Ebony Maw
Ebony Maw is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a prominent member of the Black Order, a team of aliens who work for Thanos.
Ebony Maw | |
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Textless variant cover of Infinity #6 (January 2014). Art by In-Hyuk Lee. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Cameo appearance: New Avengers #8 (September 2013) Full appearance: Infinity #1 (October 2013) |
Created by | Jonathan Hickman Jerome Opeña |
In-story information | |
Team affiliations | Black Order |
Abilities |
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The character has made several appearances in media, such as animated television series, the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and video games.
Publication history
Ebony Maw first appears in a one panel cameo New Avengers #8 (September 2013) and was created by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opeña.[1] His second one panel appearance came later that month in Infinity #1 (October 2013).
Fictional character biography
Ebony Maw was a member of Thanos' Black Order. He is not a fighter, but a dangerous thinker of the Black Order.[2] When Thanos targeted Earth as the next planet he would raze during the Infinity storyline, Ebony Maw was dispatched to deal with Doctor Strange.[3]
Ebony Maw used his abilities to gain control over Doctor Strange and force him to summon Shuma-Gorath.[4] Then Ebony Maw used his abilities to have Doctor Strange serve as a double-agent for him when he reunited with the Illuminati. When the Illuminati headed to numerous locations around the world to find Thanos' son Thane, Doctor Strange found the boy in a hidden Inhuman city of Orollan (which is located in Greenland). Ebony remained in the location and forced Doctor Strange to forget about the discovery and to leave where he is now freed from Maw's control.[5]
When Black Bolt detonated a Terrigen Bomb which unleashed the Terrigen Mists upon the entire face of Earth, Thanos' son Thane underwent Terrigenesis. The manifestation of his powers annihilated the entire town.[6] Posing as an ally following the incident, Ebony Maw offered Thane a suit to control his powers, but also captured him in a containment field followed by Ebony Maw alerting Thanos to the location of his son.[7] When the Avengers arrived in Orollan in order to defeat Thanos, Ebony Maw tested Thane by freeing him. Thane could escape or could fight Thanos and become what he had avoided his entire life. Thane agreed and embraced his true nature as the son of Thanos by fighting his father. Using the power of his right hand, Thane trapped Thanos and his ally Proxima Midnight in an amber construct which left them in a state of "living death." Upon the defeat of Thanos, Ebony Maw started disciplining Thane into becoming something greater than Thanos and greater than any one would.[8]
During the "No Surrender" arc, Ebony Maw appears as a member of Challenger's Black Order where he pits them in a contest against Grandmaster's Lethal Legion.[9]
Powers and abilities
Ebony Maw has genius-level intellect. He mostly demonstrates his intelligence with his highly skilled abilities of manipulation being described as a "black tongue that spreads mischief and evil wherever he goes."[10] Ebony Maw’s skills at manipulation are a result of his superhumanly persuasive voice which allows him to control even the strongest minds such as Doctor Strange.[11] Maw’s other abilities includes the ability to use telekinesis and pyrokinesis.[12][13]
He also uses technology that specializes in teleportation and force field generation.[14][15]
In other media
Television
- Ebony Maw appears in Avengers Assemble, voiced by René Auberjonois.[16] He serves the Black Order under Thanos.
- Ebony Maw appears in Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by James Urbaniak.[16] While initially a member of the Black Order, he later joins the Universal Believers.
Film
Ebony Maw appears in live-action films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, voiced and motion-captured by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.[17][18][19] This version of the character has telekinetic abilities and acts as Thanos' herald, perversely evangelizing to the inhabitants of worlds that Thanos attacks that they are actually being saved and the ones who are dead or dying should "rejoice" in their deaths bringing balance to the universe.
- Maw first appears in Avengers: Infinity War. He and Cull Obsidian are assigned to retrieve the Infinity Stones on Earth, where they battle the Avengers and Maw kidnaps Doctor Strange to take the Time Stone from him. While returning to Thanos however, Tony Stark and Peter Parker sneak aboard his ship and use explosive decompression to send Maw into the vacuum of space, killing him.
- A past version of Maw appears in Avengers: Endgame.[20] He travels through time with Thanos' forces to stop the Avengers from foiling his master's plans, only to be disintegrated along with them when Stark uses the Infinity Stones.[21]
Video games
- Ebony Maw appeared as an NPC in Marvel Avengers Alliance.[22]
- Ebony Maw appears as a boss and unlockable playable character in Marvel Future Fight.[23]
- Ebony Maw appears as an unlockable playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. He is available through the DLC "Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War Movie Level Pack".[24]
- Ebony Maw appears as a support character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.[25]
- Ebony Maw appears as an unlockable playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions. He was also featured as a mini-boss during the story event "Avengers Forever" and a boss during the event "Last Stand: Save the Battlerealm".[26]
- Ebony Maw appears as a boss in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, voiced by Todd Haberkorn.[16]
References
- "EXCLUSIVE: Introducing The Black Order of "Infinity" Part Two". CBR. May 8, 2013.
- DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- New Avengers Vol. 3 #8
- Mighty Avengers Vol. 2 #2
- New Avengers Vol. 3 #10
- Infinity #4
- Infinity #5
- Infinity #6
- Avengers #681. Marvel Comics.
- New Avengers Vol. 3 #11
- New Avengers Vol. 3 #9
- Black Order #1
- Thanos Vol. 3 #1
- Avengers #676
- Black Order #2
- "Voice of Ebony Maw". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- Hall, Jacob (July 15, 2017). "The Minions of Thanos in 'Avengers: Infinity War' Have Been Revealed [D23 Expo 2017]". /Film. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- Arnold, Berry (August 21, 2017). "Tom Vaughan-Lawlor confirms role in Avengers: Infinity War". DublinLive. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- Pante, Corey (March 2, 2018). "This 'Infinity War' Villain Is So Much More Than Thanos' Henchman". Inverse. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- Hood, Cooper (April 27, 2019). "Every Character In Avengers: Endgame". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- Russo, Anthony; Russo, Joe (Directors) (2019). Avengers: Endgame (Motion picture). Marvel Studios.
- Couto, Anthony (July 16, 2017). "Avengers: Infinity War: Thanos' Black Order, Explained". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- Marvel: Future Fight (July 15, 2016). "With the new Ebony Maw World Boss Ultimate battle the entire @Avengers: #InfinityWar lineup of the Children of Thanos is complete. Do you have what it takes to defeat them all? #MARVELFutureFight". Twitter. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
- "LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Gets Infinity War DLC". ComingSoon.net. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- "What's New in Marvel Puzzle Quest?". Shacknews.
- "CHAMPION SPOTLIGHT – EBONY MAW". Marvel Contest of Champions. May 21, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
External links
- Ebony Maw at Marvel Wiki
- Ebony Maw at Comic Vine
- Ebony Maw at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)