Wizard (Marvel Comics)

Bentley Wittman is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Strange Tales #102 (November 1962). Wittman is a supervillain known under the codenames Wizard and Wingless Wizard. He is an illusionist and tech-genius who appears as a recurring antagonist of the Human Torch and the Fantastic Four.

Bentley Wittman debuted in Strange Tales #102 (November 1962), created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. He subsequently appeared in several Marvel series, including Amazing Spider-Man (1963), Avengers (1963), FF (2011), and Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver (2024).

Bentley Wittman grew up possessing near-superhuman levels of genius and was a child prodigy and chess champion. As an adult, he became an inventor of great renown, selling his futuristic inventions to the wealthy and becoming quite rich. He became known as the Wizard by legally assuming this stage name and using his advanced scientific inventions to perform feats of "magic" as a stage magician and escape artist. Intellectually bored, however, he decided to become a professional criminal and defeat Johnny Storm, who had just appeared to the world as the Human Torch. Pretending to be a victim by pretending his attempt to use a new drill had gone wrong and he was trapped, he really had enough air for weeks, he was rescued by the Torch and invited him to his high-tech, futuristic mansion on Long Island. There he captured the Human Torch with ease by pretending to take a three-dimensional photo, but really squirting a liquid onto the Human Torch. The Human Torch was then locked in an asbestos cell at gunpoint. The Wizard impersonated the Human Torch, launching a crime spree to destroy the Human Torch's reputation. However, the Human Torch escaped and with help from the Invisible Girl, got photos showing the Wizard had impersonated him, and the Wizard was sent to prison.

The Wizard had a rematch with the Human Torch before long, escaping from prison using a chemical which melted through stone. He got to his house and used a force field to prevent the police from entering, but allowed the Torch to enter, threatening to blast the police if they tried to get in. The Torch melted a shell the Wizard fired, then created a flaming barrier to protect himself from nerve gas. However the Wizard succeeded in using the Invisible Girl as a hostage, as she had foolishly entered and the Wizard was alerted by an alarm. He trapped both her and the Human Torch in a chamber with a bomb that would activate if the temperature increased by one degree. However the Torch was able to destroy the device, escape, and capture the Wizard. With Paste-Pot Pete, he battled the Human Torch again while impersonating him again, and the Wizard captured the Torch and the Invisible Girl after escaping by disguising himself and using an anti-gravity device. However the two escaped when the Torch used his flame to alert Mister Fantastic and the Thing to their location. The conclusion of one encounter with the Torch sent him flying uncontrollably upward by one of his anti-gravity discs, unable to descend safely. He was rescued by two other adversaries of the Torch: Sandman and Paste-Pot Pete (soon after renamed Trapster). After he suggested they team up, a suggestion by the Trapster inspired him to form a team that would be a criminal counterpart to the Fantastic Four, with himself, his two rescuers, and Medusa, who was then suffering from amnesia; becoming the Frightful Four.

In his continued quest to crush the Fantastic Four, the Wizard has tried many iterations of the Frightful Four and has very rarely operated outside the Frightful Four. He forms a new version of the Frightful Four with Trapster, Sandman, and Electro who would later wear a special outfit that would imitate the Human Torch's powers. They were defeated by Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four.

The Wizard replaced Medusa with Thundra in the Frightful Four, and they battled the Fantastic Four and Medusa. However, Thundra also ended up betraying him and allying herself with the Fantastic Four as Medusa did, with the Brute being recruited to replace her. In a later appearance, Llyra also joins the Frightful Four.

When the Sandman appeared to give up his life of crime, the Wizard formed a new Frightful Four with Hydro-Man, Klaw, and Titania. They invaded Fantastic Four headquarters, but sided with the real Fantastic Four against the Fantastic Four clones created by Aron the Rogue Watcher. After Klaw was defeated, Wizard brought in Dragon Man as a replacement.

When the Fantastic Four's popularity reached an all-time low, the Wizard decided it was time to re-form the Frightful Four once more. No longer motivated by petty jealousy, the Wizard believed the Fantastic Four to be the source of all his troubles, his fall from grace. He rescued the Trapster from the Negative Zone, boosted the powers of Hydro-Man, and called upon his ex-wife Salamandra to round out the Frightful Four. He also manipulated Cole, his and Salamandra's daughter, to develop a relationship with the Human Torch in order to teleport to her and bypass the Fantastic Four's defenses. During the resulting battle, the Wizard turned on the Trapster, revealing that he intended Cole to be the next member of the Frightful Four. When the Frightful Four defeated the heroes, the Wizard flaunted his success on television and left them humiliated. However, when the Wizard admitted that he only wanted to include Cole once he saw her exhibit superhuman powers, she turned on him. She sought out the Fantastic Four to lead them back to her father and to try to find a cure for her powers. The Wizard and Cole confronted each other, and Cole used one of the Trapster's traps to ensnare her father, then used her powers over gravity to bring the Wizard's lair down around him. He has since appeared alive and founded the Frightful Five (himself, Titania, Trapster, Hydro-Man, and Klaw).