Supervillain Origins: Count Nefaria

Being a nobleman doesn’t necessarily make one noble. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of Count Nefaria. As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1965's Avengers #13 and was expanded upon in 1965's Tales of Suspense #67, 1977's Avengers #164-166 and 1999's Iron Man Annual 1999. Luchino Nefaria developed a hatred for the Avengers way back in 1965. As the leader of the worldwide crime cartel known as the Maggia, the regal Count Nefaria was displeased at the way the world’s superheroes kept disrupting the Maggia's criminal operations. As the Count's association with the crime organization was a secret, he decided he was in a unique position to stop the Avengers. Nefaria moved to America and lured the Avengers to his castle under the pretext of a charity event. Once there, he managed to place the Avengers in a form of suspended animation. He then created holographic duplicats of the heroes and sent them out to threaten the leaders of the world. The nations of the world declared the Avengers public enemies. The heroes didn't know this when they were released from suspended animation and left Nefaria's castle. They immediately became the victims of armed attacks from government forces, which they naturally fought back against. Unfortunately, this convinced any doubters of their guilt and intentions to take over the world. Realizing that Nefaria was behind this plot, they returned to his castle. He once again managed to trap most of the Avengers, but fortunately teenager Rick Jones and his pals were able to lend a hand when The Avengers needed it the most. The Avengers then made quick work of the Count. Unfortunately, the Count was deported but, due to his status as a foreign noble, was not punished. Diplomatic immunity. Count Nefaria had no superpowers, but was able to tangle with the avengers by using his sinister inventions. Later in 1965 Tales of Suspense number 67, the Count created another new machine that gave him the ability to enter into and manipulate Iron Man's dreams. The twist was that if he were able to kill the armored Avenger in his dreams, he would also die in reality. Iron Man of course survived and defeated Nefaria. In 1977, Nefaria launched a plan to gain legitimate superpowers of his own. Enlisting the services of the scientist who had helped Baron Zemo create the super powered Wonder Man, Nefaria gave enhanced abilities to a trio villains. He then absorbed those superpowers into himself, becoming a villain who was almost unbeatable. Unfortunately, the process also caused Nefaria to rapidly age, turning him into an old man in the span of just a few hours. The Count survived, but now he needed a constant source of ionic energy to stay alive and maintain his superpowers – which had become even more formidable. In a 1999 encounter with Iron Man, he almost destroyed the superhero by tossing first an ocean liner and then a mountain at him. Iron Man defeated him, but the Count would continue to prove himself a dangerous foe with cunning that was equal to his incredible strength. Count Nefaria's powers evolved quite a bit over the years, but fortunately Iron Man and other Marvel superheroes were always on hand to put a stop to his efforts at world domination. His nobleman status may have granted him a degree of immunity, but his evil machinations have not yet given him the satisfaction he craves. Are you a fan of the duplicitous Count Nefaria? For more comic book origins, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.