Justice Is Swerved

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

Meet Dr. Elias Wirtham, who might better fit into the category of "vigilante" rather than villain, given his modus operandi: targeting so-called "legal" criminals who accomplish their goals by using laws to their advantage and thus slip through the justice system. Men such as Wirtham are usually driven by some event or events in their past where they had personal experience with the kind of men they later hunt, and Wirtham is no different in that respect; but like those men, he has no scruples about breaking laws himself in order to see justice done, the ends justifying the means.

A wealthy man who owns a tower building in Midtown Manhattan, as well as his own (adjacent) hospital, Wirtham has the money and the resources (both financial and social) to conduct his agenda--but to operate in the field, a glimpse behind the scenes at the man who calls himself Cardiac reveals that Wirtham decided he needed to become more than just a man.

We first learn of Cardiac when he moves against a chemical company for shipping catalysts to South America--materials necessary for processing illicit drugs, but declared as being for "agricultural purposes only," making the shipments perfectly legitimate. But his methods bring him into conflict with a crime-fighter whom he views as a kindred spirit, in terms of operating outside the law; nonetheless, he and Spider-Man aren't likely to see eye-to-eye on this.

Eventually, Cardiac prevails by knowing precisely how to cripple the company in terms of both this particular shipment and in the market--and with his departure, establishes himself as a recurring figure in the ASM title.

In their next meeting, with both Spider-Man and Cardiac taking action against a toy manufacturer which produced an electronic doll that maimed a child, the Daily Bugle has already done an exposé on the company, TechToy; but Cardiac is using the Bugle's investigations to target such companies, and it's clear that his views and those of Spider-Man continue to clash.

And if you're expecting Wirtham in his civilian guise to be any less driven in achieving his goals, think again.  Traces of his conscience notwithstanding, he's a virtual Norman Osborn in training.

It's in this issue that we're given the basic background on exactly what drives Wirtham, which can be boiled down to the death of his brother due to decisions at the corporate level based on greed:

...but it's only in Wirtham's next appearance where we learn not only the details of his transformation, but how Cardiac can be such a force in the field, as well as a viable foe against the likes of Spider-Man.

Of course, what seals the deal for Cardiac are the clever visual and sound effects of his staff, which respectively correspond to the "rhythm strip" displayed on a cardiopulmonary monitor in tandem with an approximation of the sound of a heartbeat. Nicely designed, Mr. Wirtham. (With a nod to artist Erik Larsen and letterer Rick Parker, rendered here by artist Chris Marrinan.)