BENJAMIN ABRAMOV
BENJAMIN ABRAMOV
Real Name: Benjamin Abramov
Identity/Class: Human
Israeli citizen
Occupation: Mossad agent
Group Membership: The Mossad
Affiliations: Marlene Alraune, Jean-Paul "Frenchie" DuChamp, Eban, Moon Knight (Marc Spector), Mossad, Strelgov
Enemies: Third World Army (see comments; Nimrod Strange and his personal bodyguards (Assigi, Jeesala, Sheena, Sonia, Yumi, presumably many others), Master Sniper, Slayers Elite (Jou-Jouka, Kareesh-Bek, Sumaro), others)
Known Relatives: Anna Abramov (widow)
Aliases: None revealed
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly Jerusalem, Israel;
mobile across Earth
First Appearance: Moon Knight I#17 (March, 1982)
Powers/Abilities: Even into what appeared to be his sixties, Benjamin Abramov remained a dedicated and skilled espionage agent, seeking to protect the world from terror. He was also a loving husband and was highly valued by his friends. He was highly experienced with investigating and obtaining covert intelligence as well as cryptology.
Height: Unrevealed; approximately 5'10"
Weight: Unrevealed; approximately 190 lbs.
Eyes: Unrevealed (he is usually seen with glasses and from a distance, although there's one shot that makes them looks light brown)
Hair: White brown (receding hairline; may have been black or another color in his youth) with black moustache
History:
(Moon Knight I#19 - BTS / Moon Knight I#20 - BTS) - Benjamin Abramov was an agent of the Israeli Mossad.
(Moon Knight I#17 (fb) - BTS) - Abramov established a solid working relationship with mercenary Marc Spector. Both Benjamin and his wife, Anna, came to consider Spector an old friend.
(Moon Knight I#17 (fb) - BTS) - Abramov developed his own special potion, which had to be added to conventional developing solutions to develop his film. He kept this solution in a cough syrup bottle he carried with him; on many nights he had spent in the rain, he wished this was real cough syrup.
(Moon Knight I#17 (fb) - BTS) - Abramov was aging but still vital when he learned that Nimrod Strange's organization was prepared to attack US soil and several other locations simultaneously; as the CIA (and the British, French, and German governments) still did not believe Strange or his army a legitimate threat, Abramov decided to seek aid from his old ally Marc Spector.
(Moon Knight I#17 (fb) - BTS) - Learning of Abramov's discovery and plans, Nimrod Strange presumably sent the Master Sniper to slay Abramov.
(Moon Knight I#17) - Abramov traveled to the mansion
of Steven Grant (an alias of Spector) and applauded as Spector and his
ally/lover Marlene Alraune completed a sparring practice. Spector
initially asked Benjamin how he had tracked him down, but then, knowing
Abramov's abilities, he retracted the question and instead asked how
was Anna. Benjamin responded that Anna was strong and beautiful, and
that she was the only reason he went on; without her, he would
doubtless follow Le Carre's advice and come in from the cold (see comments).
Noting that he unfortunately lacked the time for such pleasant small
talk due to the urgency of his business...a business some would like to
put an end to. In response to Spector's query, Benjamin shared the
information on Strange's followers, the Third World Slayers (see comments).
When Benjamin discussed how this army had already exploited the world's
amused neglect to build themselves into a position of strength, Spector
added that the world had smiled at Hitler initially.
Noting at this group scared him as he had never been scared before, Benjamin asked if they had any photographic developing equipment. Using Spector's darkroom, he added a special potion, and he shared images and further information about Nimrod Strange (whom he also referred to as "Hugo Strange" - see comments), his bodyguards, his Slayers Elite, and his current right-hand man, the Master Sniper. After sharing how the other nations were scoffing at Strange's organization and anyone who considered them a legitimate threat, such as the Israelis, Spector realized that this was why Abramov had come to him. Abramov then asked Spector to deliver a coded message to a man named Strelgov, in Lausanne, Switzerland; he further noted that the information was too sensitive to reveal, and the message would be meaningless. As Spector declined, noting how he had tried to put his Spector days behind him and that he was no longer interested in this sort of thing, the Master Sniper then struck, shooting Abramov in the back through a window. Dying, Abramov referenced his third rib over his heart before perishing.
As Spector went after the Sniper as Moon Knight, Marlene removed Abramov's shirt and discovered only what appeared to be a mole in the spot he had identified.
(Moon Knight I#17 - BTS) - The Sniper shot Spector when he pursued as Moon Knight, but the Sniper fled Spector's approaching allies, Marlene Alraune and Jean-Paul "Frenchie" DuChamp, uncertain of their number, etc.
(Moon
Knight I#17 - BTS) <At some point in the ensuing three weeks> -
Marlene discovered that the mole was false and that it concealed a
microdot, which revealed a code, although neither she nor Spector could
decipher it.
Spector and Marlene arrived via plane in Switzerland, where Spector tracked down and called Strelgov, who came to the phone after Spector said he had a message from Benjamin Abramov. Although Strelgov initially suspected Spector -- due to his past history as a mercenary -- of being behind Abramov's death and prepared to kill him, Spector stopped Strelgov and his men and convinced Strelgov to hear him about by mentioning the microdot. After the Master Sniper apparently perished battling Moon Knight, Spector gave the microdot slides to Strelgov, who hoped the dot would reveal the location of Strange's training base.
(Moon Knight I#18 - BTS) - Spector, Frenchie, and Marlene stayed with Anna Abramov at their house in Jerusalem pending further contact from Strelgov. Strange's Slayers Elite kidnapped Marlene and Anna while Spector and Frenchie were out, but Anna, realizing these were the same types who had killed Benjamin, smashed her head against the massive Sumaro's chin, stunning him so that Moon Knight could finish him off.
As Streglov's forces had decoded the microdot, learning Strange's base's location and begun preparing an assault, Spector happily agreed to join them.
(Moon Knight I#19 - BTS) - The information Abramov provided allowed Spector, Frenchie, and Marlene to infiltrate Strange's base while Strelgov met with Mossad agent Eban. After Strelgov shared with Eban that Spector was an old friend of Abramov's, Eban worried that emotion might cloud Spector's judgment.
Strange escaped with his bodyguards and a few others to meet up with his other allies as they planned to hold hostage and/or destroy Manhattan.
(Moon Knight I#20 - BTS) - After Moon Knight and his allies defeated Strange (who perished by his own hand soon after) and his organization and thwarted their plans, Spector sent a note to Anna that Ben's work was done. Only then did Anna allow herself to mourn her beloved husband. After an hour, she started to cry and cried until dawn.
Comments: Created by Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Steve Mitchell.
LeCarre presumably refers to British espionage author John LeCarre.
In Moon Knight I#17, Strange's army was consistently referred to as the "Third World Slayers." In #18-20, they were consistently referred to as the "Third World Army." While the general policy is to follow the precedent, it seems to me that since the writer (Doug Moench) was consistent throughout the whole arc, the latter name was a correction of an earlier error...perhaps confusing the names of his "Slayers Elite" and the "Third World Army," or perhaps Third World Army and Third World Slayers are two names for the same group?
I don't think we know for sure whether Benjamin knew Spector was Moon Knight when he came to see Spector at Grant's mansion...but Anna didn't realize it even after Spector aided her against the Slayers Elite.
It was Strelgov consistently in Moon Knight I#17-18, and Streglov consistently in #19-20. I don't know why it changed, but I'd go with the precedent on this one.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Benjamin Abramov should be distinguished from:
images: (without ads)
Moon Knight I#17, pg. 2, panel 6 (full, tiny, applauding);
pg. 3, panel 2 (mostly full oblique);
panel 4 (facial close-up);
pg. 4, panel 1 (upper body);
pg. 5, panel 8 (death)
Appearances:
Moon Knight I#17-20 (March-June, 1982) - Doug Moench (writer), Bill Sienkiewicz
(penciler), Steve Mitchell (inker), Denny O'Neil (editor)
Last updated: 02/26/15
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!