Diablo
Diablo is a villainous Spanish alchemist based in Transylvania, known for his potions that seem to have miracle-like qualities for a short time before turning to disaster soon after.
Biography
In the mid-1800s, Diablo was sealed inside a castle near a village in Transylvania by the local townsfolk, who recognized that his powers were a danger to humankind. In 1964, the village was visited by the Fantastic Four, and the cognizant Diablo saw an opportunity. He used a hypnotic voice to lure the Thing to his castle and break the seal confining him. He gave Thing a portion of a potion that would supposedly make him appear human again in exchange for swearing fealty to him for one year, with the remainder of the potion supposedly coming at the end of that period. Thing agreed, and the potion smoothed out his form somewhat, though his skin was still rocky and orange. The rest of the Fantastic Four arrived the following morning, but Thing defended his new master. Realizing force wouldn't sway his mind, Mr. Fantastic stealthily grabbed some of Diablo's chemicals and the team left. Over the next several days, Diablo fetched extravagant prices from people all over the world for his incredible potions, and began using that money to form a militia. Thing witnessed Diablo paying off various generals, and noticed that the transformation potion he'd been given wasn't permanent like he'd been promised. He attempted to fight back, but Diablo used a potion to put him in suspended animation. All over the world, Diablo's potions dramatically failed after a brief period of apparent success. The heroes returned after some time, assaulting the castle and Diablo's small army. Though they initially overpowered him and his forces, Diablo got the upperhand by using an alchemical pellet to send them all into suspended animation as well. However, Thing's own suspension wore off, and he chased Diablo back into the crypt whence he came. He sealed the entrance with a large plug, but used so much force in smashing it in that he caused the entire castle to collapse. The others were jarred awake by the vibrations, and narrowly escaped before it crumbled altogether; the Human Torch used his fire to fuse the remnants together for good measure.[1]
Diablo was able to access his herbs and potions however, and over the course of a few months he concocted an explosive material strong enough to blow his way free. Diablo immediately set his sights on getting revenge upon the Fantastic Four, and traveled to State University in New York to begin his plot to do so. He met with Dr. Gregson Gilbert there, a biologist researching superpowered beings. Through unclear means, Diablo had come to learn of Gilbert's creation: a model of a creature that would theoretically be stronger than any known superhuman, which he called Dragon Man. Diablo convinced Gilbert to allow him to give life to Dragon Man: Gilbert believed that they would use it strictly for research purposes, but Diablo naturally wanted to weaponize it against the Fantastic Four. As it happened, the Four were on campus for a lecture, and Diablo and Dragon Man attacked them. In the end, Dragon Man turned on Diablo, tackling him into the nearby Dead Man's Lake and sending them both deep into a subterranean cave via the lake's powerful current to an unknown fate.[2]