Chance (Marvel)
Chance is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Nicholas Powell
Finding modern life too boring, professional gambler Nicholas Powell decided that only risk made it tolerable, and so became the high-tech mercenary Chance, who never charged outright for his services, but took payment for them in the form of bets and wagers. Powell lost a coin toss to dry cleaning delivery boy Johnny, costing him $1000. Displeased that underworld fence Andre Bouillon would not join his intelligence organization, the Foreigner hired Chance to kill him, which he did. Chance spotted Spider-Man leaving Andre's home, and wagered the Foreigner his fee, double or nothing, that he could take him out in 24 hours. Amused, the Foreigner agreed. Chance tracked down Spider-Man and Andre's friend the Black Fox, and attacked. Spider-Man evaded his acid darts and laser blasts, then seemingly dove off the rooftop. Chance's 360-degree vision soon revealed that Spider-Man had crawled around the building and was sneaking up behind him; Chance feigned ignorance, then lashed out with another laser barrage. Spider-Man kept dodging, however, and the fight soon attracted the attention of the building's occupants. Chance spied one, holding a shotgun, creeping onto the roof, and surmised that there would soon be more. He shot a chimney, and fled while Spider-Man saved the man from the crumbling masonry. Powell put out the word that he was looking for the Fox, who had been spotted in Spider-Man's company. Later, at his penthouse apartment, Johnny delivered his dry cleaning; Powell wagered his bill against a thousand dollars, on a coin toss. After winning the toss, Powell got a message from fence Elmo Twig, who had spotted the Black Fox. Chance found Spider-Man at a nearby construction site, and opened fire. Spider-Man, remembering Chance's 360-degree vision, tried attacking him from above, but found that he could see there, too. After hitting him in the torso with a loose board, he disappeared from sight; Chance lost him until Spider-Man attacked from below, pulling him through the floorboards and knocking him to the ground. He then tore off the connection between Chance's helmet and power supply, shutting down his weapons; the sudden interruption of his cybernetic link also knocked Chance out. Spider-Man left him for the police. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #15)
Powell came to feel that Bagalia was too lawless for proper criminal venture and thus established a gambling enterprise based on the hidden and mobile base known as the Palace. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #38)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Chance Nicholas Powell was a male of Caucasian descent with a lean, athletic build and a square jawline. He had short, neatly groomed brown hair and light-coloured eyes set within a face that typically bore a confident or calculating expression. His physique was well-proportioned and muscular, suggesting regular physical conditioning to manage the demands of his high-tech equipment. During his initial activities, his costume consisted of a sleek, two-toned bodysuit, primarily white with dark blue or black sections covering his shoulders, chest, and outer limbs. He wore a distinctive, rounded white helmet that lacked a visible visor or eye slits, presenting a smooth, featureless faceplate to his opponents. The suit was equipped with bulky metallic gauntlets and matching boots that housed his flight thrusters and weaponry, while a utility belt around his waist carried additional technical components. Thick, padded grey or silver segments were integrated into the joints of the suit for protection, and the entire ensemble was designed with an aerodynamic finish to facilitate high-speed aerial movement. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #15)
Powers and abilities
Nicholas Powell possessed a high-tech suit of powered armour that granted him a variety of offensive and defensive capabilities. He utilised jet boosters built into his boots for flight and maintained an upright, stable position in mid-air through the use of wrist-mounted stabilisers. His primary weaponry consisted of wrist-fired projectiles, including explosive blasts, blinding magnesium flares, and darts tipped with highly corrosive acid. For defense, his gauntlets were capable of emitting a localized sonic shield to deflect incoming projectiles and physical strikes. The suit's helmet featured a comprehensive heads-up display with 360-degree radar tracking, allowing him to monitor movements behind him without turning his head. Powell also demonstrated enhanced physical strength provided by the suit's exoskeleton, enabling him to engage in direct hand-to-hand combat with superhuman opponents. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #15)
He came to manage a place called the Palace that was a cloaked and undetectable structure that floated high above the skyline of the city. It had the ability to teleport the entire site to another location at a second's noice. The structure served as part of a criminal gambling enterprise that was run by Powell that catered to an exclusive clientele that were unencumbered by limitations of morality or good legal standing. A key feature of this enterprise was the Sportsbook whereby hacking into a variety of surveillance systems the Palace was able to bring live-footage of superhuman conflicts anywhere around the world. This allowed the attendees to place bets and gamble on the results of fights of superpowered beings. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #38)
Notes
- Chance was created by David Michelinie and Mike Harris where he made his first appearance in Web of Spider-Man v1 #15 (June, 1986).
Appearances
- Web of Spider-Man v1: (1986)
- Spider-Man Unlimited v1:
- Amazing Spider-Man v5: (2020)
- Jackpot and Black Cat v1: (2024)
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
