The Grandmaster is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. who first appeared in The Avengers #69. He is one of the ageless Elders of the Universe and has mastered most civilizations' games of skill and chance. Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to the date or issue of a characters first appearance. ... Roy Thomas (born November 22, 1940, Missouri, United States) is a comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lees first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. ... John Buscema (December 11, 1927- January 10, 2002) was an American comic book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics in its 1960s and 1970s heyday. ... The Squadron Supreme is a team of comic book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe, a thinly disguised version of DC Comics Justice League of America. ... Left to right, down from the top: The Runner, The Gardener, The Collector, The Champion and The Grandmaster. ... The Collector is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. ... Omnipotence (literally, all power) is the power to do absolutely anything. ... Galactus on the cover of Fantastic Four #520 Galactus, sometimes called the Devourer of Worlds or Eater of Planets, is a fictional comic book character, a cosmic entity within Marvel Comics universe. ... Omniscience is the capacity to know everything, or at least everything that can be known. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Avengers are a superhero team, consisting of many of Marvel Comics most popular heroes. ... Left to right, down from the top: The Runner, The Gardener, The Collector, The Champion and The Grandmaster. ... The word civilization (or civilisation) has a variety of meanings related to human society. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Although his exact origin is unknown, he is one of the oldest living beings in the universe, coming from one of the first intelligent races to evolve after the Big Bang. He once possessed the Mind Gem, one of the six Infinity Gems, but he lost it to Thanos. According to the Big Bang theory, the universe emerged from an extremely dense and hot state (bottom). ... In the fictional universe of Marvel Comics, the Infinity Gems, sometimes referred to as the soul gems early on, are six immensely powerful gems. ... Thanos is a fictional character created by Jim Starlin and published by Marvel Comics. ...

His preferred game is pitting two opposing teams against each other. He has used the Squadron Supreme, Daredevil, the Defenders, the East and West Coast Avengers, Ultraforce, and the Justice League. The Squadron Supreme is a team of comic book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe, a thinly disguised version of DC Comics Justice League of America. ... Daredevil (alter ego Matthew Murdock) is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Defenders was a comic book series about a loosely-organized team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Avengers are a superhero team, consisting of many of Marvel Comics most popular heroes. ... Ultra Force was a PC demoscene group active from 1989-1993 with public release demos. ... The Justice League, sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short, is a DC Comics superhero team. ...

During the Contest of Champions miniseries, he challenged Death to a game of strategy, and won; but while he demanded life for the Collector as a result, he was forced to sacrifice himself to accomplish this. In a later story, however, even from beyond the grave he and the Collector successfully manipulated events so that Death became angered with the Elders, preventing them from ever entering her realm - in other words, making them effectively immortal. Contest of Champions is a 1982 mini-series by Marvel Comics. ... A miniseries (sometimes mini-series), in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... Death is a fictional character, a personification of death in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Collector is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. ... Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of existing for a potentially infinite, or indeterminate, length of time. ...

Beyond never dying himself, he can also raise mortals from the dead, although that power is thought to be limited to those who have died sufficiently recently.

In 2004 the Grandmaster organized the meeting of the Avengers and The Justice League. The Avengers are a superhero team, consisting of many of Marvel Comics most popular heroes. ... The Justice League, sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short, is a DC Comics superhero team. ...

By the same cosmic force, he can also simply will other people to die, and bestow his life and death powers to a mortal for a limited time.

Recently, the Grandmaster has recreated his Squadron Supreme and hopes to use them against Baron Zemo's Thunderbolts. The Squadron Supreme is a team of comic book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe, a thinly disguised version of DC Comics Justice League of America. ... Baron Zemo is the name of two fictional characters, both supervillains, in various Marvel Comics comic books, notably Captain America and the Avengers. ... The Thunderbolts are a Marvel Comics superhero team, which consists mostly of former villains. ...

Powers and abilities

The Grandmaster is one of the most powerful beings known with powers on par with if not surpassing other Elders and other cosmic beings such as the Watchers.

Like all elders he is completly immortal. He is immune to ageing, disease, poision, and conventional injury. He can survive and travel in space unaided without food, drink, or air.

He has a highly developed intellect specilizing in games. He can calculate probabilities withing a tenth of a second and remember countless rules. He has certain extrasensory information that allows him to sense things about his surroundings not detectable by normal senses.

He wields vast energy powers, the full extent which is unknown. He can project blasts of cosmic energy, teleport across space and time, adjust his height and molecularly rearrange matter.

Perhaps his most fearsome ability is his power over life and death. The Grandmaster can "will" the death of another being. It is unknown if he can will the death of another virtual immortal being. He can also "ressurect" another being no matter how badly injured or heal a person on the verge of death. He cannot ressurect another virtually immortal being or anyone who has died past a certain time point. Lastly, he can temporarily bestow these powers to another being.

It has been implied the Grandmaster can and in some cases has used highly advanced technology to augment his abilities and perform feats that might be normally beyond him. While the extent of this is unknown it is known the Grandmaster has access and mastery of technology far beyound human comprehension.

References

• Marvel Directory: Grandmaster