The Maggia

The Maggia is an international crime syndicate. Unlike other prominent criminal organizations (Hydra, AIM) the Maggia are not involved with any subversive activities.

The Maggia is not a single organization but is instead comprised of many independent "families." The Maggia also has affiliations with other criminal groups such as Boss Morgan's organization in Harlem. Several "families" are based in the New York area. Three of these families have come to preeminence:

**The Silvermane Family:** Led by Silvio "Silvermane" Manfredi, this group conducts its activities along traditional Maggia lines, and is heavily involved with the drug trade. Silvermane uses unusual scientific means only for the personal goal of staving off his own death, and not for the family's activities. Although Silvermane has a son, Joseph, once known as Blackwing, his successor as the family head will probably be his longtime rival, top Maggia lawyer Caesar "Big C" Cicero. It is unclear whether or not Silvermane has again assumed control of his organization since being turned into a cyborg.

**The Hammerhead Family:** This family was initially led by a man known only as "Top Man". His family clashed with the Fantastic Four when they attempted to legally gain ownership of the Baxter Building in order to gain the advanced technology inside. When the Fantastic Four defeated the Top Man, his ownership claims the Baxter Building was dismissed by the courts, and he was assassinated on orders of his own family due to his failure.

The family then sought a new leader who would direct operations along more traditional lines and chose a newcomer known as Hammerhead, an amnesiac with an Adamantium skull and an affinity for 1930s gangster films. Hammerhead bases his methods, and even his personality, on these movies.

**The Nefaria Family:** This group bears little resemblance to the rest of the Maggia. Italian nobleman, Count Luchino Nefaria, a scientific genius, was the world's most powerful Maggia leader until his initial defeat by the Avengers. Afterwards, he moved his base of operations to the New York City area, and then imprisoned Washington, D.C. within an impenetrable force-dome and held it for ransom. After his defeat and capture, his daughter Giuletta Nefaria, also known as Whitney Frost, succeeded him as family head and led an unsuccessful attempt to capture the advanced weaponry of Tony Stark. She was eventually succeeded by a costumed criminal, the Masked Marauder, who demanded complete control of New York City or else he would detonate a nuclear device there. After his capture, the family again apparently came under the control of Whitney Frost, by then known as Madame Masque. Contrary to standard Maggia practice, the Nefaria family principally consisted of men under 40, has employed futuristic weaponry and even robots (like the Dreadnoughts), as well as costumed super-powered agents (Unicorn, Whiplash, Gladiator, etc.), and has launched open attacks on society. Its leader is always known as "Big M." There are many other Maggia "families" in the United States and Europe which do not employ superhuman agents. Various criminals have attempted to unify the American East Coast's independent criminal groups so as to compete with the Maggia domination of organized crime. The most successful of these has been the Kingpin.

## Paraphernalia

**Equipment:** Dreadnoughts

**Transportation:** Maggia Gambling Ship