Cerebra's Files

Count Nefaria


Full Name: Count Luchino Nefaria
Affiliation: None
Previous Affiliations: Lethal Legion II (Leader), Ani-Men I & II (Leader), Maggia
Aliases: Stox, Dream Maker, Dream Master
Relatives: Renata (wife, deceased), Giulietta (AKA Whitney Frost, Madame Masque, daughter)
Status: Widower
Alternate-X Versions: None
Codename Etymology: Pronounced kount nĕ'färē-ə [From Middle English, from Middle French comte, from Late Latin comit-, comes, from Latin, companion, one of the imperial court, from com- + ire to go & from Latin nefarius, from nefas: crime, from ne-: not + fas: right, divine law; perhaps akin to Greek themis: law, tithenai : to place] An evil nobleman.
Powers: Originally, none (human). However, after some time as a Maggia leader and then a somewhat unsuccesful super-villain team leader, Nefaria had himself mutated with ionic energy, giving him super-strength, ionic blasts, and simulated flight (really just long jumps). These powers were essentially those of his Lethal Legion: The Living Laser, Power Man I (now Atlas) and Whirlwind. Nefaria was born to an Italian family of noble descent but in his adulthood became a powerful leader of the Maggia organized crime network, building his own "family" through his wealth, advanced technology developed for him by scientists he employed, and his genius for criminal plotting. He came into conflict with the Avengers early in the team's history, as they were wiping up Maggia families in the US. Nefaria actually managed to capture and impersonate the Avengers, framing them as villains before they escaped and subdued them. Nefaria then encountered the original X-Men when he and a team of costumed Maggia leaders encased Washington D.C. in a bubble and demanded a ransom or they would suffocate the city. The X-Men defeated Count Nefaria and his crew, and Nefaria was imprisoned. Later on, Nefaria was broken out of prison by his goons. He then had his scientists create a set of Ani-Men, mutating people into bestial humanoids, with the resultant super-abilities of their beast genes. These Ani-Men assisted Nefaria in his takeover of the command center of NORAD in Cheyenne Mountain, from which he threaten to launch US missiles and start a nuclear holocaust. Fortunately, the X-Men, this time a fresh, untested team, were there to stop him. Nefaria attempted to escape in a jet, but rookie Thunderbird jumped onto the cockpit and started smashing away at it. Sensing defeat, Nefaria exploded the craft, killing Thunderbird. Nefaria himself teleported away. It was shortly afterwards that Nefaria received the aforementioned ionic powers. However, the process also speeded up his aging and within days he appeared to be over 80 years old and was forced to go into a special life support chamber. His daughter Madame Masque was at the time in love with Tony Stark (Iron Man) and fought her lover off to save her father. Unfortunately, during the fight the chamber was wrecked and Nefaria appeared to die. In reality, though, his new ionic nature allowed Nefaria to restore himself to prime capabilities, though he laid low for some time to recover. Recently, Nefaria took control of the Savage Land in the guise of Stox and mutated dinosaurs in order to find himself a new source for his power. Captain America was able to stop him and freed the humans Nefaria had captured (among them Ka-Zar and Shanna). Nefaria escaped and returned to the US, where he somehow took control of Wonder Man (who is also powered by ionic energy) and used him to abduct Atlas of the Thunderbolts, another ionic-powered hero (and once one of Nefaria's Lethal Legion). The ionic villains then fought the Avengers, who were actually attempting to protect Madame Masque from her father. Nefaria was bent on restoring his power, both personal and in the criminal world, and also on getting his daughter to become his second-in-command again. The Avengers managed to defeat Nefaria and rescue their comrades by cutting off Nefaria's link to the ionic energy that sustained him.

Nefaria was apparently imprisoned in the Raft, a maximum security wing of Riker's Island prison in New York City. After many months, perhaps over a year, Nefaria was one of the super-villains set loose by Electro in the battle that formed the New Avengers. Whether he remained free is unknown, though it is unlikely, as he was hit very hard in the fighting.
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