Curtiss Jackson
Curtiss Jackson was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He became a professional criminal and an executive with the criminal organization known as the Corporation. Jackson founds the Power Broker Corporation and hires Karl Malus, a mad scientist who has experimented on various superhuman individuals, to technologically augment the strength of paying customers to superhuman levels. The strength augmenting process is tremendously risky, with half the subjects dying or becoming severely deformed, but this information is kept a closely guarded secret. Power Broker and Malus use highly addictive drugs on their subjects, telling them that the chemical is necessary to stabilize their powers, but in fact it only serves to keep the subjects working for—and paying—the Power Broker. Many wrestlers of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, which is only open to those with super-strength, use the Power Broker's services and wind up indebted to him.[3][4]
When Power Broker, Inc. is attacked by the Scourge of the Underworld, Curtiss Jackson exposes himself to his own augmentation device. The process goes awry, leaving him so grotesquely muscle-bound that he cannot move.[5] Due to Malus being unable to cure him, Jackson utilizes an exoskeleton for mobility.[6]
Jackson resurfaces in the Maximum Security storyline, having returned to his normal appearance. Seeing an opportunity to recruit prisoners being dumped by the Kree and other alien races, Jackson races to an area his computers determined would have a large amount of arrivals. Unfortunately for Jackson, the aliens are less than pleased at having been dumped on Earth and attack him. Playing dead, Jackson encounters a parasitic organism who had lost its host. In exchange for becoming its host, Jackson is granted the use of the parasite's spawn to infect and control others. In his plan to take over the world, Jackson smuggles the parasite spawns to a Hydra base and a rebel Atlantean group. These operations are broken up by S.T.A.R.S. (Superhuman Tactical Activities Response Squad) and their main agent, U.S. Agent, leading the group to take down the Power Broker once again.[7]
The Punisher later kills and impersonates Jackson in order to infiltrate a supervillain auction on Long Island.[8]
Second version
Very little is known about the second version of the Power Broker other than he wears a battle suit and can project bolts of energy from his hands. He was responsible for giving Paul Brokeridge super-strength to wrestle in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, a move that led to Paul attaining the championship and later being crippled by a stronger wrestler. Power Broker was also responsible for giving Paul's brother Roger superpowers; Roger later became the superhero Hardball.[9]
Power Broker proceeds to invest in Hench, a mobile app that allows its users to quickly hire supervillains. He demonstrates his invention to Darren Cross by enlisting Whirlwind to kill Ant-Man. When Cross refuses to invest at least 1.2 billion dollars in Hench, Power Broker ends the demo and cancels Whirlwind's attempted assassination of Ant-Man.[10]
Cassie Lang attempts to get abilities from Power Broker with the intention of double-crossing him. However, Power Broker realizes that she does not have what it takes to be a villain. Instead, Power Broker tells her that Darren Cross has stolen her heart and that her father Scott Lang hid it from her. As Cross had stolen something from him, he makes a deal with her: he will give her powers to do with as she wants. In exchange, she must retrieve the item that Cross took from him and in the process get her revenge on him. Cassie chooses to have her old powers back because she does not want to learn a new power set.
