History
The Vortex Machine was a device that created an artificial cyclone or tornado on a point near the machine. This air column sprang from a humungous steel cannon with metallic blades on the end, and it grew from the moment of its inception, being initially relatively small, until it reached a maximum size taller than a building. People in the area suffered physical damage and objects of up to one ton were moved by the wind. Doctor Doom designed this machine to safeguard the patios of his castle[1] in Latveria, which is a more awesome achievement as tornadoes did not happen naturally in that country.[2]
Doom used the Vortex Machine once against a crowd of his Latverian subjects that were demanding his abdication in favour of rival claimant Zorba Fortunov. Albeit there was a legal foundation on their appeal, Doom activated the Vortex Machine and sent a twister against his own people, then escaped from Latveria to the United States to continue his plot to take over the world. At that point, the Fantastic Four had been imprisoned at Doom's Castle, but they escaped and saw the tornado. Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four found the Vortex Machine and switched it off.[2]