Ebony Maw
Ebony Maw is a male extraterrestrial comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
Ebony Maw was a member of Thanos' Black Order. He is not a fighter, but a dangerous thinker of the Black Order.
When Thanos targeted Earth as the next planet he would raze during the Infinity storyline, Ebony Maw was dispatched to deal with Doctor Strange. (New Avengers v3 #8)
Ebony Maw used his abilities to gain control over Doctor Strange and forced him to summon Shuma-Gorath. (Mighty Avengers v2 #2) Then Ebony Maw used his abilities to have Doctor Strange serve as a double-agent for him when he reunited with the Illuminati. When the Illuminati headed to numerous locations around the world to find Thanos' son Thane, Doctor Strange found the boy in a hidden Inhuman city of Orollan that was situated in Greenland. Ebony remained in the location and forced Doctor Strange to forget about the discovery and to leave where he is now freed from Maw's control. (New Avengers v3 #10)
When Black Bolt detonated a Terrigen Bomb which unleashed the Terrigen Mists upon the entire face of Earth, Thanos' son Thane underwent Terrigenesis. The manifestation of his powers annihilated the entire town. (Infinity v1 #4) Posing as an ally following the incident, Ebony Maw offered Thane a suit to control his powers, but also captured him in a containment field followed by Ebony Maw alerting Thanos to the location of his son. (Infinity v1 #5) When the Avengers arrived in Orollan in order to defeat Thanos, Ebony Maw tested Thane by freeing him. Thane could escape or could fight Thanos and become what he had avoided his entire life. Thane agreed and embraced his true nature as the son of Thanos by fighting his father. Using the power of his right hand, Thane trapped Thanos and his ally Proxima Midnight in an amber construct which left them in a state of "living death." Upon the defeat of Thanos, Ebony Maw started disciplining Thane into becoming something greater than Thanos and greater than any one would. (Infinity v1 #6)
He secretly forged an alliance with Emperor Attican whereby he agreed to serve as a spy and help in the destruction of the resistance movement against the Sinnarian Empire. In exchange, the Emperor was to help kill Corvus Glaive in order to allow Maw to take control of the Black Order for himself. (Black Order v1 #4) This led to him serving Attican as his advisor but this proved to be a deception as he had actually came to the seat of the Sinnarian Empire to topple it and allow his Black Order comrades to enter with ease. Once inside, they claimed the Bow of Gabriel and unleashed its Dark Tide on the planet thus mutating its inhabitants allowing them to finally end the reign of the empire. It was then that the Grandmaster returned as the Black Order's success was a win for his game as he had made a bet with Emperor Attican that with only five agents that he could topple his empire. With their mission complete, the Black Order departed the service of the Grandmaster to engage in their own schemes. (Black Order v1 #5)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He was described as being a thin razor of a man. (New Avengers v3 #9)
Ebony Maw was said to not a fighter but rather more of a thinker. He used his black tongue to spread mischief and evil wherever he travelled. (New Avengers v3 #9)
As a member of the Black Order, he seemed to be the weakest of their number but was the most dangerous of all. (New Avengers v3 #9) It was said that Thanos never fully trusted Ebony Maw who often fielded in him remotely as the Mad Titan was never certain that his servant would not turn his power against him. However, Maw claimed that among his children in the Black Order that he loved his master the most. (Black Order v1 #5)
Ultimately, he deemed himself a surviving who adapted and improvised to ensure he escaped death. Thus, he was not above being fluid in his plans and altering them to suit his needs. However, at the same time, his penchant for treacher made him also somewhat predictable. (Black Order v1 #5)
Powers and abilities
Ebony Maw has genius-level intellect. He mostly demonstrates his intelligence with his highly skilled abilities of manipulation being described as a "black tongue that spreads mischief and evil wherever he goes." He also uses technology that specializes in teleportation and force field generation.
It was believed that he had no powers but like most things about him this was in reality a lie. (New Avengers v3 #9)
Notes
- Ebony Maw was created by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opeña where he made his first appearance in New Avengers v3 #8 (September, 2013).
- In an interview on CBR, Hickman commented, "I think the Ebony Maw is a pretty good example of that. He’s a liar and deceiver and he can’t physically compete with the other members of the Black Order or Thanos. So he has to weasel his way into greater and more powerful positions and he saw the opportunity to do so."
- Editor Tom Brevoort also said in the same interview, "Yeah, I think the Ebony Maw is something of an opportunist. That’s how I view him. So he always goes for the best deal on the table. I think he’s completely loyal to Thanos as long as Thanos is the best deal he has in front of him. I don’t think he would hesitate to push Thanos out an airlock though if he thought he could get away with it and thought he would end up in a better position. So not a lot of long term loyalty, but a lot of enlightened self-interest."
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In Avengers Assemble, Ebony Maw appeared as an antagonist in the episode "New Frontier" where he was voiced by actor René Auberjonois.
- In Guardians of the Galaxy, Ebony Maw appeared as an antagonist in the animated series in episode "Undercover Angle" where he was voiced by actor James Urbaniak.
Films
- In Avengers: Infinity War, Ebony Maw appeared in the setting of the live-action film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was voiced by actor Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. He was shown as being a member of the Black Order who served the Mad Titan for many years where he used his psychic and telekinetic talents in battle. Maw was among the Children of Thanos that helped massacre the surviving Asgardians that had fled the destroyed Asgard. Afterwards, he was dispatched alongside Cull Obsidian to Earth to recover one of the Infinity Stones.
- In Avengers: Endgame, Ebony Maw appeared in the setting of the live-action film sequel where he had a non-voiced role.
Video games
- In Marvel: War of Heroes, Ebony Maw appeared as a playable card in the mobile video game.
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Ebony Maw appeared as an antagonist in the game setting.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, Ebony was introduced as a playable character in the mobile game.
- In Marvel Strike Force, Ebony Maw appeared in the setting of the mobile video game.
- In Marvel Contest of Champions, Ebony Maw was introduced as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.
Appearances
- New Avengers v3: (2013)
- Infinity v1:
- Mighty Avengers v2:
- Avengers:
- Black Order v1:
- Guardians of the Galaxy:
External Links
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