated his most powerful mind
shield, but it was easily penetrated. The Encoders leader blasted at the Matrix
Masters, who disappeared. It was unclear to Shevaun and the X-Men whether or not
the Matrix Master's had been dispatched or had simply dematerialized, but they
quickly became the Encoders' next target. One of the Encoders noticed that the
Earth heroes had powers that weren't based in mental creation and suggested that
this might be why one of her comrades blasts didn't affect his opponent (see
comments). The X-Men found their innate powers warping
and struggled; Rogue was swiftly overpowered by the Encoder's leader, so Shevaun
shot him with her Graviton Phase Blaster. Wolverine was nearly struck down,
saved at the last instant by Beast, while Psylocke found herself weakening as
her attacks were absorbed by her opponent. Cyclops encountered the same problem.
Meanwhile, the Encoders' leader reformed and attacked Shevaun. He announced his
intent to access the multiverse, giving her the idea to do so herself. She
decided to return all the matter that had traveled through her portal back the
way it had come, a decision supported by the Masters of the Matrix, who had simply been
hiding. Shevaun was successful in returning all the matter to her own dimension,
including herself, the X-Men and the Encoders. However, the Encoders found
themselves changed; their evil life essences fled as they went into the vortex,
but their bodies were saved by the Masters of the Matrix. They were truly creatures of
form, and not of the Matrix. Psylocke scanned them and verified that their minds
were devoid of evil. They were welcomed by the Earth heroes and thanked by the
Masters of the Matrix.
(Dark Angel#13 (fb) - BTS) - The Encoders gradually became
accustomed to life on Earth. Months after arriving on the
planet, they agreed to help Dark Angel move out of Darkmoor Castle; the stress
of the move added to the stress caused by the underlying threat of Mys-Tech
building up.
(Dark Angel#13) - The Encoders bickered. Dark Angel spoke of a psychic rumor from Inner Space that Mys-Tech were going to launch a major offensive against all superheroes. Furthermore, she said that they might be the boards first targets.
(Dark Angel#14 (fb) - BTS) - The Encoders began moving into a new home in England's docklands.
(Dark Angel#14) - They were at their new home when Dark Angel telepathically contacted Bug with the Encoders' first superhero assignment. They were to tackle a group of Psycho-Wraiths at an airfield in Somerset, England. They defeated their foes with minimal fuss, with only Signal being hurt.
(Dark Angel#16) - Dark Angel contacted Bug via telepathy to let him know there was trouble. The Encoders found her battling mercenaries who had all taken the likeness of Death's Head. They took over the fight from Dark Angel and the Wyrd Sisters, who left. Dark Angel created an energy barrier so that nobody could follow. The Encoders kept the mercenaries busy while Dark Angel dealt with the real Death's Head and the Anti-Being.
Comments: Created by Bernie Jaye, Geoff Senior, and Martin Griffiths under the Marvel UK imprint.
Presumably the Encoders defeated the Mercenaries, and Dark Angel came back to lower the energy barrier and let them out. One would hope so anyway.
The cover to Hell's Angel#5, which I've used as the main image, was by Bryan Hitch. Hitch did a number of great covers for the Hell's Angel/Dark Angel series. I've no idea if he had any part in the designs for the Encoders, but he sure makes them look good. Salvador Larroca did the cover for Dark Angel#14, which shows "Divider", "Feedback" and Signal, though they are in battle with the Techno Wizards and obscured so I've not included that image.
None of the Encoders used names in their first appearance. They might not have taken codenames prior to entering the Earth dimension. The evil essences that were in control of their bodies to begin with may have had different names. The only Encoders to receive names when they reappeared as heroes were Bug and Signal, so I picked some out for the rest of the gang.
Dark Angel#13 starts with the Mys-Tech board planning their transformation into the Techno-Wizards, then skips ahead by six months. Then we see the Encoders again. So adding to that the indeterminate amount of time that covers the events of Hell's Angel#5 up to and including Dark Angel#12, the Encoders had been on Earth for over six months. Of course, when you take the sliding timescale into account the exact figure becomes moot. However, I've stipulated that#13 takes place "months" after their first appearance as clearly a fair amount of time has passed. I've listed Mys-Tech as enemies. Although the Encoder's never take them on directly, they fought their Psycho-Wraiths and, as associates of Dark Angel, they were apparently included as targets in Mys-Tech's planned offensive on superheroes.
Bug recognized the fact that the mercenaries are disguised as Death's Head, though we've never seen the Encoders and Death's Head interact. "Divider" is also aware of Death's Head. This is presumably through Dark Angel, who already knew the cyborg by this point, though perhaps they have had an unpublished encounter with him. Their comments about the scene resembling a Death's Head convention amuse me. See their sub profiles below for more on that!
I have a few comments to make about the Encoders power set.
I'll start with their physical abilities, such as strength. Bug is briefly seen
strangling Rogue, so it would be easy for me to assume he has superhuman
strength. While he is certainly the most powerful of the Encoders, as it states
in their first appearance, Rogue had just been stunned by one of Bug's blasts.
Furthermore, her powers weren't operating normally due to being in a different
dimension so she might not have even had her normal strength. I would say Bug
has peak human strength, however, due to his size (he looks about 6'5''
roughly), exaggerated muscles, and being the most powerful.
The other thing is
that they appear to be ok operating in the vacuum of space. It could be that
they were protected by the Masters of the Matrix, but then the Masters disappeared. Dark Angel
was protecting the X-Men, but they appeared to fly off to the Blackbird without
the Encoders leaving them to make their own way. As they could absorb energy and
matter, this may have negated the need for air. Bug did claim to be thirsty in his
next appearance and was
given a drink by Dark Angel, so it appears they can ingest food and drink in a
normal fashion instead of just directly absorbing matter. Furthermore, Signal was
affected by a blast from a Psycho-Wraith. She was distracted, and the blast came
from behind. Presumably she can only absorb blasts if she is expecting them,
which likely applies to her fellow Encoders.
Regarding their powers to mentally create objects, I think
these powers are quite limited in scale. They are never seen to use that power,
so it's perhaps not a trick they could use in combat (for example creating an
oversized blaster from thin air).
Although the Encoder's have a large
city, it is said to be growing, and they could've had some time to build it up
from a smaller base of operations.
It is hinted that matter might've been coming
through from other sources than Shevaun's portal, so they might've been around
before her transformation into Hell's Angel. That said, a high energy beam is
projected at Shevaun in Hell's Angel#1 and we see it enter the Matrix Microverse. This beam strikes a molten pool of alchemical life-force which had
been undisturbed for eons. That could be the event that allowed the Encoder's
to create their material bodies, though it isn't explicitly stated. Hell's Angel
does state, however, that she wasn't responsible for all the matter in the
Matrix Microverse, and mentions the possibility that somebody was using the
portal before she had it. Perhaps it was her mysterious and manipulative mentor
the Angel of Death?
The weaponry of the Encoders seems to draw on innate mental powers. For example, when Rogue absorbs the leaders power she doesn't need the gauntlets to fire a blast. Signal refers to her "psychic combustion power" and when burning out the effects of a toxin from her body she doesn't appear to be using her gauntlets. My point is that I think the Encoders could generate their signature powers (anti-matter, combustion, freezing, fusion power and sound) without the gauntlets, but they just would have very low power levels that would've been insufficient to deal with the Masters of the Matrix.
"Hang" is surprised when his ice blast doesn't disintegrate his opponent. Signal suggests this could be because the Earth heroes have powers that aren't based in mental creation. Certainly, the innate powers of the heroes are affected by being in a different dimension. However, I just think that "Hang" is inexperienced in his powers. He'd just seen Bug blast the Masters of the Matrix, who appeared to disintegrate. He expected his blast to do the same, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) picked Ice Man who is immune to sub zero temperatures. Of course, it may be that their powers aren't as effective on real matter as they are on the mental creations of the Masters of the Matrix. But "Feedback"'s sonic powers seem quite effective on Ice Man's ice sled. And they seem to have no trouble with material foes in their fight with the Psycho-Wraiths. I don't think a blast of ice would "disintegrate" somebody under normal conditions anyway, though the freezing cold may cause something to lose structural integrity and collapse. Granted, this takes place in a different dimension (within a comic) so different rules may apply. Though I can't think of a time when Ice Man disintegrated something.
Psylocke says something strange in her fight with "Divider". "Lets see if he can withstand the power of my psychic sword. It has no energy field to absorb." So no PSYCHIC energy then? Considering the Encoders started out as non-physical entities, I would've thought psychic energies would be a type they are experienced with. Her attack was useless anyway, as the Encoder's lack a nervous system to disrupt.
In their first appearance there is a text box that describes the Encoders as "energy beings". This presumably is true of the entities possessing the physical bodies they created. The term "energy being" might not apply to them anymore since the evil entities are no longer in the Encoder's bodies.
The Encoders flight speed appears relatively low, which is fine as it's made up for over long distances by teleportation. I would estimate between a peak range between 30 mph and 60 mph. And by the way, I checked the distance they teleported and it's roughly 136 miles between the docklands and Somerset. If they have any limits to how far they can teleport, they aren't mentioned. Though they don't use the term teleportation, they use the term "dematerialized". Perhaps they are Doctor Who fans.
Finally, the flying thing down near the bottom of the Encoder's city isn't explained. My guesses are as follows:
Thanks to Marvelous Luke for the images.
Profile by Changeling.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Encoders have no known connections to
Bug has no known connections to
"Divider" has no known connections to
"Feedback" has no known connections to
"Hang" has no known connections to
Signal has no known connections to
One of several polluted entities who seized on matter coming through Shevaun Haldane's portal, he crafted a body for himself and became the leader of the group, which became known as the Encoders. He and his team also manifested a city from which to live and plan their activities. Deep down he was scared of matter. His spirit felt compressed and imprisoned by it. What he wanted above all was to control matter. Together with his companions he aimed to defeat the Matrix Masters and from there gain control of the multiverse. They mentally crafted weapons and hardware for themselves.
After some time, he became aware that Shevaun Haldane and the X-Men had traveled to the Matrix Microverse and
encountered the Masters of the Matrix. He learned that Shevaun held the secret of the
portal that sustained the Encoders. The Encoders tested themselves
against the Matrix Master's greatest mental creations at their deserted village,
before moving onto their amphitheatre. After one of his teammates broke down a
powerful mind shield, he ordered the team to begin systematic destruction of the
Masters of the Matrix and the X-Men, leaving Shevaun for him to deal with. He aimed a
blast at the Masters of the Matrix, who vanished. Rogue used her absorption power on
him and used his power on him. She sensed his fear of matter, and tried to use
his own power against him. However, her power didn't work as she expected. He
retained his power and fired upon her. While Rogue's blast didn't affect him,
his knocked her back. He was shot by Shevaun with her Graviton Phase Blaster,
and was overloaded with energy. He reformed himself very quickly, even stronger,
and tried to drag more matter through Shevaun's portal. When she willed the
portal to stay shut, he ordered her to grant access to the multiverse. When she
continued to refuse, he prepared to kill her. However, he had unintentionally
inspired her; she realized she could access her dimension and return the
polluting matter from the Matrix Microverse. As she did so, he realized he had
failed and that the very thing he wanted mastery of was being used against him
and his team. In the process, the evil essence was purged from the
Encoders; however, the Masters of the Matrix saved the Encoders' bodies. They found themselves in outer space above planet Earth, where Psylocke
confirmed they were no longer evil.
The Encoders spent some time on Earth acclimatizing to life there. By this point the leader had become known as Bug. He developed a taste for beer. After some months, the Encoders began helping Shevaun as she moved out of Darkmoor Castle. "Feedback" and Signal complained that the men weren't pulling their weight. Indeed, Bug was sitting down and when asked to get up by Signal, he objected. Asking for a beer, he caught one as Dark Angel threw it his way. Dark Angel broke the news about Mys-Tech's plans to launch an offensive against all superheroes, and them in particular. This roused the team, and Bug decided they better get a move on. They moved into a new home in England's docklands. While there, Dark Angel contacted Bug with the Encoders' first superhero assignment. They were to fight Psycho-Wraiths at an airfield in Somerset, England. They arrived on the scene and coped well. When Signal was hurt, Bug became angry and unleashed a flood of psi-energy. Once the last Psycho-Wraith was dealt with, the Encoders dematerialized (their form of teleportation).
Soon afterwards, Dark Angel contacted Bug via telepathy for assistance. He and the Encoders joined Dark Angel in Inner Space where they found her battling mercenaries alongside the Wyrd Sisters. Bug commented that it looked like a Death's Head convention, as the mercenaries had all taken the likeness of the Minion cyborg. He and the Encoders took over the fight from Dark Angel and her friends, keeping the mercenaries busy while Dark Angel dealt with the real Minion and the Anti-Being. Dark Angel created an energy barrier around the battle so that nobody could follow her.
Bug looked very athletic and strong. He is of gifted
intellect. All the Encoders can fly. In the Matrix Microverse, they could
mentally create objects and could absorb and transmute energy and matter. He was
able to ignore or absorb his own blast when used against him by Rogue, but was
overloaded by a blast from the Graviton Phase Blaster. However, he was able to
reform himself stronger than ever.
Even before that reformation, he was the most
powerful of the Encoders. After his
reformation, he claimed that due to his power over matter and energy, he was
invincible. Shevaun considered that he was a blusterer, but also that he might
be right. By the time of their first hero mission, the Encoders had developed
the ability to dematerialize from one location and rematerialize elsewhere. This
enabled them to teleport from their home in the docklands to Somerset. They can
also travel from Earth to Inner Space. Although they look human, or in Bug's case humanoid, their
mentally created bodies are different. They have no nervous system to be
disrupted by psychic attacks such as Psylocke's. They appear able to survive in
outer space, and perhaps don't need oxygen.
Abilities: Bug's main weaponry was a pair of gauntlets that unleashed fusion power in a form that looked similar to lightning. The blast couldn't be resisted by the source of the Matrix Master's heat and light, which was one of their greatest mental creations. His gauntlets could also generate a matter-transfer beam to pull matter towards him, which he attempted to do through Shevaun's portal and failed. He and the Encoders had hardware to penetrate the mind defenses of the Masters of the Matrix. On one occasion Bug's anger unleashed a flood of psi-energy which seeped out into the world. This caused a couple of police cars to collide. How much control over this ability Bug has over this psi-energy is unclear, but when last seen he was still an inexperienced hero. His right eye is either covered by or implanted with an eye piece, which may enhance his senses. His left ear also had some device attached to it, or in place of it. Indeed, Bug seemed to know a great deal about what the Masters of the Matrix and Shevaun were up to despite being several miles away which may suggest (along with his name of Bug) some form of augmented ESP ability to see and hear events at great distances.
In creating their weapons, the Encoders "conquered the practicalities of material existence" which shows a fair understanding of science, though admittedly they did so using mental power. They might not have the engineering skill to build more weapons, though perhaps that is something they could learn given time. They also have some understanding of the multiverse.
Bug appears to be the leader of the group.
--Hells Angel#5 (Dark Angel#13, Dark Angel 14, Dark Angel 16)
One of several polluted entities who seized on matter coming through Shevaun Haldane's portal, he crafted a body for himself. He and the other entities also manifested a city from which to live and plan their activities. They aimed to defeat the Masters of the Matrix and from there gain control of the multiverse. They mentally crafted weapons and hardware for themselves. The group became known as the Encoders, and tested themselves against the Matrix Master's greatest mental creations at their deserted village, before moving onto their amphitheatre. When one of the Masters of the Matrix erected a mind shield, he easily dispatched it with his anti-matter spears. The Encoders then began systematic destruction of the Masters of the Matrix and the X-Men, leaving Shevaun for their leader to deal with. He flew at Wolverine, but was tackled aside by the Beast. Psylocke then stabbed him with her psychic knife, but he began to absorb her personal body energy. Cyclops attacked him next, but he absorbed his power blast, too. It became part of his being as he transmuted energy at alarming speed. He turned his attention back to Wolverine, but Shevaun used her portal to access her dimension and return the polluting matter from the Matrix Microverse. In the process, the evil essence was purged from the Encoders; however, the Masters of the Matrix saved the Encoders' bodies. They found themselves in outer space above planet Earth, where Psylocke confirmed they were no longer evil.
After some months, the Encoders began helping Shevaun as she
moved out of Darkmoor Castle. "Feedback" and Signal complained that the men
weren't pulling their weight. Actually, "Divider" seemed quite content loading
heavy boxes into the van. However, Dark Angel broke the
news about Mys-Tech's plans to launch an offensive against all superheroes, and
them in particular. This roused the team, and Bug decided they better get a move
on. They moved into a new home in England's docklands. While there, Dark Angel
contacted Bug with the Encoders' first superhero assignment. They were to fight
Mys-Tech's Psycho-Wraiths at an airfield in Somerset, England. They arrived on the scene
and coped well. "Divider" was blasted by one of the Psycho-Wraiths, but was
unaffected and dispatched the wraith with his gauntlets. He dispatched another, and once
they had all been dealt with, the Encoders dematerialized (their form of
teleportation).
Soon afterwards, Dark Angel contacted Bug via telepathy for assistance. The Encoders joined Dark Angel in Inner Space where they found her battling mercenaries alongside the Wyrd Sisters. Bug noted that it looked like a Death's Head convention, as the mercenaries had taken his likeness. "Divider" commented that he never knew Death's Head was that popular! The Encoders took over the fight from Dark Angel and her friends, keeping the mercenaries busy while Dark Angel dealt with Death's Head (Minion) and the Anti-Being. Dark Angel created an energy barrier around the battle so that nobody could follow her. "Divider" overpowered one of the Mercenaries, call him a lying, cheating, gangster.
Abilities: He looked athletic and strong and showed some hand to hand
combat skill. He is of gifted intellect. All the Encoders can fly. In the Matrix Microverse, they could
mentally create objects and could absorb and transmute energy and matter. He successfully
absorbed personal body energy from Psylocke and transmuted the energy from
Cyclops' optic blast. He was also able to weather the toxic radioactive blast of
a Psycho-Wraith. By the
time of their first hero mission, the Encoders had developed the ability to dematerialize
from one location and rematerialize elsewhere. This enabled them to teleport
from their home in the docklands to Somerset. They can also travel from Earth to
Inner Space. Although they look human, or in Bug's case humanoid, their
mentally created bodies are different. They have no nervous system to be
disrupted by psychic attacks such as Psylocke's. They appear able to survive in
outer space, and perhaps don't need oxygen.
Divider had anti-matter spears attached to both of his wrists. They functioned like claws, and were able to penetrate even the Matrix Master's most powerful mental force field. In creating their weapons, the Encoders "conquered the practicalities of material existence" which shows a fair understanding of science, though admittedly they did so using mental power. They might not have the engineering skill to build more weapons, though perhaps that is something they could learn given time. They also have some understanding of the multiverse.
--Hells Angel#5 (Dark Angel#13, Dark Angel 14, Dark Angel 16)
One of several polluted entities who seized on matter coming through Shevaun Haldane's portal, she crafted a body for herself. She and the other entities also manifested a city from which to live and plan their activities. They aimed to defeat the Masters of the Matrix and from there gain control of the multiverse. They mentally crafted weapons and hardware for themselves. The group became known as the Encoders, and tested themselves against the Matrix Master's greatest mental creations at their deserted village, before moving onto their amphitheatre. The Encoders then began systematic destruction of the Masters of the Matrix and the X-Men, leaving Shevaun for their leader to deal with. In the course of the battle she unsuccessfully tried blasting Wolverine, but later managed to damage one of Ice Man's ice sleds. However, Shevaun used her portal to access her dimension and return the polluting matter from the Matrix Microverse. In the process, the evil essence was purged from the Encoders; however, the Masters of the Matrix saved the Encoders' bodies. They found themselves in outer space above planet Earth, where Psylocke confirmed they were no longer evil.
After some months, the Encoders began helping Shevaun as she
moved out of Darkmoor Castle. "Feedback" and Signal complained that the men
weren't pulling their weight. Indeed, Bug was sitting down and when asked to get
up by Signal, he objected. However, Dark Angel broke the news about Mys-Tech's
plans to launch an offensive against all superheroes, and them in particular.
This roused the team, and Bug decided they better get a move on, which pleased
"Feedback". They moved into a new home in England's docklands. While there, Dark
Angel contacted Bug with the Encoders' first superhero assignment. They were to
fight Psycho-Wraiths at an airfield in Somerset, England. They arrived on the
scene and coped well. "Feedback" dispatched the last of the Psycho-Wraiths, and
their job done, the Encoders dematerialized (their form of teleportation).
Soon afterwards, Dark Angel contacted Bug via telepathy for
assistance. The Encoders joined Dark Angel in Inner Space where they found her
battling mercenaries alongside the Wyrd Sisters. The Encoders took over the
fight from Dark Angel and her friends, keeping the mercenaries busy while Dark
Angel dealt with Death's Head (Minion) and the Anti-Being. Dark Angel created an
energy barrier around the battle so that nobody could follow her.
Abilities: All the Encoders can fly. In the Matrix Microverse, they could mentally create objects and could absorb and transmute energy and matter. By the time of their first hero mission, the Encoders had developed the ability to dematerialize from one location and rematerialize elsewhere. This enabled them to teleport from their home in the docklands to Somerset. They can also travel from Earth to Inner Space. Although they look human, or in Bug's case humanoid, their mentally created bodies are different. They have no nervous system to be disrupted by psychic attacks such as Psylocke's. They appear able to survive in outer space, and perhaps don't need oxygen.
Feedback's gauntlets could generate focused sonic blasts. Some of the Matrix Master's strongest mental creations crumbled before them. In creating their weapons, the Encoders "conquered the practicalities of material existence" which shows a fair understanding of science, though admittedly they did so using mental power. They might not have the engineering skill to build more weapons, though perhaps that is something they could learn given time. They also have some understanding of the multiverse.
--Hells Angel#5 (Dark Angel#13, Dark Angel 14, Dark Angel 16)
One of several polluted entities who seized on matter coming
through Shevaun Haldane's portal, he crafted a body for himself. He and the
other entities also manifested a city from which to live and plan their
activities. They aimed to defeat the Masters of the Matrix and from there gain control
of the multiverse. They mentally crafted weapons and hardware for themselves.
The group became known as the Encoders, and tested themselves against the Matrix
Master's greatest mental creations at their deserted village, before moving onto
their amphitheatre. The Encoders then began systematic destruction of the Matrix
Masters and the X-Men, leaving Shevaun for their leader to deal with. He blasted
Ice Man, but was surprised to find that the hero wasn't disintegrated, or indeed
affected in the slightest. One of his comrades suggested that this was because
they seemed to have powers not based in mental creation. Later in the battle he
was seen being hoisted overhead by Beast. The battle ended
when Shevaun used her portal to access her dimension and return the polluting
matter from the Matrix Microverse. In the process, the evil essence was purged from the
Encoders; however, the Masters of the Matrix saved the Encoders' bodies. They
found themselves in outer space above planet Earth, where Psylocke confirmed
they were no longer evil.
After some months, the Encoders began helping Shevaun as she moved out of Darkmoor Castle. Dark Angel broke the news about Mys-Tech's plans to launch an offensive against all superheroes, and them in particular. They moved into a new home in England's docklands. While there, Dark Angel contacted Bug with the Encoders' first superhero assignment. They were to fight Psycho-Wraiths at an airfield in Somerset, England. They arrived on the scene and coped well. "Hang" froze one of the Psycho-Wraiths. Once they had all been dealt with, the Encoders dematerialized (their form of teleportation).
Soon afterwards, Dark Angel contacted Bug via telepathy for assistance. The Encoders joined Dark Angel in Inner Space where they found her battling mercenaries alongside the Wyrd Sisters. "Hang" was first to join the fray by letting loose a blast of fire. The Encoders took over the fight from Dark Angel and her friends, keeping the mercenaries busy while Dark Angel dealt with Death's Head (Minion) and the Anti-Being. Dark Angel created an energy barrier around the battle so that nobody could follow her. "Hang" berated Signal for taking too many risks.
Abilities:
All the Encoders can fly. In the Matrix Microverse, they could
mentally create objects and could absorb and transmute energy and matter. By the
time of their first hero mission, the Encoders had developed the ability to dematerialize
from one location and rematerialize elsewhere. This enabled them to teleport
from their home in the docklands to Somerset. They can also travel from Earth to
Inner Space. Although they look human, or in Bug's case humanoid, their
mentally created bodies are different. They have no nervous system to be
disrupted by psychic attacks such as Psylocke's. They appear able to survive in
outer space, and perhaps don't need oxygen.
Hang's gauntlets enabled him to generate blasts of ice and freeze his targets. They were effective against some of the Matrix Master's strongest mental creations. They weren't effective against Ice Man. This was suggested to be because the Earth heroes had powers not based in mental creation, but even if that were a factor, Ice Man is known to be unaffected by sub zero temperatures. He also appears able to generate blasts of fire similar to Signal's, though perhaps these aren't as powerful as his ice blasts or Signal's combustion blasts. In creating their weapons, the Encoders "conquered the practicalities of material existence" which shows a fair understanding of science, though admittedly they did so using mental power. They might not have the engineering skill to build more weapons, though perhaps that is something they could learn given time. They also have some understanding of the multiverse.
--Hells Angel#5 (Dark Angel#13, Dark Angel 14, Dark Angel 16)
One of several polluted entities who seized on matter coming through Shevaun Haldane's portal, she crafted a body for herself. She and the other entities also manifested a city from which to live and plan their activities. They aimed to defeat the Masters of the Matrix and from there gain control of the multiverse. They mentally crafted weapons and hardware for themselves. The group became known as the Encoders, and tested themselves against the Matrix Master's greatest mental creations at their deserted village, before moving onto their amphitheatre. The Encoders then began systematic destruction of the Matrix Masters and the X-Men, leaving Shevaun for their leader to deal with. She observed that the Earth heroes seemed to have powers not based in mental creation, and suggested that may be why one of her teammates blasts was ineffective against his opponent. She unsuccessfully tried to blast Cyclops, first with ice and later with fire. The battle ended when Shevaun used her portal to access her dimension and return the polluting matter from the Matrix Microverse. In the process, the evil essence was purged from the Encoders; however, the Masters of the Matrix saved the Encoders' bodies. They found themselves in outer space above planet Earth, where Psylocke confirmed they were no longer evil.
After some months, the Encoders began helping Shevaun as she
moved out of Darkmoor Castle. "Feedback" and Signal complained that the men
weren't pulling their weight. Indeed, Bug was sitting down and when asked to get
up by Signal, he objected. However, Dark Angel broke the news about Mys-Tech's
plans to launch an offensive against all superheroes, and them in particular.
This roused the team, and Bug decided they better get a move on. They moved into
a new home in England's docklands. While there, Dark Angel contacted Bug with
the Encoders' first superhero assignment. They were to fight Psycho-Wraiths at an
airfield in Somerset, England. They arrived on the scene and coped well. Signal
blasted one with her combustion power. She then evaded a Psycho-Wraith blast,
identifying it as a pollutant designed to induce toxic shock syndrome.
Unfortunately she was distracted by approaching policemen, and blasted by an
unidentified toxic blast. She reassured Bug she would be alright in a minute,
using her power to burn off some of the toxicity. Once the Psycho-Wraith's had
all been dealt with, the Encoders dematerialized (their form of teleportation).
Soon afterwards, Dark Angel contacted Bug via telepathy for assistance. The Encoders joined Dark Angel in Inner Space where they found her battling mercenaries alongside the Wyrd Sisters. The Encoders took over the fight from Dark Angel and her friends, keeping the mercenaries busy while Dark Angel dealt with Death's Head (Minion) and the Anti-Being. Dark Angel created an energy barrier around the battle so that nobody could follow her. "Hang" berated Signal for taking too many risks, which she said was rubbish!
Abilities: All the Encoders can fly. In the Matrix Microverse, they could mentally create objects and could absorb and transmute energy and matter. By the time of their first hero mission, the Encoders had developed the ability to dematerialize from one location and rematerialize elsewhere. This enabled them to teleport from their home in the docklands to Somerset. They can also travel from Earth to Inner Space. Although they look human, or in Bug's case humanoid, their mentally created bodies are different. They have no nervous system to be disrupted by psychic attacks such as Psylocke's. They appear able to survive in outer space, and perhaps don't need oxygen.
Signal has psychic combustion powers, and her gauntlets enabled her to generate blasts of fire and incinerate her targets. They were effective against some of the Matrix Master's strongest mental creations. She also appears able to generate blasts of ice similar to "Hang", though perhaps these aren't as powerful as her combustion blasts or "Hang"'s ice blasts. In creating their weapons, the Encoders "conquered the practicalities of material existence" which shows a fair understanding of science, though admittedly they did so using mental power. They might not have the engineering skill to build more weapons, though perhaps that is something they could learn given time. They also have some understanding of the multiverse. Signal in particular was quickly able to identify that one of the Psycho-Wraith's blasts was in fact a pollutant designed to induce toxic shock syndrome.
--Hells Angel#5 (Dark Angel#13, Dark Angel 14, Dark Angel 16)
A demonic ever-growing city manifested by the Encoders, where they planned their attacks. When Shevaun returned all the matter to Earth-616 this city would've been destroyed.
Although described as being "ever growing" it's not clear if it was somehow growing in the sense that it was alive or the Encoders were continually adding to its mass. There appears to be a flying vehicle down below the city. See comments.
--Hell's Angel#5
images: (without ads)
Hell's Angel#5, cover (main image)
Hell's Angel#5, p8, pan1 (group image, in action)
Hell's Angel#5, p19, pan1 (alternate group image)
Dark Angel#13, p5, pan1 (group image, new costumes)
Hell's Angel#5, p11, pan3 (bug)
Hell's Angel#5, p6, pan2 (bug's fusion power)
Dark Angel#13, p5, pan4 (bug's new costume)
Hell's Angel#5, p13, pan3 (divider)
Hell's Angel#5, p6, pan3 (divider's anti-matter power)
Dark Angel#16, p14, pan3 (divider's new costume)
Hell's Angel#5, p16, pan3 (feedback)
Hell's Angel#5, p7, pan1 (feedback's sonic power)
Dark Angel#14, p14, pan2 (feedback's new costume)
Hell's Angel#5, cover (hang)
Hell's Angel#5, p7, pan4 (hang's freezing power)
Dark Angel#14, p12, pan2 (hang's new costume)
Hell's Angel#5, p19, pan1 (signal)
Hell's Angel#5, p7, pan2 (signal's combustion power)
Dark Angel#14, p11, pan3 (signal's new costume)
Hell's Angel#5, p5, pan1 (the city of evil)
Other Appearances:
Dark Angel#13 (September 1993) - Bernie Jaye (writer), Salvador Larroca
(pencils), Dave Hine (inks), Bambos Georgiou (editor), Paul Neary (editor in
chief)
Dark Angel#14 (October 1993) - Bernie Jaye (writer), Salvador Larroca
(pencils), John Stokes (inks), Bambos Georgiou ( editor), Paul Neary (editor in
chief)
Dark Angel#16 (December 1993) - Bernie Jaye (writer), Salvador Larroca
(pencils), John Stokes (inks), Bambos Georgiou ( editor), Paul Neary (editor in
chief)
Last updated: 02/25/14.
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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