Blazing Skull
Encyclopedia
The Blazing Skull is a fictional
superhero
in the Marvel Comics
universe
, created during the 1930-'40s Golden Age of Comic Books
for Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics
. He first appeared in Mystic Comics
# 5 (March 1941), though his writer and artist creators are unknown.
The Blazing Skull should not be confused with Marvel's unrelated supernatural motorcyclist the Ghost Rider
, who is depicted with a flaming skull. Also, the unrelated Marvel character Skull the Slayer
(James Scully) briefly used the alias "Blazing Skull."
and fellow superhero the Terror. He continued to appear in Mystic Comics through issue #9 (May 1941), with at least one story ("The Thing", in #8) confirmed to have been penciled by Golden Age great Syd Shores
.
A simulacrum
of the Blazing Skull briefly appeared, along with simulacra of the Patriot
, the Fin
, and the Golden Age Angel and Vision, to aid the superhero team the Avengers
in The Avengers #97 (March 1972).
The actual Blazing Skull starred in a solo period adventure, set during World War II
, in Midnight Sons Unlimited #9 (May 1995). Nearly 10 years later, he was reintroduced into modern-day continuity in the four-part story arc "Once an Invader" in The Avengers vol. 3, #82-84 (July-Sept. 2004) and in the quirkily numbered New Invaders
#0 (Aug. 2004). The Blazing Skull appeared through the final issue, New Invaders #9 (June 2005).
A separate character, Jim Scully, also known as Skull the Slayer
, was depicted as an unrelated and differently designed Blazing Skull in Quasar
#46 (May 1993), as part of the group Shock Troop.
Mark Todd, assigned by his newspaper to cover the Second Sino-Japanese War
, is forced to take refuge in a cave during an artillery
bombardment
by the Japanese. There he meets the Skull Men, a strange race with burning skulls for heads. They inform him he has been chosen by the forces of destiny to be the champion of freedom, and they begin his training, which grants him abilities such as invulnerability to fire. Once his training is completed, he returns home and, motivated by the horrors of Nazism
, dons a uniform with a flaming mask (in honor of the Skull Men), taking the name "The Blazing Skull". (As time passes and he continues to master the Skull Men's teachings, he gains the ability to turn his flesh invisible, mimicking his teachers' appearance, and stops using the mask.)
Soon afterwards, Todd comes into contact with the WWII
superhero team, the Invaders
, and aids them against a team of Axis
superhumans, saving the life of Namor the Sub-Mariner
. He also fights alongside the team during a massed Allied superhuman airdrop into a Nazi stronghold.
As the war in Europe
comes to a close, the Blazing Skull teams up with Union Jack
and the Destroyer to break up an enemy spy-ring in England
.
In the early Golden Age stories, Mark Todd's given occupation is district attorney. He is also referred to in one story as an "amateur criminologist". It was not until the 1990s, starting with the retroactive Invaders series that he was established as a newspaper reporter, perhaps negating the descriptions of him as a D.A. and/or criminologist.
, who recruits him into a new, present-day version of the Invaders. He has related that between the war and the present he has fought as a superhero at different times in different places, even using different names, such as the Smoking Head during the 1960s.
Blazing Skull is recruited by the Fifty State Initiative
to become a part of New Jersey
's superhero team the Defenders
, alongside She-Hulk
, Nighthawk
, and briefly, Colossus
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, created during the 1930-'40s Golden Age of Comic Books
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
for Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics
Timely Comics
Timely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....
. He first appeared in Mystic Comics
Mystic Comics
Mystic Comics is the name of four comic book series published by the company that would eventually become Marvel Comics. The first two series were superhero anthologies published by Marvel's 1930-1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, during what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books...
# 5 (March 1941), though his writer and artist creators are unknown.
The Blazing Skull should not be confused with Marvel's unrelated supernatural motorcyclist the Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...
, who is depicted with a flaming skull. Also, the unrelated Marvel character Skull the Slayer
Skull the Slayer
Skull the Slayer is a fictional Marvel Comics character that debuted in his own book in August, 1975.-Publication history:Skull the Slayer had his own ongoing series starting in August 1975, which ran for eight issues....
(James Scully) briefly used the alias "Blazing Skull."
Publication history
The Blazing Skull debuted in "The Story of Mark Todd", a nine-page tale in the 1941 comic that also introduced cover character the Black MarvelBlack Marvel
The Black Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Al Gabriele, he first appeared in Mystic Comics #5 , published by Marvel's 1940s forerunner Timely Comics during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic...
and fellow superhero the Terror. He continued to appear in Mystic Comics through issue #9 (May 1941), with at least one story ("The Thing", in #8) confirmed to have been penciled by Golden Age great Syd Shores
Syd Shores
Sydney Shores was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books....
.
A simulacrum
Simulacrum
Simulacrum , from the Latin simulacrum which means "likeness, similarity", was first recorded in the English language in the late 16th century, used to describe a representation, such as a statue or a painting, especially of a god...
of the Blazing Skull briefly appeared, along with simulacra of the Patriot
Jeffrey Mace
Jeffrey Solomon "Jeff" Mace, also known as the Patriot and Captain America, is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, created during the 1940s period which fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books...
, the Fin
Fin (comics)
The Fin is the name of two characters from Marvel Comics. The Golden Age Fin has elements of both the swashbuckling pirate and superhero genres.-The Fin :-Publication history:...
, and the Golden Age Angel and Vision, to aid the superhero team the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
in The Avengers #97 (March 1972).
The actual Blazing Skull starred in a solo period adventure, set during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in Midnight Sons Unlimited #9 (May 1995). Nearly 10 years later, he was reintroduced into modern-day continuity in the four-part story arc "Once an Invader" in The Avengers vol. 3, #82-84 (July-Sept. 2004) and in the quirkily numbered New Invaders
Invaders (comics)
The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams in the . The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in The Avengers #71 . A present-day incarnation was introduced by writer Chuck Austen and artist Scott Kolins in The Avengers vol...
#0 (Aug. 2004). The Blazing Skull appeared through the final issue, New Invaders #9 (June 2005).
A separate character, Jim Scully, also known as Skull the Slayer
Skull the Slayer
Skull the Slayer is a fictional Marvel Comics character that debuted in his own book in August, 1975.-Publication history:Skull the Slayer had his own ongoing series starting in August 1975, which ran for eight issues....
, was depicted as an unrelated and differently designed Blazing Skull in Quasar
Quasar (comics)
Quasar is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the . He is one of Marvel's cosmic heroes, a character whose adventures frequently take him into outer space or other dimensions...
#46 (May 1993), as part of the group Shock Troop.
Fictional character biography
Foreign correspondentForeign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
Mark Todd, assigned by his newspaper to cover the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, is forced to take refuge in a cave during an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
bombardment
Bombardment
A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire directed against fortifications, troops or towns and buildings.Prior to World War I the term term was only applied to the bombardment of defenceless or undefended objects, houses, public buildings, it was only loosely employed to describe artillery...
by the Japanese. There he meets the Skull Men, a strange race with burning skulls for heads. They inform him he has been chosen by the forces of destiny to be the champion of freedom, and they begin his training, which grants him abilities such as invulnerability to fire. Once his training is completed, he returns home and, motivated by the horrors of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, dons a uniform with a flaming mask (in honor of the Skull Men), taking the name "The Blazing Skull". (As time passes and he continues to master the Skull Men's teachings, he gains the ability to turn his flesh invisible, mimicking his teachers' appearance, and stops using the mask.)
Soon afterwards, Todd comes into contact with the WWII
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
superhero team, the Invaders
Invaders (comics)
The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams in the . The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in The Avengers #71 . A present-day incarnation was introduced by writer Chuck Austen and artist Scott Kolins in The Avengers vol...
, and aids them against a team of Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
superhumans, saving the life of Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...
. He also fights alongside the team during a massed Allied superhuman airdrop into a Nazi stronghold.
As the war in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
comes to a close, the Blazing Skull teams up with Union Jack
Union Jack (comics)
Union Jack is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-James Montgomery Falsworth:The original Union Jack, James Montgomery Falsworth, first appears in comics in The Invaders #7. He was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Frank Robbins. He...
and the Destroyer to break up an enemy spy-ring in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
In the early Golden Age stories, Mark Todd's given occupation is district attorney. He is also referred to in one story as an "amateur criminologist". It was not until the 1990s, starting with the retroactive Invaders series that he was established as a newspaper reporter, perhaps negating the descriptions of him as a D.A. and/or criminologist.
In modern day
The Blazing Skull later appears in modern times as a captive of Middle Eastern terrorists, having not aged in the decades since the war due to his healing factor. He is freed by the U.S. AgentU.S. Agent
U.S. Agent is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually those starring Captain America and the Avengers. He was created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary in Captain America vol...
, who recruits him into a new, present-day version of the Invaders. He has related that between the war and the present he has fought as a superhero at different times in different places, even using different names, such as the Smoking Head during the 1960s.
Blazing Skull is recruited by the Fifty State Initiative
Fifty State Initiative
The Fifty State Initiative, often referred to as simply The Initiative, is a fictional governmental plan that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to The Avengers...
to become a part of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
's superhero team the Defenders
Defenders (comics)
The Defenders is the name of a number of Marvel Comics superhero groups which are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders," each known for following their own agendas...
, alongside She-Hulk
She-Hulk
She-Hulk is a Marvel Comics superheroine. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she first appeared in Savage She-Hulk #1 ....
, Nighthawk
Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)
Nighthawk is the name of several fictional characters that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. There have been five versions of the character: a supervillain-turned-superhero from the mainstream Marvel Universe continuity, Kyle Richmond, who belonged to the team Squadron Sinister;...
, and briefly, Colossus
Colossus (comics)
Colossus is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Len Wein and illustrator Dave Cockrum, he first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1...
.
Powers and abilities
Due to being trained by the Skull Men, Blazing Skull is immune to fire. He also possesses superhuman strength, a regenerative healing factor, and the ability to turn his flesh invisible, giving him the appearance of a walking skeleton. He later gains the ability to project and expel flame.External links
- Comics Nexus (Sept. 24, 2004): "Caught in the Nexus: Allan Jacobsen" (interview, New Invaders writer)
- Blazing Skull - Appearances in Publication Order