Marvel Database
Advertisement
Marvel Database

History

Desmond and his twin sister Phoebe Marrs were executives of the Marrs Corporation, and Desmond was one of the six richest men in the world.[1] The means by which he acquired his wealth is never explicitly stated, but the mysterious Wall Street wizard Headhunter mentions helping the Marrs twins with their "inheritance problem" in exchange for Desmond promising his head at a time of Headhunter's choosing,[2] suggesting that Desmond had Headhunter either murder their parents or forge their will in order to inherit their riches.

After making a name for himself on Wall Street, driving any major competition to destitution, Desmond was gripped by existential emptiness and attempted to commit suicide. Phoebe stopped him by informing him that Caleb and Carrie Alexander of Oracle, Inc. had purchased Parallel Conglomerate for ten billion dollars, thus giving Desmond the challenge of uncovering and subduing the mystery man who the Alexanders were fronting.[1] Desmond directed the Griffin to abduct Carrie Alexander, successfully luring out of hiding the mystery man: Namor the Sub-Mariner, thought dead by the world at large.[3]

Desmond funded the terrorist group The Front for Organic Responsibility and a Clean Environment (FORCE for short) that detonated two explosive devices in New York City harbor, one of them attached to an Oracle-owned tanker, striking the company a major financial blow.[4]

Desmond's plans to have Phoebe seduce Namor were interrupted, first by the attack of the mutated creature Sluj, and then by Headhunter calling her favor due.[5] Phoebe enlisted Namor to save Desmond from Headhunter, but rather than being grateful, Desmond rebuked Phoebe for preventing him from fulfilling the terms of his bargain with Headhunter, and told Namor he would surrender to the police for his part in endangering Namor. Namor saw this as a mark of honor on Desmond's part, and offered Desmond his friendship.[2]

Desmond took advantage of Namor's friendship by agreeing to look after Oracle's business while he was on a trip to Atlantis.[6] Marrs Corporation was crumbling under a corporate attack by Stark Enterprises, and Desmond started selling off Oracle's holdings to acquire capital for shoring up his defenses.[7] (There is a plot hole here; Desmond and Phoebe both state that Stark Enterprises' attack was retaliation for their financing an attack on its president, Tony Stark. However, in the relevant issues of Iron Man, Stark never finds out who financed the attack.) He also resorted to getting involved in the drug trade, drawing the attention of the Punisher.[8] Cornered by the Punisher, Desmond pulled a pistol and committed suicide in order to at least deprive the Punisher of the satisfaction of killing him (however, the Punisher appeared indifferent to the means by which Desmond met his end).[9]

Trivia

John Byrne has acknowledged that Desmond and Phoebe Marrs were heavily inspired by Mel and Susan Profitt, characters on the 1980s television series Wiseguy.[10] Perhaps not coincidentally, Desmond bears a strong physical resemblance to actor William Russ, who played a hitman working for the Profitts.

See Also

Links and References

References

Advertisement