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Quote1 I imagined the army of superhumans scouring the planet had they known of the mental titans of this world convening, however sporadic. And this unparalleled brainpower could only have been brought together by a man with true vision. A Leader. Quote2
The Leader

Appearing in "Meeting of the Minds"

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Synopsis for "Meeting of the Minds"

Years ago, the Leader, the Red Ghost, the Wizard, the Mad Thinker, and Egghead formed together into a group called the Intelligencia. Working together they discovered Olympia, the home of the Eternals. Using cloaking technology, they are able to infiltrate this technological fortress, as not even the Eternals themselves are able to see them as they are out of synch with time. They manage to slip into a massive archive of ancient texts that have long since believed to have been destroyed. Their primary objective is the Library of Alexandria. As the other mad scientists look through this treasure trove of lost scientific knowledge, the Leader considers his uneasy allies. He recounts the origins and motivations of his unlikely allies and questions if he can trust any of them. Meanwhile, the Intelligencia begin taking all of the artifacts they want, including a cosmic-powered Hulk robot. For every item they take, they replace them with carbon duplicates. From here, the Leader also discovers two more locations of Alexandrian texts in Wakanda and Atlantis. With their mission complete, they take their stolen treasure to the one place where they can be sure that they will remain safe: Castle Doom in Latveria. When they visit with Doom, he points out that the Alexandrian texts they took from Olympia only cover one discipline: atomic energy. They then reiterate that there are two more locations.

Over the next few years, the Intelligencia begin preparing for their next mission to Wakanda. During this time, they also engage in their own schemes and endeavors. Occasionally, they assist each other in cheating death in order to fool and confuse their foes. They also use their intelligence to do the same for other villains, particularly the Sandman, the Absorbing Man, and Klaw. The next time they all work together is when they attempt to steal a Nth Projector from Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., only to discover that they were too late to stop a woman named Thundra from stealing it. Shortly after this, Egghead dies in a battle against the Avengers when his gun is plugged by one of Hawkeye's arrows, causing it to explode in his face. This almost ruins the plans of the Intelligencia and, during their next meeting at Castle Doom, they almost give up on their mission. However, the Leader had thought ahead of the game and convinced the group to induct M.O.D.O.K. into their ranks. With M.O.D.O.K. on the team, they manage to infiltrate Wakanda and steal the Alexandrian texts from there without issue. With the knowledge they obtain there, they construct a device that will pull Vibranium down from space to Earth and leave it running at Dr. Doom's castle. Not long after this, the Beyonder comes to Earth and, while Earth's heroes are busy dealing with that threat, the Intelligencia recover the Venom symbiote and bring it back from the brink of death.

Some years later, the group meets again, this time traveling to Edwards Air Force Base. There they discover the dead body of Betty Ross, which has been kept in stasis since she died of radiation poisoning. M.O.D.O.K. recognizes her and how he once turned her into the Harpy and believes that, with the information they have stolen, they can bring her back to life. The Leader suggests that they come back and take her later to use her as leverage if they need to. Sometime after this, Dr. Doom contacts the Leader to inform him that the Illuminati succeeded in exiling the Hulk into space. This infuriates the Leader, as he had hoped to destroy his long-time foe once and for all. What followed was a series of tragedies to the superhero community: the Civil War and the death of Captain America. When the Intelligencia meets again to plan their next heist, the Leader has projected that the Hulk will eventually return. The Mad Thinker also suggests that they recruit the young genius Amadeus Cho, but it is dismissed as an idea. Soon, they mount their mission to Atlantis to recover the last of the Alexandrian texts. This is fortuitous to them, as Atlantis was destroyed shortly thereafter. When they return to Castle Doom with their latest haul, Dr. Doom turns on them, unleashing his guards and Doombots upon them. As the rest of the Intelligencia fight back, the Leader sees that this mission is lost and retreats.

Time passes again, the Hulk returns to Earth and wages war on the planet. The Leader, now nearing death, hides in solitude. This is when he is visited by M.O.D.O.K., who has come to convince him to come back into the fold. M.O.D.O.K. explains that, during the final battle with the Hulk, he hacked into the defense satellites and channeled cosmic energy through them, which ultimately led to the Hulk's defeat. Through the information he gathered from this, he has come up with a means of transforming someone using gamma and cosmic radiation to create a powerful being. He then presents to the Leader his latest idea, a means of destroying the Hulk once and for all: the Red Hulk!

Solicit Synopsis

MODOK. The Leader. Mad Thinker. Egghead. Red Ghost and the Super-Apes. Doctor Doom. They make up the secret group who have analyzed every victory and every defeat in the Marvel Universe to create the perfect battle plan that results in FALL OF THE HULKS! The origins and shocking truths of some of Marvel's most dangerous villains are revealed as the biggest HULK EVENT yet begins! From fan-favorite creators JEFF PARKER (AGENTS OF ATLAS) and PAUL PELLETIER (WAR OF KINGS) comes this tale of the “Smartest There Is” and their quest to prove it, once and for all.

Notes

Continuity Notes[]

This story takes place over the course of many years. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, these moments take place during specific points of the Modern Age. They can be placed in approximately the following years:

Year One

Year Two

Year Three:

Year Four

  • The Sandman is dumped into a cement truck by Nova (prior to this story in Nova #14)
  • The Absorbing Man accidently turns himself into glass and is smashed to pieces in a battle with the Hulk (prior to this story in Incredible Hulk #209)

Year Five

  • The opening scene of this story where the Inteligencia infiltrate Olympia happens here. It occurs sometime after Fantastic Four #200.
  • Klaw is dissipated by the Black Panther (prior to this story in Black Panther #15)
  • The Leader reforms the Absorbing Man, the Sandman, and Klaw.
  • The Leader uses the Awesome Android to rescue the Mad Thinker after his defeat at the hands of Rom the Spaceknight. (Rom #14)
  • The Intelligencia raid Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. (immediately following the events of Marvel Two-In-One #67)

Year Six

Year Seven

  • Spider-Man seemingly destroys the Venom symbiote (prior to this story in Web of Spider-Man #1)
  • The Beyonder comes to Earth and is defeated by Earth's heroes. (Secret Wars II #19)
  • The Intelligencia recovers and revives the Venom symbiote and releases it.

Year Ten

Year Eleven

Year Twelve

Year Thirteen

Chronology Notes[]

This story visits multiple periods of time and, as such, affects the chronology of many of the characters who appear in it. The affected characters are:

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Publication Notes[]

See Also

Links and References

http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=13571

References

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