History
Matthew Ellis was the President of the United States of America. During his term, the political ties of the Roxxon Oil Company with Ellis saved their executives from court after the tanker Norco spilled a million gallons of crude oil off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.
When industrialist Aldrich Killian fabricated the terrorist threat of the Mandarin to fuel the War on Terror, he targeted President Ellis in a series of videos released to the public around Christmas to incite panic. Killian's endgame also involved the murder of President Ellis so that Vice President Rodriguez, one of his cohorts, assumed office. In one of his videos, the Mandarin threatened to kill Roxxon accountant Thomas Richards if Ellis didn't call him within thirty seconds, with his phone having been hacked to provide him with the means to do so. Although Ellis complied, the Mandarin ignored the call and shot at Richards with a blank, pretending to kill him. Following this incident, the President ordered to double down the efforts to find and capture the Mandarin.
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On Christmas Eve, one of Killian's agents, Eric Savin, infiltrated the Air Force One wearing the Iron Patriot Armor which had been stolen from Jim Rhodes. Savin killed Ellis' security and confronted him. Afterward, Ellis was forced into the suit and it was remote-piloted to the docks where the Norco had been impounded, where Killian intended to kill him on live television. Ellis was suspended high above the tanker, immobilized in the Iron Patriot Armor since he didn't know how to operate it. Tony Stark and Rhodes tracked down the President to the Norco, and Rhodes liberated the President and released him from the armor. After donning the Iron Patriot Armor back, Rhodes flew the President to safety while Tony Stark confronted Killian in a fight that resulted in the latter's death. In the aftermath of Killian's failed ploy, Vice President Rodriguez was arrested due to conspiring against Ellis.[2]
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Immobilized in the Iron Patriot Armor
The following year, President Ellis was visiting the Capitol Building when S.H.I.E.L.D. became compromised by Hydra and attempted to kill 20 million people with a trio of Helicarriers enacting Project Insight. Ellis was one of the unwitting targets for elimination before Captain America and Sam Wilson disabled the Helicarriers.[1]
In light of the increasing risk posed by alien threats such as the Chitauri and Malekith, President Ellis founded the Advanced Threat Containment Unit by executive order. The purpose of the ATCU was to protect the planet from such threats and fill the role once served by S.H.I.E.L.D.[3] Three months after the assassination of ATCU leader Rosalind Price, President Ellis met with Phil Coulson. Coulson was leading the new S.H.I.E.L.D., who Price had once recommended the ATCU joined forces with against advanced threats. Even though he couldn't openly reauthorize S.H.I.E.L.D., Ellis trusted Price's judgement and decided to semi-legalize the outlawed agency to serve as the black ops unit against the advanced threats due to their superior knowledge. The ATCU remained the public face of Ellis' administration, but its new leader, General Talbot, answered directly to Coulson. The one thing Ellis couldn't help Coulson with was former World Security Council member Gideon Malick, who Coulson had identified as Hydra loyalist, since Malick's extensive influence and lack of proof implicating him in Price's murder allowed him to keep his image clean. However, Ellis gave Coulson free reign to take Malick down.[4]
Following the arrest of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter at the hands of the Russian government after assassinating three of the Prime Minister's opposition who were plotting a coup with Malick's assistance, Ellis got Interpol to step in on the pair's interrogation at Coulson's request. To avoid an international incident, as the Russians suspected that S.H.I.E.L.D. was still active, Ellis had to disavow their actions. With Coulson posing as the ATCU advisor, they were able to arrange for Morse and Hunter's release, considering their part in saving the Prime Minister's life.[5]Paraphernalia
Transportation
- Air Force One
Notes
- William Sadler portrays President Ellis in Iron Man 3 and in the Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes "Laws of Nature", "Bouncing Back", and "Parting Shot".
- During his term, Ellis banned biotechnology research that could be deemed immoral, which interfered with the development of the drug Extremis by the think tank A.I.M.[2]
- President Ellis' full name was revealed in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as it appears as the speaker of a quote written in one of the walls of the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian Institution.
Trivia
- Ellis's name is an homage to writer Warren Ellis, creator of the concept of the Extremis virus in the first issues of Iron Man (Vol. 4), as the story of Iron Man 3 was heavily influenced by his creation. This is not the first time an Extremis-related story has paid homage to Ellis, as Eli Warren debuted in the pages of Iron Man (Vol. 5) #5, during a story arc that revolved around Extremis.
See Also
- 8 appearance(s) of Matthew Ellis (Earth-199999)
- 5 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Matthew Ellis (Earth-199999)
- 3 minor appearance(s) of Matthew Ellis (Earth-199999)
- 13 mention(s) of Matthew Ellis (Earth-199999)
- 4 image(s) of Matthew Ellis (Earth-199999)