Count Luchino Nefaria is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe. He first appeared in Avengers (vol.1) #13 (February 1965). He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Publishing, Inc. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... The Avengers is an elite fictional comic book superhero team in the Marvel Universe. ... Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber on December 28, 1921[1]) is an American writer, editor, was the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Comics, and memoirist. ... Jack Kirby (August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching... The Maggia is a fictional organization in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Legion of the Unliving is a name used by five fictional groups in the Marvel Comics universe. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... The Lethal Legion is a name used by four fictional supervillain teams in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Ani-Men is a fictional team of supervillains in the Marvel Universe. ... A healing factor is a term used to describe the ability of some characters in fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... Doctor Doom, one of the most archetypal supervillains and his arch-enemies The Fantastic Four (in background). ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Publishing, Inc. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber on December 28, 1921[1]) is an American writer, editor, was the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Comics, and memoirist. ... Jack Kirby (August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching...

Fictional character biography

Luchino Nefaria, a wealthy aristocrat, was born in Rome, Italy. He is a frequent enemy of The Avengers, and has also fought Iron Man and the X-Men on several occasions. Nefaria possesses vast superhuman physical capabilities including tremendous strength and resistance to physical injury. He is, however, vulnerable to weapons that use the type of ionic energy that gave him his powers; this same kind of energy also empowered Wonder Man and Atlas. The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin Roma) is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. ... The Avengers is an elite fictional comic book superhero team in the Marvel Universe. ... Iron Man (Anthony Edward Tony Stark) is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The X-Men are a group of comic book superheroes featured in Marvel Comics. ... An electrostatic potential map of the nitrate ion (NO3−). Areas coloured red are lower in energy than areas colored yellow An ion is an atom or group of atoms which have lost or gained one or more electrons, making them negatively or positively charged. ... Wonder Man is a fictional character, a superhero and a long-time member of the Avengers that appears in the Marvel Universe. ... This article is about the Marvel Comics character Atlas. ...

Count Luchino Nefaria was the descendant of a long line of Italian noblemen, and had inherited a vast fortune. Nefaria was also a man of unusual contradictions. He was conservative in many of his tastes and attitudes, and therefore dressed in the fashions Italian noblemen wore much earlier in the century. On the other hand, Nefaria was fascinated with technological advances, and throughout his life commissioned scientists to create inventions that were far in advance of contemporary science. Nefaria also greatly valued his family tradition of utter respectability, yet his lust for even greater wealth and power led him to become a powerful figure in the Maggia, the notorious international crime syndicate which has its origins in southern Europe, but included no noblemen. As a young man, Nefaria quickly made himself a powerful force in the Maggia through the offering of large sums of money to established Maggiosi, the financing of major criminal operations for the Maggia in return for shares of power, the advanced weaponry his scientists devised for him, and his own immense talent for criminal strategy. The Maggia is a fictional organization in the Marvel Comics universe. ...

The newly formed Avengers devoted much of their time in the early history of that group to the capturing of Maggia criminals and causing the shutdown of many profitable Maggia criminal operations. Count Nefaria decided to deal with the Avengers himself. Having planned to move to America anyway, Nefaria had his ancestral castle in Italy disassembled stone by stone and re-assembled atop the New Jersey Palisades. He announced that he was opening the castle to the public and that profits from admission fees would be donated to charity. He invited the Avengers to the opening day ceremonies.

Once the Avengers were inside the castle, however, Nefaria trapped them under so-called "time transcender beams" which, in effect, put them into suspended animation. Nefaria then created life-size hologram-like images of the Avengers which he could project over great distances, which he could cause to move like living humans, and through which he could project recreations of the real Avengers’ voices. Nefaria caused the images to publicly proclaim that the Avengers were going to seize control of the United States.

As a result, the real Avengers, once they were set free, found them selves in conflict with the United States Army. The Avengers finally defeated Nefaria, who confessed his guilt in framing them. The Avengers were cleared and Nefaria was publicly exposed as a criminal and deported to Italy. Many of Nefaria’s criminal allies and employees deserted him and he was now no more than one among many Maggia "family" heads.

By now, Nefaria was virtually destitute. He decided he would have himself given superhuman powers greater than those of virtually any other human being. Nefaria formed the second Lethal Legion, consisting of the Living Laser, the original, criminal Power Man, and the Whirlwind. Nefaria then had Profally Klaus Sturdy, former chief assistant to Baron Heinrich Zemo, increase these three criminals’ powers for roughly an hour, and sent them to battle their old enemies, the Avengers. The Lethal Legion is a name used by four fictional supervillain teams in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Living Laser (Arthur Parks) is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in the Marvel Comics universe, and an enemy of the Avengers. ... This article is about the Marvel Comics character Atlas. ... Whirlwind (David Cannon) is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Universe. ... Baron Zemo is the name of two fictional characters, both supervillains, in various Marvel Comics comic books, notably Captain America and the Avengers. ...

But Sturdy and his assistants had also analyzed the cellular and genetic structure of the three superhumanly powerful criminals, and used their findings to duplicate their powers in Count Nefaria, but magnified a hundredfold. Once empowered, Nefaria mortally wounded Sturdy so that he could never give equal powers to someone else. He then battled and defeated the Avengers. But the dying Sturdy returned and told Nefaria that his new powers were causing the count to age at incredible speed, so that Nefaria would be dead in two days. (Actually, Sturdy was lying, and Nefaria lived beyond the two day limit.) Sturdy said that only he himself could control the aging process, but now he could not because he himself would be dead. Crazed with fear and rage, Nefaria attempted to destroy New York City, engaging in an epic battle which raged across the city, going toe to toe with Thor himself. He was eventually stopped by the Vision, and the Avengers captured him. It has been suggested that Ultimate Thor be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about Marvel Comics modern-day characters. ...

It was revealed the power gain that was causing rapid aging (which was only short-term) was actually reshaping his body and turning Nefaria immortal. This was unknown to everyone, including Nefaria. Treatments were found to restore him to normal, but Madame Masque distrusted the Avengers. She and the Ani-Men attacked them to free her father and gain revenge on Iron Man. In the process Nefaria's weakened form was crushed and appeared to have died.^[1] In his absence, his family of the Maggia was run by Madame Masque and the Masked Marauder. Madame Masque (Whitney Frost) is a fictional character, an occasional love-interest and villain of Iron Man in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Ani-Men is a fictional team of supervillains in the Marvel Universe. ... Category: ...

Years later he resurfaced as an ionic being seeking revenge against the Avengers. It seems that he received enough treatment so that his subordinates could eventually revive him. He revealed to Iron Man that he was now pure ionic energy but needed to drain others of their energy to maintain himself.

Captain America and Ka-Zar managed to capture the Count in the Savage Land while he was conducting experiments to create a race of ionic beings. He was still in a weakened state and was prevented from using a ship with a special cybernetic link to escape. It is unclear how he escaped but he claimed they could never hold him and it is likely that the Maggia came to free him. Captain America is a fictional comic book superhero published by Marvel Comics. ... Ka-Zar (pronounced KAY-sar) is the name of three jungle-dwelling fictional characters. ... The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land within the fictional Marvel Comics Universe. ...

Nefaria's new master plan was to bombard the Earth with ionic energy using an ionic bomb; the survivors would become ionic beings that he could control and drain at his leisure, thus ensuring that he would at last receive the respect he felt was his right. He attacked and gained control of Wonder Man and Atlas to assist him. The combined efforts of the Avengers, Thunderbolts, and Madame Masque were barely able to stop him, and it was only thanks to the sacrifice of a clone of Masque that she was convinced to use a weapon she had developed against Nefaria to win the day; recent events had made her so paranoid that she had been uncertain which side to aid in the conflict.. “Thunderbolts” redirects here. ...

He again appeared to have been killed when the ionic bomb went off and only Wonder Man and Atlas remained. It seems that he was captured by SHIELD. However, he was recently revealed to be in 'The Raft' and subsequently freed along with a number of other superpowered criminals by Electro. S.H.I.E.L.D. (originally an acronym for Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division, changed in 1991 to Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate) is a fictional counterterrorism and intelligence agency in the Marvel Universe that often deals with superhuman threats. ... The Raft is a fictional comic book prison, created to house super-villains and rogue super-heroes in the Marvel Universe. ... Electro is the name of several fictional comic book characters in the Marvel Comics universe, including two from Marvels predecessors, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics. ...

Powers and abilities

Count Nefaria blocking Thor's hammer.

Nefaria possesses the combined powers of the Lethal Legion (Power Man I, Whirlwind, and the Living Laser) multiplied a thousand fold. This entails that he possesses vast superhuman strength. The limits to Count Nefaria's strength are unknown. However, Nefaria's strength is sufficient to easily stand toe to toe with the likes of Thor. When he first obtained his power, Count Nefaria could jump great distances greater than the Hulk, at least while the Hulk was in a functionally "calm" emotional state, which appeared to be flight. He is now capable of self propelled flight at 77,500 miles per hour. Image File history File links Nefaria3. ... Image File history File links Nefaria3. ... The Incredible Hulk in popular media, see Hulk. ...

Count Nefaria is highly resistant to physical injury. He can withstand high caliber bullets, temperature extremes, and powerful concussive forces without sustaining injury. However, Nefaria is particularly vulnerable to certain specific types of radiation or cosmic energies, particularly ionic based weaponry such as Madame Masque's Ionic Lock. He has the ability to emit destructive rays of energy from his eyes, which can cut through titanium armor easily. These powers are derived from the ionic energy housed in his corporeal form. To maintain his powers he must drain other ionic beings periodically.

Nefaria has also shown a degree of control over beings suffused with ionic energy. He used this ability to mentally dominate both Wonder Man and the Thunderbolts' member Atlas.

More recently he has also proven capable of forming and manipulating crude ionic energy constructs such as an energy lasso which he used in his escape from the The Raft.

Bibliography

• Avengers (vol. 1) #13, 1965
• Avengers (vol. 1) #164-166, 1977
• Captain America (vol. 3) #28-31, 2000
• Avengers (vol. 3) #32-34, 2000
• Thunderbolts (vol. 1) #43-44, 2000
• New Avengers (vol. 1) #2, 2005

The Avengers is an elite fictional comic book superhero team in the Marvel Universe. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... The Avengers is an elite fictional comic book superhero team in the Marvel Universe. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Captain America is a fictional comic book superhero published by Marvel Comics. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Avengers is an elite fictional comic book superhero team in the Marvel Universe. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the mythological weapon. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... New Avengers is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notes

External links

• Leader's Lair: Ionic People
• Leader's Lair: The Origin of Count Nefaria
• Leader's Lair: Count Nefaria
• Leader's Lair: When Ionic People Attack
• Cerebra's Files: Count Nefaria
• Marvel Directory: Count Nefaria
• Uncanny X-Men.Net: Count Nefaria
• Marvel Character List: Count Nefaria
• Classic Marvel: Count Nefaria
• The Villains of Marvel Comics: Count Nefaria
• Count Nefaria as Dracula
• Norseman Central: Count Nefaria