PRIME EVIL

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human/animal hybrid/mutate

Occupation: Would-be world conqueror; former inmate in prison for the criminally insane

Group Membership: Leader of the Pride and the Dino Men

Affiliations: Oonagh Mullarkey and HELL (creators)

Enemies: Genetix (Base, Ridge, Shift, Stinger, Vesper), Ka-Zar the Savage, Oonagh Mullarkey, Wolverine, Zabu, Mys-Tech (esp. Ormond Wychwood)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Number One

Base of Operations: a citadel in the Savage Land;
formerly the H. E. L. L. (Haldane Encephalographic Laboratories Limited) facility, in Alberta, Canada

First Appearance: Codename: Genetix#1 (January, 1993)

Powers: Prime Evil has superhuman strength (Class 50?) and durability. He has some scientific knowledge, and can build advanced technology, but he seems to be only able to replicate what he has seen before, rather than to create new products or even completely understand the things he has built. He can open dimensional portals to transport himself and others across the surface of the Earth. In addition, he can either form or close a portal on a person, effectively slicing them in half.

History: (Codename: Genetix#1-3 (fbs))-Approximately fifteen years ago, Dr. Oonagh Mullarkey was employed at the HELL facility, under the alias Ms. Tieque. She collected genetic samples from six inmates from the McCloud Penal Institute for the Criminally Insane, and gene spliced it into several research subjects, presumably some sort of monkeys. The creatures developed into powerful and intelligent, semi-humanoid forms, some with violent tendencies. The most intelligent and most violent of the group, the subject designated Number One, eventually broke out. Using a dimensional warp ability it developed, it took several of the other subjects with it and escaped.
Number One became Prime Evil (taking the name from the prime number one), and the other subjects became his Pride (like a pack of lions). They relocated to the Savage Land, where Prime Evil built a laboratory, where they hoped to create and control a powerful race of genetically engineered creatures to control the world.

(Code: G#1-4)-In the modern era, Prime Evil's Pride began pursuing random attacks throughout both Canada and the UK. They also located Dr. Mullarkey, who now working for Gena-Sys, a division of Mys-Tech, in London, England. They abducted Mullarkey and brought her to the Savage Land to force her to assist their efforts to create a race of warriors. Mullarkey's trail was followed by the group Genetix (who were more recent products of her experiments) and the mutant Wolverine (who had tracked them from their slayings in Canada).
Prime Evil and the Pride captured Wolverine and several members of Genetix. He forced Mullarkey to take samples from Wolverine, and to splice the samples with dinosaurs, creating the warrior race he had sought. In addition, he had control bands placed on the Genetix members Ridge and Stinger to control them. He then sent Ridge, Stinger, his Pride, and the Dino Men to attack the other three members of Genetix, who had been joined by Ka-Zar, Zabu, and some warriors of the Fall People. However, Mullarkey had designed the Dino Men so that they were extremely unstable, and they literally fell apart after a short battle with the heroes. While Prime Evil was watching the battle, she freed Wolverine. The other heroes defeated the members of the Pride, freed Base and Stinger from Prime Evil's control, and converged on his citadel. Mullarkey's superior, Wychwood, led a group of Mys-Tech agents to the Savage Land, where they neutralized the force field around the citadel. The Mys-Tech agents opened fire on the citadel, causing it to collapse.
Prime Evil and the heroes all escaped the collapsing citadel, but in the course of their final battle, Prime Evil's genetic structure began to destabilize as well. The various animal and human genetic material and personae all came bubble to the surface, and when the heroes focused their attacks on him, he exploded. Everyone left after the conclusion of the battle, and "with Prime Evil destroyed the Savage Land is safe once more!"
Of course, in the last panel, Prime Evil's hand came bursting from the surface of the waters (ala Jason Voorhees, from the Friday the Thirteenth movies), and the final caption read, "The End?"

Comments: Created by Graham Marks, Andy Lanning, and Phil Gascoine.

These stories were part of the Marvel UK imprint, which made a brief surge in the 1990s before vanishing. I doubt we'll be seeing the return of Prime Evil.

The creation of Prime Evil and the Pride was listed as December, 1977 -February, 1978 (about fifteen years before the story was told). The date is, of course, topical.

The High Evolutionary and others have left laboratories in the Savage Land. It's quite possible that Prime Evil and the Pride took over one of these for their own purposes.

Worth noting that one is NOT a prime number. Prime Evil, apparently only capable of mimicing others, apparently doesn't realize that.
--Loki

CLARIFICATIONS:
Prime Evil, aka Number One, has no connections to:
Prime Eternal, both one of the writers for this website, and the designation for the ruler of the Eternals of Earth
--any other Number Ones from other organizations.
--any other Prime anythings...Prime Evil never made it to an American book.

The Dino Men have no connection to:
The Saur-Lords, a group of humanoid dinosaurs created by the High Technician, @ Captain America I#414
Stegron, @ Marvel-Team-Up I#19
--any other dinosaur people

HELL, Haldane Encephalographic Laboratories Limited, has no known connections to:
H.E.L.L., Human Engineering Life Laboratory, used by Professor Prometheus, @ Micronauts I#4
-or any of the realms of Hell, ruled by various and sundry demons

The Pride of Prime-Evil has no known connections to:
The Pride, a group of animal spirits, encountered by Shanna the She-Devil, Marvel Fanfare I#56
P. R. I. D. E., Population Reduction through Inter-Dimensional Exile, @ Marvel Team-Up I#138

The Dino-Men were dinosaurs of the Savage Land gene-spliced by Oonagh Mullarkey with genetic material taken from Wolverine. They possessed superhuman strength and durability, but their genetic structure was extremely unstable (deliberately so). They disintegrated after a short battle.
--Codename: Genetix#3 (4

The Pride are the other creatures from the same experiment as Prime Evil. They were intelligent enough to use weapons, wear clothing, and use dinosaurs as steeds, but they could not speak any human language, and seemed to just follow the orders of Prime Evil. They also possessed superhuman strength (enhanced human), speed, durability, etc., along with razor-sharp claws and enhanced senses. Those who survived the battle with the heroes most likely underwent the same degeneration as Prime Evil
--Codename: Genetix#1 (1-3(fb), 1-4

Appearances:
Codename: Genetix#1 (January, 1993) - Graham Marks (writer), Andy Lanning (writer/pencils), Phil Gascoine (pencils), Kev Hopgood (inks), John Freeman (editor)
Codename: Genetix#2 (March, 1993) - Graham Marks (writer), Andy Lanning (writer/pencils), Phil Gascoine (pencils), Romeo Lopez, Michael Eve & Robin Riggs (inks), Gary Russell (editor)
Codename: Genetix#3 (April, 1993) - Graham Marks (writer), Andy Lanning (writer/pencils), Phil Gascoine (pencils), Michael Eve & Robin Riggs (inks), Gary Russell (editor)
Codename: Genetix#4 (May, 1993) - Graham Marks & Andy Lanning (writers), Phil Gascoine (pencils), Michael Eve (inks), Bambos Georgiou (editor)

First Posted: 03/30/2002
Last updated: 08/01/2002

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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