ABOUT THE CHARACTER:

Basil Sandhurst was born in Kittery Point, Maine. His obsession with control brought his downfall as a scientist when his refusal to obey ethical restraints got him banned from most research facilities. Sandhurst was prone to fits of rage, and in an attempt to calm him, his brother Vincent inadvertently triggered a lab explosion, crippling Basil. Vincent, guilt-ridden, outfitted Basil with an automated lab, in which Basil bonded a super-strong exoskeleton to his body, powered by the cerebral energies from those around him. As the controller, he planned to enslave New York, but Iron Man foiled his scheme and left Controller comatose.

Months later, he was released from prison by the alien Thanos, who upgraded his technology. Thanos promised Controller rulership of Earth, and so he began enslaving dozens of operatives. But his egotistical displays endangered Thanos's security, and when the Controller failed to defeat Thanos's enemy, Captain Marvel, the alien left him for dead. The Controller went underground for years, upgrading via stolen Stark technology from Justin Hammer, and eventually enslaved a cult. Iron Man defeated him once more and sentenced him to the Vault. He eventually broke out of jail, only to be defeated by Iron Man, again.

Revived by the world-conquering Master, the Controller became the Master's pawn against the Avengers and Heroes for Hire. Abandoned after a later defeat, the Controller, in an ironic nod to his many hospitalizations, acquired his own clinic, where he influenced the wealthy to do his bidding. However, the Controller could not resist enslaving Tony Stark as well, leading to his latest defeat by Iron Man.

Returned to the Raft, the Controller escaped with dozens of others but was recaptured during a clash with the U-Foes and Avengers.