FASAUD
Real Name: Sheikh Farouk al-Fasaud
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: Terrorist;
former oil minister of the kingdom of Aqiria
Group Membership: None;
formerly the government of Aqiria (including King Khafir)
Affiliations: Boomerang (Fred Myers), Corruptor
(Jackson Day), Crossfire (William Cross), Dreadnought, Ecstacy (Renee
Deladier), Firebrand
(Russ Boxtel), Jackhammer, Jack
O'Lantern (Steven Mark Levins), Machete
(Mariano Lopez), R.A.I.D.,
Shockwave (Lancaster Sneed), Zaran the Weaponsmaster (Maximilian
Zaran);
formerly Windsor Raynes (American ambassador to Aqiria)
Enemies: Arabian Knight (Navid Hashim), Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, Fantastic Four (Crystal/Crystalia Amaquelin, Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Ms. Marvel/Sharon Ventura, Thing/Ben Grimm), Gregory Dunbar, Philip Gavin, MI5, Sabra (Ruth Bat-Seraph), Union Jack (Joseph "Joey" Chapman)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Aqiria
First Appearance: Fantastic Four I#308 (November,
1987)
Powers/Abilities: Fasaud's molecular structure has been integrated with electricity in an unknown manner, granting him the ability to become immaterial and travel as waves of electrical energy. Fasaud can choose which parts of his body turn intangible, allowing him to still hold on to objects or people. Fasaud can draw electricity from any source and discharge it as well, which makes it possible for him to electrocute people with a mere touch. While intangible, he can control any electronic device, no matter its complexity (he once took over a space shuttle). He can move at the speed of light, but his electromagnetic form is unable to curve around the world. In order for him to travel across the globe, he transmits himself up to a satellite in orbit and then back down again. Fasaud is especially vulnerable to any force capable of disrupting electricity or television broadcast waves, like an electromagnetic pulse. He can also be detected by telepaths.
Height: 6' (when
solid)
Eyes: Brown
Weight: 185 lbs (when solid)
Hair: Black
History:
(Fantastic Four I#308 (fb) ) - Sheikh Farouk al-Fasaud served as oil minister for the Middle Eastern kingdom of Aqiria and was considered among the richest men in the world. Al-Fasaud was also heavily involved in the oil trade between the western world and OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). His great wealth and influence allowed him to operate in relative anonimity until CBS reporter Gregory Dunbar became aware of his involvement and started an investigation.
(Fantastic Four I#308 (fb) ) - Dunbar looked into Al-Fasaud's connections to OPEC. He discovered Al-Fasaud was involved in shady, immoral deals in which the sheikh manipulated the west through OPEC.
(Fantastic Four I#308 (fb) ) - Dunbar published his findings, which led to Al-Fasaud's fall from political grace. Fasaud swore revenge on Dunbar, who was still on assignment in Aqiria. The sheikh visited the local CBS studio, determined to satisfy his honor by killing Dunbar. But when he lunged at the reporter with his knife, Fasaud accidentally struck a nearby camera.
(Fantastic Four I#308 (fb) ) - The moment Fasaud's knife
hit the camera, a circuit was completed that exposed the sheikh to all
the power in the studio and possibly even the CBS satellite uplink.
Dunbar initially figured the shock had killed Al-Fasaud, but ran away
when he saw the sheikh's body shift into its new, electrical form.
(Fantastic Four I#309 (fb) ) - Al-Fasaud mastered his
new body and powers and and returned to Aqiria to serve King
Khafir as Fasaud. The Aqirian king and the government welcomed him with
open arms, while publicly claiming they condemned his illegal
activities which they (of course) had no involvement in or knowledge
of.
(Fantastic Four I#308 - BTS) - Afraid for his life, Dunbar fled Aqiria
and traveled via Cairo back to the United States where he resumed his
work as a reporter at CBS in New York.
(Fantastic Four I#309 (fb) - BTS) - Fasaud struck a secret
deal with Windsor Raynes, the American ambassador to Aqiria. The
American military was allowed to use the Middle Eastern nation as a
launchpad for its space shuttles, ferrying military hardware to a joint
American/Aqirian defense satellite that contained experimental
prototypes of the "Star Wars" laser defense system.
(Fantastic Four I#308 (fb) ) - Fasaud, still out to avenge his honor, teleported himself to New York looking for Gregory Dunbar. He appeared in Dunbar's mansion, but only found his housekeeper Miranda. Fasaud introduced himself and threatened to "turn her power off", if she didn't tell him where Dunbar was. When she attempted to run away, Fasaud teleported himself in front of her and grabbed her left arm, electrocuting her. She then told him where he could find Dunbar.
(Fantastic Four I#308) - Miranda and her colleague
Randolph caught the attention of the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) who happened to fly by
and told him of Fasaud and his plans for Dunbar. The Torch rushed to the
Baxter Building to warn the others. Meanwhile, Fasaud had caught up with
Dunbar at CBS studios. Figuring the best defense is a good offense,
Dunbar jumped on Fasaud who simply turned immaterial and then zapped the
reporter with electricity. Fasaud was about to finish off his foe, when
the FF arrived by ramming the Fantasticar straight through the wall of
the CBS building. When the strength of the Thing and Ms. Marvel (Ventura) proved
ineffective and the elemental powers of Crystal and the Torch turned out
to be equally useless, Fasaud mocked the new team, calling them
disappointing compared to the original foursome. The Human Torch
attempted to overload Fasaud with his heat, figuring that given enough
heat, any TV will fail or melt. Fasaud easily matched the Torch's power
and ended up overloading Johnny. In the end, the Thing beat Fasaud by
short-circuiting his body with some heavily insulated camera cables. As
Fasaud disappeared from view, the FF caught up with Dunbar who, despite
suffering minor injuries, managed to fill them in on Fasaud. The Thing
ordered Crystal and the Human Torch to stay in New York and protect
Dunbar in case Fasaud should return, while he and Ms. Marvel traveled
to Aqiria in order to discover the origins of their new foe.
(Fantastic Four I#309) - Arriving in Aqiria, the Thing and Ms. Marvel were greeted warmly by Windsor Raynes and King Khafir. They told the heroes that, while Al-Fasaud had indeed been a trusted minister, that he now terrorized Aqiria in his new form. The two heroes were led around the country and were taken to Al-Fasaud's former palace. Meanwhile Fasaud himself appeared in the New York appartment of the Torch and his wife Alicia Masters (Lyja) who were entertaining FF member Crystal. Fasaud, not wanting to harm Alicia, ordered the two heroes to come out and fight him. When they did, Fasaud's intangibility made him practically invulnerable until the Torch and Crystal combined their elemental powers to create a heavy thunderstorm that disrupted TV transmissions. Fasaud's form was instantly returned to Aqiria where he ambushed and knocked out the Thing and Ms. Marvel moments after they had discovered the secret space shuttle launchsite. He then informed their unconscious forms that they had to die now that they had learned the secret of Aqiria. Fasaud was then welcomed by ambassador Raynes and King Khafir, who told Fasaud he had just saved the kingdom again.
(Fantastic Four I#310 - BTS) - After Fasaud knocked them
out, Thing and Ms. Marvel were locked up in a prison underneath the
space shuttle's blast tunnel and confined with power draining shackles.
(Fantastic Four I#310) - Fasaud mocked the chained up
heroes, as he recounted his origin, Aqiria's secret ties to the American
government and their shared satellite project. He scoffed at the Thing's
impudent insults and then promised him both the Torch and Crystal would
fall before his might. After Fasaud, King Khafir and his followers left
the room, the Thing managed to free himself and Ms. Marvel. Figuring out
that Fasaud was using the satellite to transport himself all over the
world, the two decided to hijack the space shuttle and fly up to the
satellite. Fasaud watched the launch and told the enraged Khafir to
remain calm, he was after all a being of pure energy. As soon as Ben (Thing) and
Sharon (Ms. Marvel) approached the satellite, Fasaud took control of the installation,
projecting a giant hologram of his head in space and using the satellite's
experimental laser systems to fire at the shuttle. Ben managed to dodge
the blasts, forcing Fasaud to teleport aboard the shuttle. He
electrocuted Ms. Marvel and prepared to knock out the ship's systems.
However, the Thing then fired the shuttle's weapons at the satellite,
heavily damaging the installation and destabilizing Fasaud's form as
well. Now vulnerable to physical force, Fasaud took a few punches before
apparently returning himself to the satellite, right before another
volley destroyed it completely (see
comments).
(Union
Jack II#1 - BTS) - Apparently surviving the destruction of the
satellite, Fasaud lost his signature look, fell out of favor with the
Aqirian government and was hired by the terrorist organization
Radically Advanced Ideas In Destruction (R.A.I.D.). Fasaud used his
powers for R.A.I.D. to tamper with certain security systems, allowing a
great number of supervillains and weapons to enter Great Britain
undetected. Fasaud was kept in the dark by R.A.I.D. about R.A.I.D's
targets or safe houses, however he was aware of the villains that were
assigned to spearhead the attack and the time the operation would occur.
(Union Jack II#1 (fb) - BTS) - As R.A.I.D. was planning a
major assault on London, they sent Al-Fasaud to gather intelligence from
several security systems. He remained undetected for several weeks,
until he tried to access MI5's computer network and was detected by one
of the intelligence service's telepaths. This led to his capture by MI5
operatives, who put him in a Faraday Cage, which prevented Fasaud from
using his electromagnetic abilities to escape.
(Union Jack II#1) - Fasaud revealed R.A.I.D's plan and his role in them to MI5including the identities of the viallains he enabled to enter Great Britain undetected. This information was helpful to Union Jack and his hastily assembled band of heroes including Sabra, the Arabian Knight and Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine.
(Union Jack II#3) - R.A.I.D. sent the Darkforce
controlling supervillain Ecstasy to MI5 to free Fasaud and the other
prisoners. MI5 director Philip Gavin headed to Fasaud's cell with a
handheld EMP device, planning to kill him rather than allow Fasaud to
get out and wreak havoc inside MI5's computer systems. Union Jack
however, managed to take out both villains by tricking Fasaud into
believing he was coming inside the Faraday Cage to kill him with the
EMP. Fasaud readied all his energies in a desperate attempt to save
himself, just as Ecstasy showed up to rescue him. Jack yanked open the
door to Fasaud's cell, who unleashed all his energy on to Ecstasy,
cutting off her acces to the Darkforce dimension. Spent, both villains were
restrained.
Comments: Created by Steve Englehart, John Buscema, Joe Sinnott.
It was never clear if Fasaud survived the destruction of
the Aqirian satellite or that he simply used it to return to Earth
before it was destroyed.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Fasaud should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
OHOTMU Update '89#3 (main image)
Fantastic Four I#309, p20, pan3 (destroyed)
Fantastic Four I#309, p22, pan5 (allies)
Fantastic Four I#310, p13, pan1 (space)
Union Jack II#1, p7, pan4/5 (captured)
Appearances:
Fantastic Four I#308 (November, 1987) - Steve Englehart (writer), John
Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Fantastic Four I#309 (December, 1987) - Steve Englehart (writer), John
Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Fantastic Four I#310 (January, 1988) - Steve Englehart (writer), Keith
Pollard (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Union Jack II#1 (November, 2006) - Christos N. Gage (writer), Mike
Perkins (pencils), Andrew Hennessy (inks), Andy Schmidt (editor)
Union Jack II#3 (January, 2007) - Christos N. Gage (writer), Mike
Perkins (pencils), Andrew Hennessy (inks), Cory Petit (editor)
First Posted: 10/07/2013
Last updated: 10/07/2013
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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