MYS-TECH
Created by: John Freeman, Nick Vince, Gary Erskine & John Beeston
First Appearance: Warheads #1 (June 1992)
Role: Evil Magi-Tech Group, Secret Conspirators
-If you were one of those subjected to the works of Marvel's UK branch in the early 1990s, then you were going to see some mentions of MyS-TECH somewhere along the line. Their backstory was that they were a group of seven wizards who made a deal with Mephisto in the late 900s AD for power and immortality- Mephisto let them become ageless, but they had to give him a steady stream of souls. In the end, they became a powerful multinational corporation with a secret HQ in the Canary Wharf section of London, traveling through both time and space to gain both great technology and magic. The created a "Voodoo Doll" version of the ENTIRE PLANET called "Un-Earth", created the assassin known as Killpower via genetic engineering, and had their fingers in most Marvel UK series, such as
Death's Head II,
Motormouth & Killpower (Motormouth swiped some of their gear, and then their assassin),
Dark Angel (about one of their former operatives' daughter, who was now fighing them), and
Warheads (which was about their mercenary wing engaging in interdimensional shenanigans).
-MyS-TECH had intended to escape Mephisto's influence and break their pact- one was attempting to KILL Mephisto, while others were attempting to sacrifice entire planets all at once to "pay off" their debt. It seems that each writer in the Marvel UK franchise had their "own" Board Member to use, as each book tended to use a different one as the leader of whatever villainous scheme was going on. Tyburn appeared helpful in
Dark Angel, Wychwood took the lead in the "Gene Pool" books (
Genetix,
Gene Dogs), Rathcoole was mostly about in
Warheads, and Porlock came out of nowhere as the main villain in
Shadow Riders. This leads to some funny stuff where a book is cancelled early and so you see that Board Member vanish for ages.
-Their story culminated in
MyS-TECH Wars, an event that saw a lot of established Marvel superheroes killed (I read the first issue as a kid, and was shocked to see SPIDER-MAN get his heart torn out, then get devoured by demons!), but the day was saved thanks to Dark Angel using six assembled heroes to act as "Stand-Ins" for the original seven MyS-TECH members, and heal the rift in reality to Un-Earth. The event was then erased from time, scaling back everything. Later, MyS-TECH attempted to destroy all super-heroes, but are beaten by Death's Head II. Things end when Mephisto frees up all of his magic & energies from helping them, thus getting out of his contract. Researching this group is a bit difficult, as the horrible Marvel UK creative teams had somehow managed to create a convoluted story in only two-to-three years' time, and even the
Unofficial Handbook guys are a bit stunned by all of the mess.
-I honestly have no idea how powerful any of these guys are supposed to be- given the name, it's quite clear they're masters of technology AND magic- Techno-Wizards of vague power. Most of their stuff doesn't seem to happen via fighting, but by manipulations, magic spells, and business.
The MyS-TECH Board:
ALGERNON CROWE: A mage who tended to lead things in
Dark Angel and
Motormouth & Killpower, often sending agents against them. He seemed to be an overall leader, or at least the "face" of the organization, but could himself be replaced by the board, or lectured by the others.
BRENDAN RATHCOOLE: The manipulative blond man Rathcoole was a backgrounder with Time Control powers (used to keep him unharmed) until taking focus in
Warheads, where he plotted the death of Che (before he was spared and ended up leading the Gene Dogs). He ended up manipulating events so that he gained a powerful sword, which he used to try and KILL MEPHISTO! However, the arch-villain was unarmed by his impalement, and taunted Rathcoole with the knowledge that the sword he used was merely the "sister" of the blade he needed. Mephisto then teleported Rathcoole to the rest of the MyS-TECH board and told them what he'd done. He was then tortured by them for this act of betrayal, as they removed his eyes and one of his hands. Later, he ordered some Warheads to find the proper sword. However, it was learned that Mephisto's son Blackheart had been responsible for manipulating him (he was trying to usurp his father), and so he was forgiven. He disappeared into the background after that.
RANULPH HALDANE: The father of Shevaugh, the Dark Angel. He is attempting to finagle a means to allow MyS-TECH to be free of their debt to Mephisto, but the villain murders him for attempting to get out of their pact. He dies in the opening of her series, and her investigations uncover much of what MyS-TECH is doing. His soul fragment is occassionally seen in
Dark Angel, as she deals with her family's past.
BRONWEN GRYFFN: A dark-haired old woman with aerokinesis, flight & invisibility powers. She was often seen as a mere backgrounder, often lecturing Crowe about something.
EADMUND PORLOCK: A man with glass lenses over his eyes, he was a backgrounder in a few books, never really doing much, but became the central villain of
Shadow Riders, leading groups against those heroes. Taking a demon form, he was quite powerful, but the Riders escaped, leaving Porlock looking bad to his peers.
GUDRUN TYBURN: A blonde/brown-haired woman who is frequently seen as a secret ally of Dark Angel, among others- she knocks out Gryffn at one point, sparing Dark Angel's life in the process. However, she attempted to kill Motormouth, and the Dark Angel stuff doesn't appear to be explained. She as telekinesis and vast regenerative powers (resurrecting after being blown to pieces by Motormouth's sonic scream, and after being sliced in half by Death Metal).
ORMOND WYCHWOOD: One of the least-used MyS-TECH board members, Wychwood was an elderly-looking man with psychic powers. He was shown overseeing the "Gene Pool" characters, but only took a personal stake in
Knights of Pendragon, where his attempt to summon the Red Lord failed.
Other Agents:
GADAFEL: A drooling fat guy who adored the psionic energies of suffering.
JAMES BURNETT: A random scientist.
THE SISTERS OF GRACE: A group of female warriors in white bodysuits sent against Black Axe. A rapid creation because the Warheads were being drawn in but the creators were suddenly told not to use them. An, Dorrit & Tella showed no powers. Ness appeared to be a cyborg with a vice arm. Esta was 20 feet tall (hnnggghhh...) and very board, taking Black Axe's blast like it was nothing. Jessie had elongated claw-fingers.
SIDNEY FISHBURNE: A scientist who built the Chronifact based off of his suggestions on how to control time's flow. The Time Guardian stole it from him, and he sought to get it back.
-Others who've already had profiles are the Warheads, Tektos, Dr. Oonagh Mullarkey, Magpie, Collapsar, Skire & Dolph. Plus Dark Angel faked being part of them for a while, and Killpower was once their assassin.
