The Matter Master is a DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

 supervillain

Supervillain

A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...

 and a recurring Hawkman

Hawkman

Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....

 foe. Created by Gardner Fox

Gardner Fox

Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer best known for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic-book historians estimate that he wrote over 4,000 comics stories....

 and Joe Kubert

Joe Kubert

Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...

, he first appeared in The Brave and the Bold

The Brave and the Bold

The Brave and the Bold is the title shared by many comic book series published by DC Comics. The first of these was published as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983...

 # 35 (April-May 1961).

Fictional character history

Scientist turned alchemist

Alchemy

Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

 Mark Mandrill is trying to turn lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 into gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

, when the compound he is working on explodes. Instinctively shouting "Stay away from me!", he is amazed when the compound obeys his commands. Dubbing the material "Mentachem", he makes a wand out of it and uses it to begin a life of crime. He fought against Hawkman for many years, as well as the Justice League of America. He is also a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains

Secret Society of Super Villains

The Secret Society of Super Villains is a group of comic book supervillains that exist in the DC Universe...

.

In Hawkman vol. 4 #23 (March 2004), the Matter Master kidnaps the richest people in St. Roch to draw Hawkman into a confrontation. The battle lasts only a few seconds, ending when Hawkman uses his axe to sever Matter Master's right arm. Mandrill later returns in the JLA "Crisis of Conscience" story arc, in league with a team of other villains who had been victims of mind-wipes by the JLA.

Powers and abilities

Matter Master has no innate superpowers, but as long as he is in contact with his "Mentachem" wand he can reshape, transmute, or levitate any matter. The effect vanishes over time or as soon as he loses contact with the wand, explaining why he has not simply used the wand's power to become rich without resorting to crime.

Other versions

• Matter Master appears in the comic book Justice League Unlimited #31, which is based on the animated series of the same name
  Justice League Unlimited
  Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
  
  . His powers allow him to control Metamorpho
  Metamorpho
  Metamorpho is a fictional character, a superhero in the . He is a founding member of the Outsiders, and has also joined multiple incarnations of the Justice League.-Publication history:...
  
   (due to his elemental nature).
• In the first story arc of the 2011 Batman Beyond
  Batman Beyond
  Batman Beyond is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy...
  
   ongoing series, a metahuman control officer named Carson Jatts discovers that the many metahuman energies he has been exposed over the years has started to kill him. Wanting revenge against the superhero community, Jatts tries to steal the metachem wand, but accidentally absorbs it's energies into his hand, giving him the power to change elements by touch. After suffering an injury following an altercation with the Justice League Unlimited, Jatts turns his powers upon himself, restoring his body and dubbing himself the new Matter Master.
• Matter Master had a cameo in The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold
  Batman: The Brave and the Bold (comics)
  Batman: The Brave and the Bold is an American comic book series published by DC Comics. It is based on the TV series of the same name.-UK Title:The UK version is published by Titan Magazines and the first issue was released on 11 March 2010...
  
  issue #9.

External links

• Matter Master at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe