Grandmaster (Marvel)

The Grandmaster in Avengers v1 #689.

The Grandmaster is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

The Grandmaster in the Contest of Champions v1 #2.

En Dwi Gast

As each Elder held monopoly over an obsession, En Dwi found himself sharing a passion for games alongside one of his kindred with the pair being close friend. The comrade went by the name of Grandmaster which was a title that En Dwi had sought over and decided to make a wager with his friend. This turned a game into a rivalry with the pair with this culminating in a final match whereby the victor claimed the title whilst the loser was exiled. In this match, the Grandmaster lost and was barred from reality as a result with him losing the title as he fell into exile whilst En Dwi Gast claimed the alias of Grandmaster for himself. (Avengers v1 #679)

He had a daughter who went by the name of Voyager where the two gambled on the fates of entire worlds throughout the cosmos. (Avengers v1 #684)

For countless eons, he had witnessed the Game of Life occur on an infinite number of worlds with him growing bored of these events and thus desiring a new game. (Avengers Annual v1 #16)

Challenging Kang

The Grandmaster would later travel through the Multiverse and found Earth-712 that was the home of the Squadron Supreme. During this time, they faced a planned contest against the Scarlet Centurion. Each side came to choose a team of champions to do combat in this contest. The Grandmaster used the Squadron Supreme whilst the Scarlet Centurion formed the Institute of Evil. Ultimately, the Grandmaster won the contest and decided to create his own version of the Squadron to be his pawns in future games. (Squadron Supreme v1 #9) In the far future, Kang the Conqueror came to be lamenting the loss of his love Ravonna and wanted the power over life and death to save her. The Grandmaster challenged him to a game where failure meant not simply death but Kang and his world being consigned to oblivion. The game of galaxies was set for the next year with the Grandmaster choosing the Squadron Sinister to be his champions that were set to battle Kang's champions who were the Avengers. (Avengers v1 #69) The Grandmaster set his Squadron Sinister against four Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Goliath, in four simultaneous 1v1 matches, each occurring at a different landmark across the globe: the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, Big Ben, and the Sphinx. The first three matches were won by the Avengers, but the fourth, between Goliath and the Whizzer at Big Ben, was interrupted by the Black Knight. The Grandmaster considered this to be a breach of the rules and teleported the Avengers and the Squadron back to Kang's time. Black Knight, confused by the events that just transpired, vowed to rescue his fellow heroes from the Grandmaster's clutches. (Avengers v1 #70)

In the second round, Kang sent the remaining Avengers, Black Panther, Vision, and Yellowjacket, back in time to 1941 to do battle with the Grandmaster's replacement champions, the Invaders; Captain America, Namor, and the Human Torch. The Invaders and Avengers clashed until the Vision took down all three Invaders, earning the Avengers a victory in their sponsors' game. Meanwhile, Black Knight managed to make his way to the 31st Century from the present and free the other Avengers. With the game concluded, the Grandmaster agreed to give Kang his prize. However, because the first round ended in a stalemate, the Grandmaster could only give Kang half of it, asking Kang if he would rather have the power to either give life or to take it. Kang was about to chose the power of life before the Avengers burst in the room demanding to be sent back to their home time. Enraged, Kang asked the Grandmaster for the power of death to the Avengers, which the Grandmaster granted. Kang then effortlessly took out the Avengers. As he stood gloating over their almost lifeless bodies, Black Knight attacked and downed Kang with a single blow. Perplexed, Black Knight asked the Grandmaster why Kang went down so easily if he had been given such ultimate power. The Grandmaster stated that he had given Kang the power to kill the Avengers, and that Black Knight was not yet an Avenger. The Grandmaster returned Black Knight and the Avengers to their home time, and departed to seek out new games to play as well as new galaxies to conquer. (Avengers v1 #71)

Defenders

At some point after the Grandmaster returned to the present, the Prime Mover, a robot designed to manipulate S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for Doctor Doom's amusement, launched itself into space to seek out new games to play. The Prime Mover randomly sent out signals to find others to play with. One of these signals was answered by the Grandmaster. The two devised a game similar to the one the Grandmaster played with Kang. If the Prime Mover won, he would be granted the power to enslave the Earth. If the Grandmaster won, he would allow the planet to go free as he had no interest in it. The Grandmaster wished to use the Squadron Sinister again but could only find Nighthawk. Probing his mind, the Grandmaster learned of the Defenders and decided to use them instead. Lacking the agreed upon six pieces per side, Nighthawk was sent to recruit Daredevil. The six heroes were divided into teams of two and sent to one of three planets to fight the Prime Mover's champions. The first round was won by Nighthawk and Valkyrie, Daredevil and Namor were killed on a volcanic planet in the second, and Doctor Strange and the Hulk won the third. After claiming victory and restoring Namor and Daredevil to life, the Grandmaster reneged on his deal, declaring that he would turn the Earth into a breeding ground for his future pawns. The Defenders rushed to attack but they were easily repelled by the Grandmaster's power. Daredevil proposed that he and the Grandmaster play another game, a simple coin toss, for double or nothing. If the Grandmaster won, he would get the Earth plus the moon, but if he lost, he had to keep his original promise and leave the Earth alone. Tossing an improvised coin, Daredevil called heads and the Grandmaster called tails. Using his heightened senses, Daredevil correctly guessed the coin would land on heads. The Grandmaster accepted defeat, sent Daredevil and the Defenders back to Earth, and left for the stars once more. (Giant-Size Defenders v1 #3)

After usurping Death's power, he used his newfound might to create Life-Bombs that he sought to detonate in the corners of the universe in order to bring about a new Big Bang. He intended to survive into the new universe where he would bring about a new Game of Life according to his own design. (Avengers Annual v1 #16)

Contest of Champions

Unable to resurrect the Collector following his death, Grandmaster challenged Death herself. Victory would restore his 'brother' to life, while defeat would cost his own existence. (Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions v1 #1) For this Contest of Champions, they selected teams from Earth such as Alpha Flight, Avengers, Defenders, Eternals, Fantastic Four, Inhumans, X-Men, Soviet Super Soldiers, Heroes for Hire, and the Rangers. (Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions v1 #2) Though Grandmaster's team emerged victorious, Death revealed the Contest's true terms: the Grandmaster would need to sacrifice his own life to restore the Collector's. Bound by his code of gamesmanship, he agreed. Death then challenged the Collector to another contest with the resurrection of Grandmaster as the prize. (Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions v1 #3)

The Collector tasked the West Coast Avengers and Silver Surfer to prevent the Grandmaster from surrendering the lives of East Coast Avengers to Death. The West Coast team won, but the Contest was revealed to as a deliberate distraction, enabling the Grandmaster to ensnare Death. (West Coast Avengers Annual v1 #2) The Grandmaster used the Avengers and the Legion of the Unliving in another Contest for the fate of the universe, which he lost thanks to Hawkeye. The contestants were returned to Earth unharmed. (Avengers Annual v1 #16)

Crossover

Grandmaster encountered a being from known as Krona. He came to Earth-616 trying to learn more about the origin of creation. The Grandmaster decided there was only one way to beat him - by challenging him to a contest. If Krona won, he would reveal to him the name of the being born before the Big Bang. (JLA/Avengers v1 #1) They pitted their best heroes against each other, forcing the Justice League to battle the Avengers. They took part in a galactic 'scavenger hunt' for 12 powerful items. Krona however turned against the Grandmaster when he lost, allowing him to learn of Galactus in the process. He then took down both Galactus and the Grandmaster. (JLA/Avengers v1 #2) But the Grandmaster used the items collected by the heroes to merge the two universes, trapping Krona in between them. The effort required to perform this feat, in addition to his encounter with Krona, left the Grandmaster near death. Before dying, he informed the Justice League and Avengers of the original natures of their respective universes. (JLA/Avengers v1 #3) After Krona was defeated, the universes returned to normal, and the Grandmaster was brought back to life. (JLA/Avengers v1 #4)

Thanos Quest

Following this the Grandmaster took possession of the Mind Gem. He held it for a time until the Mad Titan, Thanos, came to bargain for it. The Mad Titan planned to challenge the Grandmaster to a game, of which Thanos easily won. The Grandmaster, however, broke his main rule and cheated, but so did Thanos. It was revealed that it was not the real Thanos but a recreation created from the Infinity Gems. The recreation then took the stone and left him trapped in the game. (Thanos Quest v1 #2)

The Grandmaster made a wager during the Galactic Marathon held by the Runner. He soon recruited the fastest beings in the galaxy to compete; Makkari, Fastforward, Fooferah, Figillulli, Startanious, Duntumbla, Huyenneyuh, Gzoom, and Miximixim, with Makkari winning, much to the annoyance of the Grandmaster, who lost money betting on Runner. Makkari was however stuck at superspeed and the Grandmaster offered to help, in exchange for him becoming his champion at the "Pangalactic Marathon", and finally the race for the championship of all known space. Makkari, however, refused. (Quasar v1 #58)

Aftermath

As part of a bet against the Collector, the Grandmaster decided to call forth champions to act for him. Thus, he abducted the Hulk and promised the resurrection of his love Jarella. Hulk agreed and was allowed to choose his fellow warriors where he chose his fellow Defenders team mates Silver Surfer, Namor and Doctor Strange though these came from other points in the timeline. They were gathered to fight the Collector’s champions that were the Red Hulk, Baron Mordo, Terrax and Tiger Shark who formed their team as the Offenders. (Hulk v2 #10) With Hulk slain, the Grandmaster lost his champion and thus the contest as the Collector claimed the Jade Giant as a prize. The Red Hulk then proceeded to the areas where the other contestants were where he not only killed the Defenders but even his fellow Offenders as well. This saw him ultimately kill Terrax and the Silver Surfer where he claimed the Power Cosmic to confront Galactus over Zenn-La. The Red Hulk was overpowered by the World Devourer who then turned his wrath to Earth as well as the two Elders after learning their part in these events. Upon seeing this, the Grandmaster and Collector decided to call off their game after seeing the extent of the damage. They restored everyone in their game to life and returned most to their native time period. The Red Hulk was infuriated at being denied his victory leading to him attacking and murdering the Grandmaster. The Collector could only mourn his fellow Elder before departing the scene. (Hulk v2 #12)

The Silver Surfer brought Dawn Greenwood to the Casino Cosmico where the Grandmaster arranged events that led to his board Toomie being bet as part of the stakes. This eventually led to Dawn being accidentally bet where she lost her ability to perceive the colour red and Norrin Radd even lost the Power Cosmic. Gast then made an all infinite bet whereupon he intended to claim Dawn Greenwood for himself though Radd bet that if the Grandmaster lost that he was banned from ever playing a game again. The Grandmaster could not dare risk losing and thus forfeit allowing the Silver Surfer his possessions back where he and Dawn left the casino. (Silver Surfer v8 #7)

New Contest of Champions

After the Multiverse was restored following the Secret Wars, the Grandmaster waged a Contest of Champions against his fellow Elder the Collector. This saw both sides selecting champions that fought in the Multiversal site of the Battlerealm. The Grandmaster selected Punisher 2099 to serve as his Summoner that operated his team. (Contest of Champions v2 #2)

Return

Despite his seeming death, he remained alive and sought the next contest to entertain him. The Grandmaster had grown bored with fighting the people who only wished to win instead of valuing the art of games. That was until he learned of the existence of former gladiator Shatterstar, sparking an intrigue in the Elder, and wished to claim the mutant in order to have him fight for his Contest of Champions. Noticing that the race of the Horusians had lost meaning in their gladiatorial games, he deemed them the right audience for his upcoming Contest. (Shatterstar v1 #5) He arrived to their homeworld of Horus IV where he oversaw the gladiator games which earned him the locals' veneration. To reignite interest in the games, he hired Gringrave from the Mojoverse who helped the Grandmaster gain the servitude of a group of Spineless Ones and the Death Sponsors. He specifically hired the Death Sponsors in order to bring him Shatterstar. (Shatterstar v1 #4) To achieve this, the Death Sponsors kidnapped most of Shatterstar's tenants to lure him to Horus IV. (Shatterstar v1 #2)

The Death Sponsors managed to bring the tenants to the planet, but one of them, a woman named Tina Cooke, escaped from their grasp. Unfortunately for her, she ran into the Grandmaster himself who, to her shock, knew she originated from Earth-1218. Curious about her reality, he offered to answer every question she had if she told him more about her world. She accepted and asked him about Shatterstar. To answer her, Grandmaster brought Tina to his control room standing above the Amphitheatre on the Mount where they saw Shatterstar chasing one of the Death Sponsors, Deadair, to save her fellow tenant Karl Snortenthau. As they watched the battle unfold, one of his Spineless One servitors handed the Grandmaster a commemorative collectible retro-action totem. The Grandmaster figured that Tina had been a gambler on her world but had escaped to this reality to find something meaningful, that being witnessing important events. He manipulated Tina into taking the totem and become a champion to fight for the freedom of her fellow tenants and be part of this important event. On the arena she was set to fight the glorious gladiator Xeus, but despite her best efforts Tina was mercilessly killed. (Shatterstar v1 #3) Shatterstar arrived to the arena shortly after, and demanded to know who the Grandmaster was. He introduced himself to Shatterstar accordingly but as he was about to boast, the mutant told him to shut up. He declared to the audience that he was not a gladiator anymore and refused to kill anyone. However, the Death Sponsors soon entered the arena and began to fight him. This was enough to break him and revert his mind back to his gladiatorial days, leading to him killing all of the Death Sponsors, except for Gringrave. The two fought a brutal battle, until Shatterstar killed her. As he was about to free his tenants, the Grandmaster teleported besides him and told Shatterstar that the show wasn't over yet as he dispersed his body. (Shatterstar v1 #4)

Once on Earth, they kidnapped his tenants who were brought to Horus IV in order to bring Shatterstar to the contest where he was forced to participate. During this time, one of his tenants named Christina Cook was killed in the arena with Shatterstar challenging the Grandmaster himself. Gast effortlessly killed Shatterstar causing him to experience what his life could have been had he remained with Mojo before resurrecting him. Gaveedra then attacked him by trying to cut off his head but it simply reformed as the Grandmaster was immortal. The Grandmaster forced Shatterstar's compliance to serve him by killing his tenants whereupon Gaveedra begged for them to be resurrected and in exchange he would serve. This would delight Gast who intended for Shatterstar to participate in another 'season' of entertainment for him. However, whilst distracted, Shatterstar opened a portal forcing both of them to Earth-1218 where that universe's strict rules meant that the Grandmasters powers did not work. Gast was then stabbed by Gaveedra's sword and thrown off a bridge seemingly killing him whereupon Shatterstar returned to his world and his friends.

Overview

Personality and attributes

Thunderbolts battle the Grandmaster from Thunderbolts v1 #107.

In appearance, Grandmaster was a tall, gaunt humanoid with blue skin, white hair, and elongated features, wearing ornate, brightly colored robes that emphasize his regal, almost theatrical presence. His expressions often carry an amused detachment, as if every event before him is merely another round in his endless tournaments. (Avengers v1 #69)

The Grandmaster was said to had placed a thousand games in a thousand galaxies where he had never lost a game. (Avengers v1 #69)

He had a daughter by the name of Va Nee who also went by the name of Voyager who he used to help him win his matches as a trump card. Though his offspring, he seemingly showed little care for her and was even willing to discard her when she did not benefit him. (Avengers v1 #689)

Powers and abilities

In terms of powers, the Grandmaster possesses the near-immortal physiology common to the Elders of the Universe, rendering him ageless and immune to disease or conventional harm. His mental capabilities are vast, allowing him to calculate probabilities and anticipate moves with almost flawless precision. He has the ability to manipulate energy, matter, and even life and death within the context of his games, reviving fallen players or altering conditions as needed to maintain the flow of the contest. (Avengers v1 #69)

As one of the oldest sentient entities in existence, he possessed complete immortality, immune to aging, disease, and conventional forms of destruction. His cosmic physiology granted him nearly limitless mental faculties, enabling him to calculate probabilities, predict outcomes, and manipulate matter and energy on a universal scale. He could teleport across galaxies, resurrect the dead, and alter the structure of space to create arenas for his contests. However, his greatest power lay in his intellect and strategic genius, through which he could outmaneuver even gods and cosmic entities. Though not inherently malevolent, the Grandmaster’s detachment from mortality rendered him indifferent to suffering, viewing all life as pieces in a never-ending game whose only purpose was to entertain eternity itself. (Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions v1 #1)

He has a highly developed superhuman intellect, with vast knowledge and comprehension of games and game theory far beyond present-day Earth, as well as encyclopedic knowledge of thousands of exotic games played throughout the universe. He can calculate diverse low information probabilities within a tenth of a second and remember countless rules and data. He also possesses certain extra-sensory abilities of mental perception beyond those currently known which enable him to sense things about his surroundings not detectable by normal senses, and maintains a psychic link with the highly advanced computers of his base world, which extend and enhance his mental abilities.

With his power, he could destroy people by sending them to oblivion which was said to be worse than mere death. (Avengers v1 #69)

He observed the events of his games from within his Cosmic Game Room that could manifest screens and images of the contestants. From there, he could activate other elements of his contest in order to bring about further challenges in the game. (Avengers v1 #677) It housed the World-Engine, a device capable of maintaining an energy envelope around a planet in order to keep it at the correct rotation and temperature if the world was abducted from its location in the Solar System to a galaxy faraway for the purpose of the contest. (Avengers v7 #688)

A facility he controlled was a space station called the Speculatorium. (Avengers v9 #22)

Dast also ruled a dimension known as the Casino Cosmico which was dedicated entirely to gambling. It could be accessed by a door that opened for specific individuals allowing them entry. Inside, there were numerous games of chance whereby people could bet on anything. The Grandmaster at times arranged events to ensure people win so that they bet on higher stakes whereupon he ensured that they lost so that he won their winnings along with remaining possessions. (Silver Surfer v8 #7)

Notes

• The Grandmaster was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema where he made his first appearance in Avengers v1 #69 (October, 1969).

In other media

Television

• In Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, the Grandmaster made an appearance in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "Contest of Champions" where he was voiced by actor French Tickner. He was shown to be a powerful cosmic being known to the likes of the Kree and oversaw the Contest of Champions. Ronan the Accuser petitions the Grandmaster for entry into the Contest to battle his hated foes in the Fantastic Four. The Grandmaster granted him this request despite it being done so without the permission of the Supreme Intelligence due to the fact that failure could lead to the destruction of their empire as the winner was awarded their hearts desire. He would place Annihilus, the Impossible Man and the Super-Skrull who showed respect to the Grandmaster as team mates for Ronan in the fight against the Fantastic Four. Ultimately, Ben Grimm won the battle and was allowed any request to which the Thing wanted the Grandmaster gone with all his friends returned to which the powerful cosmic being granted albeit reluctantly.
• In Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors, Grandmaster appeared in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "Contest of Champions" where he was voiced by actor Jeff Bennett.
• In Guardians of the Galaxy, the Grandmaster appeared in the episode "Take the Milano and Run" where he was voiced by actor Jason Spisak. He was shown as being the owner of a large space station called Conjunction that hosted a large number of arenas, races and other such games. The Grandmaster was shown to enjoy games and sought only to win wit him not caring for the lIves of the audience as he reasoned that more would always come. When the Guardians of the Galaxy came to Conjuction, he grew interested in seeing an arena fight between Drax and Gamora. Thus, he arranged events to bring about such a match such as covering any damage the Guardians made to Conjuction, preventing the Nova Corps from arresting them and tricking them into bargaining their ship for a large sum of credits. Ultimately, the Grandmaster threatened the lives of every one in the stadium until he was knocked off onto the arenas floor. He would have been attacked by a mob but the Nova Corps arrested him as the Guardians fled the scene in their new upgraded ship.

Films

• In Planet Hulk, the Grandmaster made a non-voiced appearance in the setting of the animated film.
• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Grandmaster made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting.
  • In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the Grandmaster made a cameo appearance in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Jeff Goldblum with him only dancing in the credit sequence.
  • In Thor: Ragnarok, the Grandmaster appeared in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Jeff Goldblum. He was an ancient being that came to Sakaar where time operated differently allowing him to live for thousands of years. Once there, he ruled the world with him establishing the Contest of Champions that were a series of gladiatorial games. The portals to Sakaar brought numerous beings to the planet that took part in the games with his minions killing those that failed the Grandmaster. The Hulk accidently landed on Sakaar through a portal where he came to become the champion in the Contest and the Grandmaster's prized fighter.

Video games

• In Marvel: Contest of Champions, Grandmaster appeared in the setting of the mobile video game where he was a non-playable character. Three billion years ago, a young En Dwi Gast went on a exploration trip with his fellow Elder of the Universe Taneleer Tivan and his daughter Carina. After passing through a storm between realities, En Dwi and Taneleer found a "nexus realm" abundant in ISO-8, crystals theorized to be all that remained from the cataclysm that destroyed their universe. Using their spaceship's equipment, they traced the quantum footprint left by the crystals to an apparently dead Celestial fused to the core of a planet. When Carina landed on the planet's surface to collect a sample of ISO-8, En Dwi was separated from Taneleer by the planet's explosion and became stuck on a rock that spinned free of the planet's gravity. While he eventually broke free of it, En Dwi was still trapped in an unknown realm with no spaceship nor working communicator, which meant he had to to walk home; however, due to space-time being fragmented in this realm, En Dwi would travel years back in time or be transported a hundred miles in the wrong direction every few steps he took. He had to solve the largest puzzle in all creation just to be able to return, and that made him into the Grandmaster.
• In Marvel Duel, the Grandmaster appeared in the setting of the mobile video game. En Dwi Gast who was better known as the Grandmaster was one of the Elders of the Universe , an association of the last remaining survivors of the universe's oldest species.
• In Marvel Battle Lines, the Grandmaster appeared in the setting of the mobile video game. One of the few remaining Elders of the Universe, the Grandmaster has made an obsessive study of games for millions of years. He frequently forces Earth's heroes and villains into contests against each other.

Appearances

• Avengers v1: (1969)
• Thunderbolts v1:
• Hulk v2:
• Guardians of the Galaxy:
• Avengers v1:
• Shatterstar v1:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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