Grandmaster

The Grandmaster is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. who first appeared in The Avengers #69. He is one of the ageless Elders of the Universe and has mastered most civilizations' games of skill and chance.

General History
Little is known of the Grandmaster's origin, save that he is one of the oldest living beings in the universe, coming from one of the first intelligent races to evolve after the Big Bang. Like the other Elders of the Universe, his eternal existence is fueled by his singular pursuit of their personal obsessions; in En Dwi Gast's case, that obsession is gambling and gaming in all of its various forms. He is a cosmic game player whose preferred game is pitting two opposing teams against each other.

In his first appearance, the Grandmaster played a game against Kang the Conqueror, using the Avengers and Squadron Sinister as pawns. Since then, he has gone on to plague many other individuals and supergroups, such as the Squadron Sinister, Daredevil, the Defenders, the East and West Coast Avengers, and the Thunderbolts. Though he normally confines himself to his home (the Marvel Universe), he has been known to venture beyond, such as happened when he and Metron gambled with the cosmic power Krona, pitting the Avengers and the Justice League of America against one another. Some of his other extra-universal activities are detailed below.

Traitor Game XII


The Grandmaster made his first recorded appearance in the Traitor Games in the guise of Dungeon Master, an alternate identity he uses in another universe. On another world, where he had been conducting an ongoing game with Evil, the Grandmaster was willing to sacrifice his long used pawns for the opportunity to steal a player from the opposition. That player was Warduke, whom the Grandmaster managed to insert into Traitor Game XII for purposes that are as yet unrevealed.

Traitor Game XVIII


The Grandmaster next made his presence known during TG XVIII. In a series of flashbacks, he was revealed to have been manipulated the insertion of Leonard Shelby as an Agent into Mojo's Reality Bites! Traitor Game. There, he used the guise of Jim Feingold of Consumer Recreation Services. His true purposes are, again, unrevealed.

Traitor Game XX
The Grandmaster will have a role in the upcoming Traitor Game: Challenge of the Limbo Legion! Stay tuned for more.