Master Man (Quality Comics)

Master Man was a Kid Eternity villain who made his first appearance in Kid Eternity #15. He is a type of reverse polarity Kid Eternity, similar to the way Ibac is to Captain Marvel. Kid Eternity's opposite number, Master Man was given powers similar to the Kid's by a figure heavily implied to be the Devil. When Master Man said "Stygia", he could summon any evil historical or mythological figure from Stygia. He was an average sized man with black hair, who wore a green cape and a military type uniform with a Skull and Crossbones on the front. He was also a smoker.

Plot

On a dismal plain a figure whose shadow is the only thing the reader can see of him tells Master Man to serve his ends and reminds him of the price of failure with a pit of fire. He passes through the mists that divide the world and tries to start gaining Lost Souls from Hartmore Prison. Master Man summons the evil monk Rasputin, who uses a device that amused Czar Nicholas^{[disambiguation needed ]} but gave him power over his thoughts, on a guard while pretending to ask for directions. Master Man and Rasputin gain entrance to the Control Tower and Master Man pulls the Master Switch, releasing all the prisoners. Kid Eternity and Mr Keeper happen to be strolling down a nearby street and hear the alarm. The Kid becomes visible, but gets beaten up by some convicts while trying to fight them, so he summons the footballer Knute Rockne, who defeats some convicts, although some others will soon be at the prison gates. Knute then gets the idea of him and the Kid riding horses to help keep the convicts in, which they succeed in. The two main villains escape, Kid sends Knute back to Eternity, and although the Kid sees those behind the prison break, Mr Keeper tells him Rasputin is in Stygia till he plays the penalty for his crimes. Meanwhile in the dismal plains Rasputin is sinking into a pool of flame for failing, and the shadowy figure tells Master Man not to fail a second time. Master Man decides to get rid of Kid Eternity. Later, while Kid Eternity and Mr Keeper are sitting on a roof, Master Man seizes the Kid from behind and gags him without Mr Keeper noticing. Keeper finally realises Kid has gone and sees he has been kidnapped and is being taken inside a castle. Keeper flies in, thinking Kid will really need his magic word now, but 'it is not Kid Eternity who speaks a magic word.' Master Man has tied to a chair and gagged Kid Eternity and summons the cruelest of torturers, Torquemada, who used his talents during the Spanish Inquisition, and by the power that made him appear Torquemada summons his torturer's equipment. He asks if the torture should kill Kid Eternity, but Master Man tells him not to, as only Mr Keeper can remove his power. He shows knowledge of the Kid's origin, and says his new existence will be made so painful that he will willingly request eternal death. The torturer says many cried for death, he spared none of them, but will make an exception for the Kid. The Kid is untied from the chair and placed on a wooden board, then tortured with a device that screws tightly around his neck. Mr Keeper knows he cannot materialise to defeat the villains, and only the Kid can see him, so he tells Kid to pretend to be unconscious as he cannot say Eternity while wearing the gag. The Kid does so, putting the villains of guard while they prepare more torture that will make him beg for eternal death, and hits his torturer, and after ungagging himself he summons Will Rogers a lasso expert, he lassos Torquemada's legs, and sends him out of a window. The Kid and Charles agree that the torturer deserved what he got. Master Man summons Batu Khan, leader of a horde of Mongols that once overran Europe. He cuts through Will's lasso, so Kid summons Charles Martel, who stopped an invasion of Europe at the Battle of Tours. Martel makes racist comments and stabs Batu Khan through the chest. Master Man sens his men back to Stygia, but is then attacked by the Kid, and while he tries to escape a strange shadow falls over him, and the ground opens beneath his feet. Kid sees it goes down for miles and ends with a pool of fire. Keeper tells him he has seen enough and should send the men he called back to Eternity, and leave here. Moments later the fissure is gone and the two are flying back to Eternity. When Kid wonders whose shadow it was, Keeper says he thinks he knows, and cannot wait to get back to a nice safe cloud in Eternity.^[1] However, he makes several later appearances.

Notes

• The strange shadowy figure that gives Master Man his powers is probably the Devil. His shadow is that of a slim horned bearded man with a pitchfork, a classic image of the Devil.
• Stygia is supposed to be Hell, but it is implied to perhaps act like Purgatory, as Keeper says someone will stay there till he pays the penalty for his crimes. In some faiths Hell is a place which can be temporary or permanent.

Master Man is not to be confused with other comic book characters with the name Master Man.

• Master Man (Fawcett Comics), a Fawcett Comics superhero.
• Master Man (Marvel Comics), a Marvel Comics villain.
• After it was revealed that Kid Eternity exists on Earth-S, it can be assumed this story takes place there, therefore making Master Man a Fawcett, and evantually DC comics supervillain.
• Read Kid Eternity #15, involving Master Man.

References

1. ^ Kid Eternity #15