Malic
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Malic (マリク Mariku) is a mad scientist and the antagonist of the 1969 Toho film, Latitude Zero.
History
Latitude Zero
A madman operating from his fortress on the island of Blood Rock, Malic dedicated his life to destroying his nemesis, Captain Craig McKenzie, so that he would be able to conquer the world. In 1969, when McKenzie had left the sanctuary of Latitude Zero to observe an underwater volcano in his submarine the Alpha, Malic ordered his henchwoman Kroiga to chase after and destroy him with the submarine known as the Black Shark. Kroiga obliged, intending to impress Malic and earn his affections. However, Malic cared little for Kroiga, and promised his lover Lucretia that he would soon dispose of Kroiga once he no longer had any use for her. When McKenzie managed to escape back to Latitude Zero, Malic formulated a new plan. Now, he would kidnap Dr. Okada, a Japanese scientist who had created a formula that granted immunity to radiation, and force McKenzie to travel to Blood Rock to rescue him, as Okada and his daughter Tsuruko were planning on moving to Latitude Zero. Malic sent the Black Shark to capture Okada and his daughter, then had them brought to his lair. Malic demanded that Okada hand over his formula, and when Okada refused he had him and his daughter taken away. Malic then told Kroiga he would reward her for her service, only to have her trapped in a cage. Malic escorted Okada and Tsuruko to a room, then revealed a cage in the room containing two Bat Men. Malic told Okada that he and his daughter would spend the night with his creations in that room, and he would attempt other means to acquire the formula in the morning. When Malic saw that Okada had activated a homing device alerting McKenzie to his location, he laughed and remarked that Okada had saved him the trouble of telling McKenzie that he had kidnapped Okada.
The next day, Malic had his Bat Men force Okada and Tsuruko to watch as he performed a gruesome surgery on Kroiga to create his ultimate monster servant. Malic removed Kroiga's brain and transplanted it into a lion, then grafted the wings of a condor onto the lion's body, creating the Griffon. Malic sent the Griffon to find and destroy McKenzie and his allies, as they had arrived on the island to rescue Okada. To Malic's annoyance, the Griffon did not attack, and McKenzie and his allies were able to get past Malic's Giant Rats and reach his laboratory. Malic ordered his Bat Men to attack, and attempted to stab McKenzie with a knife, only to miss and fatally stab Lucretia instead. Malic fled his laboratory and left his Bat Men to finish McKenzie and the others. McKenzie and his allies were able to defeat the Bat Men and rescue Okada and his daughter and return them safely to the Alpha. Malic took command of the Black Shark and opened fire on the Alpha with the sub's laser cannon, but this proved ineffective when the Alpha took flight. As Malic continued fruitlessly firing at the Alpha, the Black Shark was pulled by the magnetic field around Blood Rock back into the island. To make matters worse for Malic, the Griffon swooped down and attacked the Black Shark. The Black Shark fired its laser cannons, only to miss and strike the slopes of the island, causing an avalanche to fall onto the Black Shark, destroying the submarine and causing it to explode with Malic and his henchmen all still inside. This explosion triggered a chain reaction that caused Malic's base, along with all of Blood Rock, to explode as well.
Perry Lawton, a photographer who had assisted McKenzie on the mission, later returned to the surface and found no one believed his story. He encountered a man calling himself Glenn McKenzie who looked identical to Craig McKenzie, as well as Lieutenant Hastings, who looked identical to Malic.
Trivia
- Malic was portrayed by actor Cesar Romero, perhaps most well-known for playing the Joker in the 1960's Batman television series. Ironically, one of Malic's creations in Latitude Zero is the Bat Man.
- Malic was also the antagonist of the radio serial Latitude Zero, upon which the film was based.
Comments
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