Controller

CONTROLLER

Real Name: Aloysius Clarke

Class: Human cyborg

Occupation: Criminal

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: NYC, NY

First Appearance: Vigilante I #4 (March, 1984)

Powers: Controller was a robotics genius, but needed machinery to keep his body alive and to move.

History: (Vigilante I #4) - The Controller was a criminal mastermind confined to his lab because he needed machinery to live. He created the robot Exterminator, programmed to be a top-notch assassin, and hired him out to clients. Grace Moore was on trial for the murder of her husband Clark Reynolds, and hired Controller and Exterminator to eliminate the witnesses. Witness Gretchyn Bjorn was shot on the courthouse steps by the Exterminator, and the Vigilante responded, but his rooftop battle led to him falling into the waters below. He soon returned to kill witness Cynthia Grant, and when he flew a helicopter to blow up witness Mr. Levine the Vigilante returned to defeat him. The Exterminator fell from the helicopter, but was gone by the time the police responded. Grace was convicted, and called the Controller, but he told her he couldn't help her any longer.

(Vigilante I #6, 7) -Controller called a meeting of the NY crime families, who'd been shook up after the assassination of several heads. Controller arrived to the meeting with Exterminator robots, and told the families he forgave them for crippling him, and they would be pleased with his vision for one unified family running NYC.

(Vigilante I #9) - Controller was operating a mainframe from Sarandon Factories, and when Vigilante's assistant JJ hacked into it he fed him information to lure him out there. JJ arrived at Sarandon only to be confronted by a hitman who shot him in the chest.

(Vigilante I #10, 11) - Controller got the support of all the mob families except Johnny Z's family and the Apollo mob. He showed his new crew his secret computer lab, and told them he'd dreamed it up while he was in the hospital after they'd crippled them. Vigilante was after the Controller for JJ's death, and questioned Johnny Z, but the Controller used his computerized pacemaker to kill the mobster before he could give Vigilante any info. Controller's mainframe controlled all the computers in the city, and he set up false alarms for bank robberies while the mob families hit different targets while the police were preoccupied. Controller got greedy and started asking for 50% of the take instead of the originally agreed 35%, and the families considered eliminating him. Vigilante had learned about the Controller from Apollo, and broke into Controller's mansion, where he was confronted by gun-wielding goons. He shot down several of them, and was injured in the process. He made his way past Exterminator robots and death-traps before entering the Controller's lab. Using a shuriken he penetrated the chest plate that hooked the Controller up to his computers, and served as his life-support system. The Controller was in agony, and begged for a quick death, but Vigilante just walked away as his life faded.

Comments: Created by Marv Wolfman & Don Newton.