Weather Wizard - Bijou Planks 164/365

Character Creation

 

Weather Wizard (Mark Mardon) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.

 

Weather Wizard made his first live-action appearance in the television specials Legends of the Superheroes (1979), played by Jeff Altman. The character later appeared in the television series The Flash, portrayed by Liam McIntyre. Additionally, his brother Clyde Mardon appeared in the 2014 pilot episode of The Flash, portrayed by Chad Rook.

 

Publication history

 

Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character made his first appearance in The Flash #110 (December 1959). He was significantly rebooted by Geoff Johns, and later by Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul.

 

Origin

 

One of the sons of a South American drug empire, Marco Mardon was disinterested in helping his brother Claudio run the cartel that had been left to them. Instead, he traveled to Central City and got involved in petty crime there, eventually falling in with the Rogues. When his brother was murdered and the Rogues fell apart after their attempt to gain powers went awry, he unwillingly returned home to manage the drug empire. Discovering that his brother's widow was responsible for his death, he tried to kill himself and her, but succeeded only in killing his sister-in-law. Despondent, he agreed to join Glider's new Rogues.

 

Character Evolution

 

Silver Age

 

Mark Mardon was introduced in the Silver Age. In his early appearances he was described as having stumbled upon the weather wand, which was in the possession of his brother, who had died of a heart attack. This version of the character was American, and had no inherent metahuman abilities.

 

Modern Age

 

In the Modern Age, it was retconned that Mark had broken out of prison and gone to his brother's lab. When his brother tried to call the police, Mark killed him and stole his weather wand. Towards the end of the Modern Age it was also revealed that he had inherent metahuman abilities.

 

New 52

 

The New 52 introduced his current origin, and made him no longer responsible for his brother's death. It is unclear how he acquired the weather wand, and he did not have inherent metahuman abilities before having his DNA recoded.

 

Major Story Arcs

 

Underworld Unleashed

 

Mark and four other Rogues are approached by Abra Kadabra, who offers them the chance to become infamous villains. He sells his soul to Neron, but is double-crossed and apparently killed to facilitate Neron's arrival on Earth. His body becomes a powerful killing machine. He is ultimately restored when Neron is defeated.

 

Birth Right

 

Weather Wizard learns he has a son from a one night stand with Julie Jackam, and that the boy, Josh, is displaying weather controlling abilities. He spends time in conflict with Wally West, who believes that Josh is his son. He is defeated by West as he is unable to bring himself to hurt Josh.

 

Crossfire

 

Weather Wizard is invited by Blacksmith to join her new Rogues in taking over Central and Keystone Cities. He uses his powers to devastate the cities by setting fires throughout. When the team is defeated, he and the other original Rogues manage to escape with the assistance of Captain Cold.

 

Rogue War

 

During the Rogue War, Weather Wizard sides with the unreformed Rogues in their fight against the reformed Rogues. He fights Magenta but is prevented from killing her by the original Trickster. He escapes the fighting with the rest of the Rogues while Flash is distracted.

 

Full Throttle

 

Weather Wizard and the other Rogues are invited by Inertia to take part in a plot to freeze time and rob the frozen world. Inertia reveals to him that he actually has inherent metahuman abilities and breaks his wand, helping him break his mental blocks and use his powers without it. Inertia's machine actually steals the Flash's powers, and when Flash tries to regain his powers Weather Wizard is one of the Rogues who fire on him, accidentally killing him.

 

Salvation Run

 

Weather Wizard and the Rogues are the first villains who are transported to the prison planet Salvation. When other villains start arriving he sides with Team Lex. He fights against the Parademons when they attack, and escapes the planet through Lex Luthor's teleporter.

 

Final Crisis

 

Like the other Rogues, Weather Wizard rejects Libra's offer of membership Secret Society. When the Rogues are attacked by the knockoff New Rogues he easily kills his counterpart, Weather Witch and rescues Trickster from Mr Magic. He goes with the Rogues to seek revenge on Inertia. Confronting the speedster, they are met by Libra, who has taken Josh hostage in order to force the team to join with him. He claims he does not care whether the child lives or dies, but his resolve cannot be tested, as Inertia breaks the standoff by killing the child. Weather Wizard joins the team in executing Inertia.

 

Blackest Night

 

During the Blackest Night, Weather Wizard joins the other living Rogues in traveling to Iron Heights, where the dead Rogues are attacking. He fights the reanimated Top.

 

Gorilla Warfare

 

Weather Wizard joins the Rogues in an elaborate train heist that is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Gorilla Grodd's invasion force. He joins the team in fighting the gorillas and rescuing their hostages.

 

Forever Evil

 

Weather Wizard is invited along with the other Rogues to join the Crime Syndicate's new Secret Society, but like the Rogues he refuses. When they are attacked by Deathstorm and Power Ring he flees with a majority of the team, first to Metropolis, then to Gotham. There, he is sought by Poison Ivy, who believes he can help save her plants, and by Mr Freeze, who hopes to use his powers to create a frozen wasteland in Gotham. He is saved by the Rogues, but captured by the Royal Flush Gang.

 

He uses his powers to crash the van they are being transported in and angrily parts way with the other Rogues, who are planning to turn themselves in to save Glider. He returns sometime later during their fight with Johnny Quick and Atomica, saving Trickster and Mirror Master. During the fight with the Syndicate's forces he uses his powers to push their enemies into a huge mirror, which is then shattered.

 

Powers and Abilities

 

Weather Wizard possesses the ability to control and manipulate the weather as he wishes. He can generate and control any natural weather phenomenon, and is also capable of manipulating Earth's magnetic field. However, his powers are inextricably tied to his moods; that is, any weather he creates reflects back into his emotions. If he causes rain, he becomes depressed; creating a storm makes him angry and violent. This is due to having his DNA fused with his wand in the genome recoder.

 

Weapons and Equipment

 

Though he no longer requires it to manipulate the weather, he is frequently seen to carry his weather wand. Usually depicted as a glowing blue staff, it may be used by him to focus his powers, or may simply be comforting to carry. The staff can be used for any of the purposes that his inherent abilities now replicate.

 

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A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

Secret Identity: Mark Mardon

 

Publisher: DC

 

First appearance: The Flash #110 (December 1959)

 

Created by: John Broome (Writer)

Carmine Infantino (Artist)

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