History
During the Acts of Vengeance event, Doctor Doom was approached by a number of other villains to form a confederacy with the aim of destroying a number of superheroes. Doom found the idea preposterous, as he was -in his own mind- the only man who could ever destroy the Fantastic Four. He nevertheless decided to take this chance to play a joke and, to do this, he created the Aggression Enhancer.[1]
The Aggression Enhancer radiated energy to achieve a threefold effect. Stimulating the brain's aggressive frontal lobes, suppressing higher intellectual restraining mechanisms, and projecting a specific target in the mind of the victim. This innovative design[2] sparkled and crackled when affecting a nearby person to make him or her attack.[3] Its effect was long-ranging, and a victim could be motivated to travel hundreds of miles in pursuit of the target.[2] Only low-level supervillains would be affected for it - people who would never be a real threat for the Fantastic Four.[1][3]
The Aggression Enhancer was a pink box-shaped item with four legs with suction pads that could move on its own, jumping from a position to another.[2] Being small, it could remain unnoticed even in public locations. It had a huge button that appeared to switch it off, but that was a red herring,[3] and it was so light that it was unnoticed when attached to a vehicle.[2] If directly attacked, the Enhancer could move to dodge[3] or, if grabbed, it generated an electrical discharge. As Doom was not really developing this with enthusiasm, he used available components, including unfrequent microchips and motherboards, which would be easy to track to the developer in Albany - which happened to be a lair of Doom himself (Other components had been built by a bankrupted corporation). Doom used that building to monitor the events surrounding the Enhancer, leaving a Doombot to impersonate himself in Albany. The Doombot was also provided with an explosive throne and the support of Super-Adaptoid as a defense.[1]
Doctor Doom personally went to the roof of the Fantastic Four's headquarters Four Freedoms Plaza to leave the Aggression Enhancer with nocturnality - just when Mr. Fantastic had switched off the alarms for maintenance. Three supervillains - Constrictor, Beetle and the Shocker - were attracted to the Plaza, only to be defeated by the automatic security systems. The Fantastic Four were amazed, particularly as they had never confronted these specific enemies before.[2]
In any case, the Four travelled to Washington, D.C. in the Fantasticar to speak before the U.S. Congress - unaware that the Enhancer had jumped and attached to the hull, attracting several villains.[2] Their hearing was repeatedly interrupted by clumsy villains who left behind their disguises -systematically trenchcoat, hat and sunglasses- before attacking: Ramrod tripped; Plantman and The Quill collided with each other; and Flying Tiger was easily intercepted by Ms. Marvel. She then mentioned four other people in the room sharing the unusual attire, and the four of them -The Eel, Mad Dog, Thunderball and the Vanisher- attacked, only to be easily defeated by the heroes. Immediately after this, a security guard named Spaulding was affected and attacked the Four to be easily defeated.[3]
The Invisible Woman identified the Enhancer on the room's ceiling as a possible source of the threat. The Human Torch tried to burn it, but it dodged his blast. Mister Fantastic then grabbed the item and apparently switched it off but[3] recently-arrived Congressman James Pertierra accused Fantastic of having built the Enhancer and staged the scene to generate sympathy for his team. Soon afterward, security warned that other trenchcoated villains were arriving (Armadillo, Baron Brimstone, Man-Ape, Orka, Owl, Stilt-Man and Whirlwind), suggesting that the Enhancer either was still on, or had long-lasting effects. Ms. Marvel and the Torch, led by Ben Grimm, went to take care of the newcomers while Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman talked to the Congress. Even then, the Enhancer affected the Congressman and the audience, prompting them to attack the heroes. The Invisible Woman easily keep them at bay with her force fields, while Mister Fantastic dismantled the Enhancer, releasing them.[1]
Mister Fantastic identified the pieces of the Enhancer and tracked those to Doom's lair in Albany, which the Fantastic Four raided. The Doombot there explained his plan -his jest- without any regret, then released the Super-Adaptoid on them. After Grimm defeated the Super-Adaptoid, two last villains appeared, affected by the Enhancer: Hydro-Man and Water Wizard, who fought each other for the honor of confronting the Fantastic Four, while Mister Fantastic swore he would obliterate the device.[1]See Also
- 3 appearance(s) of Aggression Enhancer
- 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Aggression Enhancer
- 1 image(s) of Aggression Enhancer