Silvio Manfredi has been a career criminal for most of his life. Even as a teenager he had already joined the Maggia, a powerful organized crime family, and eventually became the head of his own organization by using his incredible craftiness to rise through the ranks. Dubbed “Silvermane” because his hair turned gray while he was in his forties, Manfredi feared death and was obsessed to find the secret of immortality. He learned of a tablet that had a formula inscribed on it to restore youth, so Silvermane devoted his resources to find it. When he possessed the tablet, he abducted Doctor Curt Connors so that he could make the formula. Spider-Man learned of the kidnapping and rescued Doctor Connors, but he couldn’t stop Silvermane from drinking the liquid remedy. The serum did work and it restored Manfredi’s youth, but its effects wore off, in time, and he returned to his normal age.
Silvermane’s organization was once allied with Hydra where he was the criminal mastermind behind the temporary fall of the Kingpin, but his criminal activities mainly deal in international drug manufacturing and trafficking operation. At one time, Silvermane had a chemist trying to manufacture a synthetic form of heroin. The chemist took in runaways and experimented with the drug on them, but almost all of them died. Two of the teenagers did survive, but the drugs had altered them into the super humans known as Cloak and Dagger. Once these two vigilantes found out that it was Silvermane’s organization behind their transformation, they set out for revenge. Spider-Man tried to protect Manfredi, but Dagger used her light daggers to give Silvermane a heart attack. Silvermane was saved from death when his brain was placed in a robotic body making him more than human. The mob boss turned cyborg hunted down his would-be killers leaving Spider-Man to try and save Cloak and Dagger’s lives. The fight led to the subway and Silvermane got past Spider-Man and almost took revenge on Cloak, but Dagger used her light knives to seemingly kill Silvermane again.
The Kingpin acquired Silvermane’s lifeless body, and reanimated him in the hopes that he would make a good assassin. The Kingpin took some amusement in using a rival as a weapon to further the goals of his own criminal empire. Silvermane’s body was alive once more, but his brain only functioned on a primitive level. A submission collar had to be placed around his neck so that he could be controlled through the use of pain. Spider-Man, unaware of Silvermane’s resurrection, had a surprise run in with him and was soundly beaten. Spider-Man was defenseless against the crazed cyborg, but Silvermane let him go in search of someone else ignoring the Kingpin’s commands. It was surmised by another Kingpin associate, the Answer, that Silvermane went in search of Dagger because she had absorbed some of his life force during their last meeting, and now he wanted it back.
The Kingpin had the Rose set up a phony drug deal to attract the attention of Cloak and Dagger in order to lure Silvermane back into the Kingpin’s clutches, but it also brought Spider-Man and the Black Cat to the scene. During a struggle over Dagger, the Answer came up with the theory that Dagger’s light may be able to cure the ailing Vanessa Fisk, and he swooped down to procure her for his employer. Cloak teleported after them, but not before Silvermane could jump inside Cloak’s dark force cape. Dagger was taken to the Kingpin’s penthouse, but her energy was too depleted to help his wife. It seemed there wouldn’t be enough time for her to regenerate her powers as Silvermane attacked determined to get his light back. Cloak soon arrived, but in his weakened stare was no match for the Answer. The Kingpin was defeated by Silvermane and Spider-man couldn’t stop him either. It was the Answer that saved the day when he sacrificed himself in order to restore Dagger’s light so that she may return what Manfredi is longing for. Dagger did give Silvermane his light allowing his intelligence to resurface, and then she healed her partner, Cloak. Silvermane, confused, left the penthouse, and the Kingpin blamed Spider-man and the Black Cat when Cloak and Dagger refused to help his wife.
During a gang war, Jack-O-Lantern attempted to assassinate Silvermane, but only destroyed his bionic body. Silvermane’s head continued to survive and was secured in an abandoned Hydra base until a new body could be fashioned. Silvermane used an android commando squad to defeat Spider-Man and bring him to his underground headquarters. There he planned to drain Spider-Man of his blood in order to become stronger than ever before, and in doing so he would use his powers to place himself as an Underworld leader. Spider-Man managed to free himself, but was too injured to do any serious harm to his captor. The Black Cat arrived to provide a timely rescue, and Silvermane’s headquarters was severely damaged during the resulting brawl. Silvermane tried to salvage footage of Spider-Man’s secret identity, but was destroyed along with the tape when his lab exploded. It was soon revealed that the obliterated Silvermane was merely an android and the true Silvermane was alive and well.
Silvermane showed himself in public when a meeting of powerful crime organizations was held in Las Vegas. He was about to teach some of the members of the Hand a lesson when Daredevil subdued him by slamming a slot machine into him rendering his robotic body useless. That didn’t stop the criminal mastermind as he returned with another genius plan to take his place as head of the Maggia. Limbless and immobile, Silvermane used what was left of his body to take control over much of New York City’s computers in order to cause chaos as he saw fit. In addition he hired Hydro-Man, Speed Demon, the Beetle, and Boomerang to hunt down and capture Deathlok. He even had upgraded the old Scorpion outfit to create a new villain called Scorpia to aid them in this task. Silvermane wanted Deathlok’s artificial body to use as his own which would make him one of the deadliest individuals in the world. The disorder Silvermane triggered brought Spider-Man, the Punisher and Daredevil into the conflict, and the three heroes opposed his sinister plans while Deathlok surrendered himself in order to stop the mayhem. Silvermane temporarily took control of Deathlok’s body, but was defeated when Deathlok drove Silvermane’s consciousness out of his computer’s systems. Silvermane’s android body was relocated before the heroes could secure it for the authorities.
Joseph Manfredi, son of Silvermane, was affiliated with a group called Heavy Mettle and was having problems with the newly reformed New Warriors. Silvermane told his son that the other families didn’t think Joe could handle the super teens, but Joe told his father not to worry. Silvermane told his son that if he was embarrassed again, he would take Joe out himself. Eventually, Maggia business took Silvermane to a riverfront warehouse to a secret meeting with other Maggia leaders across the country. The meeting was called by the Grim Reaper in order to unite the families, but before business could be concluded the Avengers arrived and captured at least three of the top members. It is unknown if Silvermane was among those captured. Even if he was, it may have been an android duplicate considering he was present in human form instead of his cyborg body.
It has yet to be revealed when and where Silvermane will strike next.
