Sunday, January 26, 2014

Hammer Industries

Team Name
Hammer Industries 

Base of Operations

Unknown; formerly Justin Hammer's Villa
 

Current Members
Sasha Hammer, Phillip Barnett


Former Members

Justin Hammer, Justine Hammer (Crimson Cowl), Doug Johnson

Other Members (Honorary, Reserve, etc.)

BlizzardWhiplash, RhinoMACH-IVSpymaster 

Other Info
Justin Hammer was the founder of Hammer Industries--an international design and manufacturing firm. After Stark International moved out of weapons production, Hammer Industries became one of the leading weapons suppliers in the world. (To learn about Justin Hammer, just click on this name above.) 
 
On occasion, Justin Hammer would hire criminals to make attacks on Tony Stark (Iron Man). Hammer would outfit the villains with equipment and weapons developed by Hammer Industries. These villains agreed to pay Hammer half of their profits in exchange for upgrades to their equipment and weapons. In addition, their bail would be paid in the event of an arrest. Some of the most notable villains hired by Hammer Industries are
Blizzard, Whiplash, Rhino, and MACH-IV. (To learn more about the characters above, just click on their highlighted names.) 

Years after Justin Hammer died, his daughter, Justine Hammer (aka Crimson Cowl), re-established Hammer Industries. She turned the company into a newer multi-million dollar weapons supplier known along with her daughter, Sasha. (To learn about the Crimson Cowl, click on the highlighted name above. Note: Beware of the form-fitting outfit worn by Hammer on her bio page. Also, Justine and Sasha are shown in the fifth picture posted.)


Soon after, the mother-daughter combo teamed up with corrupt generals, soldiers, and technology-powered super-terrorists like Spymaster and Ezekiel Stane--whom Sasha was dating at the time. (To learn about the above villains, just click on their highlighted names.)

Later, it was revealed that Sasha's father was the Mandarin--Iron Man's old nemesis. Therefore, as a family, the Hammers, Stanes, and the Mandarin did what they could to ruin and discredit Tony Stark as he established his new company, Stark Resilient. (Click on the highlighted name above, to learn about the Mandarin.)

More recently, Justine manipulated General Bruce Babbage into committing suicide, which allowed her to get to his place in the Pentagon. Meanwhile, the Mandarin kidnapped Tony Stark and Ezekiel Stane. He forced Stane to build gigantic killing machines known as Titanomechs. However, Stark and Stane ended up joining forces and escaped captivity. Afterward, Ezekiel and Sasha killed Justine in revenge for what the Mandarin had done to Ezekiel.

There is nothing there, but here is the link to Hammer Industries' bio on Marvel.com, http://marvel.com/universe/Hammer_Instustries.

In the movie, Iron Man 2, Hammer Industires competed with Stark Industries for the trust of the U.S. government. When Tony Stark became publicly known as Iron Man, the scientists of Hammer Industries attempted to replicate the Iron Man armor but failed in all areas. Eventually, Hammer wanted Ivan Vanko (aka Whiplash) to improve his armored suits so that he could upstage Stark at the upcoming Stark Expo.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Einherjar

Team Name
Einherjar 

Base of Operations
Valhalla
 
Current Members 
Harokin (leader), Eliif Dragonslayer, Baldric 

Former Members 
Big Sigrid, Erik Lonnroth, Magnus the Dane 

Othher Members (Honorary, Reserve, etc.)
Executioner (Skurge) 

Other Info 
Much about the Einherjar warriors is unknown. However, what it known is that they are the honorable dead warriors who inhabited the mighty hall Valhalla. They wait for the final battle at Ragnarok to fight on behalf of the Asgardians. (To learn about the above highlighted place, event, and/or race, just click on their names above.)
 

At one point, Surtur used the Cask of Ancient Winters to cross over from Musphelheim with his demon hordes. The Einherjar were came forward and fought alongside the U.S. Military and the Avengers to drive the demons back. The Einherjar were so impressed by the modern weapons used in battle by the military that they took some machine guns back with them. Therefore, the Einherjar can been seen using various Asgardian and modern weapons in battle. In addition, they ride Asgardian chariots and Pegasuses. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the character, object, and/or team.)

Later on, Hela began taking mortal souls to Hel. When this happened, Thor called upon the Einherjar to help him stop her. The Einherjar and Thor, along with Balder and the Executioner traveled to Hel to rescue stolen souls taken by Hela. During the process, Hela attempted to persuade the Executioner to join her warriors onboard of Nagelfar--the ship of the dead. However, he saw through her tricks and used his axe to cleave a dimensional rift, destroying both the ship and the axe in the process. After they all had retrieved the human souls, they were pursued by a huge army of the dead. Thor, volunteered to buy time for the everyone else to escape; however, the Executioner knocked him out from behind, and volunteered to hold the bridge of Gjallerbru in his stead. He stood alone, and fought off Hela's army as the Einherjar and Balder took Thor and escaped with the rescued souls. For this heroic last stand, the Executioner earned a place among the honorable dead of the Einherjar residing in Valhalla. (To learn about the characters above, just click on their highlighted names. Note: Beware of the revealing outfit worn by Hela on her bio page. Note: Beware of the revealing outfit worn by one in the background of the Executioner's bio page.)

There is nothing there, but here is the link to the Einherjar's bio on Marvel.com, marvel.com/universe/Einherjar.

In the movie, Thor: The Dark World, the Einherjar are an army of elite warriors that are personally trained by the ruler of Asgard and given the task to protect Asgard and to stop conflicts within the Nine Realms. They serve as the main army of Asgard, and the main warrior-class of Asgardian society. As shown in the movie, Thor, it appears that during times of peace, the Einherjar serve as palace guards such as when they are seen guarding Odin's Vault.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Roxxon

Team Name
Roxxon Energy Corporation

Base of Operations
One Roxxon Plaza (New York City), Roxxon Monolith (San Francisco, California), Roxxon Enclave (Los Angeles, California), Roxxon House (Denver, Colorado), multiple international facilities


Current Members
Pierce Benedict (Director of Sea-Going Operations), Douglas Bravner (Sunturion Project executive), August D'Angelo (Chairman of the Board), Arthur Dearborn (Sunturion, scientist), Jonas "Jonah" Hale (Vice President), Samuel Higgins (Facility Director, Denver), Dan Kaminski (President), Henry Mason (Vice President), Malachi Oz (scientist), Carrington Pax (Regional Director, Los Angeles), Huck Petrie (negotiator), Brian Sagar (Vice President), Cindy Shelton (lead scientist, New York), MikeTappan (Associate Director, Los Angeles)

Former Members 
Cary Albertson (cyberneticist), Babs Bendix (secretary), Kenneth H. Bradley (Brand security, deceased), Clayton Burr (Vice President for International Development), Brandon Chambers (executive), Phillip Chambers (scientist, deceased), Delphine Courtney (robot, destroyed), Larry Curtiss (security operative), Jonathan Darque (Magma, Project Head, Virginia), Albert DeVoor (Nth Command head), Abner Doolittle (Nth Command scientist), T.W. Erwin (Nth Command scientist), lan Forbes (Facility Director, Belfast, deceased), John T Gamelin (President, presumed dead), Calvin Halderman (President), Roberta "Bobbie" Haggert (scientist, deceased), Curtis Henshaw (Facility Director, Bolivia), Jerome "Jerry" Jaxon (Associate VP, deceased), Hugh Jones (President), J.T. Jones (Republic Oil founder, deceased), Simon Krieger (Republic Oil VP, deceased), Linden Laswell, Thomas Lightner (Mysterium, Nth Command scientist), Alexander Lipton (cyberneticist, deceased), James Melvin (Brand President), Jason Quartermaster (scientist, deceased), Harlan Ryker (Brand & Cybertek lead)

Other Members (Honorary, Reserve, etc.)
Some of the super-agents empowered or augmented by Roxxon include: Anaconda (Blanche Sitznski), Angler (Kevin Brackett), Black Mamba (Tanya Sealy), Bushmaster (Quincy Mclver), Danger Man (Dan Jermain), Death Adder (Roland Burroughs, deceased), Deathlok (Michael Collins), Deathlok (robot, destroyed), Dogs of War, Grasshopper (Doug Taggert), (deceased), Grasshopper (Neil Shelton, deceased), Killer Shrike (Simon Maddicks), Letha (Hellen Feliciano, deceased), Manticore, Modular Man (Stephen Weems), Nemesis (Kane), Orka, Poundcakes (Marian Pouncey), Raptor (Paul Hazlett), Repulsor (Carlos Carago). Saboteur, Screaming Mimi (Songbird, Melissa Gold), Sidewinder (Seth Voelker), Stratosfire (Sandy Vincent, deceased), Sunturion (Arthur Dearborn), Tarantula (Antonio Rodriquez), (deceased), Titania (Davida DeVito), (deceased), Will-O'-The-Wisp (Jackson Arvad), and Windshear (Colin Hume)


Other Info
Powerful, expansive, and influential, the Roxxon Oil Company is a corporation like no other. In the past, Roxxon Oil was an unparalleled leader in the energy industry, both because of its clout but also its sterling reputation. Roxxon even diversified into high-tech research and development, aiding in the development of the S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence agency. Unfortunately, in recent years the company has backed many suspect endeavors in its drive for political and economic power. Despite being implicated in these shady practices, Roxxon Oil executives and employees have skirted outright arrest and conviction. (To learn about S.H.I.E.L.D., click on the highlighted name above.)

Roxxon's current reputation and business practices largely began with Hugh Jones, its President, a corrupt and cutthroat businessman. The board under his direction was responsible for the death of Tony Stark's parents and the aquisition of the Brand Corporation. (The Brand Corp. became Roxxon's front for mutagenics and robotics research, spawning such villains as Orka, Manticore, Nemesis, Killer Shrike, Bushmaster, and Delphine Courtney.) Their development of battle suits researched the Cat's costume (leading to Hellcat's adoption of the costume) and created the Grasshopper. Hugh Jones was best known for falling victim to the Serpent Crown, which nearly allowed him to seize control of the U.S. capital, until the Avengers brought him down. (To learn about the above highlighted characters and/or teams, just click on their names.)

Most recently, Aleksander Lukin, president of the Kronos Corporation, used the Cosmic Cube to force Roxxon executives to sign over control of large portions of the company to him, including many of its power generating facilities; however, Roxxon still exists in its entirety as a corporate subsidiary. (To learn about the character and/or item above, just click on their highlighted names.)

To learn a little bit more about Roxxon, click on the following link, https://marvel.com/universe/Roxxon_Oil.

The Roxxon logo appears many times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Iron Man (background building during the last fight scene), Iron Man 2 (one of the cars at the Monaco Grand Prix is sponsored by Roxxon), a Marvel One-Short short film A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (takes place at a Roxxon Gas Station in Nevada), Iron Man 3 (final battle takes place on an impounded Roxxon tanker that was responsible for an oil spill), and in the TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode Repairs (a Roxxon gas station was blown up). (Three of the appearances of Roxxon is shown in the second picture posted above in the following order from the top to bottom: Iron Man, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Jacques Dernier

Real Name
Jacques Dernier

Occupation

Resistance Fighter

Citizenship

France

Place of Birth
Unrevealed

Known Relatives
None

Group Affiliation
French Resistance; ally of Howling Commandos

 
Education

Unrevealed 

Height
6' 0"

Weight
190 lbs.

Eyes
Brown

Hair
Black

Powers
None 

Abilities
Jacques was an able resistance leader and combatant. Also, he was trained in subterfuge, and could supply allies with false identities.

Other Info

Jacques Dernier was a member of the French Resistance against the Nazi occupation during World War II. (To learn about the Nazis, click on the highlighted name above.)

One day during WWII, Dernier came into contact with the Howling Commandos as they were transporting the daughter of Dr. Zenish back to England. He assumed that Sgt. Nick Fury was in love with her, and so he aided them for the sake of romance. The Howling Commandos gave Dernier the nickname "Frenchie." (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the team and/or their leader.)

At one point, Jacques, Claire (a member of the French Resistance), and two other members of their team were in the midst of sabotaging a Nazi ammunition depot when they were discovered. Claire was able to escape, but Jacques and the others were captured. When the Howling Commandos learned of Frenchie's capture, they met up with Claire who led the Howlers to the prison where Dernier was being held. While there, the Howlers ran into Jacques (who was actually a Nazi named Hans in disguise); however, Fury soon realized that he wasn't the real Jacques. Soon after, the Howlers found the real Jacques and broke him and the other Resistance members out of prison. Afterward, Frenchi returned to the underground and continued fighting for his country.

Later on, Dernier ran into the German spy named Irma. She pretended to be a member of the German underground; however, she nearly led Jacques into a Nazi trap in Paris. Some time later, Dernier met up with the Howling Commandos as they crossed into France following a mission in Germany. However, Frenchie recognized a "German nurse" with them as Irma. Fury did not want to believe Jacques because he had feelings for Irma. But sure enough, Irma led Nazis to the Howler's location, where Jacques and his Resistance fighters fought alongside the Howlers and managed to defeat the Nazis--Irma was killed in the firefight.

At one point, Dernier was contacted by Gabe Jones who had escaped from the Nazis. He learned about a singer named Carla Swain being held by the Nazis in Paris, and Frenchie helped Gabe go undercover at the club where she sang to rescue her. (To learn about Gabe Jones, just click on the highlighted name above.)

Leading up to D-Day, the Howlers met up with Frenchie in Normandy. They all worked together and tricked a number of high-ranking Nazis to a chateau (manor house), where Dernier posed as a butler. Once the Nazis arrived, they attacked them and destroyed an airfield.
 
There is nothing there, but here is the link to Jacques Dernier's bio page on Marvel.com, marvel.com/universe/Dernier,_Jacques.

Jacques Dernier appeared in the film Captain America: The First Avenger as a Prisoner of War, and later joins Captain America and members of the Howling Commandos in attacking HYDRA bases.