John McIverBushmaster

BUSHMASTER

A self-proclaimed villain, Bushmaster uses any means necessary to climb the Maggia gang's ladder and to manipulate others into doing his dirty work. His lust for power is matched only by his cruelty—from beating up his brother and killing innocents, Bushmaster’s will stop at nothing to get revenge on those who've crossed him.

Professional Criminal

Born in the Caribbean, John McIver and his younger brother Quincy grew up on the street. John was faster and savvier than his brother when it came to escaping trouble, and John often beat Quincy for his failures. He once even killed a shopkeeper.

Years passed and John worked as muscle for Herve Argosy, a gun runner, but when he recruited Quincy on a job, it costed his brother all four limbs after falling into a motorboat propeller. Mocking his brother’s misfortune, John relocated to Europe to run Argosy’s trade under the name Bushmaster.

Mutated Strength

Bushmaster is an experienced streetfighter. When he works for the Maggia, he often employs costumed agents, such as Shades and Comanche, as well as numerous conventional gunmen.

Once Bushmaster received a variant of the Super-soldier Serum treatment, he grew to possess great superhuman strength and durability, greater than that initially possessed by another recipient of the Serum, Luke Cage.

At a time when Bushmaster was thought dead in an explosion, he actually continued mutating into a massive metal being. This began his transition to becoming the giant known as Power Master. As Power Master, he has the ability to drain power from other sources, like Luke Cage, to amplify his own abilities.

Pain Points

Carl Lucas, A.K.A. Luke Cage, the Hero for Hire with unbreakable skin and super strength, had a similar childhood to John. Bushmaster encountered Cage when he needed his unique talents to track down his lover Maya Corday, an undercover agent named Misty Knight. He bribed Cage with hostages Claire Temple and Dr. Noah Burstein.

Misty Knight, a former NYPD cop and private investigator for her co-owned business, Nightwing Investigations, has also acted as a foil to Bushmaster. When doing some undercover work, she once infiltrated Bushmaster's organization as Maya Corday to go against the crime lord. Bushmaster found out about the plan…and took retribution.

Criminal Crew

Quincy McIver is John's troublemaking, but less competent, brother who lost his limbs to a boat propeller while trying to escape the police. Quincy later also used the alias Bushmaster as a cyborg member of the Serpent Society.

Bushmaster took over the European branch of the Maggia, an international crime syndicate that is a coalition of different groups known as "families." In the United States, the Maggia controls illegal activities such as gambling, loan-sharking, and the narcotics trade, as well as many legal gambling casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Its influence also extends to various labor unions and politicians. And Bushmaster gave the U.S. Maggia a run for their money when he tried to usurp their seat of power.

Shades, Comanche, and Gadget generally act as Bushmaster's hired muscle and carry out his dirty work. Shades and Comanche are childhood friends and costumed partners in crime who were in the same gang growing up, the Rivals (which Luke Cage was also in). Gadget is formerly Diamondback's resident genius who makes customized blade weaponry.

Rap Sheet

As children in the Caribbean, John thought that he and his brother Quincy could steal some fruit from a shopkeeper, but the shopkeeper caught Quincy and smacked him. Thinking that Quincy squealed to the shopkeeper about who they were, he beat up his brother before giving a deadly beating to the shopkeeper.

Quincy then began working for a smuggler named Mr. Argosy. During one particular job, the police arrived and Quincy jumped into the water to escape, afraid what his brother would do to him if he got caught. When he surfaced, he got caught in a boat's propeller and lost all four of his limbs.

John parted ways from his brother while he was recovering in the hospital bed and told him that he was off to Europe to do more work for Mr. Argosy, and also revealed to his brother that he was going by the name John Bushmaster. Shortly afterward, Seth Voelker, an executive from Roxxon Oil Company, offered Quincy an experimental procedure to give him artificial limbs. Quincy agreed, but the experiment was unorthodox and he became more cyborg than man—and ended up with a serpent's tail.

Bushmaster then gradually took over the European branch of the Maggia criminal organization. He expanded into the U.S.A., thwarting efforts by the FBI, CIA, and Interpol who sought to end his operation. Called to action by New York’s District Attorney Blake Tower, detective Misty Knight became Bushmaster’s confidant and lover under the moniker Maya Corday. However, when a man named Shrieve hired Bushmaster to assassinate Misty’s real lover, Iron Fist (Danny Rand), Misty blew her cover and fled. Aided by his agents Shades, Comanche, and Gadget, Bushmaster blackmailed Luke Cage into targeting Knight on his behalf.

Bushmaster also abducted Cage’s friends Dr. Noah Burstein and Claire Temple, taking them to Seagate prison and threatening to kill Claire unless Noah gave Bushmaster his “Power Man” Super-soldier treatment. Cage ultimately balked at killing Knight, joining her and allies Colleen Wing and Iron Fist in confronting Bushmaster. Now more powerful than Cage, they engaged in battle. Bushmaster seemingly died in an explosion during the fight.

Surviving, Bushmaster continued to mutate, becoming a virtually complete metal man. His agents captured Dr. Burstein and his wife Emma, forcing Burstein to attempt to find a cure. Cage was also abducted, since he possessed similar powers needed for the treatment, but Iron Fist rescued him, and Bushmaster turned into inert steel. Exposed to air, his metal body decomposed and crumbled.

Years later, Bushmaster’s son, Cruz, was also kidnapped the Bursteins. This forced Noah to try to perfect the Power Man process in the Rocky Mountains’ Black Hole prison. After the creation of several terminal Power Men, Cruz had his agent, Hardcore, lead Cage to the Black Hole, and Cage’s physiology somehow eliminated the procedure’s lethal side effects.

Cruz had Cage and his father’s body brought to the island fortress off the coast of St. Croix, and initiated a power transfer in an attempt to become as mighty as his father once was. The still-sentient John Bushmaster then reversed the transfer, becoming the giant Power Master, killing Cruz and draining Cage’s power. Iron Fist separated Power Master from Cage with a cable that overloaded Power Master with energy. While Iron Fist and Cage escaped, Power Master's senses were burned out and he exploded.