Zodiac (Marvel)
Zodiac is an organization that features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Zodiac
In 1961, a time-travelling Leonardo da Vinci came to call a gathering of the top most experienced intelligence officials in the world where they arrived in Pieta. Each represented a nation or faction or secret society that looked to achieve world domination but operated from the shadows. Looking for their aid, he offered them each his patronage and resources in exchange for them performing secret missions for him. The support these factions could receive would give them an advantage in fighting their respective wars in sect. This was done so on the condition of ultimate anonymity for all parties where despite their hatreds and pride that all the parties agreed leading to the formation of the Great Wheel of the Zodiac. (Secret Warriors v1 #25)
The Great Wheel ended up having an immense impact on the lives of its agents. Nick Fury was mortally wounded and only recovered through the Infinity Formula. Baron Strucker and Shoji Soma united their forces to strike back at the Russians, leading indirectly to the formation of the Leviathan and Hydra terrorist organizations. The contents of the Amboise Coffin was retro-engineered into the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Life-Model Decoy program. (Secret Warriors v1 #25)
For a time, S.H.I.E.L.D. came to mistakenly believe that Scorpio alone headed the Zodiac crime cartel with them being unaware of its various leaders. (Avengers v1 #72)
Zodiac
The Avengers later came to learn of the Zodiac's activities and prepared to oppose them. However, they came to split into three groups each seemingly opposing a different agenda. Unknown to them, all of these plots were related to the wider scheme of the Zodiac. (Avengers v1 #80) Van Lunt's men shot down the Avengers' Quinjet containing Goliath Clint Barton, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, and Red Wolf with a Zodiac robot-operated craft. Van Lunt briefly forced the Vision to serve him by threatening the Scarlet Witch, but he was apparently drowned when his artificial dam was destroyed in the ensuing conflict with the Avengers. (Avengers v1 #81) Zodiac backed the Thunderbolts gang, directing them to dupe other African-Americans into joining a seeming revolution against oppression, when they were really just common criminals; the Thunderbolts were defeated by the Black Panther, Daredevil, and William Carver. (Daredevil v1 #69) Aries led Zodiac's mercenary army to ambush the Avengers Captain America, Iron Man, Quicksilver, and Thor where they used gas to incapacitate then within Avengers Mansion, after which they were placed within stasis. Aries led Zodiac's army to take over Manhattan, entrapping it within a force field, and threatening to slay the entire population if they did not receive one billion dollars within 24 hours time. The Black Panther and Daredevil freed the imprisoned Avengers, and Aries was apparently slain in the ensuing conflict when Thor struck down his vessel with a bolt of lightning. The army captured Zodiac's mercenary soldiers, and the force field was deactivated. The rest of the Zodiac Cartel escaped capture. (Avengers v1 #82)
The Zodiac Cartel led by Capricorn employed Spymaster and his Espionage Elite to destroy Stark Industries and to capture or kill Tony Stark. (Iron Man v1 #34) The Brotherhood of the Ankh contacted Capricorn where they instructing him to use the Zodiac Key to bring others to the Ankh dimension to restore the Key's power through conflict. (Daredevil v1 #73) After Spymaster and his group failed, Capricorn reassigned him to capture Daredevil, which they did and managed to obtain Madame Masque in the process. Libra joined Aquarius, Capricorn, and Sagittarius in traveling to Stark Industries, where they battled and overcame Iron Man, Nick Fury, and Kevin O'Brien with the aid of the Zodiac Key. The heroes were imprisoned alongside Daredevil and Madame Masque, and Fury. (Iron Man v1 #35) Fury was mesmerized by the Key into using it to transport the heroes, the three Zodiac Cartel members, and Spymaster to the Ankh dimension, where they appeared before the Brotherhood of the Ankh. The Law-Holder manipulated the heroes and villains into conflict, but disagreement over Daredevil's reluctance to fight under duress led the Brotherhood to send them all back to Earth. (Daredevil v1 #73) Daredevil, Nick Fury, Iron Man, and Madame Masque defeated Aquarius, Capricorn, and Sagittarius, who were taken away by the police, while Spymaster escaped. (Iron Man v1 #36)
Zodiac Attack
Avengers Assemble
This version of the Zodiac struck at Parker Industries where members of the Leo Sect stole secure servers from the company’s Shanghai branch. Despite the successful theft, they were apprehended by Spider-Man and Mockingbird. This resulted in the Zodiac sending operatives to abduct Peter Parker who was attending the wedding of Max Modell. (Amazing Spider-Man V4 #1)
Overview
In appearance, the Zodiac was an international crime cartel that possessed many arms. Each of its heads were based on one of the signs of the zodiac and commanded a section of the world. The ultimate goal of the organization was to subvert, conquer and rule the world. (Avengers v1 #72)
A relic deeply tied to the organisation as the Key to the Zodiac. (Avengers v1 #72)
Members
- Cornelius van Lunt :
- Darren Bentley :
- Marcus Lassiter :
- Jack Klevano :
- Willard Weer :
- Joshua Link :
- Daniel Radford :
- Gustav Brandt :
- Noah Perricone :
- Harlan Vargus :
- Jake Fury :
- Jacques LaPoint :
- Elaine McLaughlin :
- Vernon Jacob Fury :
Notes
- The Zodiac were created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema where they made their first appearance in Avengers v1 #72 (January, 1970).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In The Avengers: United They Stand, the Zodiac appeared as antagonists in the setting of the animated television series.
- In Marvel Anime: Iron Man, the Zodiac featured as antagonists in the animated series. They were described as a terrorist organization was a little known affiliate of Advanced Idea Mechanics. The group was responsible for a number of activities in Japan and were targeting Tony Stark.
Films
Appearances
- Avengers v1: (1970)
- Secret Warriors v1:
- Amazing Spider-Man v4:
External Links
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