History: Professor Anthony Power, noted historian and authority on foreign affairs, was a high-ranking White House advisor under four presidents. Power was completely dedicated to the American political system and to the principles of democracy under that system.

Inspired by Anthony Power's faith in America, his son Matthew voluntarily enlisted for military service during the Viet Nam war. Matthew had a complete nervous breakdown while he was in Viet Nam and returned home in a catatonic state. When the most skilled medical talent in the world failed to affect a cure for Matthew, Professor Power began to change his views of himself and his country. Losing faith in the American system, Professor Power soon became convinced that American universities were instilling apathy and cowardice in their students, and that the United States leaders were so terrified of worldwide nuclear war that they were deliberately dragging America down in what he believed to be meaningless conflicts like the Viet Nam war. Taking as his models Alexander the Great and the Roman emperors, who dominated virtually the entire Western civilized world of their times, Professor Power decided that worldwide peace could be achieved only if one mind -- one power -- controlled the entire Earth. Power believed that America must move against what he saw as the enemies of democracy and to annihilate all threats to freedom.

Determined to be that one mind that dominated the entire world, Professor Power dedicated himself to this challenge. Receiving almost unlimited funding from supporters, the already wealthy Power began organizing his underground movement of so-called "ultra-patriots." Among the individuals in Power's organization were former operatives of the FBI, CIA, S.H.I.E.L.D., and other law enforcement agencies, including former CIA operative August Masters. After his apparent death in an encounter with the original Spider-Woman, multimillionaire Morgan MacNeil Hardy was recruited as one of the financial backers of Power's organization.

Power believed, that a devastating war need not be waged in order to eliminate the threats he believed that various nations posed to America and to world peace. Instead, Power intended to organize a corps of powerful telepaths whose powers he would utilize against those nations whom he considered to be enemies of America. Power established two operations for finding individuals with great psionic potential that could be utilized in this scheme. However, Hardy seized control of one of these operations and attempted to use its psionically gifted recruits to reconstruct reality to transform America into what Hardy, with his dated system of values, thought it should be. Due to the intervention of Captain America, Hardy's plot failed. Hardy himself was killed by feedback of psionic energy from his telepathy augmenter machine.

Later, August Masters, working for Power, prepared to launch a massive psionic attack against the Soviet Union. Telepaths gathered together by Power's organization would emit a barrage of psionic energy that would be amplified by psionic augmentation devices and directed against the Soviet Union. The attack was intended to destroy the brains of every human being in the U.S.S.R. Captain America, Daredevil, and the Defenders all battled against Power's organization in an attempt to thwart its plan. Six telepaths under the organization's control, appalled by the prospect of committing mass murder on Masters' command, telepathically linked their minds to that of Kyle Richmond, alias Nighthawk. Having learned the means to activate the destruct sequence on the main computer power system of Masters' entire secret complex, they passed this information on to Richmond, who activated the sequence. Apparently under his own will, Richmond had Doctor Strange; who was one of the Defenders, evacuate his costumed allies from the complex. Richmond remained behind as a physical focal point for the minds of the psychics, and died in the ensuing explosion.

Professor Power then decided to take matters into his own hands. Weeks after Masters' defeat, Power captured the world's most powerful telepath, Professor Charles Xavier. Power intended to force Xavier to revive another telepath, Mentallo, from his comatose state. Power planned to have Mentallo cure Matthew of his own catatonic state and to have Mentallo then assist him in launching the psionic attack against the Soviet Union that Masters had failed to bring about for him. Mentallo's frequent partner, the Fixer, had built a machine for Power that began draining Xavier's psionic energies into the mind of Mentallo in order to revive the latter. Spider-Man intervened and defeated the Fixer in battle, and Xavier overpowered Mentallo in psychic combat. However, Matthew Power's mind was further damaged during this psychic battle, so much so that he could never be cured.

Power was sent to prison, but powerful allies of his soon had him released. Knowing his son could never be cured, Professor Power had scientists permanently encase Matthew's body in a battlesuit that amplified its strength. Then Power had the scientists transfer his own mind into Matthew's body. Now possessing great power through the battlesuit as well as a physically younger body, Professor Power resolved to take revenge on Charles Xavier by killing the latter's mutant students, the X-Men. Power battled one of the original X-Men, the Beast, and Spider-Man, but did not kill either; rather, Power escaped and began work on new plans.

Professor Power organized a new version of the subversive organization known as the Secret Empire. Power and his Empire captured the Defenders and attempted in vain to brainwash them into murdering Xavier's newest students, the New Mutants. Power meanwhile prepared to launch a satellite that would beam subliminal messages into the minds of the people of the United States and the Soviet Union in order to bring about worldwide nuclear war. Power and the Secret Empire would save themselves from the coming holocaust by taking refuge in secret complexes deep underground, from which they would eventually emerge to build a new society. The Defenders brought about the destruction of the satellite, thwarting Power's plan. One of the Defenders, Moondragon, telepathically caused Anthony Power's consciousness to merge with Matthew's, driving Professor Power into a state of catatonic madness.

Professor Power was taken into the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D., but he was abducted by members of his subversive organization who were still loyal to him. The fifth Captain America and the fourth Bucky were sent to Power's castle in the Adirondack Mountains in New York State by the President's Commission on Superhuman Activities for the express purpose of neutralizing Power in any manner necessary. To prevent the two costumed adventurers from recapturing the still-catatonic Power, some of his men loaded Power into a rocket sled like escape craft. Captain America V hurled his shield at the escape craft, striking its engine and causing it to crash. The shock partially revived Power, who was now barely conscious of what was happening. Power began blasting Captain America V with powerful electron-beams in order to defend himself. Enraged by the painful attack, Captain America V battered Professor Power with his augmented strength so severely that Power died from the injuries.

Height: (in original body) 5 ft. 6 in., (in Matthew Power's body) 6 ft. 2 in.
Weight: (in original body) 165 lbs., (in Matthew Power's body) 220 lbs.
Eyes: (in original body) Grey, (in Matthew Power's body) Brown
Hair: (in original body) Grey, (in Matthew Power's body) Brown

Strength Level: In his original body Professor Power possessed the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engaged in no regular exercise. In Matthew Power's body Professor Power possessed the normal human strength of a man of Matthew's age, height, and build who engaged in moderate regular exercise. Professor Power's battlesuit amplified his strength to superhuman levels, enabling him to lift (press) about 10 tons.

Known Superhuman Powers: None

Weapons: Professor Power's battlesuit was an armored, man-amplifying, powered exoskeleton primarily made of a high-carbon tool alloy formed into a chain mail structure that combines flexibility with maximum protection. Weighing 375 pounds, the battlesuit was able to withstand the detonation of 75 pounds of TNT at a distance of 20 feet. The battlesuit amplified Professor Power's strength to superhuman levels. The battlesuit's primary power source was a cold-fusion thermoelectric generator located in the suit's belt.

The battlesuit was controlled by a computer-aided negative feedback loop/pressure sensor network that caused the exoskeleton to follow the motions of the body within and to amplify them when necessary. The exoskeleton used electrically-powered linear-induction motors which were able to withstand massive overrated power surges to enable Professor Power to achieve the full level of superhuman strength that the battlesuit made possible. Professor Power's battlesuit had a programmed auto-stop function that halted the operations of the suit in the event that its computers sensed an imminent motor armature seize-up.

The battlesuit's major offensive weapon was an implanted alpha-wave sensor-controlled pulsed, laser path guided, high-energy electron beam. The e-beam (electron-beam) gun used a high-flux particle accelerator assembly located in his battlesuit's right forearm and a lasing array around the forefinger of his right glove, which operated in tandem. (Hence, the e-beam was fired from his right forefinger.) The e-beam developed a maximum concussive force equivalent to the detonation of 100 pounds of TNT The massive current drain of the particle accelerator assembly allows only a five second e-beam discharge that requires a lengthy recharging time of about 45 minutes between discharges.

The battlesuit was also equipped with twin electrically powered, very high speed turbines which compressed incoming air to a high pressure and temperature and used a fine spray of J-4 jet fuel to cause self-igniting combustion. Both engines developed sufficient thrust to allow Professor Power to fly at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour and to reach a maximum height of about 500 feet.