Simon Fernandes time and piracy was an offence punishable by hanging, but in practice Fernandes was engaged in exactly the sort of behaviour to which Queen Elizabeth I of England was inclined to turn a blind eye. However, the Portuguese ambassador Francisco Giraldi vigorously protested Fernandes's activities to the Queen's ministers, after the alleged murder of seven Portuguese sailors, and in 1577 the 39-year-old Fernandes was arrested in Cardiff and taken to London to face trial. However, far from being hanged for his crimes, Fernandes was released, apparently with the connivance of Queen Elizabeth's spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham, who appears to have
Spymaster (comics) rematerialize partially inside the wall and killing him instantly. During the "Dark Reign" storyline, it is revealed that he actually faked his own death and has been living in deep cover ever since until he is found by Norman Osborn. Spymaster is hired to steal a treasured photograph of Tony Stark's parents, which Norman Osborn then burns. During the "Infinity" storyline, Spymaster recruits Blizzard II, Constrictor, Firebrand IV, Unicorn I, Whiplash IV, and Whirlwind to help him in a plot to attack the almost-defenseless Stark Tower while the Avengers were away from Earth fighting the Builders. In the same issue,