EDWIN CORDEDWIN CORD
Real Name: Edwin Cord
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Business owner, President and CEO
of Cordco Industries;
former President and CEO of
Cord Conglomerate
Group Membership: Cordco (Aaron Soames,
others)
Affiliations: Dr.
Abrams, Angela,
Arlo, Private
Baskin,
Senator Hiram Boynton, Earl,
Firepower (Jack Taggert), Garfield,
Heather Glenn, the Jury (Bomblast, Firearm, Ramshot, Sentry, Wysper),
General
Matthew Meade, Lt. Nick Manolis, Raiders (Raider-1, Raider-2,
Raider-3), Sammy,
S.H.I.E.L.D. (Agent Burke,
Agent Gottfried, Agent McClurkin, others), Sylvia, USAgent (John Walker), Corporal
Winters;
formerly Mauler (Brendan
Doyle), Aaron Soames
Enemies: Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Campbell, Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Mauler (Brendan Doyle), Mauler (Aaron Soames), Bill Segrist, Thunderbolts (Atlas/Erik Josten, Charcoal/Charlie Burlingame, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Jolt/Hallie Takahama, Moonstone/Karla Sofen, Songbird/Melissa Gold)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Eddie"
Base of Operations: Colorado, USA;
formerly New York City, New
York, USA
First Appearance: Daredevil I#167 (November,
1980)
Powers/Abilities: Edwin Cord was an experienced businessman and contract negotiator with special skills in media relations. Though not adept at designing armor himself, he had run successful companies stocked with employees that had designed powerful armored suits, including more than one Mauler unit, the Raiders units and the Firepower armor, utilizing many types of offensive weapons, including nuclear bombs. He had contracts with the government, the military and S.H.I.E.L.D.
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Gray; formerly brown
History: (Thunderbolts
I#23 (fb) – BTS) – Edwin Cord grew up in
Colorado.
(Iron Manual Mark 3#1 (fb) – BTS) – Cord graduated
college
with a BA in business administration. He later founded Cord Conglomerate
(nicknamed Cordco), contracting with the military to develop
armored battle suits.
(Daredevil I#167 (fb) – BTS) – Wealthy businessman
Edwin
Cord, now the CEO of Cord Conglomerate, acquired many ties to the
government and a high security clearance.
(Iron Man I#145 (fb) – BTS) – Cord met Tony Stark
at a Lion
Club dinner.
(Daredevil I#167 (fb) – BTS) – When long-time
employee
Aaron Soames, who'd worked as a file clerk for 35 years for Cord, lost
his job
due to a computer being brought in to replace him, Soames tried to
claim his pension
but there was no record of him in the system. Soames went to Cord
personally
but Cord just shrugged it off, letting Soames go without a penny.
Soames later
snuck into the facility and stole Cord Conglomerate's prototype
tech-armor, the
Mobile Armored Utility Laser Emitter, Revised, or Mauler, which had
been
a project in development for the United States government.
(Iron
Manual Mark 3#1 (fb) – BTS) – Cord's Mauler unit
was also known as the Mobile Armored Utility Laser-guided Electron-beam
emitter, Revised.
(Daredevil I#167) – Months later, Cord hosted a
pool party and invited
many, including heiress Heather Glenn and her boyfriend Matt Murdock.
At the
party, Cord tried offering Matt a position in Cord Conglomerate, one
that he
hinted included perks the IRS didn't need to know about. Sylvia told
Edwin
that Angela had "eaten her inner tube" but then Soames attacked,
wearing the
Mauler armor and firing directly at Cord. Cord's bodyguards, including
Sammy and Arlo, intervened but were easily defeated before the hero
Daredevil showed up to fight Mauler. The police, led by Lt.
Nick Manolis, and Soames fled. Manolis tried questioning Cord
but he refused
to answer anything due to his security clearance. Later, Cord showed up at his office, where his security detail, including Garfield, checked
him in. Inside,
Cord found Daredevil, who demanded answers about Mauler's identity and why he was after Cord, and Cord told him a
half-truth,
revealing Soames identity and stating he was a disgruntled former
employee and
a criminal. Daredevil promised to be back if Cord was lying. That evening,
Daredevil stopped Soames from killing Cord yet again, though Soames did
destroy
all of Cord's cards and identification, wanting him to know
what it felt like
to not exist. Earl and other employees barged in with an experimental
weapon,
the Vibro-Mace, and killed Soames with it. Cord told Daredevil that he
couldn't
report the armor to the police as it had been a government contract and
Daredevil responded by punching Cord.
(Iron Man I#145 (fb) – BTS) – After the loss of
the
Mauler unit, S.H.I.E.L.D. assigned Agent Burke to follow Cord and keep
an
eye on him. Needing to reclaim his reputation with the government, Cord
sponsored the creation of the Raiders, armored units with different
capabilities, and he planned to show that they could defeat Iron Man in
combat.
(Iron
Manual Mark 3#1 (fb) – BTS) – Cord's Raider suits were
partially developed through modified M.A.U.L.E.R technology.
(Iron Man I#145) – At the 24th Annual Conclave of
Electronics Engineers and Innovators in Dallas, Texas, Cord was
thrilled to see
Tony Stark, asking if they could have a drink later. The Raiders soon
attacked,
disrupting Stark's showing of the Iron Man armor, though Iron Man did
hold his
own against the villains. The Raiders reported in to Cord that night,
showing
him the footage, and Cord planned another demonstration for the
following day.
After taunting Stark at a party for his failure, Cord launched the
Raiders at
another Iron Man demonstration but this time, the hero managed to
defeat them.
Cord tried impressing Burke with the Raider technology but instead of
offering
Cord a new contract, Burke had S.H.I.E.L.D. agents McClurkin and
Gottfriend
arrest Cord. The next day, a news headline read "Edwin Cord Indicted
for Reckless Endangerment: Fate of the Cord Conglomerate Unsure."
(Iron Man I#156 (fb) – BTS) – Cord had to sell off
his
company to cover his legal fees. The grand jury sentenced Cord to 3 to 5 years in jail at the Nassau
County
Minimum Security Prison. Tony Stark purchased several of Cord
Conglomerate's
assets and formed a Stark subsidiary called Cordco, Inc. Later, Cord
hired
mercenary Brendan Doyle to steal the copy of the Mauler suit from
Stark's
holdings and to destroy the tape of the suit's development. He hoped to
overturn his conviction and then rent out the suit to various
mercenaries to
build his fortune up again.
(Iron Man I#145) – Doyle reported to Cord in jail
that he'd
stolen the suit but hadn't been able to destroy the tape yet. Doyle
later
failed at his second attempt to destroy the tape and just decided to
keep the
Mauler unit for himself.
(Iron Man I#226 (fb) – BTS) – After being released
from
jail, Cord wanted revenge on Stark for his defeats.
(Iron Man I#230 (fb) – BTS) – Cord was offered
funding for a
new government project, Project: Firepower, which would develop new
suits of
armor to act as a line of defense against super heroes as well as for
use in
direct combat. He contracted with several scientists to perfect the
armor and
hired pilot Jack Taggert to wear the Firepower armor.
(Iron Man I#226 (fb) – BTS) – Cord officially
launched Project:
Firepower and ordered the Raiders to attack a military jet to steal
technology.
(Iron Man I#226) – Hearing that Iron Man had
defeated the
Raiders, Cord was furious, even as Sam
Donalson reported on events.
(Iron Man I#229) – At his estate, Cord met with
Senator
Boynton to assure him that Project: Firepower was well underway and
that Iron
Man would soon be destroyed.
(Iron Man I#230 (fb) – BTS) – Cord had Dr. Abrams
and others
run tests on the Firepower armor prototype dozens of times over a
period of
weeks in simulations against Iron Man.
(Iron Man I#230) – Senator Boynton, General Meade
and
others came to look at the Firepower armor and Cord demanded the Senator
trust Cord's expertise. When Firepower, in the simulation, deployed the
Terminax
missile, it would have wiped out an entire city in reality and Cord was
reprimanded for his short-sightedness. Cord assured the others that
Taggert
could handle the upcoming battle against Iron Man, who had seemingly
gone rogue in recent times. Taggert, as Firepower, soon had his first
direct field test against
fighter jets and it was a huge success. Boynton and Meade warned
Tony Stark
about their plans against Iron Man to lure a Stark contingent
to the desert
the next day. Iron Man battled Firepower but was swiftly overwhelmed.
Firepower used far too much force with a nuclear device, putting
civilians
and the military in danger and seemingly obliterating Iron Man.
(Iron Man I#231) – Cord saw Firepower tested
against
military weaponry wielded by Private Baskin and Corporal Winters and he
determined the armor was still working well. Boynton and Meade came to
claim
the armor for the military but Cord, drunk on power, refused to hand it
over.
When the military threatened to arrest them, Cord said he would go to
the media
and expose them then he had Taggert destroy their transport vehicle as
a show
of power. A week later, Cord and Firepower forced executives, including
Campbell, to turn down a Stark business offer then they destroyed
Accutech
shipments, damaging Stark's business. Firepower attacked another Stark
business, hurting employee Bill Segrist, and played a pre-recorded
message
from Cord stating that he planned to destroy Stark's company in
revenge. When a
new Stark branch was opened weeks later, Firepower attacked but Iron
Man
fought back in a brand new armor and he soundly defeated Firepower.
(Iron Man I#233 (fb) – BTS) – Cord went back to
jail but
was still determined to destroy Stark's company. He hired an operative
to
sabotage Stark.
(Iron Man I#233) – Cord met with the operative and
put the
plan in motion but it was later shut down by Ant-Man (Scott Lang).
Hearing the
news, Cord was furious and vowed he wasn't done.
(Thunderbolts I#23 (fb) – BTS) – Out of jail, Cord
set up a
new company, Cordco Industries, and became a billionaire again. He based
himself
in Colorado.
(Thunderbolts I#28 (fb) – BTS) – When Cord heard
the
Thunderbolts were in Colorado, he responded with fury, not wanting
super heroes
around, especially those who had been former villains. He recruited
USAgent to
lead the mercenary Jury, investing millions into turning them into an
anti-Thunderbolts squad. The Jury members were promised a million
dollars each.
(Thunderbolts I#23) – Cord spoke with the media
about the
Thunderbolts team and he expressed outrage at their former villainous
status. The
Jury and USAgent attacked the Thunderbolts but they were soundly
defeated.
Cord spun it in the media to make it seem as if the Thunderbolts had
fled the
battle.
(Thunderbolts I#24) – When the Thunderbolts
announced their
plan to take down the Masters of Evil, Cord expressed disbelief in
their
intentions to the media.
(Thunderbolts I#28) – When Graviton threatened
civilians,
USAgent prepared to take the Jury to help but Cord demanded they remain
behind, stating that he was paying them to follow orders and not to be
heroes.
(Iron Manual Mark 3#1 (fb) – BTS) – USAgent quit the Jury and Cord eventually gave up his vendetta, releasing the Jury from his employ.
Comments: Created by David Michelinie, Frank
Miller and Klaus Janson.
In Edwin's first appearance, the woman Sylvia
approaches him
at a party to talk about Angela. Upon first reading, I assumed Sylvia
was his
wife and Angela their daughter, based on the interaction, but this was
never
clearly revealed and in Iron Manual Mark 3#1, in the Cord entry, he has
no known
relatives listed.
Senator Boynton (Hiram) and General Meade
(Matthew) had
their first names revealed in the Cord entry in Iron Manual Mark 3#1.
Drexel Cord and his daughter Janice showed up in Iron Man comics as early as issue 2. I’ve seen some theories that Edwin was the nephew of Drexel Cord, inheriting the company from Drexel after his death. There is also a theory that the Chameleon ally, Joe Cord, was Edwin's father. These theories have never been shown in the comics. (See comments under Drexel Cord profile for more information).
Reporter Sam Donalson may be based on real-life newsman Sam Donaldson. - Proto-Man
Profile by Chadman.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Edwin Cord should not be confused with
(Daredevil I#167 – BTS) – At a party hosted by
Edwin Cord,
Angela had reportedly eaten her inner tube, witnessed by Sylvia, before
a fight
between Mauler and Daredevil broke up the party.
--Daredevil I#167 (167 - BTS
(Iron Man I#226
– BTS) – Sam Donalson reported on the fight
between Iron Man and the Raiders.
--Iron Man I#226 (226 – BTS
(Daredevil I#167) – When Mauler attacked Cord
Conglomerate, threatening Edwin Cord, Earl and another man brought out
a
massive artillery gun, fired and killed Mauler, though Daredevil had
been fighting the villain already.
--Daredevil I#167
(Daredevil I#167) – Guard Garfield assured Edwin Cord that security was tight as Cord arrived at his business.
--Daredevil I#167
(Daredevil I#167) – Sammy and Arlo, in bathing suits, prepared to help protect Edwin Cord when Mauler attacked but the hero Daredevil chased the villain away.
--Daredevil I#167
(Daredevil I#167) – Sylvia attended a party held by Edwin Cord. In her bathing suit, she was telling Edwin, who she called Eddie, that "Angela ate her inner tube" when Mauler attacked, though Daredevil soon scared the villain away.
--Daredevil I#167
images: (without ads)
Iron Man Manual Mark 3#1, Edwin Cord entry, main image (Edwin Cord,
main)
Iron Man I#231, p7, pan5 (with Firepower)
Daredevil I#167, p16, pan1 (Earl)
Daredevil I#167, p8, pan4 (Garfield)
Daredevil I#167, p4, pan3 (Sammy & Arlo)
Daredevil I#167, p3, pan1 (Sylvia)
Appearances:
Daredevil I#167 (November, 1980) – David Michelinie
(writer), Frank Miller (penciler), Klaus Janson (inker), Denny O’Neil
(editor)
Iron Man I#145 (April, 1981) - David Michelinie (writer),
John Romita Jr (penciler), Bob Layton (inker), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Iron Man I#156 (March, 1982) - David Michelinie (writer),
John Romita Jr (penciler), Pablo Marcos (inker), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Iron Man I#226 (January, 1988) – David Michelinie (writer),
Mark Bright (penciler), Bob Layton (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Iron Man I#229-231 (April-June, 1988) – David Michelinie
(writer), Mark Bright (penciler), Bob Layton (inker), Mark Gruenwald
(editor)
Iron Man I#233 (August, 1988) – David Michelinie (writer),
Jackson Guice (penciler), Bob Layton (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Thunderbolts I#23-24, 28 (February, March, July, 1999) –
Kurt Busiek (writer), Mark Bagley (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Tom
Brevoort
(editor)
Iron Manual Mark 3 I#1 (June, 2010) – various writers, Jeff
Youngquist (editor)
First Posted: 12/20/2018
Last updated: 12/20/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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