Dr. Angst was first observed when he was hired by unknown parties to assassinate the then presidential candidate for the All Night Party, Howard the Duck. He chose a group of mediocre would-be villains and organized them as the Band of the Bland to assist him. He duped the Band into believing that they were in it solely to rise above their current levels and to achieve fame. Angst also tricked them into believing he had enhanced their powers by ingesting the metal Promethium, which amounts to a mystic palcebo. Their plot was foiled by Howard and the Defenders. Angst was imprisoned in Wormwall prison, and the Band disbanded, pursuing their own mundane lives.