Origin

Sydney Sarnak was once the most talented sound engineer in the recording industry. Unfortunately, he was caught bootlegging recordings, and while trying to escape culpability, Sarnak believed he was the victim of an accident which left him disfigured. This was psychosomatic, as the only disfigurement was on his soul. He still wore a mask to hide his appearance. During his “recovery,” he studied everything there is to know about sound and developed a control whistle, which would allow him to control people like slaves.

Creation

Sydney Sarnak first appeared in Werewolf by Night (1973) #9 by Gerry Conway and Tom Sutton

Major Story Arcs

The Committee

Sarnak’s work with sound got the attention of The Committee, a clandestine group of businessmen and financiers who attempted to control the economy. Since sales were very low, they hoped they would be able to use Sarnak’s whistle to create terror, believing that people’s mundanity left them for want of nothing. They had determined that Jack Russell was a werewolf and could be controlled as their agent of terror.

Sarnak assembled an army of derelicts, drunks, and vagabonds, including Tatterdemalion, who was sent after Jack. Once Jack and his sister, Lissa, were kidnapped, Sarnak used his control whistle for a test, setting Jack and Sarnak’s assembled forces on random citizens of the Century City neighborhood of LA. Before he could control them for the main event the next night, Jack managed to escape in his human form.

After calling in some favors, he managed to get himself a Sound Screen, which blocked Sarnak’s hypnosis noise. Sarnak was powerless to stop Jack when he returned to rescue his sister. When Jack threw him to the ground, Sarnak lost his whistle. His army awoke and turned on their slavemaster while the Russells left.

The Last Days of Moon Knight

Sarnak was recruited by a new Black Spectre to target Moon Knight and his new team, the Midnight Mission. First, they manipulated The Harlequin Hitman couple to go after Moon Knight's old Shadow Cabinet, to throw Moon Knight off his game. They also tested riot-inducing music at a club that Reese and Soldier just happened to be attending. Spector finally got a lead when Dylan Brock needed his protection and mentioned the Venom symbiote had been off due to the sound manipulation around town. Using the symbiote to track Sarnak, Sarnak turned himself into the police rather than be interrogated by the Moon Knight.

He was released from prison when the new Black Spectre orchestrated a breakout of the crimelord, Zodiac. Along with Ryan Trent, a previous Black Spectre, the quartet of black-clad Moon Knight rivals set a trap in a skyscraper stronghold. They baited Moon Knight and his Midnight Mission to lay siege by threatening all of New York City with Sarnak’s sonic weapon. On one floor, Sarnak was joined by an army of mind-controlled goons. Hunter’s Moon volunteered to take them on while Moon Knight continued through the building. He easily neutralized Sarnak, who first revealed how to disable his device to Hunter’s Moon.

Despite Sarnak’s own failure, Moon Knight was killed when the top floor of the building and Sarnak’s broadcast equipment blew up.